October | 2009 | Shoe Daydreams

I have a problem

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

And the problem is that I cannot own all of these adorable glittery Louboutins.

Sometimes the Resort collections are just the perfect mix of sparkle and color and I want them all.

Look at this color? What a gorgeous turquoise. How can you not be happy looking at that?

Personally, though, I prefer the pumps to the peep-toes. I wish they came in the turquoise too because then I couldn’t resist. But I pink (aka “fuxia”) glittery tall tall tall pumps? Yes, please!

The gold-nudes ones are pretty amazing too.

Must restrain myself!

All three available at Neiman Marcus:

– Turquoise – $725

– Nude or Fuxia – $595

Buyer Beware: Vivienne Westwood Melissas

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

If you are considering buying a pair or Melissa’s Lady Dragon Vivienne Westwood shoes, especially via eBay, you have to go over and read Michelle’s post on Decline Designs.

She is currently in the middle of a mess with a pair of counterfeit Melissa’s and gives a great breakdown and comparison of the real vs. the authentic.

I contributed some photos of my blue and red pair to show a side by side comparison.

Make sure you educate yourself on what you are buying on eBay before you jump in. Especially since eBay and PayPal are notorious (in my opinion) for making it difficult to dispute won auctions.

I put a bunch of detail shots of mine in my Flickr set, so you can get better views there.

What’s happening Jimmy Choo?

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

Is it just me or has the design quality at Jimmy Choo gone way way down? I’m talking into the Victoria’s Secret Colin Stuart craptastic design realm.

Choo used to be one of my top 3 favorite designers and now I barely look at it. And here are some reasons why:

A studded eagle boot? Really?

Doesn’t the zebra stuff look JUST LIKE the H&M pieces? Why spend $700+?

I used to think of Choos as sexy yet classy. Now there seems to be a plethora of tacky.

Are greed and the excitement of their brand extensions going to their heads over there?

Another Fall

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

I may not be always be lucky, but I am patient, especially when it comes to shoes I fall in love with. And, with enough time, I think the luck can be made to happen.

Last year I fell for these Chanel black and white spat boots cleverly photographed on Claudia in Central Park.

Nice legs, but look at those boots!

Had to have them… couldn’t find them. But then, on one of my rare visits to eBay, there they were! My size (or close enough). Way priced off retail. And all for meeeeeee……..!!!!

For their first foray out, I paired them with black tights and a chunky, comfy sweater dress.

Those are snaps going up the outside.

To continue the whimsy, I added my black and white and red Alice’s White Rabbit necklace from Paraphernalia.

Needless to say, I need to avoid eBay now for another 6 months. It’s just too tempting and dangerous for me. But Miss WendyB will be pleased to know that I did snipe!

Catching Up

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

I’m back from Vegas and will have a whole BlogWorld recap for you asap!

The flight from Vegas heading east is draining! But I’m all unpacked and ready to get back at it.

Soon!!!!

Packing Personas

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

I’m out here at BlogWorld in Las Vegas this week. It’s been kind of a crazy last few weeks between Fashion Week, then some work projects, the hubby traveling too and getting a new pup. Traveling again for the BlogWorld New Media Expo kind of crept up on me and I left my packing planning to the last minute.

As I was making up a list (because I always have to make a packing list), I realized I was packing for a persona.

When you get up for the day or plan outfits for a trip what are all of the things you take into account as you go. For me, it’s a whole variety of elements from the weather, to something in particular I want to wear, if I’m walking a far distance or not and even the environment I will be in. Of course you want to have a level of appropriateness that you take into account so you can feel comfortable physically and emotionally happy and confident.

But do you ever feel you are dressing for a particular “side” of your personality too?

My wardrobe barriers are not very static. I feel pretty comfortable wearing most of my clothes to the office, depending on what day it is. I do tend to buy or plan outfits with different perfect scenarios in mind but I usually like my clothes and accessories so much I don’t want to tuck them away to wait for some “perfect” situation. If I did that I wouldn’t be able to wear most of my stuff!

But I do notice that I think of some outfits as projecting more of certain elements of my personality. For example, this would be a pretty typical work outfit –

A comfortable fun dress that’s not to revealing with cute quirky element like the Pretty Good Things deer headband. This still reflects my personality but not too shocking, in case I get called to a new business meeting.

For Fashion Week, I packed with quite a bit of planning and care. I wanted variety and layering and fun prints and a few signature stand-out items. I wanted to look good when meeting some of the other stylish ladies that I know from online but still be able to walk around all day to the tents. There were pieces that could be mixed and matched to extend what I packed but what I brought were pretty much planned out looks.

As I packed for Vegas, a whole different set of outfits came into play. Not only was this going to be 3 days of attending conferences and speakers but there would probably be a great deal of walking with a few after hours networking-type events. It was also in a city where people dress a lot more “comfortably”, especially the majority of the folks attending the expo.

I was more what I would jokingly call “hipster”. By this I mean more denim, graphic tees, lots almost exclusively black pieces… oh yeah, and sequin Converse.

I did bring my sequin F21 jacket and Skovgaard heels to have an edgier outfit for night but during the day I’m wearing black ballet flats. And my best accessories? My iPhone, chargers and Vivienne Tam HP mini (which is the BEST THING EVER for traveling).

I actually find I need to be careful when planning for packing this way. I tend to get a bit unrealistic at times because I imaging all sorts of events and situations that I would need to dress for, then I WAY over pack because I end up not doing about 75% of what I imagine could happen. Hey, I could need to have a dress for tea with royalty when I go to London next time, right???

Do you dress and pack practically or is all about who you want to be that day?

WANT!

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

If these exist in real life… they will be mine!

Gah! Philip Treacy for Valentino Spring/Summer 2010.

Avarice and Greed

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

So I’m headed out to BlogWorld New Media Expo tomorrow housed in the most artificial town I know – No… not Orlando. Nooo… not L.A. Okay, okay. Las Vegas.

Geez!

Since I have a lot of work to finish and packing and traveling, I though I would leave you with a short story about someone just as fake.

Dina Lohan.

Normally I don’t give a crap about celebrity or celebrity lines but this is just really pushing any level of feasibility. How can the CEO of this company even talk about her new shoe line (?!?!?) with a straight face.

As reported by NY Magazine (oh, and bolding is mine):

The Paradox of Dina Lohan and Her New Shoe Line

Dina Lohan, “The Most Famous Mom in the World” according to the press release, appeared at the Trump Tower to discuss her new shoe line for LoveMyShoes.com this afternoon. Aside from us, a handful of tired-looking reporters and a couple of nice ladies serving cheese and crackers on paper plates attended. A few tabloids, fittingly, were scattered on the floor. DiLo was introduced by the CEO of LoveMyShoes.com: “After 30 years, this is one of the most important days in the company’s history,” he announced, which makes you wonder about the history of this company. LoveMyShoes.com is trying to head in a more sophisticated direction, he explained, so who better to head this mission than Mrs. Lohan? Lohan took the stage in leather knee-highs, a black skirt, and an Alexander Wang vest.

“I’m wearing YSL, I buy Gucci,” she said, later adding, “We’ve all been affected by the recession — I’m hurting, too, whether you believe it or not.” Since Dina is now focusing on affordable fashion, everything in her shoe line will be under $100. She plans to offer sexy styles for pretty young things and more sophisticated shoes for grown-ups and moms like herself. Dina confessed she’s “paranoid” about what she wears, because the press often slams her for dressing too young. “Lindsay sent me pink Ungaro heels,” Dina said. “‘Mommy, you look so hot in them’ — we bickered about it. I can’t wear those. I’m old.” (Today she wore knee-high boots.) So will her daughter, now gamely employed at the high-fashion house of Emanuel Ungaro, ever collaborate with her on a line? “We’ll see,” she said, adding that her daughters would at least advise her on this collection.

So, back to talking about Lindsay: “She’s just a little girl and God gave her this gift. She’s just trying to create. She did great in Paris, don’t believe what you read. She’s genius at fashion.” Talking to an Access Hollywood reporter on camera, she continued her pleading: “It’s just evil. When I was 15, I wouldn’t go to school with a zit. Imagine walking through an airport and seeing that on the covers of magazines. Please, talk about me, but not my girls. They’re just gifted, and the press has been so hard on us for the past five years. They’re little girls — please keep their personal lives personal.” This reporter wouldn’t stop, either: What do you think of Michael Lohan exploiting your daughters? What’s up with Lindsay, etc. etc.? And, seeing Dina nearly tear up for a minute, we got it: This was a mother, after all. A woman trying to protect her baby cubs from the “evil” vulturelike press. And then the Access Hollywood cameras turned off, and Dina exhaled, gave said “evil” vulture reporter a big kiss on the cheek, said “Love ya!” and clicked away in her YSL heels.

Vomit. (That was me, by the way)

Thank you Mike Vilensky for a perfect take on this nonsense.

I beg of you. No matter what these look like. Please please please do not buy anything from this line of shoes.

If it ever sees the light of day that is.

Color Study – Purples

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Shoe Daydreams

I’m really spacing out these Color Study posts, aren’t I!

I’m being totally lazy by doing some of the easier ones first. Black, red and brown will be excessive. But let’s pretend we’re going sort of in a spectrum of color.

Today is all about PURPLE! Admittedly there are not that many and I realized there is an overlap with one shoe. Not very organized of me.