DIY Distressed Denim

It has taken me a long time to get here.  What can I say, I'm old school.  I basically think ripped jeans should be recycled into cut-offs or patches, but then I noticed that people are ripping their cut-offs and patches.  Then Anthropologie sent out their little denim teaser and there were A LOT of expensive holes and that just made me determined to get the same look with thrifted denim.  I'll show you, Anthropologie!  SO.  I have been on the hunt for a light-wash relaxed-fit boyfriend-style pair of jeans that I can distress...  Meet Levis:

$9 Levis from VV Boutique chillaxin on my island with no idea what's about to happen...

Next, I turned to the source for all things educational.  (That is a joke.)  You Tube.  I surveyed a few different tutorials, then decided this one looked most promising and gave it a go.

I made two slits with scissors, grabbed my tweezers then started pulling.  Just as the video promised, the blue threads started to come out with surprising satisfaction.  Next came the sanding block.  Also satisfying.  I sanded the knees, thighs (er, fronts that is, not inners since those get "sanded" over time all on their own) and back pockets.

I was happy with the end result until I went shopping with a friend and noted the higher distress level in jeans all around me!!

 My father would not have let me out of the house in these as a child,

despite that the Rag & Bone pair on the left was as soft as butter and cost a couple hun.

I was thinking I might need to distress my Levis some more, but decided denim with holes-at-all was a good start, and I needed to leave actual real-time real-wear distress a chance to happen.  So I wore them for Park Hop 2013 today.

 Go ahead and fall off the monkey bars, my pants are already ripped.

Distressed denim such as these can be paired with anything from pumps to ankle boots to sneakers.  I wore mine with flats and a loose but feminine sheer top and simple accessories from my closet.

 Top $7, shoes $4 VV Boutique

I LOVED these distressed jeans!  They were comfortable for all my park activities...

That balance beam is about six inches off the ground but I hope my dramatic pose has you believing I'm a daring-distressed-denim-gymnast.

And what can I say?  I felt trendy.  And I liked it.  I think the distress-level can vary with, eh-hem, age, and subtler distressing is more suitable for a mature kick-ass-long-slide-sliding mother such as myself.  For $9 and some (very minimal) sweat and tears, I am one happy VV Boutique customer.  That is how you try a trend!