As your average late-20s millennial, who is living the DINK life and deciding how to spend my time before ~the next stage~ of my life, I have spent 2019 pouring my heart and soul into anything and everything crafty. I finished my first cross-stitch, which was from a kit gifted to me for my birthday by Lani. I hosted/planned both a bachelorette party and a bridal shower for one of my best friend’s upcoming weddings, so I created oversized paper flowers and balloon garlands galore. And of course I have made fashion DIYs aplenty.
As we mentioned in our spring trend guide, the handmade look is very in style right now. This is great for me, because while I think I am good at crafty things, I’m not perfect. These pieces are good enough that people will ask if I made them, but when I say yes they’re still surprised. If you’re crafty too, I’ve listed all the materials I used to create these projects. Nothing took longer than 30 minutes, so I challenge you to try one out! And if you’re not so crafty, you can do what Lani does and employ a friend (a.k.a. me) to make them for you. 🙂
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Dries Van Noten Feather Belt
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The Dries Van Noten spring 2019 runway show was perfection to me! I always love their runway shows, but this one was particularly inspiring for me. We featured their gorgeous feather hair clip in one of our spring trend posts, which is still very much on my to-craft list. However, it was this belt that jumped out to me, as it made such a simple outfit so cool.
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Of course, if you would like to buy the black version of the belt it is currently on sale at Saks!
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Dries Van Noten Feather Belt, $310 $155
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Or you can buy the feathers from Amazon for $10.
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I used super glue to attach the feathers to a belt I already owned, since some of the patent was scuffed and I figured upcycling it would be much better than tossing it. If any white glue peeked through the feathers, I literally used black Sharpie to color it black again.
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Final outfit!
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Proenza Schouler Tie-Dye
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Proenza’s tie-dyed tops were a hot item in stores this season, as we spotted them everywhere from Saks in NY to Hu’s Wear in DC. However, there is no world in which I spend over $200 on a tie-dyed item that I could make myself. The top below was my inspiration for my project.
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It was originally $950, but is currently on sale for 65 percent off.
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Proenza Schouler Tie Dye Shirt, $950 $333
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Compared to a Banana Republic white shirt I was no longer wearing and a tie-dye kit from Amazon, the DIY option is obviously more budget-friendly.
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To mimic the pattern of the Proenza shirt, I used what is called “the crumple method” for my tie-dye, which is actually the easiest way you could possibly tie your shirt. Literally just crumple your shirt into a ball as irregularly as you’d like, and then toss on as much dye as you’d like in whichever color you’d like!
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Final outfit, featuring Daisy in her matching bandana!
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Oscar de la Renta Splatter Paint
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We’ve written about our obsession with splatter paint a few times on the blog, most recently being last spring when Oscar de la Renta was doing a ton of splattered fabrics on everything from gowns to denim jackets. However, while searching for that blog I found a hilarious post focusing just on splatter paint, that quotes “The budget version is to DIY. Stay tuned for a blog on that we hope, if only because Kyle and I both desperately want a pair of cropped, summer jeans like the Ralph Lauren ones we love.” Four years later, I finally accomplished that and here is the update you’ve been waiting for!!
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Here is the Polo Ralph Lauren pair we both loved!
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Polo Ralph Lauren Boyfriend Jeans
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And here’s my pants. I used this textile medium mixed with various acrylic paints that I bought for $1 each at Michaels. I used a pair of boyfriend jeans from Gap that were very comfortable and I liked okay, but I just wasn’t wearing them.
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And then Lani had me paint her denim skirt! Remember the denim skirt blog? Lani wasn’t sure what to do with her serviceable but boring designer jean skirt. Problem solved!
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Here’s my final outfit. I’ve been wearing these a ton! Lani wore a super cute outfit with her skirt this week but of course was too busy to take a picture of her outfit. Stay tuned to the RLS Instagram for a peek next week!
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Kyle Dunphy is a personal stylist who has been working with clients who want to feel their best and look put-together every day for over 15 years. You can find her in the Washington, D.C. and New York metropolitan areas. Learn how you can train with Lani and Kyle to become a personal stylist at The Stylist Studio.Â
You can find Kyle Dunphy and Real Life Style on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
