Backless Top
Backless dresses were first introduced in the flapper movement of the twenties. Since then they have always been popular on the red carpet where celebrities have worked their floor length backless numbers. However the further we get into the twenty-first century the more they’re beginning to slip into the more casual wardrobe. This backless style has graced the high street with the infamous American Apparel leotard, worn by plenty of fashion-conscious girls across the country. If you want to achieve this same elegant look without the annoyance of an all-in-one, the scoop-back top is the answer. This scoop-back top can be worn with Disco Pants for a night out or high-waisted shorts for a day time festival look. All you need is an old t-shirt and a pair of scissors and you’ll be on your way to backless elegance.
You will need:
- An old T-shirt (this needs to be relatively big, I used a medium unisex one)
- Light coloured crayon or chalk
- Scissors
- An iron
- Studs or embellishments of your choice
- Turn the t-shirt inside out.
- Cut off the sleeves along the seam line.
- Draw a mark with your crayon/chalk 30cm down in the centre of the back of the T-shirt. You can change how far down your draw this mark according to how much of a scoop back you want on your top.
- Make 2 more marks either side of the central mark, 3cm away from it and 3cm up.
- Draw a curved line joining the 3 marks together. This will be the outline of your scoop back.
- Draw a mark on each side of the collar.
- Draw 2 straight diagonal lines coming from these two marks, joining them with the curved line.
- You should now have the full scoop back outline, cut along this line.
- Cut neck line as close as you can to the original collar.
- Turn the t-shirt the right way out.
- Fold over 1.5cm along the seam of the scoop back and neckline and press with an iron.
- Fix studs in place around the edge of the scoop back to decorate and also to keep your pressed seam in place.
Floral Sunglasses
Back when oversized sunglasses entered the fashion scene people didn’t know what to make of them. Yet now the bug-eyed glasses have become the norm, designers are starting to make even more of a statement with their designs. Dolce and Gabbana first experimented with sunglasses framed by three dimensional pastel flowers in their Spring/Summer runway shows last year and now Prada have joined them with daisy embellished shades in their Spring/Summer collection this year. Floral sunglasses range from flower patterns to bold three dimensional floral embellishments. The floral embellishments look great on cat’s eye style sunglasses and particularly with a paler lens. But if not you’re quite brave enough to parade around campus in these outrageous sunnies, they are also perfect for this summer’s festivals.
You will need:
- A pair of cheap sunglasses (Primark do some great pairs from just one pound!)
- Superglue
- Plastic flowers (from eBay or craft shops)
- Practice arrangements of plastic flowers using Blu Tac.
- To stick the flowers in place use whatever brand glue you have chosen, but make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Leave overnight to dry.
