Black lace

This fall, v-neck sweaters are everywhere. Over-sized v-neck sweaters, fitted v-neck sweaters, plunging v-neck sweaters, and high v-neck sweaters, and I LOVE THEM. Another great look this season is off-the-shoulder tops. I love the look of an off-shoulder or low back top, anything that reveals a little bit of shoulders or back. But, let's talk about strapless bras for a second. They're so uncomfortable. And sticky bras freak me out, I won't try it, I just won't! Bra straps under an off-the-shoulder tops though, totally ruin the look. To solve this problem, I figured it would be easy to find a cheap lace strapped bralette to put on underneath the sweater. I was so wrong. The ones I found were either super expensive, or the straps weren't lacey. So I got some lace scalloped fabric shipped from fabric.com, grabbed an old black bra, and got to work...

What you'll need -

Scalloped lace (here is the one I had shipped to me)
Fabric scissors
Sewing machine (or supplies to hand sew)
Fabric pencil or something to mark with (I used pins)
An old bra (same color as your lace)

1. The supplies

First thing's first, find a lace fabric that you like! I wanted black floral with a scalloped edge. And Fitz was very helpful, as per usual...

Grab an old bra. Put it on and adjust the straps until they are comfortable. Mark the spot that hits the top of your shoulders on the straps. I used bobby pins around each strap to mark this spot.

2. The prep

Cut out a strip of the lace in a rough shape of how you'll lay it on your bra. I avoided measurements for this part and figured I would wing it along the way. My piece of lace looked sort of like a triangle.

After you have this rough piece of fabric, lay it on top of your bra, aligning the very top, narrowest piece, to the top of the pin marking your bra strap. The widest piece of the scallop should hit along the top of the bra cup. You will use this like a stencil, cutting your fabric to the shape of the bra. The only place you should need to cut is the outside, where your line of cut is already rough (the left of the photo in my case).

3. Sewing

One your fabric is cut to size, start sewing! Start with the bra strap, working downward.

Once you've covered this side of the fabric, remove the bra from the sewing machine, and cut your thread.

Now, sew where the strap meets the bra cup, down the line of the cup. You will have a little triangle of lace sewn here.

4. The finished product

Sew the last portion of lace down, from the inside of the bra cup to the outside. Your sewing lines should look like this...

Try on your refurbished bra/bralette and make sure everything fits as it was supposed to. Yay, so cute!

How to wear it - 

The look

Wear under a v-neck or over-sized sweater, off-shoulder, or sheer tops where the lace can be shown off! I put mine on under a burgundy v-neck sweater from H&M, I paired it with cuffed dark skinny jeans, black suede heels, and a black tote bag.

The hair & makeup

To pair with my burgundy v-neck, I put on a deep purple lipstick (Rebel by MAC). I did thick winged liquid liner on my eyes, and I lined the insides of my eyes with pencil liner to make them extra dark and bold.

What do you think of this seasons's trends of v-neck sweaters? Are you going to try your own DIY bralette?

Xoxo