Frankenstein Jeans
I really do love me a Horror movie. One of the things I love about them the most is the iconic monsters that feature in them. From Freddie, Michael, Ghost Face to the older faces such as Wolfman, Dracula, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon…….. I love them all. One of my all-time faves has to be Frankenstein’s Monster from the 1931 Universal film. Frankenstein HAS to be one of the most recognized monsters in film history. One controversial point about this monster is its name, Frankenstein or Frankenstein’s Monster…………. I think most go with just Frankenstein (as do I) I think only the most loyal fans of the Mary Shelley novel would opt for later. Although I say this is my fave monster I only like the classic Universal version. Shelley described Frankenstein's monster as an 8-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation, with translucent yellowish skin, pulled so tight over the body that it "barely disguised the workings of the vessels and muscles underneath", watery, glowing eyes, flowing black hair, black lips, and prominent white teeth. Going off this description Universal got the Monster PRETTY wrong, except being tall haha. Saying this they did not only the first but in my eyes the best version of this monster.
Again, I’m going to talk about that BEAUTIFUL Moschino collection in the Summer of 2021 because it still inspires me so much. One model walked the catwalk in a matching green leather biker jacket and trousers covered in Frankenstein-style embroidered scars. As I have mentioned before I wasn’t able to purchase much from this collection and not to mention the price of these trousers was over £1000 and I could never justify spending that on a green leather pair of trousers LOL! Soooo…………….. I decided to make my own pair. I found these jeans on ASOS in the sale. They were priced incredibly in the sale and I managed to get an extra 20% off them so I’m sure I only paid around £12. I loved the fit of these jeans with a more tapered leg and a slightly oversized fit. They only had one size left, which wasn’t mine, haha but I loved them anyway and thought I could always just throw a belt on with them!
Making these jeans really wasn’t too difficult, the only thing about making them was that you need patience……… and I definitely lack this quality haha. I googled ‘Frankenstein scars’ and found a style that I liked. This took some time as I wanted to go for an obviously cartoonish look as I really wanted them to look a little more childish and fun. Once I had found the style I liked I enlarged the picture on my laptop, turned the brightness up, and closed the curtains so I was able to easily trace the design. Once I had the design on paper I cleaned up the design and made a few adjustments to make them more of what I was after. When I was happy with the scars I then placed a sheet of clear acetate over the paper and traced over the design with a sharp scalpel. I wanted to be able to get a few different looks from each stencil depending on which way I placed the stencil or flipped it over so I decided to put a long and a shorter scar on each A4 stencil. The reason the screen printing took so long was that I had to allow the ink to dry between printing and doing the next set so close to the previous set. The 2 stencils meant I could get 4 scars printed before having to wait. The placement of the stencils took some time too. I wanted the scars to look as though they were just randomly placed and at different angles and I think getting this look takes way more effort than a more regimented look. I found putting the jeans in a dark warm cupboard, such as an airing cupboard, was the best way to quickly dry the ink between stencilling. When I was finished and each of the printed scars had dried overnight I then got ironed over the scars on the hottest setting and a sheet of grease proofed paper over the jeans. I steamed the jeans JUST to make surer. I find this is the best way to cure the ink so that you will be able to wash the jeans without the ink running……… or wearing them out in the rain and having the ink run down the leg haha.
Recently I have been obsessing over Monsters In My Pocket. As a kid, I had the entire collection of the first and second series of these toys and I was OBSESSED with them! Now they answer pretty much everything I love in life haha; neon colours, monsters and some crap you can collect LOL. I picked a few different bundles up from eBay and the one thing I was shocked with was how much they go for! Obviously, I wanted the whole collection again but I couldn’t bring myself to part with THAT much cash for small rubber collectables with nowhere to display them haha. I wanted to do something fun for this year’s Halloween blogs and I have been featuring them in each blog using them in a different way. I LOVE my jewellery and thought it would be a fun idea to feature them on a necklace. All I used to do this was a few Monster In My Pocket characters, small screw eye pins, jump rings and a necklace. I picked the characters that not only I had more than one of but also ones with different colours……… ideally colours that clashed haha. All I did was screw the small eye pins into the top of each of the monsters. Once it was in I then opened a jump ring and threaded it through the eye pin then attached it to the silver chain necklace. It really couldn’t have been any easier to make.
I picked these boots up on ASOS during lockdown earlier this year. they were only £35, reduced from £50 and they gave me dupe Bottega Veneta vibes (only at a fraction of the price haha). With the chunky sole, I thought these would have been perfect for this shoot and the Frankenstein look with the jeans. ASOS do still sell these boots and they also do them in grey (which I’d also LOVE).
Hat - ASOS
Jacket - ASOS
Silver Necklace - ASOS
Neck Tie - Lush
Bag - Moschino
T Shirt - H&M
Jeans - ASOS
Belt - ASOS
Boots - ASOS