January 25, 2010

Never say never,

Until recently, I always said I would never wear skinny jeans again.  I remember them first time round, in the 80's, except then, (here in the UK), they were called  'drain pipes'!  Anyone else remember sitting in your Levi's in a bath full of water in the hope they would shrink and be tighter?!  Just before christmas, I went shopping with my mum and tried some on.  I liked them.  I bought a pair.  I bought a pair of Fly London Mols (in brown, they were in the sale as they are last years style).  I wore them with my skinny jeans and liked them even more.

Now let's move to after christmas, and like Florence, I am also a huge fan of brown cords.  I began on the train of thought that there might be a possibility to bring these two loves together, in the form of a pair of brown corduroy skinny jeans, ...could it be possible?

After a great deal of searching, I had found many things but alas no holy grail.  Skinny cords in the right colour, but not the right size (I have a bit of a Jennifer Lopez situation going on in the butt region), and cords in the right size, but not brown.  I need brown!  Cue, next stop, Ebay, and we're getting there.  A pair of Gap skinny cords, UK size 12 (that's an 8 I think in the USA), in camel.  That's almost brown, right?

And here they are...,

 

Now, although I do like the colour, I know in my heart I still want brown.  I would wear them more if they were brown.  So, after a quick exchange of emails with Florence to quiz her on the recent dyeing of corduroy trousers, a trip to the shops later, I am armed with a box of Dylon Machine Dye.

Florence used Dylon Wash & Dye in chocolate brown.  I went for the basic Machine Dye in dark brown as it was a slightly less red shade and a little bit darker.  The only difference between the two is the Machine Dye needs 500g of salt adding, the Wash & Dye doesn't.  My poor washing machine was going to be in for a bit of a battering, it takes one full cycle to do the dyeing, one full cycle to rinse, then a third full cycle to clean the empty machine, although I suspect I will be just doing darks for the next few washes until I"m certain all the dye has gone.

And here they are again...,



I have also taken them in slightly, again something I haven't done since the 80's, and shortened the length (which I always have to do with trousers anyway, being, well short myself!).  I think they've turned out pretty good, and cheap too.

Trousers : £2.50 ($4.03) + Dye : £4.49 ($7.23) = Total : £6.99 ($11.26)

Bargain! 

20 comments:

x vInTaGe VioLeT x said...

ooh much nicer dyed brown i think - i loved my skinny jeans in the 80's and leggings how i loved them me and my friends were always on a mission to find them tighter and longer i even had skinny jeans with zips! I wear both now but need a long top to go with them as no-one deserves the sight of my tummy!

Anonymous said...

Lovely! Suits you too :)

Betz White said...

They turned out fab! Good for you. Nice to know dye works so well on cords.

I loved my skinny 80's jeans. In fact, my college roomies and I would taper our jean legs with our sewing machines. The ankle would be so tight we'd have to help each other pull them off to get them over our feet! LOL!

Needled Mom said...

Definitely best in brown. Great idea and a great bargain as well.

Gluten Free Store Ltd www.glutenfreestore.co.nz said...

Oh crickey those were the days!! they look really good. Excellent dye job on them too.

Lyn said...

why had i never thought of doing that? they look good.
love
lyn
xxx

Jeni Allen said...

Love them! Funny, when I was reading I thought, why doesn't she just take them in, then you did. I've been doing that for my teenager lately, saving a few bucks!

willywagtail said...

Woohoo. Love the dye job. Cherrie

Leah said...

I've never been the right shape or size - even in the 80's - to wear skinny jeans but I'm now regularly having to take my teenage son's trousers in!!

Love the colours your have turned out.

Florence Knapp (Flossie Teacakes) said...

I'm so pleased that the dye worked out and that they look so very foxy (in style, if not colour). x

winterpeachblog said...

I think they look great. I've been itching to get back into skinny jeans myself because I LOVED them in the 80's. I just haven't been brave enough yet.

the shoppe owner said...

I have so many great pieces that I NEED to dye and or update. You did such a great job! Have you seen what Sherry from Young House Love did to her wedding dress??? It is amazing!

Suzanne Vaughan said...

Love the new colour!

angharad handmade said...

I'm edging towards buying my first pair of skinny jeans at the moment - I'm thinking the skinniness might counterbalance my pregnancy bump! They cords look great, definitely like the chocolate brown (oh, and nice fly london boots too!).

Handmade in Israel said...

Ooh! I remember STRETCH jeans from the eighties. Wouldn't touch them now... I don't have the problem of taking in size 12 jeans, lol! Yours look great!

Miaou said...

Oh wow, haven't they dyed nicely! They look fab, especially with those boots!

imperfectly natural mama said...

Wow, amazing, and they look great on you. I wish I could include the word "skinny" when refering to any part of my wardrobe!!

Hels

Anonymous said...

Cute, they look adorable! I love, love, love your projects and find you to be quite an inspiration. I tried to make a fox similar to yours one day and it is nowhere near as cute. :)

Traceyr said...

Well done on successfully dying your cords.

Hope you have many happy wearing years!

:)

Becky J. said...

weee haaa!! i love the dark.... might have to give that a try.