Friday, January 13, 2012

Shoe Hall of Fame


We all have our holy grails.Yes, I know. Shoes are not necessities (beyond what keeps your feet protected when you leave the house, durr). But if I lived in that fantasy life where money was no object, winning lottery ticket, got a star's salary, all that never-gonna-happen-but-HEY-a-girl-can-dream stuff...these are what I'd own:


Behold the Fendi Chameleon. In silver (which just happens to be one of my favorite shoe colors. Evah. The details, gorgeous, gorgeous details! Not my usual style, but they are some serious eye candy.  From Saks, where sadly these are no longer available. Originally $900 plus. Want to see more?



Loving the heel detail as well. This is the Italian "no stone left unturned" aesthetic that I adore (being, as I have mentioned, a bit obsessed with details myself).

Next up, a double header from Giuseppe Zanotti:


Oh my...I've been on the hunt for the right pair of rhinestone shoes for...well, probably my entire life  :)  and these would have done nicely. As would:


These. I can barely stand it. Sadly, also no longer available anywhere I look. Commence gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair. Or is it rending of garments? Anyway, whatever best signifies deep, deep anguish. They're perfect. PERFECT.

But enough with the tease of the shoes you just can't have because they're all gone. Let me show you some current lovelies that make my spine tingle and my toes curl! And yes, if your budget permits...purchase away. Just don't forget to share so that I may live vicariously through you.  :)


Valentino, of course. I know you've seen this EVERYWHERE, ad nauseum, make it stop, enough already...but to me this is as iconic as the Tom Ford-era Gucci corset shoes - a defining moment in fashion history. Not familiar with the corset shoes? Let me refresh your memory:




Note the the signature bamboo heel. And the way they hug ( or should I say caress! your foot, with their clingy satin straps. Everything about Tom's Gucci reign was hot. And these are scorching. Oh, I would love, love, love to have these in my collection! I'm showing you the black first, but wait...they came in other colors as well:



images via thepurseforum.com


They also came in a much harder to find aqua, which would be my first choice. So far the best (and only; it took me literally hours of interwebs hunting to find these shots - yes, sometimes my life is very lame but I manage despite that) photos I can find of the aqua are these:

image via starstyleinc.com


and these:


image via thepurseforum.com

The were perhaps the first of the "unattainable" shoes that really captured my attention. And they remain, for me, the holiest of holy grails. But I am a pretty soft touch for Gucci. And Tom Ford Gucci is right up there with '70s Gucci for me - truly the best of the best.

Anyhoo, back to the Valentinos - I feel that they are in the same iconic arena as those Gucci corsets. They changed the fashion landscape in a major way, ushering back in pointy toes, and even (gasp!) lower heels. And given the subject of my last post, you know I'm thrilled about that).I know they come in a variety of colors, heel heights, and styles (platforms, cage booties, flat sandals, kitten heels) but I love the above version the most. Feathers? C'mon. Who could resist?

Okay, last pair - currently available and sellling for $2445.00 (yeah, you read it right) at Neiman's:




Oh boy. I am not the biggest fan of French fashion (yeah, so sue me). Chanel...nice, but...Dior...take it or leave it (mostly). Hermes, even...I know, I know, but it just doesn't excite me. Sorry - I love me some Italians. What's that you say? You didn't notice that every shoe posted here (until the Loub) is Italian? I know, I'm subtle like that.  :)   But these particular Louboutins (image via Neiman Marcus) hit me in the gut. I AM a fan of bling, and these are just "all in" for me. Literal hotness, flame design and whatnot.

So, there you have my votes for the shoe hall of fame. And who knows...someday one (or more) of them could be available (eBay, no?) with the cosmic confluence: right place, right size, right price. A girl's got to dream! In the meantime, I leave you with this quote, attributed to Manolo Blahnik:

"About half my designs are controlled fantasy, 15 percent are total madness, and the rest are bread-and-butter designs."

Nobody ever said the man was a fool  :)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Glimpses


Just a brief post about things that I'm enjoying right now.  :)





A gorgeous red rose in a cracked glass holder. Sent two weeks ago (as part of a larger bouquet)  from one of my best friends and STILL thriving. Which is practically impossible in our chilly house in the middle of winter. I smile every time I pass by it in the living room.


Slightly blurry shot of NYE silver crackle nail polish (since removed, because I can only stand to have my nails done for like, two days). One of my other friends applied this just outside the restaurant - I had forgotten to do my nails, so we went to a CVS and bought this, sat down at tables outside a restaurant and she painted my nails. Then one of our other friends showed up and she painted her nails. Never underestimate the value of an impromptu manicure!

And while I'm on the subject of hands and hand-related things:


This ring was a gift from one of my best friends (the down-n-dirty manicurist referenced above). She makes jewelry and I fell in love with this...and it showed up on Christmas day.  Two glorious pieces of chrysoprase and her own metal work.



And last but by far not least, one of my Christmas gifts from my husband. Purchased from another jewelry artist at the Tempe Arts Festival in early December. It was the stone that sold me - such gorgeous color! And green is something I wear often, so this and the ring above will get a lot of outings. Plus, though I didn't know it at the time, this ring is a great counterpart to these:





They'll be gorgeous with white pants, chocolate brown, black (of course)...I love rich colors!  :)


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2011 in Shoes


I've already written a little about how my 2011 went...the second half of the year was (or at least, felt like) a near-total loss. The jaw surgery in June started the downward slide, especially since the recovery is taking waaaay longer than expected. Then my Dad's illness, and now (as of two weeks ago), a second surgery for me...and this week I will be starting PT on the mouth since I can't open fully. It's more of a problem than you'd think! Sandwiches are out, as are steaks and the like...I'm still eating mostly soft foods. And since it's been almost 7 months since the original surgery, my doctor says PT is necessary. Boo.

So...I'm going to just focus on the surface stuff and recap my shoe purchases from last year, while I try to get  life back on track.  :)

I own a LOT of summery shoes and sandals, (that's what happens when you spend 25 years in a super-warm climate) so I didn't buy much early in the year. The first shoe purchase was totally unplanned - I was in Arizona for a festival and went shopping with a friend. I was debating these (forgive the quick and dirty sink shot):




Until my friend mentioned that she had bought these:

 
Just the week before. And since SHE had a pair...well, I wasn't going to leave that brightly colored goodness of a wedge on the shelf any longer. :)  They are Qupid brand, which I've never heard of. But they're easy to wear and didn't cost a fortune. A good impulse purchase. :)

TThe other spring purchase was these:


Seychelles. I'm still trying to build some sort of black shoe wardrobe, so they were practical as well as fun.

And then shoe shopping came to a halt (as did everything else) until the fall. First up were these gorgeous Nine West heels:


Gorgeous, comfortable, and sexy - possibly my favorite shoe purchase this year.

But possibly my second favorite purchase this year was the Badgley Mischkas (it's very, very close):


These lovelies had some great fun out to dinners and also on New Year's Eve.  :)

And then there was the little run of buying very late in the year

Nine West again. Just as comfortable as the suede in the same style. First worn to my husband's birthday dinner...and we both enjoyed their initial outing.  :)

And these:


Which were lovely, and quite comfortable, but just a little...off. The pointy toe was almost *too* pointy, and the heel was probably only a half inch lower than my other pointy toed shoes, but that was enough to make them not quite right. So back they went. And these came home instead:








I've really been wanting color-blocked shoes this year, and finally found some in the right colors! I can't find these online anywhere, and I suspect they might be made just for DSW (which is where I bought them). As with most Nine West, they are supremely comfortable and easy to wear. They haven't been worn yet, but I'm thinking maybe next week. I'd wear them this week but the weather is in the 30's right now, so boots are trumping any kind of open-toe shoe.

And these showed up for Christmas, from one of my best friends:


They are actually a lighter and brighter purple than the photo shows. And you know I've been looking for purple shoes...I'd actually seen these back in September and my friend got them for me for Christmas. She is a good Santa.  :) 

So not a bad shoe year at all. It's been hard to find styles I really love since the "stripper shoe style" took over (more about that in a future post), so I was glad to at least see that color and animal print held their own this year.

Next on the list are some cute but practical boots!