I did a massive spring cleaning and fought the urge to bury my head in the sand when I came across some of my old clothes. Three words: Club Monaco sweatshirt. Or how about six: pastel blue Old Navy tank top. These 90s fiascos are on the way to the Salvation Army – but before yelling sayonara, I had to heed the call of two irresistable words: “Fashion Challenge.” With only a pair of scissors, could I turn my lame clothes into something worthy of Kera Magazine?

I immediately recalled a ripped-up Mar Jour t-shirt (above) that I saw on Refuse to Be Usual (the eBay store that sells Gothic Lolita/Punk/Visual Kei wear). The cutsew looks like it’s falling to pieces – and it’s listed at a whopping $100. The Punk Lolita response? DIY!

I started with a white, longsleeve Nordic turtleneck that I wore to ski lessons years ago. I chopped off the neck and the sleeves at the elbow, and giant horizontal chunks out of the sleeves and front. I slipped the Swiss cheese remnents over a black/red/white Sex Pistols t-shirt, securing it with safety pins over Johnny Rotten’s eyes.

To accessorize, I added Vertigo and Batman buttons, a Warrior Princess-style leather corset bracelet, black mask, and mis-matched red striped/skull-printed knee highs. A Gloomy Bear plushie is safety-pinned to my Lolita petticoat-poof from Spider. Not a bad replica – and it didn’t cost me a cent.

My next look was inspired by the I-got-stuck-in-a-car-door-and-dragged-fifty-feet jeans often worn by Harajuku punk boys. Think Sex Pot Revenge, Sexy Dynamite London, or HellCatPunks.

I gleefully tore strips out of old Club Monaco dress pants, leaving the pieces to hang from the sides. I picked up the disembodied sleeves from my white Nordic turtleneck and gave them the same treatment. Voila – punk armbands!

I wrapped one leg of leopard-print leggings around my left leg, and one leg of cherry-red tights around the right. My dad’s white tie is twisted into skinny scarf/noose. The “ninja top” is from Kunpado, a stall in London’s Camden Market. What do you think?

Coming up next: I turn rejected sweaters into deconstructed masterpieces inspired by h.NAOTO’s latest collection!

VooDoo Babies are the cutest little undead serial killers you’ll ever meet. And boy, are these charmers versatile: my five Goth-lings have hung out on my keychain, my big white purse, the brim of my ridiculous black Kentucky Derby hat… the sky’s the limit!

For yesterday’s nightcrawl (which went on until 7AM), I turned three of my wee minions into an eye-catching, morbid-adorable necklace. I tied a thin black leather belt around my neck; using safety pins, I strung Freddy Krueger, Voodoo Me, and Hell Kitty at different lengths. The red accents match my lip color and create a popping contrast to the black corset.

Above are some of my favorite VooDoo Babies, most of which are from the “Halloween series.” (Don’t you want to pinch Count Dracula’s cheeks and tug on his lip rings? ) Each retails for about $10-18.

Can you think of other imaginative ways to turn these creatures of the night into alt-fashion statements?