Balmain DIY

[lucy92]

I'd love to stud a jacket like that, but how long would it take and is it really tough to push the studs through?? do you need a gun thing to do it?

it seems that the woman that did the lapel blazer did it by hand.

you can buy a gun called a bedazzler VERY cheap on ebay. its an infomercial product that a lot of americans got sucked into buying back in the day and want to get rid of now. you can probably buy the bedazzler and lots of jewels and studs for around ten bucks + shipping.

 

[lucy92]

i imagine that something like this might be easy to do with a studding gun. it might be tricky to allign properly.

i think H&M is selling a zipper skirt similar to this now...
but how would one sit down while wearing it?

image source: LuisaViaRoma

 

[FASHIONLOVA]

I'm really keen to diy a shirt like this - do you think it would be easiest to buy the lace and take it to a tailor? I think the most difficult would be again, to source the shoulder pads - especially if I try to do it in a crazy coloured lace..

Please do not quote images

source netaporter.com

it would take not even an hour to make this lace top. but the shoulder pads are the most important detail, they d most likely have to be custom
made

 

[FASHIONLOVA]

that silver pattern u like, it s usually store bought and u just stitch it to the item u want it to be on

 

[cheyqua]

I always curious about the Balmain's shoulder pads. my friend told me that maybe we should add bra pads to the shoulder pads to create the exact curvy Balmain-ish pads

 

[Meg]

Sorry - I thought you were talking about the skirt with studs. That looks like embroidery or some sort of embroidered ribbon thing to me. Since this is about blazers, I'll merge it into the other Balmain DIY thread.

eta:
That studded blazer is great. Just goes to show what some time and ingenuity can reap. And yes, the shoulder pads are going to be difficult but since a lot of shoulder pads (or the older ones at least) are made out of foam, you could carve out the shape you wanted with relative ease I would think, as long as you had a sharp knife.

 

[nangnangnj]

I'm shamelessly enjoying this thread!
Am thinking about doing the jeans

 

[UNiQFashionista]

wow! great ideas!!

the one I'm talking about are these from spring09 and fall 09 (pretty identical no)

if I wanted something more challenging I would try to do this one from the spring,

pics from style.com


I just talked to my tailor and she told me she wouldnt know how to do a blazer from scratch, and the thing is I don't have all my clothes with me as I'm visiting family, but I'll check to see if I find a black blazer, if not then maybe I'll go buy some cheap one and see.. the tailor also mentioned that the fabric better be a bit strechy as it would be easier....

hmm...I'll let you guys know

 

[gius]

about the padded shoulders


you might want to check out this book
couture sewing techniques

amazon.com

they teach you how to make padding yourself.. i think they use cotton
and they also teach how to create an extra piece ("sleeve head") for perfecting the shape

 

[Meg]

^
great recommendation. Now I'm so curious - I'm not going to be back home for another month or so, I'm definitely going to talk to my old seamstress there. there is a show around the corner from where i live here that might be able to do it as well. They do tailoring but also stuff from scratch. They advertise that they can make you anything (jeans, blazers, etc) and when I stopped in before to get something minor done, they did a great job....

 

[lucy92]

it almost looks as if these balmain blazers have something like a shoe horn or a piece of plastic in there to keep its shape...

 

[nuitblanche]

this is a really interesting thread. UNIQ, i'd love to hear how the project goes so i can try the same with my tailor

 

[jun3machina]

i doubt it's a shoe horn, generally it's cotton batting sewn and sculpted into shoulder pad pieces. it was a technique used frequently during the 1940's in coats...

 

[gius]

Here are some links for making sleeve heads
http://sew-4-fun.blogspot.com/2007/05/sleeve-heads.html
http://thesewingdivas.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/sleeve-heads/

courtesy of daniellat

 

[UNiQFashionista]

thanks you guys for the links...my tailor said she doesnt know how to do it.....she said she can do big shoulder pads but it wont look the same as this one and have that curve

 

[lucy92]

time to move onto the next tailor! it also might be worth checking with your local fancy department store (neiman, barneys saks etc) and find out what tailor THEY use...

 

[daniellat]

im so glad ive found this thread, i love all things diy, specially balmain from last three seasons ive been wanting to diy their whole collections. Right now i have my eye on the denim jacket you posted earlier, the studded cross jeans and the turquoise mini dress with the criss cross embellishments, but that one ill put on hold until i get my new dressform.

I havent met a good tailor or seamstress to recreate things straight off the runway, before i knew how to sew i also wanted the look for less but never found someone that could do it the right way.

The tricky part with the denim jacket is the sleeve- shoulder part, the way the shoulder sort of points up and out cant be done just with a shoulder pad, thats why the seam is not right at the edge but a little past the shoulder bone and has a squared shape, this allows the shoulder pad to have more room to stick out more. Also you will need to customize your shoulder pad, they wont be like that on the store. thats just trial and error until you find the right shape, just cuttin and shaping you store bought shoulder pads, maybe even using bra cups instead of shoulder pads.

Note also that the balmain jackets are meant to be worn open, and if you want to customize an already made double breasted jacket it wont look the same when open, since they always have a double layer for buttoning, the ones from balmain dont.

 

[gius]

yeah it reminded me of the red bikini you made^ .. i was wondering if you could use the same foam material

 

[-Veda-]

This is just the best thread! I'm not crazy about this shoulder trend (having naturally strong shoulders) but WOW! Really inspiring...and that studded jacket! Ace job! Keep the ideas flowing!

 

[á la Balenciaga]

the studded blazer looks sooo dope! great job!