Ever since this past summer, upcycling thrifted clothing or personalizing basics has been a huge interest of mine.
It all started when I was scrolling through Pinterest and saw a pair of denim jeans with a snake painted on the ankle.
I immediately wanted them and decided I was going to create my own version of these killer jeans. I headed to Goodwill and found a perfect pair of denim for what I envisioned. Two days later, I wore my new favorite jeans with a snake painted wrapping around each leg. I love how bold these pants are, and being able to say I made them when I get complimented on them. This has sparked a desire in me to personalize literally everything I own?
Here are some fun ideas for you to do the same along with some pointers.
DENIM
Jeans or a denim jacket can be personalized and so easily upcycled with a bottle of paint, iron-on patches or letters, or embellishments. I highly recommend scavenging through a thrift store for what you're going to personalize, just in case you mess up or don’t end up loving it. I found a pair of Levi jeans for $4 and spent a couple of days ripping them up and fraying them to make my own pair of mom jeans and I was so nervous I was going to cut a hole too big or too high. If you are looking to just distress a pair of denim, I suggest watching a YouTube video to explain in more depth to get the look you want. Tweezers, sandpaper, sharp scissors, and patience was the recipe for the ones I distressed that I wear every day. Building off of painting denim, a fun idea I’m planning on trying once I find the perfect jeans or jacket is to paint something Kentucky-themed for game days! An easy personalization could be to throw some star patches on anything.
Some cool ideas I have seen to do with jeans is to fully paint or sew patches onto the back pockets of jeans.
SWEAT SUITS
Being from Michigan, college game day apparel looks different than it does here in Lexington. Although the two big state schools, Michigan and Michigan State, are allowed to wear clothing representing their Greek organizations- meaning they have fun sweatpants and sweatshirts made- I love the outfits they throw together as they are seemingly more casual and more fun.
So! I DIY-ed a pair of sweatpants to wear to a colder Caturday. I originally wanted to get a pair of white sweatpants and tie-dye them, but instead, I took inspiration from some trending sweatpants. I bought $6 sweatpants, bought iron-on paper and cut letters and stars out and ironed them right on. It was so simple and I am currently making some for other people. This is such an easy way to personalize something unique and can be very inexpensive.
These are just a few ideas of clothing articles you can easily freshen up and make your own in many ways- like tie-dye, patches (look on Amazon for some cool ones!), paint, and iron-on material.
Making something unique can help you stand out anywhere!