Category Archive for How-Tos
BLACK PEACE NOW: JAPANESE GOTH PUNK DIY SWEATER PROJECT BY LA CARMINA.
Holy moly. This men’s sweater from Black Peace Now is an deconstructed Goth eye-catcher – but it costs 12390 yen ($120) and isn’t available from MaruiOne.jp (the only site that ships BPN overseas).
If that is so… then how am I modelling this very item? Easy: I made one of my own from a school-marmy black turtleneck!
I cut off the turtleneck and split the shirt asymmetrically down the front (pinning the collar with a World Wildlife Fund panda pin). I pinched the fabric together and cut out semi-circles for holes of varying sizes. The grey striped shirt and skewed skirt with a silver chain have been sitting in my closet for years.
This is what my old clothes looked like before I pounced on them with scissors! The pants and white Nordica ski shirt were featured in the Punk/Visual Kei DIY project. The black sweaters (on the bottom row) became h.NAOTO-inspired “skull” and “bones” ripped tops. The awkward schoolteacher (top center) acquired black eyeliner and a mohawk for this salute to Black Peace Now.
Some of you mentioned that you’re going to turn your timid old clothes into punk/Goth wildcats. How did the projects go?
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H.NAOTO ANARCHY TORN SKULL SWEATERS, HYOMA FRUITS T-SHIRT: JAPAN HONG KONG.
I’ve got a bone to pick. This Anarchy torn skull shirt (above) is punk-cute beyond words, but it has two major shortcomings. h.NAOTO’s online English store lists the tee at $123 and stamps it with the scarlet letters: SOLD OUT.
Remember that ditty: “the head bone’s connected to the… shoulder bone”? Surely I remember enough from AP Biology to make a DIY version!
You’ll recall that I’ve embarked on a major spring cleaning. I found a ratty long-sleeve black sweater that was a cast-off from my older cousin. As with my Punk Loli project, I cut off the sleeves and made two rows of giant holes down the front. Appropriately, I slipped my “ribcage” over a Roca t-shirt that announces “I Will Not Lose.” (I picked up the shirt for free at the Magic tradeshow in Vegas.)
I bloodied the outfit with unmatched red and white striped socks, and Lolita-fied it with a Betsey Johnson vintage skirt ($10) puffed out by a petticoat. The miniature hat with lace and ribbon tendrils is by Spider.
I safety-pinned my Hell Kitty VooDoo Baby to my sleeve (the red matches my lips and knee socks). A plastic children’s necklace forms a bracelet. The fraying sweater material works well with this look, don’t you think? My mom said I looked like I was dead – and I took that as the ultimate compliment!
h.NAOTO Anarchy also offers this cheerfully morbid shirt, described in “Engrish” as: “Skull ripped open to say hi!” Dig the extra-long sleeves, which you can push up or leave dangling.
I cackled in the face of the shirt’s $110 price tag and Sold Out status. I dragged a ribbed black sweater from the depths of my closet (it’s so old that the label has vanished). Tore out a skull face. Slit the arms from the elbows downward. I kept the outfit simple with an H&M skirt, Victorian ankle boots, and polka-dot leggings from the streets of Hong Kong.
Now I’ve got literal skeletons in my closet to keep the figurative ones company. ( Just ribbing. Hur hur hur! )
My neon t-shirt (worn under the sweater) is – believe it or not – HYOMA. He’s the kawaii mascot of Masahiro Nakagawa’s infamous Tokyo shop and avantgarde brand, 20471120 (as seen in Fruits). The t-shirt is from a Hong Kong boutique; it’s one of my proudest finds.
I have one more money-saving DIY project up my (ripped) sleeves… next time, we’re taking on Black Peace Now!
LA CARMINA
