Whistling in the rain

Trench coat: DIY (Stradivarius)
Glasses: Mister Spex

Leather skirt: Asos

Boots: Hunter for Jimmy Choo

Bag: Francesco Biasia (old)

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Here are some outfit pictures with my brand new DIY Kill Bill inspired trench coat. I decided to wear it with my favorite bag, my floodproof Hunter Boots and a leather skirt. And these are my new glasses that I won on a giveaway organized by my beloved Fashion Quite, which was sponsored by Mister Spex. I usually buy everything online but I had never dared to buy glasses without trying them on first. However, this has been a great experience: these glasses are exactly what I wanted and the refraction is perfect.

Hope you guys have a great Halloween!

xxx

DIY Project: Kill Bill inspired trench coat

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So the movie that inspires this week's DIY is... Kill Bill!

I've been in love for years with the trench coat that Elle Driver wears on the famous whistle scene from Kill Bill. So, making this DIY means a lot fot me, I'm so excited with this. I love the imperfect effect of the strokes and that comic style. This trench coat appears just a few seconds on the movie but it's so eye-catching, I really love it!

And here's the DIY video tutorial. I'll show guys an outfit with this trench in a few days! 

Don't forget to subscribe to Dare to DIY's Youtube channel here

What do you guys think? Is there any garment from a movie you really fell for? 
Hope you guys liked this ;)

xxx
Sylvia

DIY project: leather and studs necklace

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You know what? I've been dying for weeks to show you guys this DIY. I even had this picture ready to be posted on Instagram (sylvia_daretodiy)... But I've had to contain myself until today, because this project is the result of my first collaboration with DaWanda. It's a website that allows designers and artists to sell their products online. And so, it is also a great place to find unique and handmade products. When they asked me to collaborate with their DIY blog I just couldn't say no.

Click here for the full DIY tutorial

Hope you guys like this DIY, it's a great idea for a Christmas gift. In fact, I made another necklace like this for my best friend's birthday and she loved it, at least that's what she told me ;)

xxx

DIY Inspiration: cinema trench coats

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As I announced a few days ago on Twitter my next DIY victim is going to be a trench coat! I have a DIY idea in my mind since Spring; I can't wait to make it and see how it looks like. This project will be inspired by a movie, but I'm not going to tell you which one, at least not yet. I want to keep the secret a little bit more... But don't worry, here's a little bit of inspiration that I got from some classic movies that, without a trench coat, wouldn't have been the same.

Have a great monday!

DIY project: japanese inspired floral print

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Bright colors and flowers for the winter? My answer is yes, definitely. I think we've had enough grayscales on our Fall/Winter clothes. As I said in my last post, I'm so glad to see that we're all leaving behind some ideas such as "intense colors are just for summer" or "flowers are for spring". With this project, I'm trying to demonstrate that cheerful patterns may work on winter clothes. I just used textile paint to update this skirt. What do you guys think?

And finally here's the first video I recorded, my hated 4 cameras video: I had to try 4 different cameras until I found The One, so I ended up exhausted. Hope you guys forgive me for the poor quality of the image in some parts of the video. Next ones will be better!

REMEMBER THAT ENGLISH SUBTITLES ARE AVAILABLE

(I'll be doing a video in english soon)

Want more inspiration?
Check out the work of the artist Takashi Murakami. You might have heard about him because he was the one who colored Louis Vuitton's  signature monogram.

As always, hope you guys liked it!

xxx

Sylvia

DIY Inspiration: Winter Flowers

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So here's my inspiration for my next DIY. All these looks belong the Fall collections from some of my favorite designers, such as Christopher Kane. There are two things on this that really catch my attention: the influence of the japanese drawing on some floral prints, and the fact that now they are fashionable throughout all the year, not just in Spring. I'll upload a new DIY videotutorial very soon!

Have a nice day :)

1. A Détacher 2. Marc by Marc Jacobs 3. Thakoon

4. Christopher Kane 5. Betsey Johnson 6.  Fashion East

Bottega Venetta RTW 2012

7. Erdem 8. Christopher Kane 9. Antonio Marras 

10. Anna Sui 11. Kenzo 12. Anna Sui

Youtube... Here We GOOOO!

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So THE DAY finally arrived: now you guys can subscribe my Youtube channel!!
During the recording, I've had loads of technical hitches that almost made me lose my temper. However, here's the video... It's not even close to what I wanted, but I hope to improve the quality of my videos soon.

At first, I thought of making all my videos in English, or even of making another Youtube channel in English. But I have enough with two blogs (my main blog in Spanish, and this one). However, if you guys are interested on seeing some of my videos in English, please let me know. 

Probably most of you guys already know this project (I did it here), but it was important to me to start off this Youtube adventure with one of my favorite DIYs. 

As always, I hope you guys like it! I'm looking forward to hear feedback from you guys, I need your sincere opinions to improve my work. Also, If you guys could subscribe the channel that would help me a lot.

Thank you so much for your support!!

xxx

UPDATE: I just put subtitles in English. You just have to activate them by clicking on the subtitle icon bellow ;)

IGers who dare to diy: new inspiring ideas

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Mondays can always be better if you start your week with some creative project in your mind. The time you spend waiting on the subway might be perfect to think of a new DIY for the weekend. We still have four days ahead, more than enough time to reach a great idea. This why today I'm coming up with another Instagram DIY inspirational post. Hope you guys enjoy, Keep Calm and stay creative;)

Which one is your favorite? I would definitely go for those last two :)

DIY Project: feline instinct

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During the last few seasons there has been an animal invasion on feet of world's blogger population. It all started when Mr. Marc Jacobs gave all his mice collection to Miss Salad. And then Charlotte Olympia came up with her cat slippers to claim her share of grown-up Lolitas' market. 

The DIYer sector reacted so fast and made incredible DIYs inspired by these two icons. PS I made this made a perfect copy of Olympia's shoes, and my dear Momita made a beautiful pair of mice ballerinas. But, as I told you in my last IGers post, the interpretation of cat shoes made by Tiny Toadstool totally amazed me. I've never done a DIY designed by another blogger and I don't want this to set a precedent, but today I'm showing you my version of this super cute booties.

Image via Tiny Toadstool

My DIY process is a little bit different than Tinytoadstool's. Instead of using doll plastic eyes, I made them in leather. And I also made the nose in silvered leather.

I love crossed-eyed characters, this is why I put the pupils randomly ;)

Hope you guys like it!

xxx

Ikea and the Do It Yourself movement

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There are two kinds of people in this world. One the one hand we have those who love Ikea and reach their happiness maximum during the assembling process (I belong to this group). On the other hand we have the Ikea complainers, those who can't stop grumbling things like "it's cold, the packages are heavy, the queue is too long, these illustrated instructions are for Swedish people, I don't like deer meatballs..." This is a message for those from the second group: what are your claims in life? Seriously, you guys shouldn't spread your gloom.

Joking apart, this year's Ikea catalogue has left me open-mouthed. Its scanning app for smartphones brings some cool DIY ideas to customize your furniture. Isn't that great? Here are some of their designs. 

I would definitely go for the first style. Which one is your favorite? Have you ever done a DIY with furniture? Os something related to decoration?

xx

DIY Project: leather collage

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So my DIYs are definitely back!
Yes, I know there's a week left for the official end of summer, but I'm one of that kind of people who doesn't get rid of sandals until November. Living in the sunny Barcelona has many advantages! And yes, I know that many of you guys are now putting away your summer clothes, and might not be in the mood for sandals. However, this DIY can be done on any kind of shoes, such as booties or court shoes. In fact, my first intention was to make this leather collage project on a pair of pumps, but I couldn't find the right ones. These sandals seemed just perfect.

And here's the tutorial, you'll just need a leather or suede remnant, scissors and textile glue. Let's get down to work!

Textile glue works awesomely well on leather, but you have to be really careful. Once it's dry, it's almost impossible to remove it without breaking the garment. 

At first, my idea was to fully cover the shoes with leather leaves. When I started DIYing this I didn't actually have an idea of what I wanted, but this is what came out. I had serious doubts about covering all the heel with these zig zag shapes, or the whole platform with smaller leaves. 

I hope you guys got inspired! You might don't like the colors, the shapes or whatever: I do recognize this design is a little bit weird. However, I believe this technique can be so useful for all of you. We can play with a lot of different designs, colors or apply it to any kind of shoes. I'll definitely use this technique again, I loved the result!!

What do you guys think? Have you ever worked with leather?

Guide for the use of studs and spikes

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I thought it was necessary to make a post in order to clear up certain questions some of you guys have asked me. Customizing clothes with studs and spikes is probably one of the most extended DIYs, so you might already know some of the things I'm about to explain. However, I think this information can be useful for many people.

ABOUT STUDS

PROS
_They are really easy to apply. Just hammer them into the fabric and poke the prongs inwards.
_We don't need to make a hole on the fabric, because the prongs set into the warp of the fabric. Thanks to this, the fabric won't rip after washing or after wearing the garment.
_There are a lot of shapes and sizes available

CONS
_ Prongs might be scratchy. I recommend sewing a piece of fabric on the reverse or sticking some fusing with the iron.

ABOUT SCREWED SPIKES

PROS
_ They work very well on leather
_ A lot of shapes and sizes available

CONS
_ Price: They're a little bit more expensive than studs
_ It is necessary to make a hole in the fabric that will probably enlarge after washing. As a consequence, the spike might fall off.
_ It is not advisable to put them on thin or worn out fabrics, such as very washed denim.
_ The screw might be scratchy

SOME TIPS
_ Try to put the spikes in those places where the fabric is thicker, such as the seams, the waist, the collar of a blouse...
_ If you want to put the spikes in any other place, cut a little piece of leather or thick fabric and put it in between the spike and the screw.

Shorts: DIY

PROFESSIONAL CLINCH SPIKES

PROS

_ Without a doubt, this method brings the best results
_ It's not too expensive, much cheaper than screwed spikes.
_ Professional clinch allows bigger and heavier pieces.

CONS

_ You (obviously) need a clinching machine, which is about 100 €. However, you can get this done in some haberdashery or stud stores.

WHERE TO BUY
eBay: A follower from Twitter recommended me this seller. Shippings are free and the prices are very unexpensive.
StudsandSpikes.com: This is a super famous and reliable online store for spikes and studs (as its name says)
Gasel2000: I love this store in Barcelona (carrer Hospital 42), they also have an online store (www.gasel2000.com). Here there's always have everything I need.
Klein's: All kinds of haberdashery and also some studs - 5 Noel Street London W1F 8GD.

Do you guys have any other tip for studs and spikes? Do you know any other reliable place to buy studs?