model diamond

Calling All Fashionistas

by Anne Middleton, on January 27th, 2015

Mall shopping got you snoozing?  Thrift store not enticing?  Sometimes it’s hard being a fashionista.  If the brand name designers are disappointing and you’ve got the urge to try to create some of your own pieces, look no further than the auto parts store.  Yes, the auto parts store.

Year to year, season to season it seems like the glitterati try to revamp a decade like the 60s or the 80s.  Like resurrecting a zombie, it’s not the same and never will be same.  It’s time to look ahead, into the space age like landing on comets and Mars (and not revamp the 60s moon landing either).  It’s time to look forward, fashionista, not back!

If you’ve ever shopped Ebay or the chain jewelers, you’ll see jewelry that’s dazzlingly dull.  Same cuts, same stones, same glow.  Why not try wire wrapping some washers and semi-precious stones?  Better yet, a statement piece—a gear!  4 Wheel Drive has a great selection of gears and washers, and their chains make great chokers and bracelets. Consider valve lifters, crank bearings and hose clamps from 4 Wheel Drive too.  Explore their site and expand your jewelry-making horizons. 

Sometimes that banal black cocktail dress is salvageable.  Got a minor stain on that supple satin? Grab cargo netting and overlay it on the bodice.  Now, not only is the stain covered, you’ve added a whole new texture and layer of interest. Are you dexterous when it comes to sewing?  Use the extra mesh for some fingerless gloves to match.  Advance Auto Parts will have the selection for you.
If you are very ambitious and very skilled, you can make a trench coat out of leather floor mats and seat covers.  Auto Parts Warehouse can help you put Project Runway to shame.  You can also craft matching gloves, and if you are mechanically inclined, perhaps an umbrella too. 

Some accessories are just too delicate, like that hand bag that will wilt in the rain or that belt that will snap in two shakes of a lambs tail.  You don’t have to act like a statue in order to have great accessories.  That’s why seat belts are so fun.  They’re durable and you can do a lot with them.  You can use them as a nifty belt.  You can weave them into handbags.  There’s a lot of choices.  Explore all your options at 4 Wheel Parts. 

A little DIY moxie will help you look foxy.  You don’t have to languish in the mall or wither in the thrift store looking for a good find, when you can craft one yourself.  And the great thing is—it will be a perfect fit for you, both in size and personality.