Month: November 2007

Manolos for Men

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Per UK Vogue, Manolo is bringing back his collection for men.

After an absence of seven years on the menswear scene, Manolo Blahnik has dusted off his sketchbook – and created a line of men’s shoes so fabulous, they are pretty much guaranteed to knock your man’s socks off.

The six-piece collection runs the gamut from safely stunning (the red suede Oxford brogue), to the outrageously gorgeous (in the shape of leopard print sandal, Bir). “It’s not a big collection,” reflects the designer, who was honoured with a CBE just a couple of weeks ago. “There are some simple sandals in beautiful materials, and a few classics – with a twist. I thought it was time to bring back some colour into the male wardrobe.” Look out for the collection, due in store from February.

Personally I think they are bit “out-there” for most of the men I know, even the most fashion forward. I’m also not a huge fan of open shoes for men, so I like the red pair the best.

I’m sure they will be popular but my tastes for men tend to be much more formal and, I guess, preppy/country club-ish. Ideally, I would dress a man in Brooks Brothers and JCrew.

My favorite shoes for men are white suede bucks.

I think this just goes back to my tennis/cricket/croquet fantasy. Look at these – a wingtip version!

Unless you are exercising, this is about as casual as I think men should go – a dark brown boat shoe. Sperry is ideal but these Brooks Brother ones are nice.

Dress code – “whites”, sweaters, 3-piece suits with vests or sweaters underneath.

I don’t like these guys though. Think Johnathan Rhys Meyers in Match Point.

No Tevas, no sandals. Let’s have a little class here, please.

Designer Focus – Pierre Hardy

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So a while back I wrote about how in love I am with Davis by Ruthie Davis and the shoes in the collection (in spite of her being a major contributor to the creation and popularity of Uggs). I haven’t had the opportunity to buy any of her shoes but I did have nice conversation with her about buying some because the I love the Barcelona heel on this shoe so much.



I mean, look at it. It’s like a shiny cold skyscraper for your foot. I would have snapped them up in a hot minute but I don’t like the chain on the front, so I’m holding out for next year hoping she’ll do a closed toe, non-chain version with this same heel.

Anyhow, I was all impressed with the architecture of her designs, but again, trolling vintage shoes on eBay I’ve found a possible inspiration piece for Ms. Davis. Check these babies out:

Umm…. hello! Look at that heel. Metal. Check! Monolithic. Check! Kick-ass. Check! Plus there is the added benefit of the chain attaching shoe and heel.

Who created these beauties from the 80’s?

Why Mr. Pierre Hardy!

Now, I’m not going to lie and say, “Oh, yes, Pierre Hardy. I’ve been following his career for ages, Darling. Why, in grade school all I would wear were Pierre Hardy designs, blah, blah, BLAH!”

No, no, no, I can be honest. I didn’t immediately recognize the name, but boy, I should have. Mnsr. Hardy has designed for some of the best of them before heading out on his own to do his own line of shoes and bags (he appears to be a Bag Snob fav-or-ite). He designed for Balenciaga and Hermes and is known mostly in the fashion industry for reviving the House of Dior’s shoe collection in the late 1980’s – right around the time period of the shoes above.

I went to his site and found an amazing collection of gorgeous shoes that I am instantly coveting. I’m a greedy biotch, I know!

Perfect shape. Perfect color.

More blue suede but with futuristic heel. Cool.

I love this heel. Love it.



How crazy are these? But the black keeps them in line.

Weren’t orbs popular this year? I love that these are all gold and metallic-y but in a classy good way, not crap materials.

These are why I knew Pierre Hardy! I totally saw these on Style.com and thought they were awesome- great colors, great embellishment, mod, retro, striking, unique. How many more adjectives can I throw out there. These are like investing in great art – but you get to wear them out and show them off.

Much more practical than some giant painting or sculpture.

Hmm… maybe I should try and track these down.

By the way – I think you should go and get those shoes above on eBay. They don’t fit me (damn!) so they need a good home.

I’m Green with Envy

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Darn Selfridges!

First they are in the UK. Then they don’t put all their stuff up on the website so I can order it.
They get all kinds of cool events and they have a big sale going on.

Not only are they getting the multi-color Louboutin glitter heel in a pump now they have it in a gorgeous green glitter version!

I love these even more than the multi-color version!


To get your 20%, follow these instructions:

We would like you to have a special pre-Christmas gift. Just show this voucher at the till, before you pay, every time you make a purchase from Friday 30th to Sunday 2nd December 2007 and you will receive 20% off* your Christmas shopping, including our festive Christmas Hampers, with 10% off* our unequalled range of fragrance and beauty.

So get your Christmas list ready.

To qualify for your discount:
1. Simply click on the link and fill in your details. CLICK HERE.
2. Print off the voucher.
3. Show the voucher at the till point before you pay to receive your discount.

For store locations and opening times visit www.selfridges.com or call 0800 123 400.

Aaaannnd… We’re back!

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Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!!

We were in Chicago hangin‘ with family so I didn’t get to post much. Since we were going to the craziest airport in the US, I fully anticipated delays and lost luggage and general mayhem. We had booked our tickets with this in mind, so we were leaving early Wednesday morning and coming home on Saturday, rather than pushing our luck on Sunday.


Photo source: Geoff Diamond

Leaving our small airport for our direct flight to Chi-town was uneventful. We did have a two hour delay because the flight crew got in late the night before but that ended up working out for the best. To get to our airport is easy so we got some extra sleep and packing time, which was needed. We were checking bags, which I was loathe to do since I always think my bag is going to get lost especially since it was a new suitcase, but when we got to our airport there were no big lines for security.

I love our airport.

On Friday, the husband and I somehow decided it would be a good idea to take the train downtown and go shopping. I love to shop (obviously) and I love that they have stores I don’t have in town but shopping on a crazy shopping day, and with another person, is not conducive to an enjoyable shopping experience.

Needless to say, I didn’t really buy much. Although I did see some items in person that I had been longing for as well as a few items that I had not seen online. Plus I saw a ton of girls wearing great flat boots and now I want some even more!

First stop was Neiman Marcus (of course) and then Water Tower Place.


Photo source: Fickr – Caribb

At Neiman Marcus we made a quick round through the floors and spent a few moments in the shoe department. I actually didn’t see anything I wanted (or didn’t already have or have on order) so, while somewhat sad, I did not leave frustrated. I actually was the most tempted in the purse department. They had the YSL Mombasa sequin hobo there and it was just a pretty in person.

But I didn’t leave Neimans empty handed. I did get the new Jo Malone perfume – White Jasmine and Mint. We tried a few of them as well, but both of us kept coming back to this one. It’s very pretty and not overly sweet or spicy. I’m wearing it today and it smells yummy.

In Water Tower Place (a madhouse!), we went to Sephora and I got a bunch of things I had been holding off on. I got tempted by their new catalog of over-the-top looks. Even though I don’t know where I could go wearing this much make-up, I still love it.

I got Benefit’s BADgal Lash mascara in BADgal Blue…

… Too Faced’s Sparkler Glamour Gloss in Pink Bling (super sparkly)…

… and Too Faced’s Kitty Glitter in Pussy Galore (I know!) and more.

When I got home, I realized I have three things of pink glitter, so I guess I need to go around with glitter all over my mouth for the rest of the year.

Smooch!

But the big bargain find of the day was my Nine West clutch. When I saw this back in August, I loved it then, but when I went to go get it, it was no where to be found!

I’ve been looking around for it ever since then, to no avail.

We went into a Nine West on Michigan Avenue – nothing. Then, in Water Tower Place we were by the Nine West and decided to pop in on the off chance. There was one sitting on a shelf behind the register and I asked if I could take a look at it. It was still cute and so I opened it up to take a look at the inside at the price tag.

Originally this was priced at $120. When I saw it before it was $80. The price tag read $19.99.

Shut up!

So we asked the sales person to verify the price. She gave it a quick scan and said, no, the price was wrong…. it’s actually $9.99!

Whoo Hoo!

Anyhow, the next day it was on to home and, even though it wasn’t bad weather or overly crazy at lovely O’hare, United still managed to transfer us onto three different planes and make us almost 5 hours late.


Photo source: Flickr disgruntled

Thank goodness that ordeal is over.

If that wasn’t exhausting enough, I came home and decided to do the big “Seasonal Switch” – go through all my clothes and shoes, move stuff, purge stuff and reorganize everything.

I have way too much stuff, but at least it’s neat.

For all you Gossip Girl lovers…

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I haven’t been watching Gossip Girl but I keep hearing the raves about how good it is. I know I probably won’t get sucked in, but maybe I should because the fashion does look pretty good.

WhoWhatWearDaily featured some of the styles from the show’s characters and where to get them. All the looks are cute but I loved the Blair Waldorf look below – shiny black trench, red stockings and the cutest boots!

They are Sam Edelman boots and were on sale at SmartBargins.com. I like the mix of grey, white and teal toe cap – all popular style trends this year but so classic you could wear them forever. I had to run out and get these. 50% off! And they look more wearable than the Louboutin Emily booties.

When I couldn’t find them at first, I, of course, went to Zappos. I found that Sam Edelman makes a few cute shoes and saw these boots in two other color combinations. I love the yellow quite a bit and were tempted by these.

But I like the tan, bordeau and white pair too. But they are full price on Zappos, so I decided to go with the teal version. Maybe I can get another pair later.

Look for some version of that outfit soon!

Should I stay or should I go? Part Deux

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I saw these Stella McCartney upturned platform heels months ago on Style and was quite smitten with them. I mean, what’s not to like? The intense fuchsia, crazy-genius shape and they’re satin. I love satin shoes. I like to live dangerously, ya know.

So when they finally went on sale at Bergdorfs, I had to pounce on them.

Well they arrived on Saturday and I eagerly ripped open the box to try them on. These are the first pair of Stella McCartney shoes I’ve bought and I was curious to see how well they were made given the whole vegetarian element.

Anyway, the picture does not even come close to how bright pink these are. The practically glow in dark and I love them.

But then I tried them on.

As I’ve mentioned, I wear a pretty small size and in most shoes I wear a 35, when I can get it, or a 35.5. So I had ordered a 35 not being sure how her shoes would run. The length was fine and the height was comfortable but the toe box was kind of uncomfortable. Okay, pretty uncomfortable. Not so uncomfortable that I can’t stand or walk in them. Yeah, not for very long, but still.

But they’re so pretty!

Well, after some deliberation and a husband consultation, I decided to put the pretty bright pink satin lovelies back in their box and ship them back to Bergdorfs for an exchange. I was going to try the 35.5s and see how they fit. I don’t have a wide foot so I was really surprised they were cut so tight in that area.

I put the box in my car and was planning on dropping them off a the post office today. Then I looked at them online.

There are no 35.5s left.

Aaack!

Okay, we can try a 36. Add some inserts and they’ll be fine.

There are no 36s left.

AAACK!!!

Crap! What do I do now??? I am extremely acquisitive so I hate to give these up. Even more so now that I know they are sold out in any size that could conceivably fit me. So do I send them back almost certainly to be a return rather than an exchange? Do I keep them and wear them even though they are kind of hard to wear? Or do I just get over it given that I put in an order for all three of the sequined Manolos?

Maybe I’ll keep them in the car over Thanksgiving to wean myself off of them because right now I’m still in that “needing the patch, breaking the addiction” phase.

Colors of Nature – Pellow? Yurple?

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Here in North Carolina it is just moving through Fall and in to Winter. Summer was not so long ago but Spring still seems far away. Up north winter snows may have started and in places, I’m sure they are already sick of the cold.

Honey, you have a ways to go. But keep your chin up! Even if the stores and merchandising is all about snowdrifts and winter holidays, a few designers must have the warmth of Spring on their minds too. And they’re taking their inspiration from the color combinations that only Mother Nature could create:

Purple and yellow, in soft lavender and pale butter or regal purple and sunshine.

Le Silla likes these colors too. I love the combination of these two colors in their ombre wedges.

They look touchable and soft and pillowy. Perfect for drifting through flowers.

And they have a very unusual shape that is sophisticated but still playful. Get them and tuck them in your closet to hibernate for the winter.

Congratulations are in Order!

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Mnsr. Manolo is a genius, as we all know and worth of much admiration and accolades for the beautiful shoes he creates. I love them because they fit me like a dream due to their amazing architecture and are simply stunning. Here are a few of my personal favorites (some already in the collection and some soon to be joining it)

Satin Camouflage Sedaraby:

Resort ’07 Oro Sequin Pump:

The Urban Myth Black Patent Mary Janes:

Now Mnsr. Manolo has been given a new honor (per Vogue):

He has been worshipped by the glitterati for his unashamedly beautiful designs for years and now Manolo Blahnik has received the ultimate accolade: being made an honorary CBE, or Commander of the British Empire.

The Spanish-born, London-based shoe designer has received the award “in recognition of his status as one of the most successful and influential designers of our time”.

Culture Secretary James Purnell, who presented the honour, commented: “Manolo Blahnik is one of only a handful of designers whose name is synonymous with their product. His avant garde designs mixed with timeless classics ensure that women all over the world are desperate to get their hands on a pair of Manolos. By basing his business in London, Mr Blahnik has played a huge part in enhancing the reputation of the capital as a leading fashion industry centre.”

And Manolo himself couldn’t be more thrilled with his new title. “It is the greatest privilege to have been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to receive such an honour for my small contribution to the fashion industry in Britain,” the modest designer said. “I’ll always be proud and grateful for it.”

Love him! In honor of this momentous occasion, I’m wearing a stunning pair of his creation – see the Ensemble du Jour for a peak!

Store Focus: The Jazzy Giraffe

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In a previous post, I mentioned my surprise when I went into a small shoe store in Asheville, NC that I didn’t know was there and found gorgeous shoes by a designer I had never heard of.

Well, that store is The Jazzy Giraffe:

They don’t have the greatest site in the world, so don’t get too excited and the store itself is very small – kind of a weird shaped corner in a small mall but the shoes were nicely displayed and the staff was friendly. I was surprised to see several designers that I hadn’t heard of as well as the fact that they carried Isaac Mizrahi (not the Target version) and Lulu Guinness. Very anachronistic for Asheville.

I ended up buying these Olivia Rose Tal mules and wore them, to much acclaim, to the wedding in was in.

These are the other pair I loved and hope are still there when we go back next month. Also by Olivia Rose Tal.

When I first walked into the store a lady was trying on these red suede Chie Mihara heels. She was kind of debating about getting them. I thought she was crazy! I would totally jump on those!

The store also carries unique clothes and purses from more designers I never knew existed. I love that! While there site isn’t great, it’s worth visiting just to see some of what they carry. I thought this Stella bag was kind of cool – edgy but retro.

If you are going to Asheville, I recommend checking them out. They’re right downtown and, obviously, worth a visit. I can’t wait to see what they have in stock in December!

Light + Noise = Pain

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I had a massive headache/migraine yesterday and therefore was completely slack in the posting department.

Do you ever have one of those days where you just can stand all the noise, light, talking, food, input??? That was me.

I’m sort of feeling better now.