DIY Style – Fabulously Green

Category archives: DIY Style

FASHION | One Dress, 365 Ways

04Sep09

You’ve heard the saying: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again — and expecting different results.” But in the case of the Uniform Project, insanity has been reinvented and yielding unexpectedly stylish and sustainable results. All in the name of charity.

This is a project of true innovation. How many of us would ever dare to wear the same look, every day, for a year? Sheena Matheiken has set out on such a quest to see how one foundational garment can be transformed when styled with vintage, sustainable or recycled accessories:

Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir.

Here’s a sampling of some of my personal faves:

day127_uniformproject day6_uniformproject
Above Left: Day 124. Paired with thrifted blouse from Beacons Closet, printed tights gifted by Cathy, Vintage shoes from eBay. Hand-crocheted sterling silver necklace donated by Siri of Treehouse Brooklyn. Above Right: Day 6. Paired with fabric necklace by Etnyk paired with a thrifted cherry blossom top, metallic socks and vintage clogs.

Filed under DIY Style, Fashion - Women| Tagged Fashion blogs, Recycled fashion, Uniform Project | 5 Comments

DIY Style File | Not Your Grandma's Sewing Patterns

12Feb08

Has Project Runway Season sparked a sudden pang to learn to sew? Whether you’re a maven with an overlock machine or a fashionable first-timer learning the difference between a needle and thread, you can find some au courant patterns that reflect your chic modern style and creative spirit. Burdastyle is an open-source pattern and how-to site featuring easy to difficult projects that are oh-so wearable.

Sew Many Goodies:

Free instructions and downloadable pdf patterns ranging from a gorgeous Garbo Skirt to a gaga grocery bag like this one below
A visual feast of end results (called “creations“) showing members’ takes on a pattern
A sewpedia with pictures to help you learn lingo, styles, fabrics and more
A forum to share tips, sewing Rx questions and offer mutual inspiration

Make it Fabulous: Style by Rescue

Raid the Goodwill or your local thrift store for your blank canvas. Gives you the freedom to experiment, goof up without guilt.
Raid your closet for cast-offs begging for a makeover.
Raid your boyfriend or S.O.’s closet for neglected tees, shirts, denim. You can dye them a radical color and transform them into a to-die-for outfit.

Editor’s Note: I’ve been MIA of late I know. It started with throwing out my back and subsequent physical therapy (good God am I at that age where I tell everyone and the postman about my back ailments? Stop me now.) Between designing my client’s residence, launching a job search and gluing myself to CNN like a election junkie, while doing my physical therapy program I’ve had little desire to string words together to make a sentence. Many of you have sent me some fabulous finds and I thank you for continuing the hunt for fab green ideas! Slowly catching up so stay tuned…

Filed under Budget Fashion, DIY Style, Fashion - Women, Refashion+Refurb| Tagged Burdastyle, design-it-yourself, DIY Style, sewing patterns | 2 Comments

DIY Style File: [re]Store those Shoes

23Apr07

If you’ve been warming up to the idea of greening your wardrobe on a budget, here are a few ways to “chic up” your shoe collection and unleash your inner designer.

TIRED TURNED TRENDY
Mary Kay Newcomb generously shares how to turn those tired into trendy ankle boots. Her Shoe-torial is packed with instructions, sources for design-it-yourself inspiration and photos. Worth a click and a bookmark.

CUTTING EDGE STYLE
This one involves playing with sharp objects so proceed with caution. All you need is an exacto knife and a stencil design to create your own inspired style. Inspiration and instructions found at meandering.

For more tips on how to update your style check out Treehugger’s piece on how to Pimp Your Shoes.

Other fab green ideas anyone?

Filed under Budget Fashion, DIY Style, Fashion - Women, Shoes| Tagged DIY Style, Eco-friendly, fashion+style, Shoes, style, Treehugger | No Comments

10 Great Things

27Sep06

…to do while FG is on hiatus until next week:

1. Visit the West Coast Green Expo (San Francisco)
Three days of new products, seminars, free organic libations and snacks. Designers get the green carpet treatment on Thursday and Friday, and homeowners are welcome this Saturday. A must-see for Californians thinking of a home makeover.

2. Snag your free copy of Greenstyle Magazine’s Fall issue.
Fresh off the virtual presses! Full of inspiring ideas. Uh, did I mention it’s free?

3. Fill the holes in your wardrobe with preloved fashions on ebay.
If you’re ebay-challenged like me, fiftyrx3 reports weekly on the best vintage “ebaybees” for gals [check out the 9/24/06 entry]. She always finds the goods.

4. Sign up for a local Swap-o-rama [in the US and Canada]. If there isn’t one in your area, get some friends together and swap away.

5. Engage in a little wardrobe surgery.
Pull out those oldies and make them into goodies. If you’re gifted at sewing turn to preloved or TRAID for inspiration. For sewing-challenged Londoners Junky Styling will take your cast-offs and create fresh fall looks just for you. Lucky!

6. Peruse FG Style Hive, or Flickr galleries. Featuring pics of great FG finds past, present and future (get a sneak peek!).

7. Mine for gems in the FG archives.
We sort all entries by category so if you’re searching for that certain rug, or cool duds for guys, you can find a bunch of goodies in one place.

8. Thinking about living green? Check out Ideal Bite, a sassy substantive site offering daily green bites to live by.

9. Win Free Stuff.
G Living offers fabulously green giveaways weekly for faithful Forum chitter chatters. Past prizes have included Del Forte Jeans, organic beauty products, and handmade jewelry. Join the G Living Community and see if you get lucky. Plus it’s the perfect place to chat it up about virtually anything green.

10. Spread buzz. There are lots of great sites and blogs showing the best of green. Check out our Fabulous Links, choose your favorites and pass them on!

Got a great idea? Add it to the list!

We’ll be back next Wednesday with lots of fab finds in store for ya! I can’t wait!

Filed under DIY Style, Fashion - Women, Lifestyle Tips| Tagged Eco-friendly | No Comments

Project Runway Ignites Passion for Re-fashion

13Jul06

In celebration of tonight’s season 3 premiere of my favorite show Project Runway, I ordered a new book to help get me on my sewing way: 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Special. Here’s an image of a design found on p. 72. Looking at the customer reviews on Amazon.com the designs are styling (with a youthful bent) and the instructions are foolproof. They better be since I barely know how to sew. But I figure it’s a low stakes way of experimenting. I’ll update you on my progress.

If you saw tonight’s episode, the designers were asked to create an outfit from materials found in their apartments. Ottomans, rugs, shower curtains and duvet covers were ripped to shreds and transformed into gowns, baby doll dresses and coats. Talk about refashioned. And if you are a PR fan, I’ve included photos of my favorite recreations. How do you rate them? If you didn’t see it, what are you waiting for?

A flapper-like dress made from coffee filters by Michael. Very Gatsby, and it scored my winning vote. The texture was gorgeous like a pleated silk and it was truly innovative. Sadly it didn’t take first prize by the judges but it did qualify Michael to go on to the next round:

This ensemble exudes Grace Kelly glamour with a little modern bling bling (and ching ching) on the hemline. Designer Laura reused a fur rug, metal leaves from a chandelier, an IKEA mobile and upholstery fabric. She earned my points for bringing disparate materials together and making an elegant, cohesive ensemble:

This dress won tonight’s challenge. It was a well designed and tailored gown from a bedsheet. Not particularly innovative, but definitely the most beautiful, wearable garment on the runway tonight. Congratulations Keith (though his attitude could use some refashioning).