DIY Distressed Denim Shorts

If you don't live under a rock or on some deserted island you have probably seen lots of people wearing distressed denim shorts. Denim shorts come in all shapes, colors and designs. There are the shorty short Daisy Dukes, the high waisted vintage "mom jean" shorts and so many other kinds. My personal favorite would have to be distressed high waisted denim shorts.
There are so many different places to purchase these shorts, from H&M to Urban Outfitters, from Cotton On to American Eagle. You can buy the high end kind that range from 40$-60$ {Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, Nasty Gal} or the less expensive kind that range from 20$-40$ {American Eagle, Cotton On}. Im not about to give you purchasing advice on which company sells the best shorts because they are all so different. I have my go to distressed lightly colored shorts from American Eagle, my tight black cheetah shorts for nights out from some random boutique in England and my dark undistressed shorts from Urban Outfitters for parties. But my personal favorite shorts are the ones I made myself! Now don't get discouraged at the idea of cutting and creating your own distressed shorts because it is actually really easy. You can make it as long of a process or as short of a process as you want to. You can add studs, paint, fabric, holes and anything else your heart desires!


DIY. Distressed Denim Shorts

In this post I'm going to show you how to create distressed denim shorts, from finding the rights ones to cutting them up and wearing them.

Bits and Pieces you will be needing
-Jeans
-Scissors
-Sandpaper
-{Studs, Paint, Extra Fabric.. Its up to you!}

Jeans....

{try them on for size}

If you are creating vintage "mom jean" shorts the best place to start looking is in your moms closet for those hidden jeans she had since she was 17. If your mom, like mine, loves to throw out her old clothes the next best place to stop is your local thrift store {Goodwill, White Elephant}. Searching for the perfect pair at a thrift store might take a while but don't give up, you will find something that works. I found an old pair of dark wash Palmettos for 2.50$ {they were on sale... score!}. I've heard that 100% cotton jeans are the easiest to cut and distress but I've used all different kinds of jeans and each pair has worked fine for me.




Time to start cutting! ...

{draw a straight line with ruler}

Once you've purchased your thrift store jeans or found some in your mom's closet its time to cut them into shorts. The best way, that I've found, is to try on your jeans and decide about where you want them to be cut and draw a line with a pencil a few inches LONGER than you want them to be {leave room for error!}. Put your jeans on the floor or some other flat surface and fold them in half. Make sure you line up the crotch and all the seams. Take a ruler and draw a straight line across your jeans in pencil of where you want to cut them. CUT ONE LEG AT A TIME. Once you've cut your jeans try them on again and decide if they need to be shorter, but remember to give yourself at least a half inch to an inch for error! After you've cut your jeans into the shorts you want it is time to distress.

Distress and Make a Mess...

{horizontal lines}

When distressing shorts always remember what your mom used to say "Less is always More". Decide where you want to make holes and rips in your shorts. To make your shorts look for vintage and worn the best places to distress are the: coin pocket, back pocket, and the edges of the front. The easiest way to distress your shorts is to take your scissors and cut horizontal lines on the places you want to be holes. The more lines you have the bigger your hole will be {Don't get too crazy with the scissors!} Once you've cut the lines in your shorts, take the sandpaper or any type of grainy material and start rubbing on other parts of your jeans {you don't have to make holes, it makes your shorts look worn}. After you're done distressing stick your shorts in the washer and dryer and wait and see what you've created! You may need to do more cutting and sandpapering once you've washed your shorts but you can always add more {you can't remove!}. After you've finished distressing your shorts it is up to you what else you want to do to them. You can easily add studs, paint, bleach, anything you want because you made them!

It's that easy: DIY. Distressed Denim Shorts!