Wednesday, October 21, 2009

DIY Lesson: 90s Biker Dress

Posted by Lauren Altschuler




I’ve put together a step-by-step guide to show how cheap and easy it can be to make your very own "au currant" dress.  You need only a few items and, if you shop creatively, it should cost you less than $20.

  

(L: Christopher Kane for Topshop, R: Alexander Wang, Fall 2009, images via style.com)

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of what could best be described as “early 90s bad girl goes uptown to a chic nightclub dresses" popping up on all the Internet fashion sites. I guess it must be part of the current biker/grunge/punk/lowbrow craze in fashion, which includes band-aid and cutout dresses, leather, and lots of spike or pyramid studded apparel. As much as I try to avoid adhering to obvious trends, I couldn’t deny the fact that I really wanted a studded cutout dress. Probably because I think they’re cute in that kind of “alternative” way, like something I would have loved in the 9th grade but didn’t have the guts to wear to school. Moreover, making my own version of the dress seemed like an easy and fun (not to mention cheap) activity  - it appealed to my primal arts-and-craft-sy side which, sadly, is often suppressed.

First, you need a plain black dress. Your dress can be in whatever style works best for you. However, shorter and tighter dresses (preferably from the early 90s) tend to convey the overall look with a lot more authenticity. If I remember correctly, I purchased mine from the Salvation Army store for $7.

  

Second, you need several items from your local fabric store –  I love the big Jo-Ann Fabrics out by Ypsilanti. You want scissors (which I assume you already own), fabric glue (Aleene’s Fabric Fusion works great), and several packs of metallic appliqués. You can really choose whatever appliqués you like best for your garment, but keep in mind that certain choices (rhinestones, faux gems, etc) can veer toward hokey and even bedazzled-esque. I settled on some fake metal studs because they were cheap ($2.99 for a pack of 30) and would give my dress that “authentic” look I was going for.  Finally, you might want to buy a white fabric pencil to mark the cutout patterns on your dress. I should have gotten one of these but I’m cheap and, for better or for worse, trust my eye’s instincts.

 After you have all your supplies ready, mark the cutout patterns on your dress. You are entitled to your own artistic freedom, but cutouts that are symmetrical and that mimic the conventional design patterns of dresses tend to look the best. Cut out the chunks of fabric leaving several holes in the dress.

Next comes the fun part (or the tedious part, depending on whom you ask…). Arrange the metallic appliqués in a pattern that you like and glue each of them down using the fabric glue. After the glue dries, your dress is complete!*

*Depending on the fabric, you may want to finish the seams around the cutouts so that the material doesn’t fray. I’m super lazy and impatient so I skipped this step, but hopefully will get around to finishing it later…

 

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Mission Statement

Our fashion blog: Shoppers With a Creative Budget, tries to bring a fresh approach to the "fashion blog". This blog is a collaboration of four female college students with very different ideas of what is "stylish". We by no means consider ourselves experts but we wanted to combine what we know about dressing to create a blog for people who flock towards our range of styles. We believe that fashion is subjective and there are many ways to make yourself feel great whether its with the help of stiletto heels or vintage threads. Each of us brings a different opinion to the fashion forum and our goal is to inspire others to take chances with fashion and pass on fashion advice or trends we've stumbled across. Shopping on a budget is our specialty, as college girls on strict budget we feel that just because your wallet isn't overflowing does not mean that your wardrobe has to suffer. We are here to help you find the best ways maximize your time and spending and help you find the best clothing to express yourself!

VINTAGE

Get to know the Bloggers!

Lauren A: Lauren finds fashion so interesting because represents the paradoxical intersection between creative individuality and mass collectivism. She loves people watching and tracking the evolution of trends as they travel from one "group" of people or time period to the next. Likewise, she enjoys actively participating in this form of visual representation. She own many dresses. Her favorite place to shop is Value World, because with inspiration and a sewing machine, you can get the same old shit sold anywhere else - but cheap.

Lauren L: Lauren is a freshman at the University of Michigan and loves all things fashion. She shops at many different stores like Urban Outfitters and Akira. She is the type who likes to buy very trendy pieces at cheap prices and will save up and splurge on classic pieces. To her, style is all about having fun, expressing your mood, and being creative.

Martha Q: Martha is a fashionable and conscientious student at the University of Michigan. She shops almost exclusively in her hometown of Seattle. Value Village, Aprie, and Buffalo Exchange are among her favorite clothing vendors. In her opinion style is more than clothing, style is how we present ourselves to society.

Taylor: She has a weakness for designer bags and heels. Her current most favorite material possessions are her Mike & Chris leather coat and her bulky tortoise and gold Michael Kors watch. But unfortunately, Taylor's taste in clothes easily exceeds her college student budget. So she has been forced to resort to creative shopping and utilize exclusive online communities like sample sales and other online shopping websites so she can continue to fill her closet with her favorite designers without emptying her bank account.
 
“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” - Template By Blogger Clicks