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Average Woman Looks at Springtime Shoes (and what they say about you)

26 Mar

Spring is here!  The weather’s getting warmer, the trees are budding and the forsythia is in bloom!  Which means it’s time to put away the suede shooties and shearling booties (mostly) and start thinking pedicures and peep-toe pumps.  That is, if it doesn’t snow the first week of April….

On the Spring 2012 Runways we saw a lot of what we’ve been seeing and wearing: sky

gorgeous Meredith platforms available at charlotteolympia.com

high-heels, chunky platforms, and barely-there flat sandals in every color of the rainbow (almost) including color block.  This is definitely one of the most exciting springtimes for shoes I’ve seen in years!

But let’s face a few small facts:  it’s hard to get around town in sky-high heels.  Chunky platforms on over 40 legs aren’t always fun, let alone attractive.    So what’s a woman to do?

Christian Siriano "Michelle" ballet flat at payless.com has a trendy keyhole peep-toe.

My favorite fashion guru, Bill Cunningham, recently noticed that women in New York City (a place where it’s important to be quick on your feet) have put the huge heels in their tote bags, and are traversing the streets in ballet flats.  If you have to move fast, nothing beats a good-fitting ballet flat!   I have several inexpensive pair that I use for kicking around in the spring and summer, esp. when I don’t have heavy-duty walking ahead of me.  That’s the great thing about ballet flats:  you don’t need an expensive pair to look great.

That’s not to say that heels and platforms will go by the wayside.  Not at all!  And if you want to wear them, by all means do!  I’m so looking forward to getting into my 4.5 inch red Guess platform sandals that I bought last year, even if I don’t wear them while traipsing through the streets of New York City or to the local grocery store — although the latter can be lots of fun, esp. if I want to turn a few heads…

Which leads me to another reason why you might want to wear some high heels every now and then.  Not only can they lengthen your legs, but they’re great eye-catchers.  Yes, even if you have a husband or a boyfriend, please just admit that it’s great fun to catch some good-looking guy eyeing up your shoes.  It’s a thrill!  I find it even more fun when the good-looking guys are a whole lot younger than myself (shoes are one of those things that are, well, ageless if you let them be.)   This cute little feature from Glamour.com let’s you in on what goes through the brains of men when they’re looking at your shoes.  Totally darling!

For Fun:   Check out Bill Cunningham’s latest on the beauty of springtime in Manhattan  and my Pinterest “Shoe Fetishist” pinboard of cool, beautiful shoes.

New York Fashion Week rolls on with full slate of video simulcasts, apps, and more

10 Feb

Sorry for being a bit remiss in posting about New York Fashion Week.  My intention was to actually go to NYC for a

Nicki Minaj and Anna Wintour size up a collection at Fashion Week

couple of days and do something like an outsider report (naturally, as I have no invites, so I would definitely be “outside.”)  Given the vicissitudes of my current lack of fortune, travel was well-nigh impossible.  So like a lot of y’all I’m watching from a distance (most frustratingly unfortunately.)

Lots of shows will be simulcast on iPad or on the good ole Internet.  Here’s the New York Times Schedule for the week, listing some of the bigger shows.

Style.com will be simulcasting Jason Wu’s show today at 1p.m  I’ll be very interested to see what Wu has for Fall 2012, esp. since his collection for Target of which I was rather under-whelmed.

Most of Target’s capsule collections are geared towards the very young and very thin.  :-\   Which leaves the rest of us with their usual blah basics.

Vogue also has its own coverage, as does Women’s Wear Daily.  I’m keeping a particular eye on the Ready to Wear collections, which are closest to what we might see in the stores for Fall.

There are also a bunch of apps for iPad and Android, tie ins with Facebook, etc., etc.  It’s pretty much media overload for anyone who isn’t attending Fashion Week.

But there’s nothing like actually being there, and actually getting a bit of swag from here and there, or taking advantage of other little things that might be offered to The Great Uninvited.

Oh, well, maybe I’ll be there for the next one….

(photo h-t Mercedes Benz Fashion Week)