In Brogue

Only just the other day, my very good friend Mrs McPherson and I were saying to each other how we had to get out of the shoe rut.  We lived in two pairs of shoes - Birkenstocks in the summer and Converse in the winter.  Yes we do own several other pairs of shoes, the reality is that we are both creatures of comfort and find that it is all too easy to reach for the most comfortable shoes in our wardrobe, rather than those that are much more beautiful and lets face it, stylish!

As many of my readers know, I do love to blog about the highest of heels, I love to wax lyrical about the design triumphs of Prada, Louboutin, Nicholas Kirkwood, et al because I  can't wear heels myself.  It is a sad fact but one I have come to accept about myself.  Oh I still buy them if a certain pair call my name, but they are usually only taken out of their box to be admired or to be worn when the occasion calls for it.  Sigh...

Garance Dorè in her gorgeous tan brogues.

And so it is with great delight that I show off a trend in shoes that seemed to hit the northern hemisphere during their previous autumn and which will no doubt filter its way down here to us here in the south.  The Brogue is back!

While yes, it is true that the Brogue is traditionally a men's dress shoes, these traditionally low-heeled, leather lace ups have now become a very popular style for women.  

It's mostly the quirky fashionistas that I've seen wearing these gems, but these ladies are on to something -  these shoes are so gorgeous, you have to see how versatile they are!  I am amazed how such an unlikely shoe became such a stand out trend - borne out of the trend that has seen us raiding our boyfriend's wardrobes and stealing their looks for ourselves.

Model of the moment Agness Deyn loves hers in multiple colours while stylish TV presenter Alexa Chung is rarely seen without a pair, and the two-tone pink numbers of Emma Watson's add a touch of feminine charm and look fabulous worn with just about anything you can try on.  

 

Short skirts, long skirts, trousers, shorts, tights or bare legs, socks or no socks, baggy jeans or slim fit, the choice is yours!  



Hx




Sources: Elle Magazine, Style.com, Garance Dorè, The Sartorialist, Vanessa Jackman.

Nicholas Kirkwood: Shoe Artisan

"I always wanted to make shoes that were the Antichrist to pretty pumps and kitten heels." - Nicholas Kirkwood


It is this attitude that has Nicholas Kirkwood at the top of his game.  Here is a designer that at just 28 years of age is hitting the dizzy heights of super designer status so early in his career that he is being requested to collaborate with designers such as Rodarte, Chloè, Zac Posen and Gareth Pugh.

"The first time I ever saw his shoes, I knew he was destined for greatness." - Yasmin Sewell

A very busy designer, Nicholas designs about 350 styles a season, but how did this couture cobbler get started?  While studying at Central Saint Martins College in London, he worked for milliner extraordinaire Philip Treacy in his London store.  "All these ladies would bring in their outfits to try on with their hats... fabulous... exciting outfits, like McQueen.  But horrendous shoes - all girlie with bows on.  I thought, "Maybe I can do something about that."'

Following a year in a technical course at Cordwainers (the shoe-making college), Kirkwood took his first collection that he had made on his kitchen table to Paris.  He didn't sell a single pair but fast-forward four years and not only does Kirkwood have a small artisanal Italian factory making his creations, but he is stocked in 85 stores around the world.  

Nicholas Kirkwood's menacingly seductive heels are not for wallflowers.  Never a frill or bow in sight, they channel 80s power stilettos with jumped up sex appeal, rejecting ornamentation in favour of sculptural glamour.  Kirkwood uses unusual materials including lizard, stingray, watersnake, python and buffalo horn.  It's evident that Kirkwood takes an artisinal approach to design, with meticulous attention to detailing and construction.

"Decorating for the sake of decorating is a really old-fashioned notion, I'm more about form and function. Some of my heels look quite aggressive, but they are always feminine – not girly, you won't find any bows or diamonds." - Nicholas Kirkwood

Women throughout Europe and the US are snapping up Kirkwood heels in a frenzy.  I don't know how they can actually stand up in them, let alone walk anywhere in them!  But if Kirkwood is indeed "The New Louboutin" as he is being touted in some circles, his designs truly speak for themself, they are truly daring and original.  


I would love to see what he could do to a ballet flat, wouldn't you?


Ciao for now,


Hx


Sources: Elle UK, NicholasKirkwood.com, JakandJil.com/blog, Vogue Russia, Oyster Magazine. 

A Woman's Right To Shoes

Givenchy

What is it about shoes that just makes us women swoon?  For some they are an addiction, their drug of choice.  The beauty of shoes is that you are never too fat for them, (no matter the time of the month) and as Wendy at HARRY'S of Seatoun said to me this morning, "you could be having a day where you feel that your clothes are just not looking their best on you, but you never get that with shoes."  And for that, shoes truly are a gift from heaven, oui?


According to the GUARDIAN newspaper in Britain, one in two British women own more than 30 pairs of shoes.  The article went on to say that one in four women would rather buy a pair of shoes than pay a bill.  HARPERS BAZAAR conducted a survey once and discovered that one in ten women said she spent more than £1000 on shoes in a year and that 8% of women own more than 100 pairs of shoes.

Here is my current collection of shoe lust - this is mega, be warned because there is bound to be something here that you will want, must have, lust after, maybe even contemplate killing for, but most of all I promise you that you WILL dream about them!

Dries Van Noten

Gucci

Balenciaga

Balenciaga

Balmain

Barbara Bui

Alexander McQueen

Proenza

Celine

Dior

Jimmy Choo

Galliano

Givenchy

Gucci

Gucci

Louboutin

Louis Vuitton

Manolo Blahnik

Marni

Michael Kors

Ohne Titel

Pierre Hardy

Prada

Prada

Sonia Rykiel

Sigerson Morrison

Tuleh

Valentino

Valentino

Valentino

Valentino

Vivienne Westwood

YSL

YSL

YSL Tributes

I remember Carrie in Sex and the City realising to her horror that she had spent so much money on shoes over the years that she literally could have bought an apartment with the money she had spent.  


Shoes give you an instant lift, surgery without the knife, so to speak. Heels transform the way you walk and how you carry yourself because they instantly give you that sexy walk that Marilyn Monroe was so famous for because you are forced to stick out your derriere in one direction and your breasts in the other.  Instant sex-bomb.  It's easy to see how Carrie couldn't help herself.


Ciao for now,


Hx


Sources: JakandJil.com, Cherry Blossom Girl, Style.com, The Guardian,   If I have missed anyone, I apologise.