Digging up the past, because it still intrigues us
I’m going to be a dick and say we all remember those laddered, loose-knit leggings from Rodarte’s F2008 line.
Anyhow, unlike other much-loved legwear, this stuff never grew up to be a department store knock-off—though some industrious folks are filling that niche and others are building their own. I’m a huge fan of altering clothing and legwear to extend an item’s life and generally get more out of the damn thing. The beauty is the ability to fit something to your needs. So my stubby legs? I can cut up stockings in a way that the snags will show, instead of them ending up somewhere under my skirt.
Why exert effort doing something most try to avoid? Beyond “because I can”, there is always something beautiful about looks that take far more dedication than you’d realised. From the standpoint of someone who makes things: objects like artfully torn stockings and perfectly balanced loose knits can look like such ass if you think you can just slop that shit together any-which-way. Asymmetry is the most difficult to balance, natch.
The first step is what are you going to destroy? Fishnet is classic, but to get closer to the phylum of Rodarte’s work, you’re gonna be looking for something crochet-like. And you want something cheap, because there’s a good chance you’ll totally fuck it up. Bonus! Cheap products that are all full of nylon snag and slice satisfyingly. I ended up going for these, which already had a snag on the back of one leg, yay.
Really, it’s a simple process at its heart.
Just try not to be too regular and concentrate your efforts where they’ll show. I didn’t cut anything below the ankle line because I wear high-tops. Don’t forget the back!
Keep on, let’s finish this.
Pulling and stretching the sliced-up bits not only softens the edges, but is helpful in distributing the damage attractively.
Ta-da, etc.