DIY SHOES WITH T&F SLACK

Tim and Fiona Slack aim to take classic styles to the future. They have worked hard at putting love into their shoes and their marriage since the 1970s , back then they were called Walker shoes but today they trade under the name T&F Slack. Bringing forward the Gibson and 5 eye-lit Derby shoe shapes into 2011 and beyond, but adding bursts of colour in odd but pleasing combinations.

I love the look of a perforated shoe. These come with an underlying colour of your choosing, but how, I hear you ask? In addition to their own available styles you also get the opportunity to play designer with their easy-to-use system available in Liberty, Selfridges and their Notting Hill store in London.

IMAGES FROM COOLHUNTER

I did this post to prove you don't have to spend a thousand bucks to buy a pair of designer shorts. Rolled denim is currently in style, so I thought to take a trip to Edgars to see if they have anything interesting. On the Sale Rail I found a pair of purple skinny jeans in 36. Now, I'm a 32 but with this style of cotton denim you can always have the waist taken in.

Adding bleach to colour dyed cotton reveals an opposing colour that will look professionally dyed if done right. Keep clean, don't over-do it, stick to a style you want and try to have it make sense. In this instance I didn't bleach the back or the belted section, making it look like it was store bought.

When dressing something this loud avoid clashing colours or prints. Diluting it in a sense will make the shorts speak for themselves. Pairing them with more expensive clothing makes it look like it could have been expensive too.

As a final touch, fold the shorts over and up a few times until they reach just above the knee. The jeans cost R100 and bleach no more than R16, considering I spent half an hour with these shorts I'd say it's far better to make something new than spend exorbitant amounts you may not have.

Now go try this and send me your pictures!

DIY FASHION:
"That Rihanna rain just won't let up!"
Proving once more the power of the modern day Blogger, Pelayo Diaz has ventured into another side of the fashion world. Photographed below in his un-usual but fashion forward attire, sans Mickey Mouse ears unfortunately.



Earlier this year, in fact only a few months back Diaz debuted a T-shirt he made on a lazy Saturday at home. A cross bearing and bordering safety pin (which he no doubt borrowed from his Fashion School) design which has since been remarkably popular in the fashion world. They have even stocked in-store, although you can buy it directly from Diaz' hit blog Kate Loves me, which has nothing to do with him being a handsome often scantily-clad model  Spaniard.






But even more remarkable was his Debut into the Music Video Fashion world where Rihanna has been making her name as a cutting edge and fierce Fashionista. Unlike the often contrived attempts from Beyonce and Shakira, Rihanna in my opinion makes it look more natural. And Lucky design student and model Pelayo Diaz can add her to his growing list of celeb interest. Featured below in the 'Hard' music video was the outfit of safety pins he was asked to make.






Go out and listen to her new CD 'Rated R' because it's exquisite and a must-have for your collection. At first I wasn't a fan of the above mentioned track but it's grown on me! So now that you've seen how far a simple DIY venture can take someone, why not pull out your bedazzler, safety pins or paper transfers and see what you can do?

Customize your clothing and shoes!

I'm all for customizing-- Taking something and turning it into an original by-product of it's former self. Why not? The world is an advanced place and such things are easy. Who says you can't wear $500 shoes and pair it with a shirt you bought at a second hand store? You can tear and cut and bedazzle the hell out of something so why not go a step further and customize your T-shirts or shoes as well? You can even do them without lifting a finger... well figuratively of course. You'll need a finger to click your mouse!

Nike came up with a great concept of customizing your trainers, which can be done at NIKEiD! Once you've selected colours, stripes and laces and what have you, your design gets uploaded onto their system and you get credit for said design. Here you can also buy your design and have them ship it to you.




As for shirts the same can be said for Shirtsmyway.com who boast 7 trillion options for your shirt design. Just remember that less is more! You might want to take a look at leading designers for inspiration on this one.



You may recall I mentioned that I often make my own T-shirts with a printer and transfer paper- it's easy and guarantees you will be the only one around with it.



Now you have no one to blame but yourself if you don't like your clothes!

DIY

I have a new obsession and it doesn't include Anne Hathaway or Meryl Streep. For a while I've been thinking about T-shirts for guys. In America I noticed there are loads of fun options in great cuts and necks, whereas here in South Africa we are pretty limited. Woolworths is a large corporate retailer who hit their woman's wear on the nose, in fact most South African stores get it right when it comes to the female form, but completely keep us guys in the dark. Crew neck is a standard option, and they are always too short for me, and if you find a V neck by some miracle it's a very short V.

So in contemplating this and the assortment of cool idea's I had for designs on said Imaginary/Fantasy/Invisible T-shirt, I stumbled on something very cool: Transfer, wait for it... Paper!
You buy them at your local stationary store, take it home, print something (reversed naturally) from your regular printer and iron it onto a t-shirt of your choice... and hey presto! you have your own custom made design.

This one was just for kicks , it reads "MOJAVE WEST YACHT CLUB" on the front and "AHOY SAILOR" on the back. Why not see what you can do?