ALIUSKA TALKS FASHION AND THE FINE ARTS ;D

What if I told you that you could get a whole new wardrobe almost free? Would you be interested? Well you can! And it only takes a little creativity and hardly any time J ! Now that winters almost over and springs near, we can all gear up for a mix of warm and vibrant colours. Here’s a rough list of what you can work with. The list can vary depending on your personal style but you can work with the basic ideas.

Long sleeved polos or turtle necks, for those of you who have long sleeved salwars that you’re tired of then they’ll do too! Your brother’s or dad’s worn out formal shirts, leggings, old jeans that are either faded or that you’re tired of, old shorts, etc.

Why not start with casual wear in this post. To make your polo or turtle necks more apt for the semi cool weather of Feb and warmer March evenings all you need is a pair of scissors, some paper, ribbon, elastic, buttons, hooks and piping.

The basic idea is to cut of the sleeves in order to get a sleeveless chik look. Since the material of your polo or turtle might be stretchy it may tend to lose shape around the arm hold. To avoid this when piping or stitching the sleeve holes, tacking a thin strip of paper to keep the arm-hold’s size fixed it suggested. The paper may be ripped away slowly after the stitching is done. Or another idea is to tack a thin strip of starched material into the new sleeveless arm-hold’s fold.

To accessorize you can team up the top with a fine belt of contrasting colour or go safe with a fine white belt at low waist, worn over the top.

To turn your dad’s or relative’s old shirts into fun tunic length dresses all you have to do is stitch in darts on the back and front, or on the side that you prefer and use a well matched belt or ribbon to accessorize your high waist. To make an elastic ribbon belt: cut the broad ribbon a little longer than enough to wrap around your high waist ( just an inch below the bust). Stitch the sides keeping both ends open in order to insert the elastic band. Using a safety pin, pull the elastic( a little shorter than the ribbon’s length) through and then stitch up both ends of the ribbon. You can either stitch both ends together and wear the belt by slipping it or you can attach a hook-and-loop to make it easier to wear.

The sleeves can either be rolled up or cut or completely removed depending on your preference. If the shirt has a deep you cut you can give it a more linear cut to make it look more like a tunic top or tunic dress! The tunic can be worn with either a pair of leggings or even just a as a dress, depending on what length you are working with or are comfortable wearing. 

Remember…the key is to enjoy and be you! A little creativity is all that’s needed ! Dont forget to look up for Part2 next week! We’ll talk about transforming your salwars and Indian wear into fun causals and even sheek formal wear!