Ensemble du Jour - 5-15-12

I love wearing a professional outfit but in a fun colorful way.  JCrew is making that happen by having their pencil skirts available in the best patterns. I've bought blue and white seersucker, red and this great garden floral sourced from a vintage wallpaper pattern.

I paired it with a navy 3/4 sleeve blazer and my sweet green gingham Miu Miu slingbacks.

Bright and super happy!!!  This combo is totally me - classic shapes but in a fun quirky way.

Candy Evolved

Last summer I was a big fan of the Furla Candy bags which came out in a whole array of bright and saturated colors and combinations.  This summer they've continued to evolve the line with glitter and fun embellishments included wicker, stitching and metal. 

But Furla hasn't stopped there.  Now their line includes a range of shoes, some with the same "Candy" rubber.

I love the pale pink pumps with the delicate brown bows.  Cotton candy and caramel!!!

The heels retain the embossed stitching and attention to detail that make the bags so coveted as well.

The Candy pumps are $178, but make sure to check out the full collection!

Sweetie Pies

I don't need any new sandals or wedges or pink shoes for summer but how sweet are these cuties from Old Navy???

I love the 1970s styling and pink and red combo.  I also love the knot details.  These are perfect for jeans and dress.  And for $28, I could get the black and white version too!

Life is short

Looking a Little Green

I don't do neon very well in clothes, especially neon yellow or green.  I am just to pasty pale to be able to pull it off.

But accessories... those I can do!

So I was excited to see my favorite Manolo Blahnik Sedaraby in a hot chartreuse.

Maybe I need to get these, pair them with a neon pink a blast into Summer!

Manolo Blahnik Sedaraby in chartreuse green - $755 from Bergdorf Goodman

"A Peanut Shell on a Lamp" - The New York Shoe Conspiracy

This is why I love Twitter... When a random tweet sent my way captures my attention, illuminates a by-gone era and yet still resonates with issues today.

Today, Forgotten Stories asked me if I'd heard of the Vast New York Shoe Conspiracy.  Apparently, even in 1909, women wanted to be known for having dainty feet and the salesmen knew how to play against that.

Here's the story:

For years, a vast conspiracy existed between the women of New York and their shoe salesmen. From the doughtiest matron to the slimmest debutante, shoe size 13A or 1 were considered ideal, and anything up to a 3 acceptable; and women struggled to fit into them, much to the consternation of the salesmen.

The best conspiracies are the simplest, and footwear specialists came up with a solution; label each and every pair of shoes a 13A or a number 1. The smallest feet around…size 1. Feet like toboggans…size 1. Give the shopper a shoe that fits, label it a size 1, and she’ll be happy.

And so began the legend; “Feminine residents of New York have held to themselves for lo! these many years the flattering belief that they have the smallest feet of the women of any large city. They have prided themselves especially upon their superiority in the matter of small neat tootsies over their sisters of New York’s deadliest rival, Chicago” said the New York World.

Women showed up to buy these:

and all who wanted went home with a size 1 or a 13A.

The charade fell apart during the week of January 13, 1909. First, The National Boot and Shoe Manufacturers’ Association, holding their annual convention at the Hotel Astor, condemned the practice. Association President J. Hanan stated on the record, “The subterfuge ingeniously arranged so a dealer can give a woman any size to fit no matter what she may call for is manifestly unfair.” J.D. Smithers, shoe dealer from Detroit, disagreed, “You tell a lady with a No. 9 foot that you are giving her a No. 9 shoe,” said Mr. Smithers, “and watch her whisk out of your store! What you need in trade young man is discretion.”

Then the other shoe fell (pun completely intended). Mat Grau, theatrical booking agent, was in town to pick out a chorus line for the new Broadway play A Stubborn Cinderella. Advertisements were inserted into newspapers invited the small footed young ladies of the greater New York area to call upon Mr. Grau for an audition; to sweeten the deal Grau offered twice the usual chorus girl salary.

The special nature of the play called for the chorus girls to fill a size 13A shoe. “Out in Chicago, we had no difficulty of a serious nature in picking a chorus of girls – adults – who could wear a 13A shoe” said Grau, and so he expected it to be easy. ” One thousand women came from Newark, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, each trying to squeeze into a size 13A. Said Grau, “Putting [the test shoe] on most of the feet I have run across in a week was like trying to fit a peanut shell on the end of an incandescent lamp.” 

Grau’s heart fell like a pair of arches with each failure. He’d been testing the feet of chorus girls for years, “I remember the time, when I was younger, that this test shoe I have – a 13A – would slip on the foot of possibly every fifth girl who applied for a chorus position.” But no more. Out of those 1000 women, Grau found only one who could wear the 13A. Miss Rita Harris.

But the illusion was gone; the Achilles heel exposed. The women of New York, Brookyln and Newark had big feet.  And now the world knew it.

Vanity sizing in 1909.  Who knew?!?

Check out more Forgotten Stories here.

Sweet Dreams from Sugar Bean Bakery

I have been sooo busy in the last few weeks. From traveling for work, to just working, I feel like I've been out of action.

 But I had to add one more thing to my plate. It was a ton of work, but also a ton of fun.

 I decided to do a Sugar Bean Bakery booth at a local art show on Saturday.  I spent a good 12+ hours baking and packaging and a few days before that planning my decor.  When Saturday came around, I was glad it wasn't raining!  I pulled out my favorite cake stands and set up my goodies.

All proceeds are going to a local farm animal refuge that is in development and, since we totally sold out, I will be getting to give them $360!

I really really loved my booth (as you can tell from the tons of pictures with more going on Flicker), making delicious vegan goodies and can't wait to do it again in the fall!

Twilight

I love this song...

and this is the skirt I think of when I hear it.

Sexy, dreamy eyes...

Le Sigh - Louboutin Picks & Co Potpourri Spiked Toe & Lace Pump

We all know that Christian Louboutin makes the best spikes. But they've been much more sexy than sweet.

But can spikes be sweet and classy.  Louboutin says yes they can with their Picks & Co. Potpourri Spike and Lace pumps ($1495).  I adore them.

Champagne lace, crystals and subtle studs. You have to love a shoe that combines "lady-who-lunches" with "a-lady-who'll-eat-you-for-lunch" 

Swoon!

A Deeper Meaning

When I was growing up in Miami and in my freshman year in high school, there was a brief trend with wearing enameled pendents of nautical flags.

If you aren't familiar with boating, the colorful flags sported on many boats and ships each represent a letter, number and, additionally a word and a larger meaning.

I remember at the time being less than thrilled with my initial's flag - "C".  I thought it was too boring.

I'm not sure what happened to my necklace but for some reason, I totally want one again.  I've been researching all kinds of initial pendents and this popped into my mind again.  I found these at Style Newport and they come in gold and silver and in two sizes.

I'd love to get one to represent each member of my family but I think wearing 14 charms (one for me, my husband and each of the pets) would be a bit weighty.  Maybe I should go with a bracelet instead of a necklace.

What I think would be kind of funny, and a great inside joke, would be to wear a pendent that is communicating the deeper meaning associated with the flag.    Personally I think wearing the J flag would be hilarious.  J equals "Juliet" which also equals "I am on fire and have dangerous cargo".  Or maybe I should wear K for "I want to communicate with you".

How great of a pick-up opportunity would these be to wear in a bar, especially were the boating-types go.  Secret signals and all that.

What message would you wear?

Making it So

I kind of like this color block sweater from JCrew, but I'm concerned...

Will I be branded as trying to look like a ST:TNG crewmember???

Speaking of which, if you haven't started reading Fashion It So, a HIGH-larious site skewering ST:TNG fashion, you have to run right over there.

As a Next Generation fan, I am dying!

Patience is a Virtue... Sort of

More than a month ago, I expressed my love and desire for the Hold Court Quinn bag and the Delavan Terrace Linden basket bag.  But I decided to be good and not get them.... or at least hold out until the next sale.

Well, thank you Kate Spade because the Friends and Family event this weekend enabled me to get both for 25% off!  Sweet!

And ever since I saw this picture, I've been pining for the JCrew frog clasp bracelet in blue and
 green.   But every time it come up, it gets sold out immediately.

Well this time I jumped on it!

It's on back order for months, but I hope it will still show up!

For immediate gratification, I got their cute apple print skirt.  It's such a fun print and breezy.  Perfect for the upcoming summer months!

Faerie Feet

Hello Strangers!

 Sorry I've been away so long. I've been (and still am) traveling around for work which requires me to sit in dark rooms for 9 hours a day. I'm in these great cities but I see them from the window or walking back to my hotel late at night ready to collapse into bed.

So instead of spending time in the spring weather in San Francisco and Seattle, I'm just longingly staring at the sun from the cracks of the backroom blinds. I would love to be out in a dress and these beautiful Louboutin Everesta Toile wedges.  The black and white print is whimsical and delicate.  A great pairing with the sturdier wedge.

My favorite part of the print... this little faerie!  How wonderfully whimsical for spring and summer!

The Christian Louboutin Everesta Toile wedge espadrille - $625.

MIA

Sorry I've been missing in action, everyone. Work has been busy. Now I'm on a number of trips for work (4 trips, 2 weeks, unknown number of plane rides) and so I was spending time outside before and between having to spend a lot of time inside. But I'll try to keep up with this and work! I will be on FB and Instagram though!!!

 - Poochie

GoodBye Folk Custom Shoes

I love making a new discovery on Etsy.  It's like stumbling upon a neat little shop on a quaint cobblestone street in a new town.

Unique. Wondrous. New.  The opposite of the mega-chain store where everyone in the country can buy all the same thing at the same time.

Today I found a little shop - GoodBye Folk - that makes custom shoes out of Mexico City.

And how fun are they?!?!  Here are a few of my favorites....

I especially love the modern spin on the two-tone lace-ups in beautiful cream and aubergine.

Prices are reasonable for custom work - $200-$300 dollars.  They're already in my favorites, I can't wait to get a pair in my closet!