Buying Basic Black

This may sound hard to believe but... I do not really have a single "basic black" pair of heels.

Understandably, you don't believe me.  But it's true!  Oh sure, I have a ton of black heels in various iterations  - peep-toe, sandals, slingbacks, platforms, t-straps, mary janes, flower heels, with giant roses, patent, cloth, etc. - but not a simple black pump.  No chunky sole. No embellishment. No corset lacing.


What I wanted were plain (not patent), pointy toe, black pumps.  Thin heel. Sexy. Simple.

But, as simple as you would think this would be, I was struggling.  The heels needed to be high but walkable, which in my size meant less than 4".  I wanted shoes I could walk around the city if I wanted to but still had some height.  I wanted a silhouette that was both sexy and professional.  A delicate heel profile that spoke to me like the inspiration images above.

But 400+ pages on ShopStyle and I was not thrilling to many.

My ideal was the Christian Louboutin Helmut.  I think these are one of the sexiest shoes around.  But I have a pair in blue and they run big and are not easily available so they were out.  The Zara knock-offs were not available either. 

I narrowed it down, after looking high and low, to two options.

The Louboutin Pigalle was option 1. But I know how this heel is cut and on me it tends to cut low at an uncomfortable spot on the sides of my feet, plus it's just an inch or so too high.  I'd never be able to wear these around. Although they are a darn pretty shoe.

The second option, and the one I ended up with, was the Blahnik BB heel.  The height is a bit shorter than my chartreuse pair.   And they are pretty close to perfect.  The topline isn't too low.  The vamp is the perfect height.  The heel isn't too high and is just thin enough.  Great profile and great from the front and back.

Considering I recently got black wedges with ankle straps, black and nude crystal sandal-y heels, black and nude Rockstud kitten heels, and black patent beribboned mary janes... these had better be perfection or I'm in big trouble!

Do you have a "perfect" black heel?

Not Middling Style

Yes, I am doing a "I Love Kate Middleton's Style" post.  I can't help it.  I mean, she's seems nice, they both seem totally in love, she wears great fascinators and hats and she's a pro at mixing high and low.  Even her first post-wedding outfit was a Zara dress.

But what really caught my eye were these perfect black patent espadrilles.  I discovered they were the "Greta" style from L.K. Bennett and, sadly, were from Spring/Summer 2008.  (2008! Three years ago. Kate hangs on to her shoes too. Look at her!  Awww... I'm smitten!)

Anyway, so I now need to have perfect black patent, closed-toe espadrilles.  How have I lived without them?!?  They're so perfect and just what I need. Not too platform-y, nice materials, not sandals. I must have some!

Shoe Search Time!!!

The first, and closest, I found were from Lanvin at Nordstroms.  Pretty but not quite as casual and they don't have the 1/2" platform.  Also, I refuse to think I can't find a cheaper option than $550.

These from BCBG at Zappos have a good shape but are a bit too tall and not patent.  I could lose the ankle strap too.   But at least they are less, $175, and close too.

The Steve Madden (I know, I know, ick!) Monarchy pair are at least closed toe, patent and a decent price, $89, but I don't like the cork heel/sole and they are much too high to be casually elegant. So I think a "No" for these too.

Who knew it would be so challenging to find a similar style.  Everything else were open toe and that's just not what I want. 

But, I haven't given up hope! 

I wrote to L.K. Bennett asking about the style (figuring they've fielded a ton of requests as the designer of her engagement dresses did).  I was hoping they would be bringing out more inventory, not realizing at the time that the style was from so long ago.  And good news, they said they would be putting out a similar wedge, the Kate (ha!), in the next month or so.  I'm hoping it will be very similar.

Now I just need to get a pair.  Wish me luck!

Bolt from the Blue

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!




What was I thinking not to get these???



So I put the call out and started a shoe search of my own.

These are the right color but they are pretty pointy. I think I want a more rounded toe. The price is right though.



These are interesting and I like the shape (no idea on price) but a bit too electric blue for what I want.



I kind of like these even though they are not sky blue or patent. Must not get distracted!




So no luck! What the heck? Is baby blue out this season? Bummer.

What I did find, to tide me over are these - the Melissa and Vivienne Westwood collaboration Lady Dragon heels.



Adorable, right???



They're kind of hard to find and only start at a size 6, so I hope they fit okay.

These come in a few other colors although availability is limited. I got mine from Epaulet.

I actually need black flats much more than I need sky blue patent heels, but now I can't get them out of my head.

Obsession!!!!!!!!

Shoe Customization: Gold Oxfords

I hate when I can't find (or afford) a pair of shoes that I totally fall in love with. Sometimes they don't have my size or they run out. Not that I usually accept those reasons at first. Typically I will still attempt to hunt them down. I'm very patient and will search all over. But if I've already done my shoe hunt and I still can't find them, I'll still try to find a way to get what I want.

The latest pair that I fell in love (okay obsession!) with were these boyish gold oxfords that Kelly Wearstler was wearing on the Domino October 2008 cover. Ever since then, I've been searching and searching for them or for a pair like them. This is how obsessed I was. First I looked at the magazine's "resources" section. Not there... hmmm... Then I tried a simple online search. Nothing. I then contacted Domino editorial. I mean they were bound to know, right? Nope! They said they were Kelly shoes that she had brought with her and that they were custom made. This gave me hope. All I needed to know was where she got them made. Time and distance are no barrier these days, right? Sadly, the Domino staff didn't know where they came from (and apparently they had received a number of inquiries besides mine).

Okay, now I was determined to find out. This was getting ridiculous. So I called her offices. Yes, yes, I have a problem, I. Know. This.

If you can believe this I actually spoke to someone on her staff (alright, I'll admit it. I made up a pretense of wanting them for a photoshoot or something. I told you, I am obsessed with getting something I want). They told me that she had them custom made somewhere in Italy or they were vintage from Europe or something but they/she didn't remember where so there was no further info they could give me.

Yeah. Sure.



I finally gave that all up as a dead end. I figured I would just need to do a search online and see if I could find a good substitution.

But you would think I was searching for the Holy Grail or something. I mean there is a serious opportunity in the marketplace because I found nothing. Well, I actually did find a lot of gold jazz shoes but not a lot of this style of oxfords.

The closest pair I found were this pair from Toast. They were pretty good but first of all they started at size 37, which is way bigger than my 35, although I did actually consider them. But they are around $300 and not quite the right color. Still, as a back up, not a bad choice, right?




Then I was sifting through the YOOX sale and found these Apepazzas. The style is pretty good, albeit a bit too pointy. They describe the color as gold. I'm not sure if I believe them, though. And still $130 plus shipping. Not that that is a huge amount, but it is a lot for a third choice.



Then I remembered I had a pair of vintage deadstock oxfords that I had bought on eBay a while back when I was looking for a off-white bucks alternative. I wasn't too thrilled with them at the time and considered reselling them. This would be a good option for another shoe customization project!

The shoes cost me about $15 and I bought black and antique gold acrylic paints, varnish and a gold leaf pen from Michaels. Total - $15.



The shape is slightly more elongated and these have holes where Kelly's didn't but I couldn't be too picky at this point.

Pristine vintage!

I love the heels on these.

Supplies...

I started out by testing on an interior spot if I could paint the gold right on them or if I needed to do the basecoat of black. I determined that I did need the black to get the right depth of color I wanted. I used the paint pen on lace holes which are metal.

One shoe done with the base coat.

I ended up doing two coats of the black and then I did the gold as each shoe dried. I was worried that the paint would dry and make the leather too stiff but so far that doesn't seem to be an issue.

Both shoes done...

I then did a coat of satin finish varnish to protect them. I could do a few more coats but I'm impatient. I don't put my shoes through too much abuse so I think they'll be okay.

Once they were all dry I had to lace them up. I had a vision of using ribbon laces but I still need to find the perfect color. After going through my boxes of ribbon I picked a few to use for the time being. But I think I'm going to end up getting a pair of black regular type laces for them. More cord-like.

For now I put the mauve-y wire-edged ribbons in, which I think are cute with the gold.

Bows! I edged the ribbon ends with some Fray-chek to stop them from shredding.

What do you think? Of course, they'll look closer to the "inspiration" pair when I get the black laces, but not bad, huh?

I think they are super cute! Now I just need to plan an outfit around them. And the good thing is I can swap out the laces and touch them up if I get any scuffs.

Now I have what I want (sort of), am recycling by giving a vintage piece a new life and saving myself a good amount of money. I like the customization projects I've done so far. Maybe I need to plan on doing more in 2009.