I did a massive spring cleaning and fought the urge to bury my head in the sand when I came across some of my old clothes. Three words: Club Monaco sweatshirt. Or how about six: pastel blue Old Navy tank top. These 90s fiascos are on the way to the Salvation Army - but before yelling sayonara, I had to heed the call of two irresistable words: "Fashion Challenge." With only a pair of scissors, could I turn my lame clothes into something worthy of Kera Magazine?
I immediately recalled a ripped-up Mar Jour t-shirt (above) that I saw on Refuse to be Usual (the eBay store that sells Gothic Lolita/Punk/Visual Kei wear). The cutsew looks like it's falling to pieces - and it's listed at a whopping $100. The Punk Lolita response? DIY!
I started with a white, longsleeve Nordic turtleneck that I wore to ski lessons years ago. I chopped off the neck and the sleeves at the elbow, and giant horizontal chunks out of the sleeves and front. I slipped the Swiss cheese remnents over a black/red/white Sex Pistols t-shirt, securing it with safety pins over Johnny Rotten's eyes.
To accessorize, I added Vertigo and Batman buttons, a Warrior Princess-style leather corset bracelet, black mask, and mis-matched red striped/skull-printed knee highs. A Gloomy Bear plushie is safety-pinned to my Lolita petticoat-poof from Spider. Not a bad replica - and it didn't cost me a cent.
My next look was inspired by the I-got-stuck-in-a-car-door-and-dragged-fifty-feet jeans often worn by Harajuku punk boys. Think Sex Pot Revenge, Sexy Dynamite London, or HellCatPunks.
I gleefully tore strips out of old Club Monaco dress pants, leaving the pieces to hang from the sides. I picked up the disembodied sleeves from my white Nordic turtleneck and gave them the same treatment. Voila - punk armbands!
I wrapped one leg of leopard-print leggings around my left leg, and one leg of cherry-red tights around the right. My dad's white tie is twisted into skinny scarf/noose. The "ninja top" is from Kunpado, a stall in London's Camden Market. What do you think?
Coming up next: I turn rejected sweaters into deconstructed masterpieces inspired by h.NAOTO's latest collection!
