Deconstructed Denim

Denim has come a long way, or has it? Maybe what's old is new again. Is it trendy? Isn't fashion always somewhat trendy? It was, even back in the 1970's you know those hippies were doing it then, creating fashion by deconstructing the denim they were wearing.  In the days when I grew up, money was harder to come by and the availability of jeans was so-so.

Most everyone grew up with "Levi's" as the leader in jeans ware. They were limited to a few styles but had an ungodly amount of sizes. So needless to say most everyone gals and guys alike owned a pair of them. Then, enter a few designers that were in the more expensive department stores and voila! you had the whole low down on jeans.

Back in the day you actually got holes in the knees of jeans from being outside, and the wear-through spots came from literally wearing them every day! And finally, we put patches on them and walked on the hems as inseam sizes were limited. (I think this article will most likely give away my age)

So here we are 2018 and the last couple of years it has been super on trend to own jeans with lots of holes in pockets, on thighs, and of course knees!  This year it's super stylish to own crops that have been cut jaggedly and then frayed. So You know an up-cycler like me can barely stand it, and you know I have been deconstructing and "messing up" my jeans for a while.

For today's article, I'm going to showcase what I call "dropping a hem", which is otherwise known today as "deconstruction" of your jeans. I have this very lovely really old pair of Calvin Klein Jeans that still fit beautifully but the inseam was wrong and I could not ever wear heels with them, so seam ripper here we come!

Hey has anyone seen the seam ripper? My kids stare blankly at me. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Oh well, so I will proceed with a knife and a pair of scissors. (yes, I know this isn't safe and I'm not advocating you do this, seriously a seam ripper is like a $1.00) I use the knife to just get it started and finish with the scissors.

This is what they look like. After I have the hems both down and top threads pulled off,

 I'll wash them and then iron them. And the final product is a perfectly pulled down hem now known as deconstructed jeans and I'll be able to wear heels with them too!

My next deconstruction project will be a jean jacket, I like the removal of the collar and the wrists cuff to fray or add lace, it's cute and easy and again little or no sewing at all!

Have fun if you do some deconstruction of your own.