As always I was inspired by the wonderful Judy Aldridge of Atlantis Home. I had saved a picture that she had posted of her amazing shoe closet. Of course, never ever thinking I would have a shoe closet….I just loved the organization of it all. Then after another frustrating morning in this tiny awkward sized closet in my bedroom, the image of Judy’s shoe closet instantly paralyzed me right into a daydream and then I snapped into DIY mode. I wish I had before pics, but the real problem aside from the limited storage space were my shoes that were stashed everywhere….and I have pics of that…..
one wall.....
along another wall.....
aahhh….After…..
Viola! Inspired by Judy! I don't remember the time I finished, but I remember the house had been asleep and quiet for a few hours.
The ceiling of this closet is pitched. To the right of the shelves is all this great storage for, you guessed it, more shoes! In labeled shoe boxes, no less…I went crazy!!
I discovered I needed just a bit more room so added the bins on top.
With this first wave of springtime weather, I go immediately to the streets and look at shoes. Shoes that my toes can’t wait to be in! It’s an interesting part of the year…you see great combo’s of fall and spring together. Fall pieces with more open-up shoes or spring pieces with great over-the-knee boots.
man, look at those boots! Love the leather + leather. These would definitely be worn all year round if they were in my closet!
Alice in Wonderland fans will know I’m talking about the release of Tim Burton’s take on the classic Carroll story. A while back, I posted about Alice and was eagerly anticipating the unveiling of exclusive Alice designs for Printemps in Paris. Somehow, I completely forgot about it until I started thinking about who I could get to go to see the movie with me tonight. Surprise, surprise, they’ve been up for over 2 weeks now!!! In case you haven’t seen them, here’s a glimpse.
First, Alexander McQueen. {I have been struggling with what to say about his passing. I just adored him and what he brought to the world of fashion and am so, so sad that he is gone. The world of fashion won’t be the same without him.}
Chloe
Nicholas Kirkwood -- "This time, I figured, why not just pile as much as I can on top?”
It’s true, if you’ve been around long enough, you see trends come and go and come around again….this time it’s the LL Bean duck boots. Surprisingly, I still have mine from my college days! Happy to say, these handmade beauties still look perfect ! They were all over campus back then and we saw them all over NYC last week. I say, give the Ugg’s a rest and pick up a pair of these to trek through the last bit of winter. They also come shearling lined for all you die hard Ugg fans.
Blue version on the NYC subway
This year's hot trend, OTK boot, next to this year's other hot trend, the duck boot. Seen at the Rachel Comey F10 show
It’s that time of year again, LAST CALL!! Arlene and I have been looking forward to this for months now. Since starting our own business (not to mention, being in the middle of a recession), we’ve really had to cut back on our spending and have been dreaming and dreaming of new designer shoes. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a little bit of Christmas money and are going to high-tail it on over to Neiman’s to see what’s left in our size on the bargain basement rack. We don’t tempt ourselves by visiting NM before the final Last Call markdown ’cause we know we’ll just end up writing checks that our bank accounts can’t cash! We’ve spent the last couple of weeks poring over the FW09 shows on Style.com and we’ve got our eyes on a few goodies!
Chanel (Arlene’s a Chanel fanatic, so keep your fingers crossed for her!)
Also, she always manages to find the most irresistible flats, so I have a feeling she might stumble across this adorable little guy from Chloe…
There was an awful lot of goodness from Chloe, so I’ll be happy if I can get my hands (or feet!) on anything from that collection.
We’re both jonesing for this lug sole pump from Prada…
as well as this Miu Miu stunner…
I’ve been all about the Proenza pumps and booties since I first laid eyes on them…
love anything Dries…
and would happily add a pair of YSLs to my wardrobe…
Even if we don’t find any of the above, I’m sure that Arlene and I will leave Last Call with big smiles on our faces and big style on our feet! Happy sale shopping to all — may you get everything your little heart desires!!
Believe it or not, spring is here! Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean! One of my two favorite trends for S10 is Utilitarian Chic aka the neutrals. The neutrals, khaki’s, linen… they always seem to make it on the trend list for spring, no?? This spring is the first I really took note and WANT! I’d have to say, Ms Phoebe Philo at the helm of Celine had quite a bit to do with that….as well as Chloe and a new line for us, Rachel Comey, and my constant go-to Acne.
A long-time inspiration of ours, Loeffler Randall, has just re-vamped their site and they’ve included a blog. Could not be more excited! The blog provides lookbooks and behind-the-scenes action, which I personally could not be more excited about. One of their posts is an edited video of the shoot for their newest lookbook. Arlene and I have been taken with their lookbooks and their insane branding since their launch back in Fall 2005 so this video was a rare treat. Here’s to the talent and genius of not only the fabulous designer Jessie Randall, but also to her husband, Brian Murphy, marketing guru extraordinaire!
There was a shot from their very first lookbook of the Ulla — maybe mine and Arlene’s very favorite shoe of all time (she has 2 pairs in yellow and I have yellow, black and taupe — we’re addicted).
It’s the cutest damn shoe and it was the cutest damn shot. I wish I had a copy to share with you :(. Anyway, the marriage of Jessie and Brian and design and branding got me right from the start. Completely unparalleled, in my humble opinion.
Here are a couple of shots from the Fall 09 lookbook (featuring super-cute shoes we just got into The Shop!)
I don’t know where to start. First of all, a sincere apology — from both Arlene and me — for the lack of recent posts. We have been very busy shooting for the website (such good stuff to come!) and other things related to trying to build a business. We have also been suffering from some technical difficulties. While we have been busy, we have also desperately been trying to post, but have been unable to upload images! So frustrating!!!! And also…
…during this absence, I lost my computer (left it on a f***ing train platform!), recovered it (faith in humanity restored!), turned it on and found that it was completely effed up (knight in shining armor clearly dropped it on his way to return it to me. c’est la vie)… While I was waiting for the Mac specialist to see if he could fit me in, I was flipping through Numero Magazine and came across this…
Louis Vuitton. Genius. The perfect bootie, a sleek and beautiful knee-high boot (with a pocket), and the hottest trend for the season: the over-the-knee boot. I might even try to rock the middle or top part as a sort of spat. SO good. Can I have it, pleeease???
So, i just read on Sea of Shoes that Jane Aldridge has a capsule shoe collection coming out with Urban Outfitters. A number of the comments on her post were rather negative — calling her an “advertising opportunity” and her designs “knock-offs”. I am not going to deny that she is indeed a great marketing opportunity for a conglomerate like UO, nor am I going to deny the obvious influences of Margiela and Ann Demeuelemeester in her designs, but can we just step aside for a second and look at things the way they are? First of all, the girl is a mere 17 years old. Yes, she comes from an affluent family. Yes, her mother is an experienced style maven (with a closet laden with treasures). And yes, she has access to items that most of us can only dream about. However, the girl really knows her fashion and she’s smart enough to grab an opportunity when it comes her way. Even the wealthiest and most pampered of teenagers don’t even know how to pronounce Demeulemeester, let alone know who she is. Be jealous if you will, be critical if you will, but you have to admit that Jane has a taste level more sophisticated than many who call themselves fashion industry professionals.
Let us not forget — fashion is a business. We recently posted about working a Hugo Boss sample sale and trust me, there was nothing glamorous about it. Were the suits expensive and fabulous? Yes. Was the event surrounded by paparazzi? No. There is definitely a blurry line between fashion and retail and, for some reason, that line seems blurriest in the US. The people that seem to be dressed the worst are the first ones to go after someone exhibiting a sense of personal style. Great style always seems to be equivalent to snobbishness in our society — and it definitely creates a frenzy of envy. Even if the aforementioned is wearing H & M.
So what do I think about Jane’s collection for Urban Outfitters? I think it’s bloody fantastic! It’s hard to make affordable shoes look good and I think these look damn good. Hats off to Urban Outfitters and to Jane. They may be knock-offs, but I’d rather wear Jane Aldridge Ann D knock-offs than Nine West Marc Jacobs knock-offs any day.
! They were all over campus back then and we saw them all over NYC last week. I say, give the Ugg’s a rest and pick up a pair of these to trek through the last bit of winter. They also come 
