My poor Nikki Moose has been catching some heat from voters, judges, and even the host of the America’s Most Stylish Blogger competition for actually being creative and original. That was until guest judge Nicole Miller came along. Nicole gave our good friend Nikki some positive praise this week, when she took a vomit inducing, bubble gum pink skirt and dyed it into a chartreuse (?) colored head scarf. However, while the internationally recognized designer praised Miss. Nikki, the Mary Murphy reject host (please reference the show So You Think You Can Dance), Melissa Foss made sure the world new that Nikki apparently “broke the rules.” Wait, wait, wait! This is fashion, and last I checked there were no rules. If I could get an explanation as to what made up “‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’”rule she broke I would love to hear it.

It’s only week three and my annoyance, and downright nausea, levels for this producer determined “competition” are at an all time high. Call me bias (which I clearly am), but any one of those other cookie cutter looks (no offense to the other contestants, I wasn’t feeling it this week) shown this week could have been replaced by a boring screenshot from Gossip Girl. So unfortunately for Nikki, and all you other edgy fashion folk out there, it seems we have another “Attack of the Clones” situation on our hands.

Regardless, I can’t encourage you enough to get over to Stylist.com or Dirtyflaws.com to vote for Nikki, she deserves every last vote she gets.

PS. Rumor has it I have a certain Momma Moose reading these little rants I’ve been typing haha. I’d encourage you all to vote for her as America’s Most Stylish Blogger too, but unfortunately Stylist.com overlooked her application for the competition. Looks like she’ll just have to settle for Mom Of The Year instead…bummer!

The ’80s eyes are back, learn how to build the smoldering, shadowy eye seen all over the runways recently.

See more videos on modelinia.com

LINK LOVE: Modelinia

Last week I wrote an article informing you of Stylist.com’s epic hunt for America’s Most Stylish Blogger, and with week two under way I want to remind you all to vote (preferably for Nikki Moose, as she clearly deserves to win). You can vote once a day, so get clicking. I have attached the link to Nikki’s site .dirtyflaws. below so you can read about her look this week, as well as cast your vote. So get voting people. Let’s see a truly unique, edgy stylist win for once! I’m getting sick of people praising this middle of the road bullshit.

LINK LOVE: .dirtyflaws.

I saw these awesome gold plated staples on Like Cool and it hit me- office supplies can make for awesome accessories and outfit embellishments. For those of you who are into studs, a stapler is a cheap and unique alternative to a bedazzling grommet gun, and seeing how easy they are to remove, you don’t have to worry about garment damage when you get sick of the staples! Wouldn’t blazer lapels look awesome with these gold staples outlining them as if it were studded stitching? Give it a whirl, otherwise, do what Corey does and decorate your jacket lapels with paper clips!

This week we’ll be offering you a bunch of Halloween suggestions from Vloggers on that big old free television of the internet, YouTube. In this installment, makeup beauty Michelle Phan teaches you how to get the perfect Sailor Moon Look.

By far the best purchase you can make right now. 100% customizable Converse. With over 13 pieces of remixable sections, it’s not only the perfect get out of work activity, it’s also down right addictive.

LINK LOVE: Converse

I might idolize Erin Wasson, but charging $160 and claiming profound fashion design on her Erin Wasson x RVCA splatter paint, inside-out fleece pants is completely ridiculous. I came across these at Opening Ceremony this weekend, and yeah, they look pretty cool, but these are totally a DIY project and NOT worth more than $5.

Ready for the foolproof DIY instructions? Good.

Step One: Go to Wal-Mart

Step Two: Buy sweatpants and paint

Step Three: Wear and wash the hell out of the sweatpants

Step Four: Splatter paint on the inside of the sweatpants

Step Five: Allow drying time

Step Six: Wear.

What some people try to make money off of these days…

Our dearest friend, and DIY guru, Alex Chapman talks about his style choices, fashion inspirations, and life in general.

Alex Chapman from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

Check out how to DIY a version of the Lanvin necklaces from the AW10 season

LINK LOVE

I fell in love with these killer Alain, over the knee boots, which of course, Pixie Market doesn’t have in my size, but I did spot my next DIY project! As a Buffalo native, I’m pretty well versed in long-underwear (hey, it gets pretty damn cold in the winter!) and I never found a use for them besides under my snowboard equipment. The picture above inspired me to take a pair of scissors to my waffle long-underwear and create my own matching shorts and leggings. They’re super casual, super comfortable and although it may be too chilly to wear bare-legged now, throw a pair of textured tights underneath and you’re in business! Nothing special but still super cute!

Image via Pixie Market.

Ever since they came out I’ve been stuck in a non-stop drool fest over these amazing shoes. But since (for a number of reasons) I’d probably never even SEE a real pair of these, I decided to go on a quest to make some inspired by those gorgeous, oh-so-expensive and oh-so-sold-out Chloe Studded Ankle Boots.

I’ve documented my journey for you to enjoy and even replicate if you have the patience… and if you don’t check out my Etsy shop where I’ll make you a custom pair with YOUR design in the size and color of your choice!

Materials:

*3 bags (300 pc.) Gold Heavy Duty Studs size 20 (found mine at Kit Craft)
*Leather 3 Buckle Ankle Boots (found mine at Revival Clothing)
*2? thick Wooden Board
*pliers (rounded nose works best)
*hammer
*small flathead nail
*scissors
*tape
*thin permanent marker
*metal thimble
*printed paper design
*1/2? thick by 1 1/2? wide wooden board cut to taper at one end

The Process:

A little backstory on my materials: The boots I chose have the similar 3 buckle configuration to the Chloe ones and are handmade from Revival Clothing. They are surprisingly SUPER comfortable and durable for being “Renaissance period” shoes. As far as the studs go, after much research I found these Heavy Duty Studs from Kit Kraft which were the only ones small enough and with prongs thick enough to make it through leather.

STUDDING THE STRAPS:
Step 1- Place the 2? thick wooden board on a flat sturdy surface (for me I just worked on the ground in my garage). Then take the 1st strap you’re going to work on and place it over the board
Step 2- Starting at the tip of the strap, press the prongs of the stud into the leather to make indentations to make a guide where you will hammer in the nail

Step 3- Take the nail and place it over the indentations you just made. Hammer it in until you feel it go through the leather and into the wood

Step 4- Push the stud through the holes you just made with the nail, take the pliers and fold the prongs over and into the leather.

Step 5- *For added stability* take the pliers, place them over the top of the stud and the closed prongs and squeeze gently to bend the prongs further into the leather

Step 6- Repeat “Step 2? with the next stud and then “Step 3?, “Step 4? and “Step 5? (I placed mine every 5 – 6cm apart) working your way up to the base of the strap
Step 7- Repeat “Step 2?, “Step 3?, “Step 4? and “Step 5? consecutively with the next straps until you are finished (make sure to leave room on each strap for the buckle to go through one of the holes… I made it so mine would be able to slip on and off without having to re-buckle the straps)

STUDDING THE TOE:
Step 8- If you haven’t already done so, take your 1/2? thick board and cut the end to taper so it will fit into the smallest part of the shoe’s toe. Then cut the board to the length of your shoe so you can slip it inside the shoe.

Step 9- Make a paper pattern of the design you want on your shoe. Then either print out two of the same or flip the pattern to have a mirrored effect (for me, I used Illustrator to mock up the workable area of the toe and used the circle tool set to a 6cm diameter to act as the studs)

Step 10- Take the paper pattern, cut it out and tape it to the shoe in the position you want. Then poke holes in the design in the center of each circle and mark them on the shoe through the hole with the permanent marker.
Step 11- Once you’re done marking for all the studs remove the paper pattern and put the 1/2? thick board you cut into the shoe
Step 12- Repeat “Step 2? by pressing the prongs into the leather (with the prongs evenly spaced around each marker mark) to make the indentations

Step 13- Repeat “Step 3? by taking the nail and placing it over the indentations. Make sure the wooden board is underneath where you will be working inside the shoe and hammer it in until you feel it go through the leather and into the wood

Step 14- Push the stud through the holes you just made with the nail, take the metal thimble on your finger and (while holding the top of the stud with another hand/finger) fold the prongs over each other and into the leather (I find it helps to have the prongs parallel to the toe and heel of the shoe… it makes it easier to fold them since you don’t have much leverage)

Step 15- *For added stability* take out the wooden board, place the the thimble inside the shoe underneath the newly closed stud and hammer lightly on top to bend the prongs further into the leather
Step 16- Repeat “Step 2?, “Step 3?, “Step 14? and “Step 15? consecutively with the next studs until the design is finished

STUDDING THE HEEL CAP: (very difficult)
I found this to be the most difficult area because there’s no easy way to hold the board in place while you hammer so do this at your own risk…

Step 17- Repeat “Step 2?, “Step 3?, “Step 14? and “Step 15? at the back of the heel consecutively and with the next studs until the design is finished

Post via Cult Indie, written by Alyssa Zukas

After yesterday, everyone knows that Fashion Indie loves Marc Jacobs, but what else do we love? Hardware jewelry. The DIY expert Chic Steals shows us how to make this runway piece in her own way:

–

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- large piece of stiff black felt (8.5″ x 11″)
- black thread
- decorative thread or staples in gold (check the scrapbooking section of the craft store)

- 1 decorative button
- heavy-duty gold snaps (2 sets)
- gold soutache braided trim
- 1 heavy-duty jacket zipper (black with gold teeth)
- gold safety pins (1 large, 15 small)
- clear, flexible plastic (like from a vinyl tabletop cover)

- snap setting pliers/hammer+die for the snaps

- stapler

- needle
- felt or fabric glue

–

1. MAKE THE PARTS Cut the felt into 2 abstract, oblong flower “petals” 2 flower “petals”. To make the triangle-shaped petals, cut the plastic into 2 diamond shapes. Cut the zipper into 3 lengths, each piece measuring 10″ long. Fold each length in the center to make a rounded petal shape; secure the inside with 2 gold staples (or hand-sew stitches in decorative thread).

2. MAKE THE CUFF AND BASE From the felt, cut out the base of your flower parts: a circle measuring approximately 1.25″ in diameter. Then cut a 2″ wide strip that is long enough to go around your wrist plus a 3/4″ for overlap for the snaps. Use snap-setting pliers (like Dritz), or hammer and die to set 2 snaps (and their counterparts) into the ends. Because they are strong, we chose shanked snaps; alternatively, you could use sew-on snaps.

3. ADD THE EMBELLISHMENT Using a needle and thread, hand-sew your parts onto the felt base. Start with a felt petal, then a zipper petal, then a plastic petal in a corkscrew design; repeat, attaching each new petal on top of the previous one. Wind the braided trim in and out of the petals in a figure-8 pattern, securing in the center with a few stitches. Then hide all of your stitching with a button sewn into the center. Pin safety pins haphazardly around the edge of one of the felt petals; thread 10 smaller pins onto the larger pin and attach. Complete the look by adding yet more staples or decorative thread.

4. ATTACH BASE TO CUFF Glue felt base to the center of the cuff. Secure further by sewing around edge of the circle base with decorative thread.

To let the cuff rock out on its own, wear with something demure…or do a full-on Marc Jacobs style, with a nipped-in shrunken jacket, mismatched obi belt, super-long denim pencil skirt, and teeny porkpie straw hat set akilter.

Still have questions? Email me at CarlyJCais AT FashionTribes.com. Otherwise, happy DIY-ing!

–

I’m so excited to try this DIY, I’ll let you know how it goes! 

SOURCE: Chic Steals

This project has been a couple weeks in the making, and I apologize for the lack of DIYs but I’ve been confined to my bedroom and doing nothing but watching season 3 of the OC, ripping up a 5-pack of vnecks, and spending a lot of time with my new seam ripper and sewing kit.  Making the “perfect” destroyed tee is very hit or miss, you make one mistake and it looks like you tried too hard (too much scissors, not enough ‘I didn’t try to do this but it still works’).

I got a 5-pack of Vnecks for about $11, a seam ripper for $2, pack of safety pins for $2, and a small sewing kit for $2.  Here’s what I came up with:

This was my first attempt. Someone left their vneck tee at my house, and I decided I wanted a new shirt to wear. One small snip along the seam of the neckline, and I ripped the neck out by hand. This is very difficult to control, but is a much better option over scissors. I then cut the sleeves off very deep, and tied the back together with a small string I made from the scraps.

Second attempt, this one is a lot more controlled. I cut the scoop neck shape with scissors and let the fabric curl on its own. I cut the sleeves on their seam line, and then cut the left side down to a thin strap.  With the right, I twisted it tightly, and then secured it with an old chain I found from a broken necklace.  I wrapped the chain around the twist a few times and then knotted it.  It isn’t completely secure, but enough to keep the twist in tact. I also ripped the hole with a seam ripper.

This one is really easy.  If you liked the cropped tee look, just chop off a tshirt just below your waistline, so that when it curls up it will be right at your waistline.  I then used a seam ripper and ripped the neckline from the middle until I was about halfway to the shoulder. I then took safety pins and pinned the neckline back to the shirt.

This one was kindof a forced accident. When I ripped the neck after cutting the sleeves off, I almost tore the straps I had just made, so I had to use scissors to make sure I didn’t break the strap, and then I tied the loose ends around the straps in knots.  I cut the sleeves very deep and wide so there was only a small strip in the back, and then took one of the scraps and cut it into a long strip and began wrapping it around the strip I had just made so that when I reached the end the strings were equal on both sides, and then I knotted them and let the extra hang down.  

Now for the difficult, still in progress work:

Shredding is a lot harder than it looks.  As I’ve figured out so far, you take a seam ripper and snag a thread, and then use the seam ripper to force the strands to unravel.  It’s very tedious, and I haven’t quite figured it out enough to share, but am still working on it.  I’m thinking a video in the days to come would suffice?

It’s that time again where big name designers tantalize us with flawless couture, forcing us to the shallows of wishing we were trust fund babies and had the means to rock haute Dior. Despite the fact that the recession has dictated the death of luxury, some of us still dream of flaunting a Birkin Bag and owning real Yves Saint Laurent cage heels. 

I applaud this ballsy individual who decided to carry a “couture” Chanel purse, constructed from a paper bag, a permanent marker and a chain. Although I really dig the sloppily drawn logo, you could get really creative and actually design your own luxury paper bag purse. And if you’re really into it, laminate it for multiple uses! 

I’m not the best sketcher. I can barely paint. My sewing skills aren’t the best. But this DYI, this I can do. This I will do. 

Thanks Fashion Copious!

I want to go to this event SO badly. For all you DIY fanatics (in NY, of course), Urban Outfitters is hosting an event to teach you all the ins and outs of being a great DIYer.  Space is limited (60 spaces) so reserve your spot quickly, and they’re also featuring a contest for VIP spots, email tmgong@gmail.com with a photo of your best DIY project and what the art means to you, and you may be one of the lucky 10! Hope to see you all there!

SOURCE: Six Six Sick

So you probably remember how we lusted over the A-Morir by Kerin.Rose chain sunglasses sold by Patricia Field, but we can’t all afford those…I know I can’t. We’ve decided to implement a new column here at Fashion Indie, where we show you how we DIY our favorites over the weekend. Here’s our take on the glasses:

A bit less glam (I couldn’t find rhinestones anywhere), and a bit more flashy, but I think I did this design justice.  Here’s the steps to recreate my weekend project!

MATERIALS:

-A lightweight chain, about a half in thick(I got this one from Rebecca, but St. Marks or Chinatown is great for them)

-A pair of sunglasses, these were $6 in St. Marks. It works best to have glasses with a flat top, so that you can glue the chain in a straight line.

-Super glue, you can get this at any drugstore and it’s only about $3

STEPS:

Disclaimer: This project is NOT easy. Be SUPER careful to not get superglue on your hands, or on the lenses (I learned this the hard way, nail polish remover can take it off).  If I were to do this project again, I’d suggest putting tape over the lenses just to be sure you don’t glue them.

1. Put a thin layer of superglue on the top of the glasses, where you will be gluing the chain, this way the chain can bond to the glue, as opposed to the very difficult feat of gluing it to the smooth plastic

(you are now the first witness to the mess I created while trying to make these…)

2. Start to glue the chain links together, where they would naturally fall. I glued 5 together to begin to form a straight line, this also makes it a lot easier to control individually glueing the rest of the links on.

3. Once you have a few links together, glue your section to the middle of the glasses. When the chain is laying flat there are small oval-shaped flat sections, you want to put the glue on each of these sections and hold the chain to the glasses until it completely dries (around 30 seconds).

4. Begin to individually glue on the rest of the links.  Continue to glue using the flat parts of the links, and if they are not staying secure, try continuing to glue the links together.

(glue the links together where each one points)

5. Continue to glue each link until you reach the edge of the glasses. It’s really important that each link is completely dry before you move onto the next one, or else they’ll just fall off and you’ll have to start over, and let me tell you, that’s really frustrating.

6. Let your glasses sit overnight before you wear them, even though they seem completely dry, you want to make sure nothing will fall off before you debut them. And if you aren’t confident enough to wear these super-flashy glasses on your face, try wearing them as a necklace:

What do you guys think? Send us pictures if you decide to DIY these glasses, and tell us more projects you’d like to see in upcoming weekends.  Also, any tips to make it easier for you, feel free to share. Do you like the pictures, or want to see videos?

UPDATE:

Outsapop reblogged this DIY, and let me in on some new info! Amber Rose was pictures in Paris months ago wearing Chanel chain sunglasses, and after scouring Ebay I found them!  They’re vintage, so they’ve been around long before Kerin Rose or Fashion Indie’s DIY project, but are currently bid at over $850, so this is an even further lust for our readers. Regardless, lust on:

Bid on them on Ebay

Another Update: These glasses were originally around years ago by Mercura, which I’ve found out through chains and chains of emails. Here’s their site, and if there are any other designers that claim this is their design, talk to each other, not me. I’m not a designer, just an arts and crafts kid.