DIY FUN BOOTS

Funny" boots, the other day a friend asked me about my "relationship" with luxury? If I had any frustrations, having worked in luxury ready-to-wear houses, I was "educated" in noble materials and sublime finishes... All this to say that I asked myself this question, "Am I frustrated?"

Well, yes and no. Yes, because if I had the means to buy beautiful pieces, I'd be happy to do so, and no, because if I'm short of money, I'll make myself the object of my desires, within the limits of my abilities... And then I said to myself, if I found an envelope of cash lying on the floor right now, and if I had to spend it all in less than an hour, what would I buy? You'll notice that I'm not even thinking about winning the lottery, I'm thinking about something even more improbable, "finding an envelope of cash" I'm getting tired just writing it down. Well, last time, I told myself that if I had to choose just one thing, it would be a pair of boots. Isabel Marantboots, and then I thought no, I'd never wear a pair of pumps as expensive as Mozambique's PBI...

So yes, my relationship with luxury is tumultuous, even complex. Anyway, today I'm showing you my Marrantes boots, and I think it's even more fun to wear them than the real thing... Without further ado, here are the 24 simplified steps to my favorite DIY.

To make these boots, you'll need..:

• - A pair of Mellow Yellow wedge boots,
• - Leather and black gabardine pattern parts, download pattern HERE.
• - 2 pieces of elastic, 6cm long,
• - 20 strips of leather, approx. one metre long, available from perles d'or,
• - pins, black cord and leather pins (hand and machine) Don't bother if you don't have the right materials, needles and cord at fil 2000!

To begin, cut the leather strips into small bangs of 12 cm each fig.2. To help you, stick a strip of double-sided tape along one side of the black gabardine "Back" section, and lay the bangs, letting them stick out a little. You'll need to stitch along the tape strip figs. 3, 4 & 5. Then machine-stitch, having threaded the cord and leather needle into the machine, fig. 6. Place the leather "Front" part on the fringe stitching, the "Front" part should cover the fringe by a few millimeters fig.7, and stitch the leather straight fig.8, so there's a clean edge and a "rib" stitching on the "Outside" part of the boot, where the fringe is.

Pin the boot closed, right sides together fig.1, do the same with the gabardine lining fig.2 and stitch the two parts together. Press the seams open, and slide fig.3 & 4, remembering to keep the seams open. herefor technical terms. Then press the two parts of the boot together, right sides together fig. 4. Use pins to align the heel toe, yokes etc. fig.5. Then sandwich the elastic on the front (indicated on the pattern) and pin, fig.6 and do the same on the other side fig.7. Stitch together, notch the rounded edges, clear the corners, open the seams and slide fig.8.

Re-enter the lining into the leather boot fig.1. Then to close the boot, make two small folds around the circumference of the two parts and pin them together fig. 2 & 3. Take the leather needle and cord thread and hand-stitch all around to secure the right side and lining fig.4. Repeat all these operations from the beginning for the second boot - you can also do it all at once, I'm not closed... fig. 5. Fit your boot into this leather "gaiter" fig. 6. And secure with the elastic. fig.7. And you're going to tell me we're walking on elastic? well yes... and doesn't it suck? Well, I've been wearing mine out for 1 week, and from crash test to crash test, there's still no cracking in sight, and if it does crack, I'll change it... it's a detail! And TA-DA if you follow all the steps carefully, you'll see that it's not that complicated!

Thank you Charlotte E. for the photos <3