The final result of my Doctrine Jeans DIY @ Space15Twenty

There comes a time in every young LA girl’s life when a contrarian declaration of “I’m not going to Coachella,” suddenly morphs into “I’m going to Coachella.”

To mark that very likely transition in my own life as of… about 11pm last night, here’s my very festival friendly DIY  from an event I hosted with Doctrine Jeans last week at Space15Twenty. You know I like my DIY’s easy, and here’s how:

1. Cut off jeans about x2 longer than your desired length.

2. Use a large embroidery or yarn needle and stitch haphazard X’s or +’s onto one half with yard of embroidery floss.

3. Roll ‘em up. That easy.

Give or take one low-cut armhole tank (which I recently wrote about on Nasty Gal’s awesome new blog!), you are ready for sweaty desert days and wasted nights.

Some more sage advice: whatever you wear, don’t over-think it and DO NOT don a onesie/romper/jumpsuit like those pesky Coachella fashion guides are telling you. I promise, 2 beers and one porta-potty later, you’ll thank me.

My Do-It-Youself Givenchy Fall/Winter ’11 Final Toe heels using Aldo Fravel pumps. Original shoe available (and on sale!) here / photos by Jory Cordy (and that’s his cat, not mine)

Here’s a shoe that was so hot on the runway, I might have considered splurging on it. Then I picked them up off an After-Christmas sale shelf and thought twice (out loud, to Julia)… I could easily make these, and almost as good as the original. You may have thought the same, but here’s proof it can be done.

This DIY might serve to disprove the Project Triangle: it was executed cheaply, quickly and looks good. I used:

1 pair of hoop earrings, mine are 3″ diameter yellow gold costume hoops, about $8 [bangles might be another great option]

black classic pumps, ALDO’s ‘Fravel’ pump is perfect

optional: black elastic, round nose pliers for more secure placement (which I did not need)

Instructions:

Open the earring clasp and slide up the vamp. That’s it. Optional: you could secure the hoops in place with a couple stitches or by using pliers to round off the wire earring ends and stringing through a small piece of elastic. If you find the right diameter earring for your foot, the hoops should stay perfectly in place with no additional support (plus, then they’re easily removable).

This one really is as easy as it looks and dresses up your basic back pumps. I’m pretty impressed by the runway accuracy on this one and it costs next to nothing compared to the original whopping retail price of $790 (they are still nearly $400 on sale!). I’m planning to slip some more ornate hoops (big and beaded, in particular) over my pumps for different looks.

thrifted shirt with DIY cut-out shoulders, Target pleather riding pants, Forever 21 platforms

I found this button down for $2 at Deseret Industries, the Mormon church thrift store chain in Utah (and apparently there’s one in LA too). At 1XL, it didn’t fit me in that “cool” flowy over-sized way and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I was just plain swimming. So I snipped out the shoulders to show a little skin. It’s a cheap and easy modification that really spiced up my $2 mothball scented shirt. And perhaps TMI, but the shoulder cutouts make those last-minute “Shit! I forgot to put on deodorant!” moments way easier. I’m currently holding myself back from snipping every men’s shirt (including Sean’s) in my closet.

And now that I look at everything together, I realize this is a total budget look. Head-to-toe this look cost under $75 and everything but the shoes (because there’s no Forever 21 there) is from St. George of all places. And well, the glasses are Tom Ford but they’re not on my face so it doesn’t count.

In other news, Utah invigorated my life and my style in so many ways. The amazing people I was working with, the scenery, the St. George thrift (my goodness!)… I doubt I have the words to do the experience justice, however I do have a ton more Utah thrift to show-and-tell soon.

DIY embellished nails, old Forever 21 fingerless gloves; below: Erykah Badu for Tom Ford’s White Patchouli, nails by Sophy Robson

So I took a stab at someone else’s DIY for change — and not just “someone,” it’s actually a DIY for Elle UK from nail queen Sophy Robson (who probably had a quite literal hand in your favorite campaign this season). She also did the nails in one of my favorite campaign’s ever - Erykah Badu for Tom Ford. These glitter embellished nails screamed “hey, I can do that!” and so I did.

I simplified the DIY a little further by using just glitter polishes in different sizes (found them all for $1 at Sally’s) instead of loose glitter (less messy) and I skipped the rhinestones, but plan to add some later. Elle UK says the look is “perfect for parties” but I think that’s way too obvious. I’ve been rocking these nails with my grungier attire for a dose of contradiction. Sean’s reaction to the nails was “but isn’t glitter kind of tacky?” which usually counts as a success in my book. Check out the DIY instructions at Elle UK and more of Sophy’s work here. What do you think?

Alexander Wang Spring 2010 look via tFS, Shirley of Hollywood sheer pajama pants, Lace Sleep Shorts, varsity letter patch, Asos baseball jacket

I really love these sheer Wang pants but despite some fantastic detailing, I can’t bring myself to shell out $500 for something easily found in a Fredrick’s catalogue or my Grandmother’s pajama drawer. The whole varsity/athletic runway look isn’t totally “me” right now but I do think the pants are perfect – and surprisingly versatile. Really. I just bought this rando Shirley of Hollywood “Sexy” (ha) sheer PJ set and I’m really pumped about it.

Planning a quick nip/tuck at the ankles, add black shorts, a side-braid for good measure and ta-da! Watch out now. Will post photos when they get here but couldn’t resist sharing now.

(Tip: search for sheer/chiffon/silk lounge pants on eBay – I’ve seen a few good options recently)