Fall is the time for tall boots. And I am smitten with the following two styles - both classics to last for ages.
The first is the re-release of the Stuart Weitzman 5050 over-the-knee boot. It comes in a ton of colors but I think the basic black is by far the sexiest. And not just because of Miss Kate here.
They are made to go with skinny jeans in the Fall and short skirts for Summer.
The Frye Melissa lace-up riding boot is another classic style. Just like the tall boots I wore for dressage, this boot style will be around forever.
These would also go great with tucked in jeans but they are such an American style staple, you could wear them with long skirts and floaty dresses.
Stride through the seasons in these grounded styles.
I've been enjoying wearing my new flat black boots but I've realized I don't have any brown boots and I really really need them. My new obsession is for these Frye "Melissa" Tall Riding Boots.
I love the equestrian style, especially the front laces and the leather piecework.
They are very similar to the boots I actually used for my riding lessons, except those are black with no laces. I think I would wear these year round as well. I've never bought Frye boots but I've been told they are well-made and comfy.
Yesterday I posted another in a very long series of "Imitation = Flattery?" where I expose what I feel to be shoes that have crossed over from the trend inspiration realm and go way more into the blatent ripping off of another company's designs.
I wanted to clarify why I detest this practice so much and what I feel is really so wrong about buying these shoes and supporting the companies who engage in this regularly (*cough cough Steve Madden cough cough*).
To me it comes right down to theft.
Many would argue that the practice of knocking-off is no where near as egregious as is the explosion of counterfeiting going on the shoe world today (BTW - check out Michelle's new resource site: ShoeFraud.com) but I saw that it is.
I work in an industry where we are hired to generate ideas and to create concepts, so to me intellectual property theft is a huge issue. Essentially, someone has the audacity to come in, take advantage of the hard work, creativity and innovation we have worked hard to create and just slightly tweak it to serve there ends. When this happens, customers become confused, the original message is diluted and the value we created is minimized.
This is true for large marketing campaigns, but it is true for fashion and shoes as well.
Yes, as a consumer, it is very tempting to see a designer shoe that you fall in love with and realize that it is out of your price range. It can be very tempting when you find a very similar copy to want to buy the less expensive piece to get the same look.
But if you love the original you shouldn't and I'll tell you why.
Because every time you do that, you are helping to put the original designer out of business.
The innovation and creativity is not coming from the company doing the "inspired by" piece. They are not investing time and money to create new looks, to do research and hire experienced talented individuals. How can the first company continue to do business when they outlay all the costs and then get undercut in the end?
Sadly, it is still very difficult, not to mention expensive, for companies to prosecute against the fakes although they are trying to fight back. It doesn't help that there are laws in some countries that do a poor job of protecting original designs. Our favorite Despotic Queen of Shoes, ImeldaMatt, worked on an expose into Australia's high street rip-offs (make sure to see the original post and the Camilla Skovgaard post that started it):
I have to agree with Wendy Brandes, a designer herself, who made the following comment on an earlier post:
"No one has an inalienable right to wear designer looks. There were no fast fashion runway knockoffs back in the '80s and '90s when I couldn't afford designer clothes (excluding ABS). We wore other things! Put together our own non-designer outfits! It would be nice if the H&Ms and Forever21s came up with their own looks, but then how would they churn out product at such a fast clip? The inspiration well runs dry pretty fast."
I think fashion and good design can come at all price points. I've said many times that I don't care what the pedigree or cost is for a particular shoe - if it's cute I'll get it. I also like to spend my money on unique original ideas. I want to support that no matter where it comes from. That's why I typically don't buy "plain" shoes. What I want is for these companies to spend their time thinking up ideas at price points all along the range.
But if consumers keep buying the fakes, they won't. And if we keep buying the fakes and knock-offs we are going to limit the amount of great designs put out there for us to get excited about.
After all of the controversy, it's good to know there is a reputable dealer for Melissa that you can go to and find authentic pieces. Epaulet not only is a premier source for Melissa's but they are exclusive U.S. retailer for the Spring 2010 line.
And the colors are gorgeous!
They are continuing the "Orb" version with a new Smoke color.
And are adding a new "Stamp" style in a sexy black and red.
Just remember - be careful who you buy from and buy at least a size down. Mine swim on me, so keep that in mind!
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.
Sometimes you just don't know where it comes from.
Who has ever had a craving that just pops into your mind, and in spite of your rational self saying you know you can't have it at right now (like wanting a favorite food IMMEDIATELY), you still can't help yourself.
I think it's how obsessions are born.
While brushing my teeth this morning, it suddenly occurred to me that I HAD TO HAVE sky blue patent shoes.
Maybe because I have always loved the sky blue Miu Miu double strap mary janes. I have them in silver. I so should have bought them in blue too! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
