These Boots Were Made {for Ruffles}

I am a huge fan of Sex and The City mainly for the ridiculous, amazing near grotesque amount of shoes there are to drool over. I usually need a tissue or two to wipe the saliva sliding off my chin.

The thought of having a shoe wardrobe full of Louboutins, Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks sends my heart into a near flutter that is almost life threatening.

But....I'm a MOM on a BUDGET. What's a shoe loving girl to do? DIY of course!

Right now my my busy Mom feet need comfortable and I'm currently more driven to the look of Anthropologie shoes.

I had these pups saved to my favorites on my computer:

I however, am not a fan of the well over $100 price tag. Instead I found a pair of black moccasin style tall boots that were an incredible price of $13 at a discount store called Gabriel Brothers. If you have this store in your area--go.there.now.

The boots I don't love just plain, but I saw serious potential in them. I knew they would be a perfect pair with a perfect price tag to experiment on.


I'll give the quick and dirty on how I did it:


-After purchasing I headed directly to the fabric store and got a 1/4 yard of a similar suede-like material that matched the boots as close as possible.

-Once home I cut about 2 inch strips that were double the length of the boot. Using my sewing machine I ran a straight stitch down the middle of the strip and gathered it into a ruffle. After tying at both ends I contemplated on how I would sew it to the boot.

-Then the lazy, instant-gratification-seeking me reached for my glue gun.
Yes, my glue gun. I could rule the world with it. High temperature is where it's at. I did have momentary apprehension on if this would work out and hold up. $12...it was worth the risk.

-So I carefully started at the bottom of my shoe on the outer side and glued my way up and toward the back. Then continued all the way up the back of the boot tucking the end and gluing at the top inside. I was careful to use plenty of glue and really make sure it was secure.

-Since the edges were raw I used Fray Check down both edges of the ruffle.


End result were these happy guys:

I am very proud to say I've been wearing these boots now for almost 4 months and they are completely holding up with no problem! I'm really pretty hard on my shoes.

I've worn them quite a bit which included a trip to New York City and lots of walking.

I always get tons of compliments when I wear them and though the boot itself is pretty cheaply made, I believe these will be wearable next boot season as well. Even when they are a bit worn I think it might add to their charm.

I hope you likey! If you attempt to do the same, I'd be so tickled if you would come back and share your results!

I'm Linky Partying @