Begin Again, Denim

Let me begin with denim again, sorry for the repetitiveness that I am! Haha. What can I do? I am addicted to denims. My jacket is denim and my bag is too. God, so redundant! But whatever I know what I want.  I scored this denim jacket from a garage sale for $5 which I blogged it here too. 

I just love this ensemble. The basicness(if there is such a word) of this outfit is what it’s all about. This is what I am, a basic bitch. Haha. Black is such on fire in my style inspiration notice board. You can easily go chic with this. But I promise on my next post I will think of something else! Haha.

The Super-Skinny-Jeans State of Mind

The currency of my creative mind tells me that I am obsessed with super skinny jeans. That of from ASOS, I was reluctant to try their stuff as I don’t have the chance to fit them but after several tempting moments, I got down and purchased myself a pair on my birthday(to have an excuse to shop). I must say, I am quite distressed of not receiving an invitation. Corny jokes aside, I was extremely happy about the purchase. I bought their Extremely Super Skinny Jeans line in true blue I suppose. It hugs really tight to your body but you can still sit down without cutting circulation.

Although the fit might not be someone else’s cup of tea, I don’t really care much as I am really satisfied and felt really confident wearing it. That’s the bottom line of fashion. As long as you feel like you can carry yourself with anything, go for it! It didn’t bother me that I might look like a sausage from the extremely tight fit. But pair it with a slightly loose or boxy top to balance out the outfit. To maybe hide out your jewels if it gets really tight.

This isn’t a sponsored post of ASOS. But let me share with that they are having 20% off on regular priced items. You just need to download their mobile app. This promo is available thru mobile only. Just key in MOBILEAPP at checkout. 

A tip for those interested in purchasing a pair of these, if you don’t like a super snug fit but still want this cut just size up about 1-2 sizes. These pair are right up my alley as they don’t flare like most other skinny jeans. It is so unflattering  and uncomfortable when I see my pants flaring like its not supposed to! So, I really recommend this. A must have for me.

#OOTD: Jeans Dean

It’s my nod to denim and it’s iconic contribution to the fashion world. The top is a thrifted piece I got from the Philippines while my favorite tight fitting jeans are from Oxygen Clothing, one of my go-to brands in the Philippines. Oh how I missed shopping there! The black jacket is my staple outerwear when I can’t think anything else to pair with my outfit. It’s so versatile that it can fit into any ensemble given that it was just a thrifted piece I got for 100 pesos or like 2 bucks?

Went full on denim on denim in this #ootd post. I went with this light washed denim shirt to have a contrast with my darkly washed denim skinny jeans. To also camouflage that it is not a jean shirt is my goal in this ensemble. Tbh, I really like how the simplicity of this ensemble came together. It’s so me! hehe.

I hope you guys liked my OOTD post.

The “I’m quite distressed denim shirt”!! haha

Forget about the mess of this toilet! hahaha.

and my ridiculous smile here! I look terrible but I still uploaded it. haha.

Denim Darko

Do you have a pair of jeans that you have loved before but not anymore? And you still can not let it go. I have a simple remedy for that. Old jeans will fade out in time. Dyeing is the answer. This will save it from potential handing it down to whoever. I have a favourite pair of jeans that I purchased circa 2009 that I still want to stay in my closet. My friends even tease me that they want to have my jeans but I just shrug it off. Haha. This is the perfect time to salvage it by dyeing it dark.

You will need:

1. Dye - available in powder and liquid form

2. Stainless Basin

3. Salt

4. Pair of gloves

5. Tongs

6. Jeans



Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1

Wear protective gears like gloves and apron to prevent it from staining your clothes.

Using boiled water, dissolve the dye powder in a small stainless container. In my case, I used the powdered form but there are liquid dyes available of course. You will need to add a lot of dyes here to achieve a darker shade. Here I used 6 packets of blue dye.

Step 2

Pour in water into the stainless basin that can cover up the entire fabric and boil it. While waiting for the water to boil, wash the fabric to remove any finishes that may prevent absorption of the dye.

Step 3

When the water boils, pour the dissolved dye. You need to put on 2 tbsp. of salt for every gallon of water you put in the dye bath.


Step 4

Then, put the article into the dye bath. It is important that the jean is fully submerged in water to allow equal shades of dyeing. Continuously stir the garment for 15 to 20  minutes using a ladle or a tong.

Step 5

Take out the fabric from dye bath using a tong because the jeans is now smoking hot. You don’t want to burn your hands. Squeeze out excess dye. Run it through the water until the water runs clear. Wring out the fabric for excess water and iron it until dry.

And your good to go!

I love love the result!

THE BEFORE AND AFTER

Try this and have fun.

Don’t forget to drop some comments!

Truly,

Kenny 

Let’s Get This Party Studded

Studs are perfect in making an outfit look edgier and have that rock and roll chic look. I have not explored the idea of incorporating them into my clothes until last Monday. On Facebook, I posted a picture of metal studs and asked to where I can get some. Lucky enough, I managed to find some at a local store in the city. Metal studs are best placed on jeans and leather. Jeans are a tough fabric so putting on studs will not destroy it that much. It can also be used in glamming up bags or shoes.

Just need to experiment on your outfits. Not only with jeans but you can also do this with your bags, tops and others.

Materials

Metal Studs

Screwdriver

Jeans

Steps

1. I thought of making them as collar tips. So I laid them first if how many could fit in. You will have to think of where to place your studs first. 

 2. I drew a triangle in the collar so I filled them all. Just be careful to not prick yourself because the studs have pointed metal teeth.

In my case, I chose to edge up my jean shirt. You can play up where you want to put it on. So this is how it looks now.

For questions and suggestions just drop them on the comments section. :)

Are You Feeling it?

Saturday it is. I headed out to purchase some Christmas decor to hype up our Christmas tree. Christmas season has started.

My brother bought this tee from Team Manila, a mid high-end Filipino clothing brand. Team Manila has a vision of keeping the brand local and making it global. That is what most local brands want to achieve. As for me I do not really care if a brand is really globally huge so my choices are not brand sensitive. I want to explore variety and others. Having said that, I randomly picked this tee from my closet and together I created a pretty good ensemble. I paired the gorgeous tee with an almost skin tone skinny jeans and my ever favourite Oxford shoes.

Hype this look on lookbook.nu/knyfortaleza! Thanks Guys.

ASOS is on SALE

I learned this online store from Robbie Becroft’s blog, Robbie Off Duty. Asos is an online shop which boasts a free delivery charge anywhere you are in the world. A wide selection of garments are available for shoppers to choose from. 

I personally selected some of the ultra fine goodies. The prices are in British Pounds so better get those calculator handy. Good-to-go items on 70% off are my usual go to racks whenever I visit the store. Typically, garments start to sell at 9 pounds for the sale items which is a big cut from its original price. I am trying to shy away from potential expenses for now but most likely I will be purchasing here soon. Having said that, this site is a highly recommended site for people swamped with work, shopaholics and basically to anyone. See you there!

Under Repair

I got these two straight cut pants a year ago from thrift shopping. I almost wanted to get rid of them because I don’t have enough space for my clothes. Yes, I need bigger space now for more goodies. Haha. However, the colors of these trousers are so in this season that it got me thinking that I can just have it repaired from an alteration store. At last today, I got them repaired and I will be picking them up at 3pm. Really, I am super excited about the fit and to incorporate them in my wardrobe. But when I tried them on, I don’t feel good about the bottom half of the pants. It needs to get skinnier so I sent them again for repair. Then, it fits impeccably. Thanks to Mr. Tailor.

The first one is a Lee Jeans straight cut trouser. It is in khaki brown and in stretch fabric. I don’t know what they call that fabric but I know it is a denim. So, this Lee jean can turn into a skinny one I told myself, as I instructed that for the tailor to do. The last one is a Uniqlo straight cut pant in moss green. For this one, I decided to go for like a chino or carrot pant finish.

If you happen to find a really good pair of pants from thrift shops but the fit is off, try it get repaired from your trusted tailor. You will get what you want at a reasonable cost and still having a customised fit. I rummage for pants with quality fabric and has a great fit from the waist so that you will still retain the design of the trouser. But whatever, you still are the ultimate decision maker.

These are how they look now and I am beyond elated with the result. I didn’t take pictures from the unaltered look.

Whatever You Wear, Always Dress To Kill

I am hearing Gossip Girl uttering these lines from an episode. Yes, that’s absolutely true. Why won’t anyone wear what they want. My choices of wardrobe are what they are because they build and boost my confidence. People have their own reasons.

I wore this to a pretty momentous event.

xoxo

Kenny F.

What I wore: Long sleeve shirt by G200, Maroon shirt by AMBLVD, Jeans by Oxygen

Sorry for the low quality photos. I don’t have a photographer so I used my laptop. haha

DIY Project: The Ombre Effect

Last summer, I was searching for cool outfits that I can wear for my vacation getaway. Ombre-detailed shirts and jeans are so in this season(or this year) and so I rummaged the entire city for some. I saw this cotton jean shirt with a ombre detail from Oxygen, a mid-high end clothing store  and costs 1, 799. That will hurt my sensitive pocket obviously, so I thought of just searching for a button down jean shirt from thrift stores or widely known here as ukay-ukay and just dye it. Lucky enough, I managed to get one which just costs 200 bucks! Plus I bought 5 packets of powdered dye.

             This was that shirt from Oxygen. by Mark Ammerson Pagaoa’s Lookbook account

For the dyeing process, I consulted YouTube and searched for some legitimate instructional videos. Aside from this, I also made some extra research in various dyeing techniques.

You will need:

Dye, a color of your desire

Non-stain basin - It should be wide to accommodate the fabric to be dyed.

Table salt

Fabric or shirt

A pair of Gloves

Cup

Hanger or a rod

and some creativity!

Step 1

Wear gloves. You may also want to wear an apron or dark-colored shirts to prevent staining.

Dissolve the powdered dye and salt in a small stainless container. You need to put on 2 tbsp. of salt for every gallon of water in the dye bath. In my case, I used the powdered form but there are liquid dyes available of course. It depends on how dark the effect you want to achieve with the amount of dye you will use.

Step 2

Pour in water into the stainless basin that can cover up the entire fabric and boil it. While waiting for the water to boil, wash the fabric to remove any finishes that may prevent absorption of dyes.

Step 3

When the water boils, pour in a small amount of dye.

Step 4

Using a hanger or a rod, dip dye a part of the fabric to create the lightest shade. Then quickly move it up and down into the dye bath.

Step 5

Then pour in the remaining dissolved dye and stir it continuously. Then dip the mid-section of the fabric that was dyed for 5 minutes, gently lifting and lowering it to create lighter and darker shades or until desired shade is achieved.

Step 6

Take out the fabric from dye bath and squeeze out excess dye. Wash the fabric under running water, holding the lightest color at the top. This will let the dye to seep through to the darkest area. Run it through the water until the water runs clear. Wring out the fabric for excess water and iron it until dry.

And there you go, a cool new look for you this season! Enjoy!