Well, I’ve worn pants once or twice since moving to Houston even though they cried when they saw me coming. 😉 #margaritasandchips It’s safe to say that I have more pants than I need and they haven’t been on my thrifting radar at all… except I did find a pair of J Brand jeans for $1.87 back in July and I had to get them, ‘natch. One problem though…
They were too long. I don’t like denim puddles around the ankle.
So when I thrifted the J Brands, I knew that hemming them was out of the question unless I paid someone to do it for me. However, I get the J Brand emails and had been seeing the raw hem in various forms…
More than a 100 times the price I paid!!!
I decided $1.87 was worth risking for me to do a little DIY project and make my thrifted J Brands into step hem denim!! I first searched for some inspiration and found an easy guide by J Crew then followed the process. I even used a ruler which is A LOT of effort when you’re me.
Snipped at the approximate length I was looking for. Ankle or thereabouts.Drew a straight line then cut ‘er off!Measured about an inch higher which is less than the J Crew guide recommended but I wanted to proceed with caution lest I end up with capris.Next, I cut the “step hem” – the shorter front hem.After one round of cutting the main hem and the step hem, I decided they were still a bit too long, so I repeated the process.That’s better! My boss (the dog) was supervising the whole process. That was back in the day when she followed me around all day everyday. :[Next I used the scissors to distress the edges by fraying them and pulling out threads.Distress the hem as much or as little as your little ol heart desires.Finished product!Stepping in my step hem!
I was very pleased with the result and wore them for photographic purposes back in July…
With my thrifted but gifted Tory Burch espadrille wedges and $5 fuchsia tank!The job of any ankle crop denim is to let the fab shoes shine!
It was SO hot that day! I took them off and didn’t wear them again until recently when I wore them to church because it was a “little chilly” that morning (14 degrees – I’m ashamed! ;P)
If it helps to redeem my Canadian-ness, I did NOT make it the whole day in pants! I took them off just after these photos and haven’t worn them again but I am pretty sure I will wear them at least a few times in the “cold” months and every time I do, you can bet I’ll be proclaiming loud and proud that all they cost me $1.87 and a nominal amount of elbow grease!
4 Comments
I’m gonna give this a try!
Let me know how it goes! I love being a super fashionable 40-something anthro-esque model in $2 jeans. 😉
What??? Are you wearing a cardigan???
Every once in a while I wear one for an hour. They tell me it’s getting cold next week. I’ll believe it when I see it!!