Make it a DIY Summer!

Sometimes it isn’t worth spending your savings on summer trends since fads come in and out as quickly as the seasons change.  If you have a free afternoon and just an ounce of creativity, you can bring some of your favorite summer looks to life, and the only thing you will really have to spend is your time. 

Last week I was on a stay-cation bumming around L.A.  I dropped in on a few hip-hop classes and lunched with friends every day.  Being out in the world (vs. inside in an office), inspired me to take on a few DIY projects that I thought you may like.

Walking around Venice recently has made me obsessed with fringe bikinis.  They give off this cool hipster vibe and they look great with jean shorts and tussled, ombre hair.  If you are well-endowed, they may make you look like a stripper, but for all card carrying members of the itty bitty titty committee, a fringe bikini is a great way to add some volume without succumbing to Victoria’s Secret insanely padded swim tops.  Although I love as much help in that department as the next girl, some push-up swim suits have so much padding they are practically flotation devices. 

My DIY inspiration was the L*Space Audrey FringeTriangle Bikini Top that retails at Bloomingdales for $73.00.  I love this look in yellow.  Since I happened to have a yellow bikini top that I never wear, I thought it would be the perfect candidate for some fringe.  In search of the right material, I headed to the best place in L.A. to buy fabric, Michael Levine in Downtown L.A.’s garment district.  For just $2.35 I got a quarter of a yard of neon yellow lycra and was on my way. 

Fringe Bikini in a Few Easy Steps:

     1.   Cut material into a rectangle.  The length should be measured by the length of the “V” part of your bikini (shoulder to cleavage to other shoulder).  The width should be the length of the outermost side of the bikini to (the part closest to your armpit).

     2.    Mark vertical lines along the fabric to your desired fringe width.  I would say mine is about a ¼ inch wide, but I just eyeballed it since I haven’t owned a ruler since the sixth grade. 

     3.    Use the sharpest scissors you can find to cut the fringe.  If you use crappy scissors, you will hate your life around the 50^th cut and your fringe may look janky. 

      4.   Sew the fringe to the top of the bikini.  I used clear thread since it is durable.  I sewed two layers of fringe to get the look I was going for. 

I would attach a pic of the final look on me, but it made me feel like I was sexting a pic of my chest on my blog or something, so I decided against it.  Just trust me that it turned out very cute.

My second DIY project was ombre jean shorts.  If you google this, a thousand other fashion bloggers have done it.  My inspiration was my cousin Marly, a super cute freshman at FIDM.  She bleached a pair of high-waisted Levi’s that she cut into shorts.  Since I’m not avant-garde enough to quite pull that off, I picked up a pair of Seven jeans from the GoodWill in Santa Monica for $7. 

Ombre Shorts in a few Easy Steps: 

          1.       Cut jeans into shorts

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         2.       Pour about a cup of bleach into a large glass pyrex baking dish with about an equal amount of  water. 
   
   
         3.       Place the bottom of the shorts in the mixture to soak for about an hour or until the desired coloring.
   
   
   Perhaps you are thinking that bleached cut-offs are inappropriate if you are (insert any post-college age).  I too had my apprehension about cutoff, bleached shorts for myself.  You can always make the look “classy” with a summer button down and a colorful, grown-up necklace.  I also avoid wearing the shorts with flip-flops since I am NOT going for that Redneck Riviera look.  The shorts do look great with a pair of tasteful wedges or funky boat shoes for that juxtaposition of casual and refined.  You can also rock this look with your DIY fringe bikini too!