Day 75: Painted Ladies

Painterly pumps

When styling an outfit, it’s often important to let one piece stand out and these shoes are definitely doing all the talking today. A bit loudly, in fact. The bright colors of the season inspired their purchase as I imagined wearing them with my staple J. Crew white shorts and bright tops. The brand, Naughty Monkey, is known for combining multiple textures, colors and material, this pair being a good example. The water-color/tie-dye upper is fabric, the trim of the peep toe in a butterfly/heart shape is patent and it all sits atop a tall triangular stacked wood heel. I’m such a fan of blue/white together and these add a touch of green for more of a multi-color effect.  I don’t have any multi-colored heels so I decided to give them a shot. Are these colors all run amuck, or do they inspire peace, love and good fashion?

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: Spring 2009

Circumstances: Well these are the conclusion of the same shopping extravaganza to Nordstrom Rack with Kelly…the 4th of 4 pairs purchased. The other 3 pairs, (Day 67, Day 73 and Day 74)were no-brainers for us, but these required a bit more thought. I carried them around while we continued to shop, to ponder them; a common technique of mine when discerning a purchase. I re-tried each pair as we discussed what each would be worn with, how, and on what occasions. We both decided they were not the most practical purchase, however, would look terribly cute with shorts and dresses…and for less than $30, could not be resisted. Ruling: purchase.

Compliment Meter: 5. Lots of feedback and attention today. I received a few, ‘wow, look at those’ comments as well as several of the ‘those are so cute’ variety. Definite attention getters. Several good comments today, the best coming from Keri, “Blue trim: why? Because ‘Screw you!,’ that’s why” and “Now those are the kinds of heels you can drive a nail with.” Shoe confidence level: Medium-High.

Comfort: This brand is also not known for immense comfort. I used my trusty gel inserts to avoid the pain which helped a great deal. Not amazingly comfortable, but not bad, either. Overall, a 6.5 out of 10.

Worn with: White v-neck track tee from American Apparel, kelly green bermuda shorts from Fossil. All preps own or should own something in kelly green. Even better if it’s shorts or pants.

Thoughts: “A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so unbearable that we are compelled to alter it every six months.” ~Oscar Wilde

Do these babies stay in the rotation or get dumped into the Shoe Graveyard?