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Filtering by Tag: Shoes
Remember how I said I was going to take the time to fish out all my unworn and/or forgotten purchases and show them a little love? Boom. I am doing that shit. First entry!I got these sandals for some kind of crazy bargain on Yoox. I haven't worn them yet. I was going to make excuses, but decided against it. I am going to wear these suckers... tomorrow.Take that, me!
I have a habit of always putting my hair up in some sort of claw or clampy thing. I adopted it when I was taking public transit and/or walking to work all the time and just didn't want my hair blowing in my face all willy-nilly. But, it's gotten to the point where my hair is almost always up and that just needs to stop. Why even bother having such long hair if I'm just going to pile it on top of my head for none to see?I'm going to make an effort to wear my hair down at least once a week. If I can't do that, then I should probably just cut it short. Deal?Anywho, wearing yet another Leota dress and another pair of Stuart Weitzman boots (this time with a wedge heel). Kinda felt like the print of the dress was too busy to add accessories, but perhaps a solid white scarf would have been a nice addition. Next time...
This scarf is ginromous. It is pretty much a blanket. It has its own zip code. Lesser scarves are trapped in its gravitational pull, only to be crushed, devoured, and absorbed into its own supermassive core. You do not wear this scarf, it wears you. It is also plaid.In a bit of a hurry this morning. Wearing another Leota dress (I love Leota dresses... so comfy), Calvin Klein jacket, Stuart Weitzman boots (again), and a big plaid scarf from the oldest corners of the universe.
Once upon a time I didn't believe in flats. Don't get me wrong, I acknowledged that they existed. They were just for other people, not for me. To my mind, the sorts of people who wore flats were the same sort who might show up at your house unannounced. Or, who might ask you to water their plants while they're at Burning Man. Or, who might invite you out to lunch, but could you pick them up? And, since you're driving anyway, would you mind driving them to run a few errands? And, did they mention their cat has to come along because its been vomiting a lot and they need to keep an eye on it? Those tricky flat-wearers, treading so quietly in their no-heeled shoes, pouncing out of nowhere thanks to exceptional arch support and multi-surface traction, destroying your otherwise perfect day of solitude and the absence of cat vomit with their sneaky, sneaker-wearing ways. Bah! Well, that's what I used to think of people who wore flats. Used to. Sometime in the intervening years since my very dark thoughts on the matter of flats, a flip was switched and I simply stopped buying heels. It was flats or nothing. In fact, this summer, I wore Birkenstocks nearly every day. [They're on trend, damn you!]It wasn't something I had reflected on too much until this last weekend, when I had a small and sudden "what-have-I-become?" moment and became determined to remedy it by buying some grossly impractical shoes. They were gonna be so nuts. They were gonna be 10-inches tall and made of glass shards. A tiny marine ecosystem of tiny box jellyfish would be housed in each heel, and each footbed would be a tiny bed of nails. And, they would be hot. Like, actual temperature hot, molten lead – not "sexy" hot... who talks that way anymore?But strangely, as I was looking at all those terrifying shoes, captivated by their sheer absurdity, a singular and precise thought came to me: Fuck it. I can absolutely appreciate the beauty of a well-crafted heel, but to purchase those shoes, any of them, would be to throw money at yet another box to collect dust in my closet. I didn't stop wearing heels because I suddenly, inexplicably stopped buying them. I stopped buying them because I wasn't wearing them, because they just didn't make sense for me anymore.The truth is, my own taste for flash and frivolity has given way to comfort and practicality, bolstered by the fact that I've moved from a lifestyle of driving around in cars to one of standing around on MUNI (and often in the various, slippery excreta of my fellow passengers). Where my thinking went all kinds of screwy was in blaming this change on age and "giving up," when what I genuinely believe is going on is that I'm finally making choices based on what works for me and makes me feel comfortable – whether in my clothes or in myself. Feeling comfortable is awesome. There is no one that I am so interested in impressing that I would make myself physically uncomfortable to do so. If this attitude is simply a byproduct of aging, then aging is awesome and we should all do more of it.Anywho, long story short (too late), I ended up buying these very comfortable, very practical, totally flashy, totally frivolous, hot pink, leopard-print, calf-hair, slip-on sneakers. Whoever designed the shoebox is either a genius who completely understands the challenging and uneasy relationship a lady can have with her footwear and how said footwear are unfairly deemed analogous to her station in life; or is, in fact, a 14-year-old girl.I paid retail at Nordstrom for these shoes, like a sucker, but you can get them on sale on Shopbop or Revolve, if you're interested.
To spruce up this new blog with a little content, please find below what proved to be a surprisingly popular post on my now defunct self-improvement blog which I started...oh, about this time last year. Ha.... That's not gonna happen with this blog. No, sir. [...shifty eyes...]
When I was a little girl, all I wanted to be when I grew up was 5 foot 9.The first of many adulthood disappointments, I only grew to 5 foot 7.To compensate for my shortfall [heyo!], I wear a lot of high-heeled shoes. As you may have read in a previous post, I really enjoy looming over others—just standing there, kinda menacingly but with no expressed malice. I am also keen on the fact that one's shoe size remains fairly static, however one's weight may fluctuate. In summary, shoes are awesome and we should all buy a bunch of them. Yay!
Anywho, in the dual interests of protecting my investments and making them bearable to walk in, I have assembled the following tiny arsenal of products... Behind the cut, just a whole bunch of text that is, like, long and boring. Seriously, it's about shoe care. How fun could I possibly make it?
SURPRISE! It's a red panda! Look at that guy, acting all bipedal. He think's he's people.
Okay. Shoe stuff.
1 )Frye Leather Conditioning Cream -- I use this on smooth leather boots or on any stiff leather shoes that need a little softening. It makes everything feel luxe and buttery and also helps prevent drying and cracking. Most importantly, it gives me the opportunity to pretend I'm a 19th-century Cockney bootblack. [If you understand this reference, you are either Janice or another totally awesome person.]
2 )Insolia High Heel Inserts -- I never wear heels over 4 inches high unless they have a platform. I just can't hack it, man. But, even with the platforms and the lower heels, my feet get tired. My body is just a little too hefty to be comfortably supported by a stiletto heel and an inch of ball of foot. In the interest of being able to wear my precious, precious heels even an hour longer, I have tried pretty much every shoe insert I could get my hands on, from drugstore brands to those department store petals. These are my current favorites, particularly because they're available in different sizes. That "for sizes 6-10" nonsense is... nonsense.
3 )2-Way Shoe Stretchers -- Sometimes I'll like a shoe so much that even if it's a half-size too small, I'll buy it anyway. These shoe stretchers have allowed me to indulge this impulse with abandon. They adjust both in width and length, stretching a shoe from the toe box to the heel counter. You can actually have this done at a shoe repair shop, but I prefer 1) having some control over the degree to which they're stretched and 2) not paying someone to do something I can do myself.
4 ) Shoe Stretch Spray [I can't find the brand I have online, but here's a similar one] -- I use this in conjunction with the shoe stretchers to speed along the process. I also use it alone, when shoes just need a wee bit of breaking in. A couple of quick sprays before putting on your shoes for the day seems to work nicely.
5 )Kiwi Suede & Nubuck Protector -- This one's self-explanatory, right?
6 )Apple Rain & Stain Repellent -- I actually purchased this stuff for my fancy purses, but often use it on my fancier shoes. I chose this particular item because, during my extensive and shamelessly dorky research of handbag and shoe care, the Apple brand of products always came out as the most highly recommended by those in the know -- cobblers, stylists, ladies with a bunch of money. There's a clear lesson here: Macs are better than PCs.
7 )Dr. Scholl's® For Her Rub Relief™Stick -- I like to keep a "contingency plan bag" in my purse. In it you'll find safety pins, hair clips, band-aids, hand sanitizer, a pack of moist towelettes (hand sanitizer does NOTHING for barbecue sauce), a mini stain eraser (did I mention barbecue sauce?), sunscreen, ibuprofen, ginger (for motion sickness), tweezers, nail clippers, dental floss, breath mints, lip balm, hand cream, mascara, mattifying powder (with mini kabuki brush), rubber bands, apparel tape and this stuff. Even with all the crap I have to take care of my shoes, sometimes they still rub me the wrong way. This stuff relieves a bit of the friction and helps prevent blisters. [Note: Maybe if I laid off the barbecue sauce, I could cut down on the contents of my contingency plan bag. Alternatively, maybe I should add barbecue sauce to my contingency plan bag.]
8 )Dr. Scholl's® For Her Rub Relief™ Strips -- If I know there are specific spots in my shoes that consistently rub or cause discomfort, I apply a little strip of this stuff to them. These strips are inexpensive, widely available and can easily be removed from your shoes without any damage.Now wasn't this thrillingfascinatinginformative adequate? If you made it all the way through this post, I commend you. Here's a hug: HUG.
Over the weekend I chanced upon some wicked awesome shoes. They had so much going for them: They were bright orange! They were platform wedges! They were 60% off retail! But, as luck would have it, the last available pair was a half size smaller than my usual. Undeterred, I tried them on. The length of the footbed matched my foot just fine, but the shoes were so tight at the vamp that I could barely squeeze my toes in, leaving my heel dangling off the back. I bought them anyway. Hey, I figured this would make for an excellent opportunity to document how exactly I go about stretching some shoes. Also, omg they’re so cute and make me so tall. 
First, I misted the underside of the vamp with several pumps of shoe stretch spray. 
Then, I inserted the shoe stretchers and adjusted them until they were just a few turns beyond taut. This is a bit difficult to explain, but while adjusting the stretchers, you’ll reach a point when you first begin to feel resistance. In my experience, you don’t want to do too much stretching beyond this point. Even an eighth of an inch can make quite a bit of difference in fit and leather shoes will naturally give and stretch with wear. Remember, you can always stretch shoes just a tiny bit more, but once they’re overstretched, there’s no going back. Anyway, I left the stretchers in the shoes overnight. And in the morning… 
…they fit! They’re still a bit snug here and there, but it’s nothing a little wear and extra shoe stretch spray can’t fix. I am so happy with them. WOOHOO! WOOHOO!
Outfit posts are on hold while I figure out how to take a self-portrait. There doesn’t seem to be a good space in the house for it and the back yard attempts failed utterly due to poor lighting and a general lack of photographic know-how.So, today I offer a little peek into my closet and how I’ve chosen to organize it. My closet is, for the most part, chaotic but for the few little havens of organization I’m sharing today. 
I have a little arsenal of products I like to keep on hand in case of emergencies: products to keep bra straps from falling or boot necks from sinking; products for cleaning and buffing and polishing; products for generally keeping one’s appearance tidy. At some point I will do a post about my favorite products and their uses. It will be thrilling informative.
Did you know that the average woman will spend $25,000 on shoes in her lifetime and will own around 470 total pairs of shoes? I did, and to this I say: We really must do something about heart disease, because women must be living some exceptionally short lives. Shoes > leading killer of women FOREVER.Anywho, I like shoes. I like looking at them almost more than I Iike wearing them. The pictures on the boxes help.
BELTS. When I think of my belt rack I think of that scene in Wayne’s World where Stacy (Wayne’s ex-girlfriend) gives him a gun rack as a present. “A gun rack? I don’t even own A gun.” Not too long ago, I didn’t even own A belt. Something mysterious and unsettling has happened since then, I guess, but the net result was BELTS.Yes. Fascinating stuff.
