Liesl, 7N

My very good friend from Los Angeles came to town last weekend; she is marrying a local boy whose family has a lake house and we all went there for Memorial Day weekend. On the way there we stopped over at Shelley's future mother in law's apartment to get a new suitcase for Shelley. Imagine my utter delight when I opened a hall closet in a search for a suitcase and instead found the closet full of Manolos! Needless to mention, Shelley and I got them all out and oohed and aahed over them, making sure not to get any drool on their fabulousness.

Here's the thing: this was a coat closet full of fabulous shoes; imagine this! they were spillover! I didn't open her bedroom closet, though I was dying to, but I assume it was also filled with fabulous shoes. I'm having a hot flash just thinking about it. I need a mint julep. OK anyway... when we got to the lake and told Debbie (future mother in law) that we had found her coat closet shoes she looked at us with a puzzled look on her face. I described exactly where they were and she finally realized which closet we were talking about. She had forgotten about those shoes! It got me to thinking: why is it excess to some and something we covet to others?

I know some people who have several luxury cars, though there are only two people in their family. I have always thought it was complete excess and just ridiculous. But I know that if they had a walk in closet full of $800 shoes I would think it was simply fabulous. Who is to say one is more excessive than the other? We all have something we would collect or buy if we had the money to do it that others would think is silly. My husband would buy Katanas, which seems odd to me. I would buy shoes and art (same thing, right?) which would seem odd to some of my friends. Who am I to judge others for spending their money on the things they find to be fabulous? After all, I've pressed my nose to the Chanel store window more than once; if I could afford to go in and buy? you're damn straight sure I would do it.

Now stop picturing me as a poor waif being chased away from Chanel.

Today's Favorite Shoe:

Manolo Blahnik

Liesl, 7N

I have to wonder how much I would really spend on a pair of shoes. As I peruse the Manolos and the Choos I start to get used to the prices; I get so used to them that when I come across a beautiful pair of shoes for $300 I think they are reasonably priced. Why are beautiful shoes so expensive?

I think they are really expensive because you're not just paying for the shoe and the name; you're also paying for something fabulous to escort you into the world. When you walk down the street to go to your job or to lunch or to Chanel, doesn't it feel better when you have slices of fabulous on your feet? Your feet are literally the things that carry you through life, they should be celebrated. All of the best things we do are on our feet. We dance, we marry, we toast, we hug. And when we talk about doing the right thing we say we stand up for what is right. Our feet are our ambassadors to life.

When you kick that man to the curb, do it while wearing some fabulous Gladstones.
When you stand up to the neighborhood bully, do it while wearing some fabulous Charles Davids.
When you walk away from a bad situation, do it while wearing some fabulous Manolos.
And when you walk into the rest of your life, make sure the shoes that carry you there make you feel as fabulous as you know you are.

So yes, expensive shoes are worth every penny.

Today's Favorite Shoe:

Vera Wang

Liesl, 7N

There is now a very good reason not to shop at Payless: you might get rabies.

I was right! That is all.

Today's Favorite Shoe:

Alexandra Neel Castel

Liesl, 7N

OK, what is with this new fad of high heeled pumps with long shorts? Really, who decided on this? Is it a joke some designer is playing on all of us? Yeah, the 80s called and they want their fashion don't back.

I loved the 80s; I was a teenager in the 80s and I miss the carefree days of naiveté we all had back then. The 80s were a time of huge shoulder pads, lots and lots of gel in our streaked hair, converse high tops, and primary colors. We had pretensions of being badasses when we listened to the Sex Pistols and pretensions of being sophisticated when we listened to Spandau Ballet. Men in suits singing about love? Yes, please. The thing we also had was the revolutionary idea that models were suddenly super and fashion was accessible to everyone. Who couldn't pair leggings with an oversized shirt and ginormous belt to look like Linda Evangelista out for a night of clubbing? Tunnel, anyone?

Alas, we looked pretty ridiculous in the 80s. I submit, to my shame, some evidence of this ridiculousness. Please excuse the quality of our scanner:

Here I am in a junior prom photo. Notice the hair? The sleeves? This one is particularly shameful for me since I designed the dress:


Here I am the next year in what can only be described as the worst thing to happen to flowers since people started dyeing carnations blue:


Here I am in college, late 80s. Do you remember when we wore oversized jackets with huge buttons and even huger shoulder pads? Is huger a word? Anyway, I was working that jacket! Do you like the big white buttons?


Here I am at a birthday party one year. I can't remember how old I was but do you dig the big hair and big shoulder pads? How about my friend, god love her, wearing Docs and a dress. We were the shit:


OK, so it wasn't all bad in the 80s. Do you remember wearing the oversized sweater with the short skirt and tights? I had all kinds of funky colors and patterns in tights. I think I even had some argyle tights. Who knew that years later when you aged a bit you could achieve the same pattern on your legs without the help of leg coverings?


Ladies, please! leave the 80s where they belong: in bad quality photographs and hazy memories of wanting to live the punk/preppie/new wave life.

Today's favorite shoe:

Claudia Ciuti Ruth

Liesl, 7N

Why do designers push the ugly envelope? It always strikes me as so jarring when I am walking through the shoe department at Neiman's, lovingly fondling the Manolos and Ferragamos,only to come upon some hideous creation of couture. Why? Edgy does not mean pretty!

You know you've seen the shoes I am talking about; edgy, downtown meets cottage in Rhode Island "chic." In our ever imploding space why is it we feel we need to meld styles to create ugly, butt ugly! couture? Since when do L.L. Bean and Manolo go together? You know the shoes I'm talking about; uh huh, yeah you do. Who told Guiseppe Zanotti that huge platform foam heels would look good with patent leather half tennies, complete with bow? Who told Marc Jacobs that hospital green was a good color for a wedge? Who told Roberto Cavalli that leopard print and cork are a good combination?

Designers, please! Imagine your shoes on feet and try to imagine those feet looking good in your shoes. No one looks good in duck boots, even if they are fabuloused up with a pair of 3-inch heels. No one looks good in cork or hospital green. Oh, and really? the only people telling you these shoes are fabulous are the people who have their heads so far up your asses that they can't actually see the shoes.

Hope that helps!

Today's Favorite Shoe:

Dior

Suz, 10N

Saying Goodbye

It's hard to let go, sometimes. Despite all the platitudes being mouthed - "they're in a better place now", "at least they aren't suffering any longer", you still feel miserable.

A favorite pair of shoes has gone to the walk-in closet in the sky.

I hate accepting they are done. Passed on! No more! Ceased to be! Expired and gone to meet their maker. A stiff! Bereft of life, they rest in peace. Pushing up the daisies! They're off the twig! They've kicked the bucket, they've shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

Oops. Sorry about that. Sometimes Monty Python just takes over and you have to let them.

Where was I? Oh yes. Shoes. Giving them up. I have a pair of Ferragamo slingbacks that my cat Sebastian sank his teeth into. They are cream, and the toothmarks show. That damn cat snuck into the closet and had a field day. I took them to the cobbler, and there is no hope. Yet I can't accept they're done. They are the nicest pair of shoes I ever had.

I've tried to get over the sadness. I give Sebastian the stink eye if I see him anywhere near any pair of footwear belonging to any member of the household. I give him the stink eye just because I can. It doesn't help.

I wonder if I should seek grief counseling? Maybe I need closure. Perhaps a group therapy session would be better? Do I need to talk about my anger? Communication is important, so I'm told.

I know what I have to do. I have to let these shoes go so I can accept new ones into my heart.

Where's my charge card?

Today's Shoe

Hype 'Emilie'

Liesl, 7N

I have finally completed the grieving process for the Madden slides my dogs chewed up months ago. Walk down this path with me:

Stage 1: Denial, shock and isolation. The shock wore off pretty quickly after I realized that I had left them on the floor instead of putting them up. The dogs' behavior wasn't shocking, either. Little bastards. However, I kept those shoes in my closet for months after I knew they were gone; I was in complete denial about their demise. I did isolate them from the rest of my shoes so that they wouldn't look even more pathetic next to the whole, fabulousness of my in-one-piece shoes. This stage was hard.

State 2: Anger. I was angry about these shoes for months. Every time I would look for the perfect shoe for my new brown skirt and think of the brown and black slides I would get mad all over again. How could they have chewed up my favorite shoes?? And not just one pair, but two! Don't they know how lucky they all are?? They were all rescued from bad situations and THIS is how they repay me? um... maybe I'm not entirely through with this stage.

Stage 3: Bargaining. I have searched all over Dallas for an appropriate pair of slides to replace the Maddens. I came close with a black pair but they just don't quite make the connection. I've substituted color and material to try and replicate those shoes but nothing has worked. I finally realized that there would be no bargaining with the fashion gods for the Maddens.

Stage 4: Depression. This stage nearly destroyed my soul. I bought a pair of Clark's during this stage and forced myself to wear a pair of unfabulous shoes. I noticed a student looking at them derisively but I felt I deserved that derision for losing my Maddens. I turned down party invitations and lady lunches because I just couldn't face going without my favorite shoes. It was a dark time. I finally lifted myself out of it when Nordstrom's opened in Dallas. After all, there will be other shoes, right?

Stage 5: Acceptance. I did finally accept the loss of my Maddens when I was walking by their new store at Northpark Mall (happy place) and noticed a beautiful pair of candy apple red stilettos. Oh, they were everything a shoe should be! beautiful, bright, torturous on your feet. Yes, all was right with the world again when we can buy such fabulous Maddens. Slides? What slides?

Today's Favorite Shoe:

Steve Madden Camelia