Vintage Inspiration

What do you think?

Was this....



inspired by something like this....?



Discuss!



Image via HBO and from 1950s Vogue via DesignCracker on Flickr

Buying in Belk

I was randomly in the mall yesterday and went into a department store I almost never go into... Belk. Belk, to me, is in the same tier Dillards, Macys, etc. Somewhere between JCPenny's and Nordstroms. I almost never even go into these stores.

[REVISED: I received a comment (which you will see below) that I came off a bit harsh in describing the stores above so I revised my text a bit to what is there now. I wanted to clarify - I generally don't go into any of these department stores because I don't like the overall experience. It doesn't have much to do with the price or the merchandise (although quality can vary which is why there are different stores) but generally I find them a pain. Personally, I like the shopping experience at Target 100x's better than I do at any department store in the mall. Is is the lighting, the layout, the sales people? I don't know. ]

As I walked around with my friends we noticed a few cute dresses and were looking at the brand. They were Kristin Davis. Charlotte York Goldenblatt of SATC fame. And she was everywhere in that store. They had clothes and purses and jewelry.

And shoes.



As I walked through the shoe department and saw her display, I wasn't overly impressed by the styles of any of them. But one shoe did catch my eye, although not in a good way. The "Amber" Platform sandal.



Ummmmm.... remind you of anything?



Not only was this line not overly expressive of her style or the character's style, but they are ripping off shoes identified with another character!

What's going on here?

I'll grant them that some of the dresses are kind of cute but this is just wrong!

Both Ends of the Spectrum

Wellllll.... the other day I came home and there were two packages waiting for me. And upon opening them, they pretty much showcased my two opposite ends of the style spectrum.

On one hand we have these delicious blue Manolo Blahniks. I know. More blue. But how could I resist? You recognize them, right?

No?

Want a small clue?



Does this help give a hint?



Okay, here's the big reveal. Ooops! Spoiler!



So. Those are delicate, rarified, decadent.

The other box contained these...



These are some kick-a** Ann Demeulemeester boots. I adore the triple lacing. It's hard to appreciate how completely over the top these are unless you are in person. I tried them on when they arrived and the hubby was a bit taken aback I think.

To fully appreciate these you have to take a peek over at Sea of Shoes. Jane and her mom have 2 pairs each! Obvioulsy well-funded ladies to be sure.

But they both do a great job of styling their high-heeled pairs in a variety of ways, from causual to Victoriana to almost equestrian. I don't have nearly the closet options they do but I think I would wear these with dresses, jeans, pencil skirts and more.



Very different choices indeed. But I love them both. They kind of represent what I feel are my two sides.

Now, the question is... do we keep them.

As always, a very difficult decision.

I'm thinking. I'm thinking.

At the Crossroads

So I am finally wearing my Proenza Schouler sandals that I got on sale. These heels are way higher than they look. Kudos to SJP/Carrie for trotting around in them, even if it is only for a shot or two during filming.

I have a vision to get a cute mustard colored skirt to wear with them, but in the mean time I decided to wear a denim pencil skirt, a black cami and the hook and eye jacket from Patrick Robinson for Target. What's cool is that the hook and eyes on the jacket are a brass metal and it picks up the hardware on the shoes.



Mine are brown leather on the heel rather than the snakeskin version from the movie.



I am totally convinced that all they did for the movie was just cross buckle the straps. I wore them the traditional way but here they are both ways.



From the outside the cross-buckles look cute and the shoe still fits well but you do get a bit of a gap where the bottom strap attaches to the inside of the shoe. So I'm not totally convinced. But I'll probably give it a go with a different outfit.





This is a very graphic and tough-ish shoe. I'm a fan!

Working at Cross Purposes

Remember my second favorite outfit from SATC: The Movie? What? You don't have that list memorized???

Okay, to jog your memory, it's this Proenza Schouler outfit...



I especially liked her sandals. A bit chunky, graphic, a little nautical in there, strappy but not delicate.



All of the images I've seen of these shoes are as above - with the ankle strap and instep strap configuration. But all of the movie images show them on Carrie as having crossed straps. This leads me to believe that they simply cross-buckled the straps. Top strap attached to the bottom buckle and bottom buckled to top.

Clever, huh?



Well, I'm going to test that theory out, because, while the snakeskin covered heel version is nowhere to be found, I did score the brown leather version on sale (thank you again, Barneys!)

Sometimes I love having an off shoe size!




I hope I don't scrape myself up on the heel studs.



I didn't expect the straps to be leather. They looked more canvas but I guess I was wrong.







I hope the straps fit in the cross pattern. It will be like having two shoes in one.

Blue for You

UPDATE - If you are interested in getting the Something Blue Manolo Blahniks, they are on pre-sale at the Bergdorfs site for $895 (and fixed on the Neiman Marcus site too - they were previously listed for $945, weird huh?).

I'm not sure what's going on with the pricing changes but I would go for the order asap. And take a screen grab too.



If you don't live in the state of New York, Bergdorfs is the better way to go. There is free shipping and you won't have to pay sales tax.

Just an FYI!


UPDATED AGAIN on 6-28-08 - Now they're both at $945! What the hell is going on here?

Borrow some money, Get something blue

I haven't seen the movie yet and so I can't speak to all the specific details, but even I know what's the deal with this shoe from the SATC movie.

Here's a much prettier way to get a piece of the movie (better than the Eiffel Tower bag if you ask me) if that's your motivation. I'm guessing that this will become an iconic shoe just like the Sedarabys and the Campari Mary Janes.



They are gorgeous, and in one of my favorite colors.



I wouldn't have turned these down as a wedding gift! Although, the hubby's done his share of finding gorgeous blue shoes. So no complaining allowed from me.



The (soon to be iconic, if they aren't already) Manolo Blahnik Something Blue Satin Pumps are on pre-order now at Neiman Marcus & Bergdorfs.

Let the races begin!

UPDATE: New Pricing!

Swept away

Have you ever gotten swept away by something in a movie (or heck, anything really) and just had to have it, only to regret your choice later...



I've confessed my giddy choices and second guesses at Bubblegum Plastic.