Halloween’s TOMORROW (OMG!) and you may still be wondering what to wear. (For the record, it’s been dictated that I will be Splinter, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ rat trainer and Master of Ninjutsu…as dictated by Lil Tot, who is tickled at the idea of me playing second fiddle to his Leonardo. Teenage Mutant Turtle, that is…not Da Vinci. Who incidentally might be a pretty cool DIY Halloween costume for a guy using just a bandage, a brown tweed jacket, and some paintbrushes…but I digress.) If you’re freaking out about what to wear – try raiding your closet to become one of these inspiring (and fashionable!) ladies:
Anna Wintour (former Editor of American Vogue and current Artistic Director of Conde Nast)
The grandmother of American fashion and symbol for generations of style personified, Anna Wintour’s classic look is easily made with a pair of oversized sunglasses, neutral coat with furry collar, and A-line dress.
You Need: large sunglasses, bob (or faux bob if your hair is longer), beaded choker necklace, neutral overcoat, furry scarf or collar, stiff A-line dress, black pantyhose, low-heeled nude sandals or brown knee boots, copy of Vogue magazine.
Sue Sylvester (character from TV series Glee)
That outspoken and terribly evil rival and the Glee club’s worst antagonist, Sue Sylvester is instantly recognizeable in her trademark tracksuit with accompanying bullhorn and stopwatch to keep everybody (cheerleading squad included) in line.
You Need: Striped tracksuit, white sneakers, stopwatch, white bullhorn (DIY from some rolled white cardboard, secured with tape). On the series she has appeared in a number of different-colored tracksuits, so any color you have is a go (or a quick Goodwill purchase).
Janelle Monae, award-winning singer/songwriter
With that trademark pompadour and borrowed-from-the-boys image, Janelle Monae’s stylish duds are easily re-creatable with just a tailored suit, bow-tie, and slicked hair.
You Need: Tailored white or black suit, tie, bow-tie, or black ribbon, rhinestone stud earrings, rat, sock, or donut to build a large pompadour on.
The Duchess of Cambridge, public figure
The whole world has watched as the Duchess of Cambridge has shot to fashionista status with her wardrobe of kicky prim dresses and coats, ever-present pantyhose, classic heels, and sweet little hats.
You Need: Flared coat-dress, opaque black hose, prim black heels, pillbox hat (cover a clean tub or can with felt or fabric for a last-minute DIY and pin in place). (optional: baby doll swaddled in a blanket)
Cher Horowitz (character from the movie Clueless)
This iconic character from the 90’s mainstay Clueless picked her wardrobe via computer to ensure ultimate matching. Don separates with a sassy mini-skirt, knee-socks, and a ton of shopping bags so you won’t let that jeep’s trunk space go to waste. As if!
You Need: Black blazer, white button-down, pleated miniskirt, white knee-socks, maryjane shoes, shopping bags.
Miss Piggy, character from Sesame Street and iconic figure
The original fashion-lover since the 70’s, Miss Piggy is best known for (besides her opinions) her bright pink wardrobe, opera-style white gloves, and classy long curly hair.
You Need: tight pink dress (or pink bathtowel), white elbow-length gloves, triangle ears on a headband (DIY your own with painting some cardboard triangles peach and taping to a headband), faux eyelashes, feather boa, pink eyeshadow, large rhinestone earrings, necklace, and bracelet, green stuffed frog (optional).
So all the Fashion Weeks around the world – New York, Paris, London, Milan (and Portland, LOL!) – have now concluded and it’s time to do a final wrap-up of all those great ideas and put some inspiration on file to add to the DIY queue. So what’s in store for this coming Spring? And what are you DYING to DIY? Let’s take a look at some amazing runway pieces and see how we can interpret them for creative fashion-lovers on a budget (AKA the Rest of the World):
Left:Take a cue from 3.1 Phillip Lim and add agate-inspired layers of fabric paint to an artfully-cut hem of a white top. Stitch in a layer of sheer fabric underneath for length, and some glued-on rhinestone jewels for your sandals. Right:Alexander Wang‘s oversized trousers are potentially an easy DIY by thrifting a pair of too-large gray dungarees and folding the excess fabric towards the front, securing with hand-stitching in the shape of an X at the waistband.
Left:Burberry Prorsum’s chic update on the granny-lace skirt can be made by adding some sew-on rhinestones over the flower motif in a lace pencil skirt (and you could easily make one from a thrifted tablecloth or lace curtain!) Update a pair of sandals too by adding a same-colored rectangle of fabric between the toe-strap and ankle-strap (and just gluing the fabric over the straps on the underside). Right: Simulate the pretty elegance of Carven‘s cutout dress with some DIY floral applique at the sides, and a strategically-placed cut-out in the center of a simple LBD.
Left: A steady hand can mimic the swooping brushtroke motifs at Céline with just some red fabric paint on top of a royal blue T-shirt. Also stitch in a sheer black chiffon underlay to a plain white pleated skirt. Right:Christian Dior‘s breezy shirtdress is a re-tread of 2011’s cutout shoulder trend (but just tuck one side of the front into the button placket and pin in order to steal the look).
Left: Create a suitlike ensemble with mismatched separates with some strategically-placed floral applique (see Carven, above) just like at Creatures of the Wind. Right: Warrior chic is totally attainable by stitching in some neutral fringe trim at the waist of an ivory dress, and adding some tan leather extensions to your flat sandals, inspired by Derek Lam.
Left:Edun‘s pattern play can be re-created by stamping a black X pattern with fabric paint over the bottom half of a white coat, and stamping a larger pattern onto plain white sandal slides. Right: That funny folded skirt outfit at Giambattista Valli could be made by cutting the skirt part off of a wide A-line dress, then slitting the skirt up the center. Flip each side outwards and secure with invisible stitches underneath each roll for the skirt-part, and crop the top part of the dress to create a crop top.
Left:Honor‘s understated dress can be made from a simple black LBD with the addition of sew-on silver star sequins scattered on the collar and pocket. Also: glam up a pair of black flats with some multi-colored pink glitter on the toeboxes by using Mod Podge. (Plus: glittery sunglasses too!) Right:Hand-stitch a couple pieces of black strapping to the bottom of a bikini top to mimic the Jason Wu Spring 2014 strappy bikini.
Left: Create a boldly-striped skirt like at Jil Sander Navy just by streaking a pleated white skirt with some vertical stripes of diluted fabric paint. Right:L.A.M.B.‘s fashion-forward dress can be re-created by sewing a long rectangle of fabric to the bottom of a straight black tanktop, and allowing to gape open for a fun nonchalance. Also: Re-color the tops of white sandals with some Angelus leather paint for that contrasting cobalt hue!)
Left: Taking a page from Markus Lupfer‘s playbook, small cut-out hearts can be made in a sweatshirt by hand-stitching some lace fabric behind each cutout, with the edges hidden by sewn-on ruffled trim. Glue some chunky rhinestones onto the toe-straps of some plain black sandals. (Adorabe Persian kitty sadly not DIY’able!) Right: Go wild with Moschino Cheap & Chic‘s take on Spring: Add some flamingo-shaped iron-on appliques to a plain white purse, create some pink marabou puffball shoeclips, and stamp a white cami and pant-set with flamingos rendered in pink and black fabric paint. Now all you need is a Cosmo!
Ideas from brands beginning with N-Z soon to come!
So finally I’ve finished a DIY video for my latest creation: a Pretty Pearl Beaded Ring. It’s taken a super-long time from the planning to the execution to the editing, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without the help of my co-creator, Emily Dokken. (She’s just awesome – she has a discerning eye for framing artistry and a wonderful energy. Check out one of her other videos: Burning the Behemoth on Vimeo…it’s a fascinating story of an artist’s journey to burn his wooden mammoth creation in Washington.)
I had waited to release this video until after I had re-branded with my new logo and everything…plus finding the music took searching through 600+ tracks on the FreeMusicArchive.
Thank you so much, Emily, for your amazing collaboration!
DIY Pretty Pearl Ring
Camera/Storyboards/First Edit: Emily Dokken
Concept/Tutorial/Second Edit: Carly J. Cais
Music: The Easton Ellises ~Dance It Dance All Motel Costes Mix
http://theeastonellises.com/ under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
from FreeMusicArchive.org
Hope you guys enjoy! Leave us your feedback below 🙂
For the final DIY in my 1 Week of Halloween DIY series, I’m sharing one of my favorite things ever. I LOVE cheese, and always serve it at any get-together or party. Therefore, a cute cheese serving board was in order (and though this can work for Halloween it can work for pretty much any day of the year!) This addition to your Halloween party decor is actually quite easy to make, but it rounds out your table decorations perfectly. Here’s how to make it: (more…)
Saturday I made some DIY Spooky Pictures for the wall, today I want to finish up my mantelpiece decorations with a Owl Picture in the center with its own DIY Spiderwebby Frame. Use some glow-in-the-dark decoupage to add a spooky glowing touch! Here’s how:
Yesterday I made some DIY Spooky Pictures for the wall, today I want to take the mantelpiece decorations a step further with a creepy Eyeball Garland made of paper cutouts (super easy!) and Decoupaged Glow-in-the-Dark Skulls on DIY Stantions. (I don’t even know if they’re actually called stantions per se, I just like how fancy and architectural that sounds;-) You can make these too very easily with just a few supplies. Here’s how:
Carly J. Cais I am a DIY’er, designer, sewist, maker, and marketer. Chic Creative Life is where I share what I do, and help others bring their unique style into their own lives.
Halloween’s TOMORROW (OMG!) and you may still be wondering what to wear. (For the record, it’s been dictated that I will be Splinter, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ rat trainer and Master of Ninjutsu…as dictated by Lil Tot, who is tickled at the idea of me playing second fiddle to his Leonardo. Teenage Mutant Turtle, that is…not Da Vinci. Who incidentally might be a pretty cool DIY Halloween costume for a guy using just a bandage, a brown tweed jacket, and some paintbrushes…but I digress.) If you’re freaking out about what to wear – try raiding your closet to become one of these inspiring (and fashionable!) ladies:
The grandmother of American fashion and symbol for generations of style personified, Anna Wintour’s classic look is easily made with a pair of oversized sunglasses, neutral coat with furry collar, and A-line dress.
So all the Fashion Weeks around the world – New York, Paris, London, Milan (and Portland, LOL!) – have now concluded and it’s time to do a final wrap-up of all those great ideas and put some inspiration on file to add to the DIY queue. So what’s in store for this coming Spring? And what are you DYING to DIY? Let’s take a look at some amazing runway pieces and see how we can interpret them for creative fashion-lovers on a budget (AKA the Rest of the World):
For the final DIY in my 1 Week of Halloween DIY series, I’m sharing one of my favorite things ever. I LOVE cheese, and always serve it at any get-together or party. Therefore, a cute cheese serving board was in order (and though this can work for Halloween it can work for pretty much any day of the year!) This addition to your Halloween party decor is actually quite easy to make, but it rounds out your table decorations perfectly. Here’s how to make it: 
Saturday I made some 
Yesterday I made some 
