How to Give Your Clothes a Fashionable Vintage ‘Distressed’ Look

Vintage clothing that has a worn-in look is very popular right now, and such items often cost hundreds of dollars in stores.  However, you might not be able to find the clothes that you like in the particular vintage state that you prefer or the price might be too high. 

 

Instead of seeking out clothing that the manufacturers have already given the “worn” or distressed look, you might want to try making your own.  It is easier than you might think.

 

T-Shirts

 

To give your t-shirts a worn appearance, you can do several things.  First, take a pair of scissors and make some small cuts around the collar and the sleeves.  Stretch the material taut and use a nail brush or a bristle hair brush to fray the cuts.  You can also use some sandpaper on the shirt, which will distress and help to antique it. 

 

This can be very effective with t-shirts that have graphics on the front or back.  Just make sure that you start with some fine sandpaper first to see how it looks.  If you want more of a worn look, you can then move up to stronger sandpaper and press harder.  Be very careful though not to wear a hole right through the shirt!

 

Jeans

 

You can give your jeans a worn look by cutting and fraying the knee area, as well as the bottoms of the legs.  To do this, use a razor blade (carefully!) or a sharp box-cutter to make some small cuts horizontally, just above and below the knees.  Never do this while you are actually wearing them for obvious reasons. 

 

Launder the jeans in the washing machine to fray the cuts, or do what the Hollywood rock stars do and drive your car or truck over them repeatedly, until you get the desired ‘distressed’ look.

 

Use Sandpaper

 

Sandpaper is also an option with jeans — rub lightly down the middle of the front of the jeans while you are wearing them to create a lighter area.  This is called “shading,” and has the great side-effect of making your thighs look slimmer.  Don’t do this on the sides or the back of the jean legs, or you’ll make your legs appear wider. 

 

You can also lightly sandpaper the seat of your jeans over the pocket area, to give the appearance of a fuller and more shapely behind.

 

Use Black Dye or Paint

 

You can also use some black dye or waterproof dark brown paint to dab onto the metal rivets and fly buttons of your jeans, to make them appear rusted.  If you are going to do this, make sure you either remove the rivets first, or tape off the surrounding area to stop the paint or dye getting onto the material.  You can buy antiqued metal studs and fly buttons at any craft store if you’d rather not do this part yourself.

 

Of course, the easiest way to get your hands on some clothing that has that vintage and worn look is to head down to one of your local thrift stores.  That way, you don’t have to do all the work since the hands of time have done it for you!

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