DIY OR DIE: DREAMSICLE SHORTS

I recently developed an obcession with dip-dyed, ultra destroyed shorts. Because a.) shorts are my favorite article of clothing, b.) I love anything holey and destroyed, c.) I love Easter pastels. And because I'm a cheap son of a bitch, I figured I'd make my own. Because I believe real fashion is about DIY and sharing with others, here's how to transform a pair of mom jeans into dreamsicle shorts. Of course, if you don't feel up to it, then please, drop me a line via paypal and I will gladly whip you up a pair. :) Much love, The AnnaChrist.





Start with a pair of mom jeans. If it ain't high-waisted, don't bother. High-waisted, high and wasted, these are good things. I prefer Levis 550s. The perfect mom cut. Flatters white girl bottoms and makes waists look teensy. It's got to be heavy-weight denim and 100% cotton. Levis FTW. To give you an idea of fit with 550s, I wear a 5 in them and I'm 120 lbs, 25" waist, 35" hips. Where does one find said Levis? The pair in this tutorial was bought on Ebay for $1.50. That's right, folks. A buck fitty. But I've paid up to $15 for a pair before.





Cut em. High on the thigh, reasonable in the inseam. Gives em good shape. Don't cut too short at first. You can always go shorter later, not longer...

Shred. I use the unsafe method of a blade while wearing the shorts, and holding the fabric taut away from my body. A bunch of horizontal slashes do the trick. When you wash them later, your clean slices will turn into glorious, shreddy destroyed holes.



Bleach. Get a bucket, or fill a sink with straight bleach. Add shorts. Wait. If you soak them in bleach and let them sit in the sun, it quickens the process. Rinse. This is usually when I chuck them in the wash (I then let air-dry). This is when the slashes get glorious.













Dip dye. Fill a bucket with hot, hot water from the tap. Add RIT liquid dye (it's my fav) and dip the wet shorts. Start with wet shorts because it absorbs the dye into the fiber better. Mix colors to achieve desired effects and dilute with water for opaque to pastel. Get creative with your colors!







Then rinse, let air-dry and boom. Dreamsicle shorts. Here's some others I've done.









Pair with a crop top and Doc Martens. :)

Chameleon

Halloween weekend - Santa Cruz
The weekend after - tentatively San Francisco
My life - too good

Scattered thoughts, colorful memories, shattered light, around the clock giddiness























via fuck yeah stam/studded hearts/pussy money weed/google/fuck yeah black chicks with tattoos/pussy money weed/google/pussy money weed/google/fuck yeah black chicks with tattoos/pixie market

In short I'm digging on color, chameleons, afrocentricity, cats, ink, redheads and Djarum Blacks.

Bringing Back the Brazilian

The Brazilian bathing suit that is.

These shots are from a shoot I did back in July or August with friend and extremely talented photographer Christian Devoe.

I realized I owned a few vintage brazilian swimsuits and was in the mood for some sick candy colors.

This is what became of it.











And because I need candy colors in my life so bad right now...



THIS NEXT

A Love Letter to Los Angeles

Why had I never heard of Echo Park before? That neighborhood of LA is incredible amounts of fun.

I could not possibly sum up how truly, madly, deeply in love with SoCal I am. So let me just give you a slice, a synopsis of last week, and you can extrapolate from there. Because that wasn't just an extraordinarily awesome week-- they're all like this.

So last weekend was INCREDIBLE. Turns out SoCal's Six Flags is bigger, badder, better. And we went seven to midnight, which is a very refreshing time to ride coasters. Then I spent an evening in downtown LA after taking some pictures at the B-boy block party. I told you I was obcessed didn't I?

Last Wednesday I saw Autolux and Broken Bells at The Wiltern, a beautiful old 1920's deco movie theater turned music venue. That was a beautiful show, period. Then on Thursday night, my roomie and I headed into LA, Westwood to be precise, to hang out with her beyond fabulous cousins and their roommates. Friday was an all day toxcicology conference at UCLA, ate at Deedee Reese (create/customize an ice cream cookie sandwich for $1.50), saw The Social Network (excellent!), spent an afternoon at Venice Beach (I'm in love) and then Saturday evening and Sunday morning in Hollywood/Echo Park/Koreatown with a boy that's probably too good to be true.

I've been lucky to be meeting/hanging out with/getting to know some truly amazing people. I'm so, so lucky in all regards at the moment.

Can you guess my current fixations?

























via fuck yeah black chicks with tattoos and Balmain s/s 2011

Penny Pincher

Okay, I want to shop Alexander Wang 24/7 just like you but I am now a graduate student on a stipend. This means making my dollar dominate the shit outta your dollar.

Inspirations:









via doppelganger, fashion gone rogue x 2/stockholm street style

I particularly love that last girl's outfit.

Now, penny pinching in practice. It's all about handmade, Etsy and eBay. Everything under $100.



That Rick Owens-esque beauty is handmade by a blogger and on eBay right now!





Both of these are from small-scale designer Audrey Cantwell. I have a sweater jacket from her Salem collection that I adore. Her stuff is available at her Etsy shop.



This vintage beauty is $46!





The suede panel riding leggings are $49 and the black leather panel shorts are $55, both from Leilanniland. All handmade.



Okay so this moto vest stunner is $120, but damn. Handmade at Mommy the Robot.

And because every girl in grad student needs a little bit of luck with that heaping helping of hard work...



Sterling silver, $14, 14k gold, $22, both handmade by Miss Ashley Lu.

Now how to blow all that money you just saved?



Sydney Evans, blackened white gold cross with diamonds. Available at Ylang 23, Dallas, for a mere $900.

Being broke ain't an excuse not to look good.