DIY Fashion is at its best when it evolves naturally. By this I mean that if you´ve done a refashion some time ago that can be transformed to something new and trendy with very little effort. This time it´s your DIY Balmain SS09 bleach jeans (or some other old pair and bleach them) that evolve to Diesel Black Gold FW10 grunge pants. Last week Diesel showed a collection that was filled with colorful tye dye denims that just scream "DIY ME!" I will, I will.. :)

Was.. Inspiration Balmain SS2009 bleach jeans.



My DIY version from last spring. Photo Mika Pollari / MissMix.



Will be.. Diesel Black Gold FW2010 colored fringe jeans. The color contrast in your jeans is already there, so the only thing you need to do is decide which color you want them to be, buy your dye (I prefer machine wash dyes by Dylon) and wash them. No tyeing needed, just the dye. A pair of denim usually weighs around 800g (check weight with a kitchen scale) so check the package before buying how many you need. With Dylon, usually one pack is enough per garment. Sometimes the machine wash dyes come out slightly grayish, but this is mostly because denims usually have a bit of elastane or they are just old and does not absorb color that well anymore.. I never mind it as I´m a friend of gray shades, but just so you know if you like your clothes only in bright colors.



Some of the denims had fringe edged patches sewn to them. These also need to be sewn in before dyeing. Use a slightly darker colored sewing thread than the finished dye color or black/dark gray as most sewing threads are polyester and will not take any dye. Only natural fibres can be dyed.




You can also bleach and re-dye a denim jacket (with sleeves ripped off to make a vest) to match your jeans. If you want to make this, remember to color them both in at the same time so the finished color will be the same.




If you have some studs or other metal decoration on your jeans that will remain silver or gold colored after the dye, don´t worry. They can also be colored to match with spray paints. I´ve tried it and it works. (more about spraypainting studs in my next MissMix column that will be out next week). Stay tuned.