Imitation = Flattery?

Not so long ago the Jeffrey Campbell Michelle, aka "Unicorn", heel was exceptionally popular. This whimsical heel was sold out all over the place, but is back in stock and available in shiny black patent, shiny gold, a beautiful nude and a subtle gunmetal.

The unique piece of this shoe was the spiral hell but much of the allure came from the flirty ruffles that cupped the heel and showcased your ankle.

So it's no surprise that I stopped in surprise when I saw a strikingly similar ruffle on this Carlos by Carlos Santana Venetian d'Orsay pump.

I don't think the lines of the Carlos shoe are as pretty and the price-points are nearly the same.  The influence is obviously there.

Which version do you prefer?

Carlos by Carlos Santana Venetian Pump - in black, blue, tan and red - $99

Jeffrey Campbell Michelle Peep-toe - in black, black patent, gold, nude and gunmetal - $119.95

Ensemble du Jour - 6-6-10

I don't have arty rooftops like all you cool NYC people. No, I have a corner of my work building that has a grill, two plastic chairs and a random pallet. Plus mosquitos so I have to run out, grab a snap and run back in before I get eaten alive.

But the dress is cute!



This is my other JCrew romper-ish dress. It's grey with pink and yellow flowers and I paired it with a JCrew cardigan and the Luella pink and purple heart heels.



The colors are all so cute together. I'm all bows and hearts and flowers.



This outfit is so comfy and perfect for Summer that I wore it to Saks over the weekend but paired it with the Jeffrey Campbell unicorn heels, since the purse I was using has gold hardware.



The two dresses are great for the summer, but it's been so hot I hate everything else. Summer is my least favorite season. But I can't wait for Fall!

Buyer Beware: Vivienne Westwood Melissas

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.

Hey, Sparkler! What's So Great About You?

I CAN NOT believe it has been so long since I've had a Sparkler here!!! With NYC, the puppy and general madness I must have been out of my mind.

Well let's fix that right now!

Say hello to Miss Michells (aka Decline Designs)...



Michelle is a "fashion blogger, freelance seamstress, lover of shoes. And cats!" She has a fabulous site - Decline Designs - and great vintage on Market Publique too.

But don't just listen to me, let's hear from her!

* I really like bright colors, as you may have noticed!

* I love shoes, like any reasonable person. My current favorite brand is Fluevog.

* I'm frequently interrupted to be informed that I talk too fast.

* I'm also frequently told that I'm long-winded. The book I wrote to enter into the Young Authors competition in 3rd grade was longer than all of my classmates' books combined.

* I am a ridiculous softie for animals. We have two cats that we rescued from being strays, and I want a dog too! I grew up in a house out in the country, where we had a lot of animals from a very young age. I've decided that when my husband and I get old and retire, we're going to rescue and foster animals.



* I had a mohawk at one point, and sometimes miss it, only to remember what a pain it was to put it up in the mornings.

* I've been a vegetarian since the age of 12-13, which was no picnic in the small, conservative town I grew up in!

* I'm a bit of a compulsive worrier, although I've got much better about it over the last six months.

* I am a huge, huge Buffy geek. As in, I own all 7 seasons on DVD plus all of the trade paperbacks of the season 8 comic, to date. (the aforementioned cats are named Wesley and Giles, despite Wesley being a female. We found her when she was too young to tell!)



* It's not a commonly known fact, but I love Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles. In fact, I have photographic evidence of my love from an early age.

* I am super, super proud and glad to have the mother and grandmother that I do; they are both total badasses and worked really hard to get where they are today. My grandmother was the one who instilled a feminist ethos in my mom, who in turn instilled it in me (even when I was young and naive and reacted by rolling my eyes and saying "Oh mom, we don't need feminism any more!" *cringe*). I love them both to death.

Thank you, Poochie, for asking me to be a Sparkler! I love your blog and have deep envy for your shoe collection :)

xoxo
Michelle

Thank YOU, Michelle for being a Sparkler! Everyone, go chat her up!


Okay... who's next?!? Come on, Sparkler, Spill it!

The Last Unicorn

I know the title is a little cheesy but after all the effort going in to finding these, I couldn't resist.

These Jeffrey Campbell Michelle peep-toe heels seem to be a popular as the Corso Como Dodies and, currently, just as hard to find.



I was a little late on the uptake and saw these on Marie's site. Of course she is down with the flashy and fabulous!

After searching around (no luck) then finally pestering a Jeffrey Campbell employee (made them get on Twitter too!) I was able to score a pair from Vintage Fox Boutique. A few sizes are left if you want to get a pair. But keep in mind, these babies run about a 1/2 size small. I got a 6, which is the smallest size they made, and they were not overly loose on me.

I wore these with a dark dress denim pencil skirt and this fancy polo from Anthropologie. What i like about it is that the collar and placket are a creme silk and the ruffles sort of mimic the shoe ruffles.

They are very soft and comfortable and I like them alot... now, would it be greedy to try and track down a nude pair?

I couldn't resist sharing this. When I was younger I read the strangest book called Summer of the Unicorn. It looks like kind of a bodice ripper but is more of a sci-fi/fantasy novel. I actually still have this....

Get one of the $.01 used ones and let me know what you think.