This back-to-school season, the coolest of the tweens and teens will hit their closets for jeans to rip, shirts to appliqué, dresses to hem, and socks to paint.

But what about flashy new duds from once-popular mall haunts Abercrombie & Fitch? Hollister Co.? Justice?

That’s soooo Gen Y.

Do-it-yourself fashion is the must-have designer label for kids this fall. Not only is the process more accessible to its devotees, it’s also creative and unique, and it celebrates frugality in a dicey economy where fashionable girls and boys still want something new.

The artsy crowd has crossed over to the mainstream.

“Why should I buy a pair of jeans for like $30 or $40 when I can rip them and bleach them myself?” asked Khalea Belle, 14, a freshman at Winslow Township High School in Camden County.

“Exactly,” said Khalea’s bud Christian Thomas, 14, of neighboring Sterling High School in Somerdale, who said he had altered about a quarter of his wardrobe. “I’m not trying to spend all my money on clothes. I’d rather spend my money on dirt bikes and sneakers.”

Khalea uses A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts supplies to make some of her (and her friends’) clothes-of-the-moment. Her most popular looks? Denim jackets that she paints and bleaches, and beaded galaxy shirts, a DIY take on designer Christopher Kane’s dresses that are printed with images of, well, a galaxy. It’s all the DIY rage on YouTube.

Click below to read more and see the gallery of DIY projects you can try.