Joining The All Boys Club

Women have long been borrowing from the boys for fresh additions to the closet and truth be told, we often look better in their clothing anyways. On the screen in Bonnie and Clyde, Annie Hall, and on the frames of Diane Keaton, Lauren Bacall, and Kate Hepburn for example. These and other glamorous style icons have adapted mens blazers, trousers, hats and neckwear in a decidedly relaxed feminine way that reads, ‘I nonchalantly threw this on…and that’s precisely why I look so stunning.’

I am a fan of menswear-inspired oxfords and blazers. Fitted, of course. Maybe wearing nothing but button-down shirts with a blazer and plaid skirt for 10 years cemented them into my style psyche. Bottom line: everyone looks good in a blazer. Everyone. The uniform-wearing days might also explain my recently resurgent fascination with mens oxford shoes. I love the black and white saddle shoes that the local prep schools require their girls to wear and I have a severe soft spot for suede bucks; so very preppy, so very east coast. I owned not only bucks back in school, but also a pair of black monk-strap loafers, during the 90’s…a little Winona Ryder in Reality Bites with her heavy wingtip oxfords and floral feminine dresses. I never desired to go as far as looking manly, or even androgynous, but loved toughening up my naturally girlie tendencies with more structured pieces.

Church's traditional brogues

My latest shoe craving is in the form of these menswear shoes, traditional brogues: a heavy shoe of untanned leather, born in Scotland and Ireland, usually possessing perforations and wing tips. The best known and best made brogues hail from the British Isles, arguably from Church’s. Each Church’s pair is hand made and has been since 1873, and brogues are their specialty. They’re on my desires list. See also Cole, Rood & Haan’s brilliant offerings.

Oxfords graced last year’s runways and the menswear trend is bearing heavily on fall/winter this year as well. For gents these are an easy, classic, can do no wrong shoe in my book, particularly with dark, clean denim. For the ladies, I think they’re the perfect complement to skinny jeans and loose knits, tights and sweater dresses, bare legs and shorts. There are many iterations: two tone, heeled, flat, smooth, wingtip. I’m craving a light tan, wingtip cognac pair. Not as severe as black, the lighter brown blends into the skin, elongates the leg, and it looks great with navy, my favorite color. (Am I too grown up to have a favorite color?)

Images via Gant, Anthropologie, J. Crew, the Sartorialist, Net-a-Porter

Go get a pair. Tell me how you’ve worn them. Maybe take a picture or two.

For a few more pairs, visit here:

Steve Madden ‘Melin’, Steve Madden ‘Tuxxedo’, J.Crew ‘Elsbeth Oxford’, Cole, Rood & Haan (multiple styles)

Shutting it Down

Steep black girlie heels balancing menswear tweed.

I’m not a huge TV watcher and generally don’t get addicted to shows. Since the addition of fancy-pants cable and DVR in my new apartment, this has changed. My latest loves are shows revolved around what I love: fashion, food and dance. This translates visually into Top Chef, So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, and the guiltiest pleasure, The Rachel Zoe Project. Watching Rachel, Taylor, Brad and the daily struggle to outfit starlets with fabulous clothes while Rachel attempts to not break her own bank account is pretty entertaining. One thing always present on Rachel’s tiny frame, other than her monstrous sunwear: super high platforms. These sky high suede heels, by Jessica Simpson, are my tribute to Rachel. I even wore them on Halloween when I dressed as miss Rachel. (complete with sunwear, starbucks and my assistant Brad) I love the material and the small cut-out along with the bow-like addition on the sides that add just the right abount of sweetness to the severity. The one inch front platform also helps offset the 4.75″ heel. What I can’t wait for? wearing them with everything this fall and winter..and i do mean everything.

prov⋅e⋅nance

[prov-uh-nuhns, -nahns] –noun

place or source of origin: The provenance of the shoes has yet to be determined.

Date of Purchase: Fall 2009

Circumstances: Sunday afternoon shoe perusing, one of my favorite weekend activities; not shopping with an exact fashion goal, just browsing the current footwear offerings. Once again I find myself in DSW (and of course while there I must check on the beloved RL’s, you guessed it, still full retail). I love looking at shoes aisle after aisle, imagining what outfits they would compliment best. I recently, internally, started forming an attachment to vertiginous platforms. It’s not that I hadn’t previously liked them, that’s just how my shoe shopping tendencies work. I am attracted to a style, I digest it, internally, almost unconciously mulling it over, looking for my perfect iteration of a trend, and then it happens: I spot the pair. I know they answer that little voice in my head and fill the void on my mental ‘get list’. This accurately describes when I found these shoes, no hesitation. Purchased.

Compliment Meter: 5. Very positive responses, especially about the height. Could have been sheer respect or disbelief that I even wore a pair of heels this high. Comments of the day, “You look like a journalist” and “Wow, you are tall in those” (heard several times) Either way, Shoe confidence level: High.

Comfort: Moderate. The thick heel is walkable and the platform helps, but by mid afternoon I was in pain. Consequence, a significant heel hangover. Overall, a 6 out of 10.

Worn with: Ballet-neck 3/4 sleeve black knit top from Club Monaco, tweed ankle-length slouchy cuffed trousers from Forever XXI, skinny silver belt from J. Crew, OPI’s Boris and Natasha on my nails.

Thoughts: “Who doesn’t look better with 7 more inches?” ~Rachel Zoe

All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween everyone! You will have to wait until tomorrow to see what shoes I’ve picked to wear for the Halloween festivities tonight. The reason why I purchased them and the outfit I’m wearing tonight are 100% tied to each other which makes for a great story, and it was completely unplanned. Here’s a hint, I literally plan on Shutting. It. Down.

I do have a few pairs of shoes that did not make it into the Pair Diem challenge, simply because I consider them costume-only shoes and would never wear them except to a theme party or Halloween gathering (think 3″ platform go-go boots and spike-heeled pumps covered in fishnet pattern). There was no way I was going to wear those to work and I didn’t want you or anyone else to think they were a part of my regular wardrobe, so they remain under the bed. Maybe I’ll snap a few photos, they’ll at least garner a few laughs. I’m also hoping while galavanting around this evening in costume that I will spot some interesting footwear. If I do, rest assured I will treat you to a Halloween Special Edition.

In the meantime, I’m extending an invitation. It has been some time since I’ve had a guest post and the blog is feeling a little lonely. I think it gets bored of just my shoes and ramblings after a while. I know you all have footwear of note, either fabulous, outrageous, original or just plain well-loved. Take a photo, send me the story and I’ll post for viewing. Come on, share the shoe love.

Have a safe and chocolate and treat filled evening!

“Nothing has been invented yet that will do a better job than high heels at making a good pair of legs look great, or great ones look fabulous.” ~Stuart Weitzman

Channeling Chanel

I know it's a looser shot, but just I had to show my dress. It has pockets. AND crinoline.

It’s admittedly gutsy to claim at any point to be channeling one of fashion’s greatest icons. No one has done more for women’s fashion, or the color black, than Coco Chanel. She did invent the LBD, afterall. I eagerly anticipated the latest fashion film, Coco Before Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou. It was enjoyable, but I yearned for further development of her style evolution and establishment of the preeminent fashion house. One attribute  of Chanel that I’ve always been drawn to is it’s simple, ladylike cuts and strong color palette…at it’s core consisting primarily of black and white. Add to that my love for slingbacks and 40s inspired accessories and you’ve got these shoes by Very Volatile. The natural beige/black combination is more wearable for me than stark white and black and I think they just might look adorable with some black opaque tights and pearls. But then again, what doesn’t?

prov⋅e⋅nance

[prov-uh-nuhns, -nahns] –noun

place or source of origin: The provenance of the shoes has yet to be determined.

Date of Purchase: Fall 2009

Circumstances: Shoe stalking, episode 3. Once again I find myself in DSW checking on the beloved RL’s that are incredulously STILL full price. It’s October, people! In any case, while I’m there I decide to peruse the aisles to see what the latest shoe offering is. I have to look, it’s just a fact. I found these cuties in the clearance section, my favorite section after the designer section, of course, but so much more realistic. I know I admitted to generally steering clear of the chunky heels, but the overall shape and the black band around the base was just too much. The two-tone and side leather-wrapped buttons sealed the deal on these girlie heels.

Compliment Meter: 3. Generally positive responses, especially about the side button. Shoe confidence level: Medium high.

Comfort: Moderate. The thick heel is walkable, but it lacks padding in the front. I of course remedied that with gel inserts. Overall, a 6 out of 10.

Worn with: Enjoying one of our last 70 degree days of the year in a black knit top/cotton embroidered skirt ensemble dress from Anthropologie. Coral cardigan from Banana Republic and wide waisted black belt.

Thoughts: “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” ~Coco Chanel

Stuff I Like: Things I’ve Fallen For

A new section to Pair Diem….Stuff I Like. I’ll add these posts on occasion with style and accessory finds along with whatever is currently suiting my fancy.

Oct 2009: Just a sampling of inspiration and little bits of lovely I think are fetching for fall. Things like these (and my new The Sartorialist Bespoke Edition, and the Unabashedly Prep blog, among others) are not only just lovely to look at but broaden my imagination every time I look in my closet. Or search for a new pair of shoes, of course.

Hunting the Hunter

wet weather weapons

On a gray Friday morning after having overslept and run out the door helter-skelter to dash to work, there aren’t many things as satisfying as being able to slosh through torrents of rain and large puddles and remain dry. Stylishly, of course. I’ve long wanted a pair of Hunters, the most classic of wellies. Hand-made in Scotland, each pair takes a week to craft. Add to that their riding-boot aesthetic, wide variety of colors and immense comfort and you understand why I’ve been eyeing these for so long. My first decision: what color to get. I contemplated the Hunter green, but settled on the navy, not at all surprisingly. I love the color navy and am honestly addicted to it. It’s my ‘dark’ of choice 9 times out of 10 and, and the only color I substitute for black in my wardrobe. In the case of these wellies, the navy looks fabulous with jeans, my main rainy-day gear and, in the spirit of Kate Moss, come spring I’ll switch to shorts… minus the vest.

prov⋅e⋅nance

[prov-uh-nuhns, -nahns] –noun

place or source of origin: The provenance of the shoes has yet to be determined.

Date of Purchase: Fall 2009

Circumstances: Having eyed these boats for several months, it was only a matter of time until I decided to purchase them. The unseasonable wetness this fall in Dallas propelled me to make the purchase as every day I arrived soggily to work. I scoured sites in my typically stalker-like fashion, and waited for them to go on sale, but their popularity made that near impossible. After much research, I decided to purchase 2 pairs, in differing sizes. Several reviews stated Hunters run large and I wanted to be certain to get the correct size. The only way to make this kind of purchase is through Zappos because of their free shipping and returns, both ways, and their speedy shipping. They arrived, I love them, and had the right size. And I secretly hope it keeps raining.

Compliment Meter: 4. Nice compliments, possibly because I gushed about how great they are. Comments of the day from Rick, “Going digging for clams later?” and Myron, “You look like Paddington Bear.” Ha, whatever. Shoe confidence level: High.

Comfort: So comfortable! I could wear them forever, my feet were cozy and dry. Overall, 10 out of 10.

Worn with: White double v-neck navy-tipped tennis sweater from Club Monaco and skinny jeans from Urban Outfitters. Umbrella from J.Crew.

Thoughts: “A shoe, it needs to be pretty, but you shouldn’t suffer. Happiness is much nicer.”~Christian Louboutin

Alter Ego

    Over and above 

Fall is here and the best part of the season, from my fashion perspective, is boots. I love boots, with dresses, skinny jeans, and this year, possibly with shorts. Last July as I filtered through the pairs being voted in or out of my closet, I came across these boots from way back on Day 19 of the challenge. I wasn’t loving the pirate-y feel when I last wore them, cause primarily by the top fold-over cuff (and the Captain Morgan comments I kept hearing). Still believing they had potential, I considered having them altered by my cobbler, removing the cuff off altogether. I’ve recently begun developing an addiction to my tailor and cobbler…it’s amazing what they can do with pieces you already own. After discussing with a friend who has no fewer than 25 pairs of boots, we came up with a solution, no alteration needed: flip them up, rock them as OTK boots. Over The Knee, that is. This silhouette has been seen everywhere lately. Niemans even has an entire section of their online shoe shop devoted to it. However, I had my doubts. The phrase OTK immediately conjured thoughts of Julia Roberts strutting in thigh-high patent in Pretty Woman, not exactly the look I normally aim for. 

 

I decided to give it a shot. After attempting the OTK look with these boots I realized, as is true with most items in fashion, it’s all in how you wear it. The casual brown leather stacked-heel boots worn over skinnies is a far cry from skintight thigh-high boots with a patent mini, projecting more of an equestrian with an edge feel. Now that is something I can work with. Even better, it cost me nothing. Brilliant.

prov⋅e⋅nance

[prov-uh-nuhns, -nahns] –noun

Date of Purchase: Fall 2007, Repurposed: Fall 2009

Compliment Meter: 4. Positive comments, especially from those remembering the way I formerly wore them. Comment of the day from Bethany, “Where’s your riding crop?” Shoe confidence level: High.

Comfort: The 4″ heel is a bit intense, especially for work because of all the running around I do. My calves definitely get a workout, but the gel inserts help. Overall, a 7 out of 10.

Worn with: Classic white oxford from J.Crew, skinny denim from Urban Outfitters.

Thoughts: “Don’t defend the shoe to me.” ~Tim Gunn (Project Runway)

What do you think of the new interpretation?

Celine. Not Dion.

Neutral wedges in butter-soft leather

OK, I know, it’s fall and I’m posting sandals…but as I mentioned, the end of season sales can just be too tempting. It’s often worth investing in a great item in anticipation of wearing them in seasons to come. After an unplanned marathon shoe event I found this pair of Celine wedges. One pair left. In my size. 85% off. Really. Impossible not to buy them. Love the color of the leather and the way it wraps onto the wood wedge, which also forms a stiletto-like silhouette with it’s tapered heel. I continue to stalk the RL’s but in the meantime these are a great neutral sandal addition to my hot weather wardrobe. Luckily, the 95 degree weather let me show off this pair one more time before packing them away until next spring.

prov⋅e⋅nance

[prov-uh-nuhns, -nahns] –noun

place or source of origin: The provenance of the shoes has yet to be determined.

Date of Purchase: Fall 2009

Circumstances: I recently had an unintentionally eventful and exhausting Saturday. Starting with a relaxing brunch on a patio with my friend Vee, I had very little lined up to do and planned on a peaceful afternoon. We decided to take a leisurely stop by DSW for fun, and I wanted to show her the Ralph Lauren wedges I am still (yes, still) stalking. Little did we know this was about to turn into an all out shoe-shopping extravaganza. It began slowly. As we picked up pair after pair it turned into an all-out fever pitched event. Blame it on the fact that neither of us have done much shopping or the fresh shipments of fall shoes if you like. Either way, we ended up at not one but two different DSWs searching for our sizes. It paid off. We each went home with multiple pairs and even picked up a pair for our friend AB. Spreading the shoe love.

Compliment Meter: 5. Great responses today, from ladies and gents alike. Shoe confidence level: Very High. It helps that they make me easily 4″ taller. Always an added bonus.

Comfort: Fairly comfortable, actually. The wedge keeps them from taking a toll on my feet. Overall, an 8 out of 10.

Worn with: In one day, both a v-neck top and scarf with my Seven wide leg jeans and a Fossil magenta sleeveless knit dress belted with a light khaki croco belt from Club Monaco.

Thoughts: “Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.” ~Faith Whittlesey

Late Summer Fling

    new summer staples, even a bit late

Truth be told I took a month and a half break from shoe shopping. That’s right, not a pair, and barely even looking…and that’s saying something for me. As you know from my Replacements post I was on the hunt for a pair of summer sandals, casual, nice and high, to be worn with abandon with shorts and skirts. I’m still hunting, rather, stalking,  these from the Ralph Lauren Collection and waiting for them to approach a more realistic price. For some inexplicable reason, they are still being sold for full retail at DSW even though we are three weeks into September.

A few weeks ago, I had been shoe stalking the aforementioned RL’s when I came across the pair above last month on Yoox, also from the RL Collection. Not surprisingly the striped canvas preppyiness was attractive to me, beckoning thoughts of a late summer jaunt to Nantucket. For everyday life, I pictured wearing them with all my shorts and summer skirts. A stripe can be neutral, but a more interesting one. I scooped these up at 85% off  and they became my first pair of replacements, the first post-challenge pair.

I know, buying espadrilles in August seems late as all the new fall shoes have already hit the floor. However, being that I live in hades-hot Texas, our summer continues practically into October. Besides, all savvy shoppers know the best deals can be had at the end of the season. If it’s too late to wear them now, a classic pair can be saved for next spring. And around here, that’s only a few months away.

Thought: “Always buy a good pair of shoes and a good bed, as if you aren’t in one you are in the other.” ~Gloria Hunniford

My first pair of replacements have been purchased. How did I do?

Out of a Long Summer’s Nap

Well, hello there. I know, I know, I’ve been away far too long and I’m lucky if I have any readers still wanting to tune in. I took an initially unintended hiatus from my blog this summer. Work became overwhelming and I gave less and less time to thinking about and posting to the blog and then, it just happened: a full-on absence. Not a peep for a month and a half. I didn’t want to post things unpreparedly just to keep it going so I  accepted the fact that I couldn’t do everything I wanted, and had to focus on work for a while. Work isn’t any less insane, but I realized I really miss writing, however poorly I pen my thoughts. So I started organizing myself and with a little encouragement from friends, fellow bloggers and Julie & Julia, I’ve gotten back on the blogging horse.

Fact: I’m out of shoes to wear and blog about from the original closet count.

So, what to do now?

I will continue to display my shoe purchases for you to view and vote on, and with Fall approaching, there will be no shortage of boots, booties, flats and heels to be purchased. Will I post a new pair every day? However fun that may be, that would be just ridiculous, and would quickly drive me straight to bankruptcy. My goal is to have a better-edited collection of shoes; not boring by any stretch, but focused and in general, more fabulous. Along my shoe journey I will continue to show you purchases, but also my inspiration, finds, desires and a few pair of contenders for which I will need your input.

And of course, I will continue post the lovely pairs, and their stories, that you send me.

I’m here. I’m awake. I’m officially out of hibernation.