Thrift Shopping at Buffalo Exchange

Although I have only been to Buffalo Exchange twice, I love that store. I went this Saturday with my friend Angelica and although I was not planning on spending anything in the store, I ended up leaving with 3 items.

 

 

I found a pair of American Eagle jeans for about $13 and they fit me perfectly so I had to get them!

 

 

 

I also found this jean jacket for $4.50! I am still debating on how I want to refashion it. I might do an ombre bleach on it.

 

 

And last, I found this pair of high top sneakers for $22.50.

I love them!

If you have never been to one of these stores before and you love Goodwill and Plato's Closet. It is definetely worth checking out. It is not as expensive as Goodwill and better quality than Goodwill.

DIY tie-dye bleached shirt and skirt

For this DY I decided to tie-dye bleach an old vacation Bible school I found that no one was using. You will need the same items you used for the DIY tie-dye bleached jeans.

 

 

This is the lightweight denim shirt I started with.

 

I tied rubber bands all over it but instead of placing it in a bucket this time I laid it out outside and used bleach in a spray bottle.

I kept checking on it every fifteen minutes and spraying it with bleach and turning it around until I was satisfied with the color. Then I threw it in the washing machine with no detergent and finally the dryer.

This is what I ended with.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to put some accessories on it like studs or chains or just leave it as it is.

 

 

I also had a denim skirt I got from Goodwill. I decided to bleach it as well but to use another method.

This is the original Old Navy skirt I started with.

I then laid out the skirt on the grass and sprayed the bleach at various angles and different spots.

Then I threw it in the washing machine and finally the dryer.

And this is the final product!

 

 

So now you can see how different methods of using the bleach result in different looks. It's all about finding the one you like.

Half-Shaved or Undercut Hairstyle

I had seen the half-shaved hairstyle two years ago in Mexico when I first fell in love with it. I really wanted to get it but was scared I might not be able to pull it off or even worse, regret it as soon as I had done it.

 

I had told a few friends about it and showed them pictures. Half of them would tell me to go for it while the other half let me know they thought it was hideous. Even my cousins told me I would not be able to pull it off because I had a fat face. So I decided to just look for other hairstyles more suitable for my face.

 

However, although one of my fashion teachers has said the hairstyle is "so 2011" it has actually become quite popular.

 

So this summer I went to Mexico on vacation and told my aunts and cousins I really liked that hairstyle when I saw a girl at a mall with it. Finally my cousin Kenia convinced me to get it and the day before we left Mexico she and I went to the salon and I got the haircut I have been wanting for two years now!

This is the night I first got my new haircut. I had to grow out my bangs!

 

 

Here's how it looks now!

 

My hair grows really fast but I have some barber clippers so it's all good.

 

DIY tie-dye bleached jeans

For this DIY I was inspired by the tie-dye bleached denim everyone seems to be wearing these days. I decided to try this on a pair of jeans I own.

 

For this DIY you will need: a pair of jeans you don't mind bleaching, rubber bands, a bucket, and bleach.

This is the old pair of jeans I started with.

 

Tie all the rubber bands you want. The more you tie, the darker spots you will have.

I decided to use 2 quarts of bleach and 1 quart of water. The more bleach you use, the sooner your denim will whiten.

 

I left my jeans in there for about thirty minutes before I noticed any change. Overall I left my jeans in the bleach for about an hour and thirty minutes. Again it depends on how bleached you want your denim to look so just keep checking every 20-30 minutes until you are satisfied with the look.

After I was happy with the results I rinsed them with cold water and took out all the rubber bands. I then put them in the washing machine (with no detergent!) and dryer.

I was very happy with the results!

My Butterick 4610 tailored jacket!

Butterick 4610

So this is the jacket I have been working on for most of this semester. I love the material (can you believe I actually found it at Joann's?) I know feel like going and making a jacket in every color possible so I can mix and match them with the rest of my wardrobe!
The hardest part about making this jacket would probably have to be all the hand-sewing I had to do. (There was some bleeding involved in the making of this jacket.) The lining, sewn  by hand, was a pain to do, but I think it turned out ok for it being my first jacket I have ever made. Now my dad is already asking me for one!

Frank Gehry Inspiration

One of our projects this semester is looking at the buildings and sculptures of one famous architect and using them as inspiration to create three new looks. In May we will then have to do a presentation that includes the three looks we make as well as what materials we used for them and why. 

My partner and I have to do our project on Frank Gehry.

This architect’s sculptures are known for being inspired by fish and deconstructivism. In fact, he has even been criticized for using a lot of dead space in his buildings. Gehry is known for working with steel and metallic colors such as golds, greys, silvers, and some blues. The textures of his designs are usually smooth and ‘scaly’ looking. For the sketches that we had to come up with, we decided to keep the metallic colors he is known for using such as silver and gold. 

 

Tailoring

So for our class this semester, our projects included making a pair of tailored pants and jacket for ourselves. These would be the best fitting pants and jacket we would ever own, said our teacher. I had already heard the stories as I got ready to start this Contemporary and Couture Tailoring class. It's hard, you'll die, you'll cry, and you're gonna hate yourself were some of the things people that had already taken it told me about the class. Of course, by my first day I was already scared and expecting the worst. You know how every major has that one class that either makes you or breaks you? Well, this was it for the Apparel Design and Product Development students. By the first week two students had already switched to Merch. I thought, "this is serious...."

Well fast forward to today when we have like only two weeks of class left, I am still waiting for that "OMG this is so hard! I'm never gonna get this right, I'm gonna flunk!" moment....still waiting....

I mean it has not been an easy class at all. And I mean that in that it takes like 99% of my time. Seriously, I have had to stay up sewing til 2:00 or 3:00 am only to get up at 7:00am and finish sewing before my class starts at 9:30am. And even though I may feel like dying at the moment (when I have been working on the same seam for what seems endless hours or my teacher tells me to re-do something) I know I will eventually get it right and will never (ever!) forget how to do it next time.

I love how everyone that has stayed in the class works hard and is willing to help out each other whether it be with the group texts late at night explaining how they did a step or letting you borrow their pins!

Dr. S. is one of the best teachers I have ever had (and I'm not just saying that because she'll be reading this). Seriously, I have learned more in just this one semester than I have had my previous three semesters here combined.  Now I just have to survive through my senior collection next year and I will be fine! As long as you work hard for what you want, you'll be fine, no matter how hard or impossible other people tell you it will be.



I leave you now with some sewing memes only a few of you can  relate to: