Okay so last Tuesday I was scrolling through Instagram, minding my own business, right? And BAM – this picture of Miley Cyrus pops up. She’s wearing this wild outfit made almost entirely of safety pins hooked together over a fishnet base. Looked like human chainmail, seriously edgy. Everyone in the comments was losing their minds.
The Lightbulb Moment & Getting Stuff
My first thought was, “Dang, that looks nuts… but kinda simple? Maybe I can make that?” Right then, the challenge was ON. Grabbed my keys and headed straight out.
- First stop: the craft store. Bought out basically their ENTIRE stock of large, silver safety pins. I’m talking multiple giant bags. No joke, the cashier looked at me like I was building a bomb.
- Second stop: thrift store downtown. Needed a base. Found this super old, kinda scratchy fishnet top – perfect because it looked exactly like what Miley wore underneath, just rougher. It was cheap, perfect for experimenting.
- Third stop: actually, just my own place. Dug out my wire cutters and some sturdy pliers. Figured I’d need them.
The Making Part (A.K.A. The Struggle)
Got home, dumped everything on my living room floor, ready to roll. Thought it would be quick. Oh boy, I was SO wrong.
Started out easy: laid the fishnet top flat on the floor. Grabbed a handful of safety pins. Opened one up, hooked it through the fishnet, pinched it closed. Simple. Did another. And another.
Realized after about ten pins that my fingers were already starting to ache. Those metal prongs are NO JOKE to close tightly by hand. But okay, powering through.
Tried just linking pins directly together without the fishnet first, thinking it might be faster that way. NOPE. Fell apart the second I picked it up. Looked like a jangly mess. Scratch that plan.
Back to one-at-a-time onto the fishnet. This was gonna be slow. Started around the neckline first, trying to mimic Miley’s sort-of collar look.
After about an hour, my thumbs felt bruised. Seriously. Remembered I had pliers! Used them to pinch the pins shut properly. Life changer. Speed definitely picked up.
Worked from the top down. Did the shoulders, then started filling in the front. Needed gaps where skin showed through the fishnet, so it wasn’t completely covered, just like Miley’s. Had to keep checking the reference pic.
Ran out of pins?! Had to run BACK to the craft store. Bought the rest of their stock. The same cashier just stared.
Took me FOUR tries to get the underarm area right. Kept catching the net when I moved. Used the wire cutters to carefully snip a few pins shorter and placed them differently. Finally, it worked without tearing the net or stabbing me. Bonus!
The Big Reveal (and the Shock)
Finally, after more hours than I care to admit and fingers that thought they’d fall off, it was done. Held it up. It. Looked. INSANE. Heavy, cold, crazy shiny. Absolutely wild.
Put it on over a simple black bra. Took a deep breath and walked to my hallway mirror.
Dude. Seeing it on? Blew my mind. Felt so powerful and kinda dangerous. Like wearing armor made of, well, pins. It actually fit pretty well! Snapped a few pics right then.
Posting & The Aftermath
Just threw those pics up on my profile with a quick caption like, “Saw Miley’s thing… had to try. Did I nail it?” Went to bed.
Woke up to my phone absolutely blowing up. Notifications were endless. Thousands of likes, comments like “OMG HOW?!” “This is ART!” “Girl, you ARE Miley!” People sharing it like crazy. My DMs flooded with “Tutorial??” requests.
Honestly? Totally unexpected. I just saw something cool and thought, “Why not?” Turns out, a LOT of people thought it was amazing I actually made the dang thing.
Moral of the story? Sometimes you gotta say “screw it” and buy out a craft store’s supply of safety pins. Might just break the internet for a day. My fingers have forgiven me… mostly.