How did I learn how to distress old T-shirts to make them trendy? Yeezy taught me. Now I’m going to teach all of you. The trend of distressed T-shirts, sometimes band T-shirts, sometimes oversize T-shirts, is on the rise thanks to the infamous Kanye West and other trendsetters. Unfortunately, this trend comes at a cost, as many of you are aware if you’ve ever searched the internet for Yeezy merchandise. I recently discovered how to recreate the distressed look trend for less, so read below to find out how.
Here’s what you need: an old T-shirt and scissors (and some bleach if you want to go all out distressed). That’s it!
Step 1: Pick out the perfect shirt to use.
It all starts with the shirt. Do you want to keep it simple? Do you want do make it edgy? Depending on the look you’re going for, it all starts with the T-shirt. The ones I made were three slightly different shirts. Two were old band shirts (Lynard Skynard and Red Hot Chili Peppers) I found around my house and are relatively popular in most stores. The other is a classic bleached tie dye T-shirt I bought at a local vinyl shop. Whatever look you’re looking for, pick a shirt that reflects that.
Step 2: Plan out your design and go for it.
For these shirts, I kept it relatively simple. All of the shirts have little rips and holes throughout, which is super easy to do. For the Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt, I started with a big hole by the collar and a big hole on the bottom seam. For the Lynard Skynard shirt, I decided to make it a V-neck cut out. For this, draw out the V-neck with a marker, but not the collar. Cut on the lines you drew and around the collar to keep it intact for a trendy look. For the Tie Dye shirt, I kept it simple and cut two bigger holes. For the band T-shirts, I cut little holes with the scissors throughout, then dragged the scissors across the shirt for a more dramatic look. After cutting the holes, make sure to pull on them a little with your fingers to make them look more distressed. To be honest, I basically just went for it for each of these shirts, and I really enjoyed how they turned out. This DIY is pretty simple, and if you mess up by cutting a big hole, it might end up looking pretty cool.
Step 3: Add some extra vintage-ness.
If you want to add some extra effects to make the shirt look super distressed, just grab some bleach. For the Lynard Skynard shirt, I thought this would be perfect. All you have to do is put on gloves, find an open spot you don’t mind getting dirty, and put bleach in a water bottle with a hole in the cap. Lay the T-shirt out and pour the bleach (carefully) where you want it. Let it dry, rinse with cold water, and wash. Then you’ll have a bleached out and super rad T-shirt.
Step 4: Rock on!
There you have it. Pick a look you’re going for, and go for it. If you mess up, roll with it. Depending on the look you’re going for, style it with similar or simple pieces. You can dress up these T-shirts or even dress them down, but regardless, rock it!
How do you rock the distressed trend? If you have similar looks, or even try to create your own T-shirt, show us on social media and don’t forget to tag @Cfashionista!
