spring clean

So I'm trying to convince myself that it's nearing the end of the horribly cold season known to most as winter, and making room in my wardrobe for bigger and better things by selling some clothes I never wear anymore or in fact have NEVER EVER WORN! These few items are just a very small portion of what I'm selling. All prices are negotiable! Check it out HERE.

copper pretzel

Here's a quick look at a DIY piece I made not long ago. It's made from copper wire I found at the hardware store using the same method as the twisted wire rings seen in this post, the shape reminds me of a delicious pretzel! Super easy to do and it makes a nice edition to my growing copper jewellery collection.

shredded

Inspiration: Maison Martin Margiela

-What you need-

1 pair of jeans for sacrifice

stanley knife

-Method-

Slit jeans on back pockets and down the front by cutting straight horizontal lines at 'random'. I drew lines with a pencil to roughly guide the slits, don't make them too uniform or they will look weird.

Cluster the slits in sections about the thighs and upper shin area of the jeans making incisions no wider than 1cm, this makes it easier to pull the threads out.

After you've made the slits, start to pull away the blue vertical threads with your fingers (or tweezers if this is easier). I find it's quicker if you wriggle the white threads away from the blue as much as possible before trying to pull them out.

Done!

If you want, go back over any patches that look bare, but make sure you don't make holes too far up the thighs or you may end up showing off more than you want to. You can make them as shredded as you like, I went pretty far here, but you can go more extreme depending on how you like them. Just be careful if you're going to put them in the wash because they may end up disintegrating completely, hand washing is probably the best option for keeping the finish.

Note: This method is pretty time consuming (I spent a couple of hours on these!) so if you're feeling lazy, just throw the jeans into the washing machine to get the threads out. It works almost as well, although you don't have as much control over the result this way.

It's been a long time since I've put up a proper DIY, so when I stumbled upon this pair of almost perfect Ksubi jeans at Savers ($10!!) I knew they would make the perfect easy DIY shredded jeans.

I also cropped these jeans because, apart from the fact that they were a little bit too long for me full-length, I think they look much better shorter and when the weather warms up I reckon they'll become a wardrobe staple with jelly sandals and a basic tee.

[wearing: thrifted DIY'd Ksubi jeans, Siren heels]

leather love

I was traipsing around my wardrobe, still thinking about bomber jackets from my last post, and came across this leather one I've had for years. It was a big chunky bomber with a hideous belt and all around frumpy shape when I found it at my favourite op shop in Preston, it wasn't until not long ago that I found this pic on a street style blog of a girl in leather jacket with a curved cutout back and decided to try and replicate it with my manly bomber. I took the sleeves in, chopped the belt off and cut a semi-circle into the back and I think it's a pretty good makeover to be honest. It's still a hard piece to wear everyday so I've tried to put together something with a little of the badass attitude it deserves.. A very short skirt and my new 'Wangs'.

Now I know people are extremely opinionated when it comes to fakes, and I thought long and hard about how I'd feel wearing these phony heels, but when it came down to it I came up with these excuses; I currently am not in the position to afford real Wangs, these are extremely well-made/genuine leather blah blah blah, and I love the style (the Joan) so much that that is what mattered most. It's not like I'm going to go around telling people they're real, because that is totes not cool (totes wang?!) and I would feel like a genuine idiot. So thank you iOffer and the dodgy factory in China that produced these beauties! They will be sexing up lots of outfits for a long time to come :)

[Wearing: thrifted/DIY leather bomber & skirt, Sportsgirl tee, heels from iOffer, DIY copper jewellery]

what to wear with: bomber jackets

T by Alexander Wang bomber jacket / Linda Farrow x The Row aviators / Topshop cashmere tank / 3.1 Phillip Lim trousers / Elizabeth and James sand pumps

Topshop floral bomber jacket / 3.1 Phillip Lim 31 hour bag / River Island dress / Asos Harlot sandals 

A.L.C. wool and leather bomber jacket / Stella McCartney sunglasses / Topshop foiled jeans / Topshop tee / Asos hightops 

Topshop pastel silk bomber jacket / Clare Vivier fold over clutch / T by Alexander wang tee / VPL curvate skirt / Jeffrey Campbell hanger bootie

Bomber jackets are perfect for 'sporting' up an outfit but I find that if you don't get your proportions right with your botton half then the whole look can get out of whack badly! I think you need to keep it short and sweet or slim and long, carrying through the sporty theme in small doses- think aviators and hightops. I have a great basic navy blue vintage bomber by Pierre Cardin found by someone (not me) in an op-shop. It's technically not mine (it was being held ransom in the depths of my brother's wardrobe before I rescued it!), but I have claimed the beauty and promise to do it justice. I think I'll go the Alexander Wang route and team it with bright pants and pointy heels. Experimental outfit post soon!

key lime

Staying true to my vow to take a more colourful approach to winter wardrobe, here's some pics of my latest Asos purchase. I had been deliberating over this one for so long, leaving in my saved items for what felt like a century, that when it miraculously went on sale I almost cried. Not that it was expensive to start with, but that was just the thing to push me into it. This shirt is definitely not the same colour in the pics on the website.. a lot more blue-green than citrusy, but I am definitely not regretful. It is the loveliest silk, just the right weight, softness and transparency you need in a silk shirt. The watercolour effect is kind of strange, but gives this shirt character that means it will lift any outfit out of banality.

The shoes are another newbie from Siren. They were heavily discounted (still on sale at the moment) and I was seriously in need of a proper 'grown up' heel so these seemed like just the ticket; super simple with the sweetest little ankle strap. As you can see it was seriously windy today so taking photos was a big struggle. I didn't have a lot to choose from as most of the pics were affected by a little blurring and a lot of hair-in-faceing! I ended up doing a couple of indoor close ups which turned out a lot clearer (not to mention warmer). I think I'll have to do a whole lot more indoor posts if this chilly wind keeps up.

[wearing: Asos silk shirt, Cheap Monday jeans, Siren 'fallen' heels, DIY copper twist rings]

for sale

  

I'm very excited to announce that I've just opened my Etsy shop! This little collection of painted skirts (and denim leggings) are up for sale as well as a couple of pieces of jewellery from my last post HERE. I'm in the process of putting lots more up so keep a look out.

Come visit my shop NOBIGTRUTH.ETSY.COM
You can also keep updated through my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nobigtruthblog

crafty copper

I'm having a crafty phase at the moment. I found a big bag of DIY to-dos stashed away in a spare room and decided I really needed to get on it before the metals started to rust! I've been experimenting with twisting and plaiting copper wire, with surprisingly lovely results comprising of delicate friendship bracelets, fine rings and coiled cuffs. It's actually quite amazing what you can do with a bit of cable wire and tap fittings from the hardware store, although lucky for me I have a treasure trove in my garage thanks to a handyman dad. I can basically describe the sort of thing I want (tools, perspex, wire, washers, etc..) and he will pluck it out of the huge abyss of junk that is 'the shed'!

My favourites have got to be the bright copper coupling and black cord bangles using the same materials as my DIY Kirrily Johnston Bengal choker that I made in late last year, as well as the delicate adjustable coiled rings that can be stacked on your fingers in any combination. Copper is such a nice change from silver or gold and it goes with just about anything.

I'll be selling some of these pieces on my new Etsy store (along with my clothing designs) so be sure to keep a look out for it when I open!