Fur Trimmed Leather Vest

Once upon a time, there was a black leather jacket. It no longer carried any coolness in its current state, so it was 're-invented' in order to comply with current trendy looks. Kind of like Madonna. Or Joan Rivers.

What a sad, lonely leather jacket. Even Fonzie couldn't make this jacket cool. It needs new friends.

The sleeves were donated to give this denim jacket new life.

The zipper was ripped off to give a little 'edge' to this floral jacket.

Finally, what was left of the sad leather jacket was nothing more than a sleeveless, unzipped shell; an even sadder version of it's original state.

But what can take sad and make it fabulous and glad more than faux fur? Faux fur makes everything better! It's soft and warm and, did I mention, fabulous!

I took seam binding and fixed the armholes of the now sleeveless jacket, similar to the technique I used when making the sleeveless blazer. I then purchased half a yard of black, faux fur and added it to the front part of the vest where the zipper used to be. I removed the collar and hemmed it where the collar used to be. The result: faux fur fabulousness!

What does one wear such a fabulous piece with, you ask? I suggest a warm white sweater underneath and skinny jeans and boots. I did make this with the intention of pairing it with another re-style. Part II is coming soon! Plus, there is still one final piece ripped from this jacket that can be repurposed. Can you guess what is coming?

Snow is here and this vest is just in time to greet it! Happy thrifting from your chilly, snow shoveling friend in the north!

The Sleeveless Blazer!!!

Remember in the late 80s and 90s how blazers were so darn popular? You just HAD to have one to wear and one that matched everything. Black was a typical color, but red and red plaid were also huge. Speaking of huge, most all came with giganto huge shoulder pads and some sort of gold emblem on the   chest pocket. Sadly, as time passed and trends changed, (thank goodness for no more shoulder pads!) the jackets were moved to the back of the closet and eventually, the thrift stores.

Fast forward until now when blazers are back baby! With a few minor changes, of course. The fall issue of In-Style magazine talked about the trend of sleeveless blazers. They are versatile pieces, that can be worn for casual or for work. I loved the look of both and set off to find myself some cast off, lonely blazers. I found two great blazers that were just begging to be cut up and worn again.

One army green linen blazer and one black double breasted blazer with the coolest buttons. They were also sporting giganto shoulder pads!

To make my sleeveless blazer, I cut off the sleeve very carefully from the jacket. If the jacket is lined, cut the lining just as close as you can to the outside of the jacket. From there, I used double fold seam binding in a coordinating color to make my arm opening look neat.

Once the seam binding was sewn in place, I ironed the armholes for a finished look. I then went to search for items in my closet to wear in both a work and casual setting. In other words, I want to wear these when I hang out and have a good time and also when I have to clock in at 8 am for 8 hours of office work. If this were a magazine spread, I could say 'A great day-to-night look!' 

The blazer can be worn with your favorite rock band t-shirt or any kind of graphic tee.

For a work outfit, I thought I would wear it with a sheer white blouse, giving a bit more warmth to the blouse for the upcoming cold, frosty, winter months. In North Dakota, we typically wear 3 or 4 layers during the winter. Sometimes more.

All could be worn with skinny jeans, skinny dress pants, skirts and boots. Very funky. The whole process took about 30 minutes from cut to last stitch. So run, grab yourself some blazers and start cutting those sleeves off!!!

Happy thrifting from your layered friend of the north!!!

Anarchy Sweater

Don't you just hate it when all you want is a burgundy cardigan with faux leather patches on it and you can't find it anywhere? Why is it that the only place it exists is in your creative imagination? You walk through store after store after store and you just can't find it anywhere. You do searches on the web and while you do find an acceptable solution, it is WAY out of your budget.

What? You don't have this problem? I thought everyone wandered the earth in search of a burgundy cardigan with faux leather patches. Huh. Silly me.

Well, I do. Or so I did. Until I finally gave in and went to the thrift store and found a cream colored cardigan that I introduced to a bottle of RIT burgundy dye. I was so dye happy, that I forgot to take a before picture. But I did take a picture of the process.

Yes, the bucket in the sink looked like a bloody mess. I highly recommend doing this process while watching Sons of Anarchy. This way, the bloody mess in the sink will not look unlike that of the crazy drama that ensues on Sons. Every commercial break, go and stir the mix. Use very hot water and salt. When you are done, roll the sweater in a black or red towel and air dry. Once it is dry, wash the sweater in cold with the red or black towel to get out any excess dye. Again, air dry that sweater.

I added two strips of faux black leather down the sleeves. Of course, the buttons on the sweater turned pink rather than burgundy, so I substituted them with black buttons. The end result was exactly what was living inside my imagination.

The great thing about this sweater, in addition to it being vintage, is that it is 100% cotton. Love a cotton sweater!!!!! (play Weezer song here) Don't be afraid to grab that packet of dye to make something the color that you want it to be. Leather patch sweaters fetch hefty price in stores currently. This one cost me $7.50. Not too shabby. And the mess was probably easier for me to clean up than the one Jax Teller had to deal with.

Happy thrifting from your burgundy friend of the north. Stay classy!!!!