DIY CPR: SAVING MY DENIM JACKET

Excuse my grotesque thumb here. 

My hunt for the perfect denim jackets has stretched across not only time, but continents too. And I was adamant not to settle for a wash or style that I wasnt 100% happy with. And I was discriminatory - I searched for old ones and news ones in store. The one that came close was a Levi’s pair - but the boxy shape was just not working with me. But I finally found one jacket that ticked pretty much all boxes. Except for one tiny detail. This is the story of how I successfully saved one of my favourite denim pieces.

I found my version of the perfect denim jacket when I was thrifting/op shopping in the Lower East Side in New York. Now, I can not for the life of me remember what the place was called but it was one of the best op shops I have been into! It was privately owned, so not like a charity shop - a true New York style vintage store. They had beaded dresses, the perfect pair of loafers and letterman jackets! But I headed straight for the denim section and started rifling through the jacket section. I picked my guy up from the line and tried it one straight away. It fit like a glove! Better still it was a vintage (??) Wrangler denim jacket. I was stoked!!! But then I turned the jacket around to inspect it from all sides and then this happened:

What?!?!?!? I am pretty sure I made an audible sigh. But despite the glitter purple pen confessing its love for Tay Tay Swift - I knew I couldnt pass the jacket - I could fix it right? What’s a little glue pen? I took it home and got my DIY one. But one the way in the subway, I was trying to pick off the glitter with little success. I even Google’d "how to remove glitter pen". It was a mess!! Other than sanding down the jacket, I couldn’t think of what else I could do. It was definitely then, a case of bloggers to the rescue. I started seeing customised denim jackets on some of my favourite bloggers:

Inspiration:

Rebecca from Manzanita and her incredible denim vest!

One of my favourite Youtubers, Stephanie from The Fashion Citizen and her shredded denim jacket. 

And lastly, my newest find of a blogger; Zoe of Girl with the Flower! 

Not really wanting to stick some paint on my jacket (or shredding it for that matter), I opted for putting a panel of fabric to my jacket. And then I remembered that I still had my Mulberry tote bag which we got from last year’s New York Fashion Night Out - it was perrrrrrrrfect combination! The gold detail and dark denim just updates the denim jacket. And hey I guess in the process I saved two of my favourite souvenirs from New York!

Process:

All I had to do was cut the fabric to size and folded down the edges and sewed it on the back to give it a clean finish. Then I just pinned the fabric to the jacket and started sewing it down. I used a dark cotton (obvi!) so I didnt have to be super strict with stitch length etc. And hey presto - I saved my jacket.

I freaking love it and I think it works best with an all black out fit or a cute skirt and tshirt top. Hope this has given you some inspiration on how to save one of your op shop purchases!

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