Like any other girl I love denim cut offs for summer, baah who am I kidding, I love them all year round, but unlike most other girls who might have a few trusted pairs of jean shorts I have amassed a huge collection over the years. Since they look better with age there is no giving them away and as I re-organized my clothes during the move I realized I have an astounding number of Levis 501s alone and an even greater number of various other brands and leather and suede and various other materials, okay I think you get the picture, I have a lot of shorts. So this year I've decided to refrain from buying more and to avoid getting attracted by shiny new ones I decided to get crafty with my existing pairs.
I've already jumped on the tie-dye bandwagon eons ago, ripped a few babies to reveal their cooler shredded avatars, bleached, dip-dyed etc etc but I knew now was the time to up the ante because I want a pair of personalized denim that no one else would have. So I decided to go the ethnic embroidery route, Gujarati needle work style. Gujarat is a state in Western India that has a long history with textiles especially needle work and tie dye, popularly known locally as Bandhani. The stark monotony of the desert landscape in the region is brightened up by intricate colourful embroidery, bead and mirror work. Now I am not any where close to as talented as the local ladies there are but I still decided to have a go on a pair of shorts in what can be described best as my take on that style.
Here are a few pictures of the various DIYs that I am currently working on, I started small with stitching a ying yang patch on the back pocket of a pair, then embroidered a peace sign on the back of another, then sharpied a Mexican sugar skull-esque design on the front of a 501 and then started some more complicated work on a pair of Wranglers that's almost ready. Outfit posts coming as soon as the November rain lets up. Any DIY+design suggestions are more than welcome :D Happy Wednesday all!
