Fierce Fashion

Hey, friends!  How are you this spring morning?  It brings my heart joy to see some states opening up, being cautious, of course.  I think our little neck of the woods is ready to get out of lockdown.  When I took these photos at Grapevine Botanical Gardens, there were a fair number of people walking around.  I tried to be very conscientious about getting out of the way, but I didn't notice folks being too concerned about me.  Just a tiny microcosm of American life, I guess.

The Challenge
There were a few "challenges" with this outfit.  To start off, you may remember the Free People top I got from eBay, to which a few inches were added.  Next up, the Wild Fable jeans that you saw a close up of on Friday's post.  Just for fun, here is a side-by-side before and after of the jeans.  Can you pick out four modifications that were made?  (The lighter overall color of the denim is because of the lighting at the time of the photos, so that doesn't count!)  The answer is directly under the photo!

ɹǝʇʇǝq sʇıɟ ɥɔʇoɹɔ ؛ɹǝddoɔ ʍou sı ʎןɟ uoʇʇnq ؛ɥɔʇɐd puoɔǝs ؛ɥɔʇɐd ʇsɹıɟ

The Details
Hahaha, isn't he upside down answer fun?!  It's been pretty cool in the mornings, so a lightweight top like this works well.  The few inches of fabric that were added to the bottom of the shirt left some extra for tying in the front.  The original length would have worked with high-waisted jeans like these, however, since most of mine are mid-rise, it will make the top more workable.  The color was also selected with my new #grannyhair in mind!

The jeans, under normal circumstances, would have been returned since the fit wasn't that good.  Well, these aren't normal circumstances, so I took matters into my own hands.  The changes that were made were 1) the crotch was taken up.  That was a bit of fussy work that entailed ripping out the entire crotch seam roughly from knee to knee and resewing.  Watching a Take up the Rise youtube video walked me through the steps.  2) Painted the button fly copper.  Oddly, the pocket rivets are copper-colored.  Since I don't wear silver at all, the buttons stuck out like a sore thumb.  I used Vintaj® Patina paint that I had on hand.  What I really want to address 3 & 4) the amazing patches!

While I'm generally "about" distressed jeans, the hole on the right knee was just too over-the-top for me.  I'd been seeing the Japanese sashiko or visible mending style float around on the web for awhile.  Since I had time to kill, that is what I used to cover the holes.  The patches were from old jeans that had been cut off to make shorts.  For the largest patch with the design, I watched a video on youtube from Melly Sews How to Fix Ripped Jeans with Visible Mending.  What you are supposed to do, is all of the stitching right on top of the jeans.  I thought I'd have a difficult time working in the pant leg, so did all of the stitching on the patch, by itself, then blanket stitched it over the top of the hole.  This technique is so amazing, in that you stitch all of the stitches in one direction, then do stitches in the opposite direct, connecting them to make the design.  Since I wasn't able to draw a proper grid on the denim, the design is kind of wonky (of course, I found chalk after it was completed).  The left leg's hole didn't really bother me, but I thought it would look kind of silly with only one hole patched up.  The second hole has the patch fabric placed underneath the hole and straight across stitching was done through both layers.  I think, technically, I should have trimmed out all of the white jean threads, but just trimmed out the hanging ones.  Also, the patch should have been wider.  While not necessary, I decided to buy sashiko needles and thread.

I've been wanting to take photos near this butterfly sculpture at the botanical gardens, I'm so glad I did!  I forgot bracelets, but, of course, added my butterfly earrings.  I'll be so glad when I can get an official pedicure!

The Takeaway
I know, I know, what I do is a bit eXtreme for most people.  However, if I can get you to look at your clothing with a "How can I make this more Me?" attitude, it will be a good thing!  These $20 Target jeans are now one-of-a-kind!