Have you ever looked at an expensive pair of destroyed denim and think, "Why are these so expensive? I could cut holes in my own jeans." I know I have. I never thought it was worth it to pay extra for jeans that came pre-ripped. However, until recently, I never made the effort to try doing it myself.

Courtesy: Madewell

Making your own custom pair of ripped jeans is fairly easy, it just takes patience. There is a lot of tedious work involved in making perfectly frayed holes. I would recommend doing it while watching your favorite TV show or movie; it makes time pass much more quickly.

What you need:

A pair of fabric scissors or very sharp scissors.
A pair of jeans you wouldn't mind cutting up
Tweezers

Courtesy: Pop Champagne

1. Make at least two cuts, as far apart as you would like.

Courtesy: The Harvard Vestis Council

2. Take your tweezers and pull out the vertical threads. It might take awhile to find them but once you find one, the rest is fairly easy. It just takes a bit of time since you have to pull them out strand by strand. It's okay if you destroy your denim a bit in the process, it doesn't have to be too neat!

Courtesy: The Harvard Vestis Council

3. Once you have pulled out the vertical threads, you are done! Make as few or as many as you'd like. Don't worry if it doesn't have the "destroyed" look you want to achieve yet. Once it goes through the wash, it will look just like the expensive jeans you would see in the stores.

Courtesy: denimblog.com

I know there are many ways to create the destroyed denim look, but this one was the one I tried and was really happy with. It's a great way to spice up your jeans and save a ton of money. If any of you try it, let me know how it goes!

Courtesy: StyleMint

There’s no doubt that denim cut-offs are a summer staple. But wouldn’t you rather save the $50 you’d spend on them at Urban Outfitters or NastyGal and make them yourself? Here are a few tips for when you make your own cut offs!

First off, you’ll need an old (or thrifted) pair of jeans, scissors, a razor-blade, and chalk.

1. Use a pair of jeans a couple sizes too large or make them out of men's jeans. This will help you acheive the high-waisted, but loose-fitted look. If you use jeans that are actually your size, they may be too fitted around the legs.

2. Use chalk to mark the places on your shorts where you want to make slashes/rips. If you mark with pen and decide to make slashes somewhere else, the pen might not come off in the washer. But you don’t have to worry about the chalk!

3. Keep the pant legs that you cut off to practice your tearing techniques on. This way you can make sure you’ve mastered making the perfect slashes with your razor blade before you make them on your shorts.

DIY cut offs can be that much better than buying them, because you can customize yours to fit your taste. If you want to add something extra to your shorts, you can purchase packs of spikes and studs from www.studsandspikes.com at fairly inexpensive prices and stud your shorts like these:

Courtesy: Vixxxen

Levis 501 High Waist Studded Cut Off Shorts sold by BetaVintageCasual, etsy.com, $42

Vintage Destroyed DIY Cut Off Jeans sold by SORUTHLESS, etsy.com, $49

You can also pick a fabric of your choice and sew them on a pocket or one side of your shorts, as shown on the Free People blog.

Courtesy: Free People

You just need to measure the size of fabric you need and hand stitch it onto your shorts.

If you’re feeling brave you can use white jeans and dye them fun colors, or even do an ombre dye job.

Levis Coral Pink Ombre Dip Dye Shorts sold by ShopKaleidoscopeEyes, etsy.com, $65

No matter what you decide to do to, make sure to enjoy those cut-offs before summer’s over!

I recently started using coconut oil on my hair and I have been very pleased with the results. I've been using the product for a few weeks now and my hair has become noticeably more shiny and soft. I dye my hair quite frequently so it has been very dry lately. However, since I've started using coconut oil as a hair mask, that has changed.

I did some research on the benefits of coconut oil and found that there were numerous ones. Coconut oil has long been used in many cultures, such as India, as a regular part of their hair care regimen. According to organicfacts.net, coconut oil is a great way to heal your scalp and prevent dandruff. It helps regrow damaged hair and it has the essential proteins that your hair needs. You can also use the oil on your skin (though I tried this once and it made me break out a lot before it got better), to heal scars and stretch marks, and as a part of your diet. I haven't tried all of these yet but I've heard great things about each of these applications.

How to use coconut oil for your hair:

First of all, make sure that you are using an organic virgin coconut oil. You can find it for about $6 at Trader Joe's.

1. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so if it is solid, put 2-3 tablespoons into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15-30 seconds.

2. Once the coconut oil is in its liquid state, use either your fingers or a small paintbrush to spread it through your hair. Make sure your hair is well saturated with the oil.

3. Wrap your hair with a shower cap or plastic wrap and let it soak into your hair for at least an hour.

4. Rinse out your hair, shampooing twice and using conditioner as normal.

5. Do this about once a week.

Here is a useful tutorial I found SMLx0's youtube channel.

I also like to comb it through my hair just to make sure it is really evenly spread out. I try to focus on the scalp and really massage it in because I usually have a pretty dry scalp, especially during the summertime. I can definitely say that since I've been doing this, my hair looks a lot more shiny and healthy than it did before. This is a natural alternative to expensive drugstore products that has really worked well for me. I hope that if you try this, you will see the same results!

For the past few seasons, studs have been all the rage, embellished on shirts, shoes, shorts, and even phone cases. What better way to join in on the trend than to update a classic sneaker?

NOTE: If you don't have a pair of Chucks, try another canvas shoe (Vans, Keds, Toms) to achieve the same type of look! Prefer something more polished than a sneaker? Loafers and oxfords are a great alternative. 

Courtesy: vogue.com

I am in love with this woman's bra. I love the geometric shapes on her upper chest, and her flowy top adds a feminine look. These pictures of her are from the Paris fashion week last winter. I love the combination of the sexy bra, nylon top, fur, and elegant woolen skirt. This is an ingenious variation of wearing a bra under a body mesh -- what we've seen over and over -- like the picture below.

Courtesy: Paul Joyce

This picture inspires me. The nylon and leather combination is interesting, especially her pantyhose top. I've been thinking about making one for a while now, except I still don't know what I would wear it with.

Courtesy: unknown

This is a relatively easy DIY and definitely on my to-do DIY list.  I got these pictures from a DIY website (I don't remember which one), but the whole deal is to get a strapless bra and sew on the two long straps. Once I figure out the lengths of the cloths, I'm actually going to attach them with safety pins, because then I can detach them and make it a halter-neck bra, strapless, and so on.