Whipped out a pair of ol' Alexander McQueens to say hi to my friends during the soft opening at new Demi Monde.

R.I.P. Maison Martin Margiela nail boot

It hurts to think that I'm never going to be able to fix this... 

Shoe Collection: Balenciaga Fall 2009

I've been on a Balenciaga kick lately with shoes... I got these from Barney's a couple months ago. I wasn't trying to get them in black, but that was all they had left in my size. I would've loved the ones I posted here... but a size 39 will ever fit.

What I Want: Balenciaga caged suede boots

Only one word can describe these: Wow.

Moving... continued...

(From top (green) Marni, Marc Jacobs Collection, Manolo Blahnik, Dolce and Gabanna)

This is how my room looks trying to move.

There is this cool layout to my room and it allow me to display my shoes as if it was a showroom. (: At least that is how Jackie described it. It's funny too because the lighting in the room very much looked that way. (And yes, those are the shoes I own without boxes on top and those boxes are actually filled.)

I wrote this while I was at the SFO airport.

I’ve been sitting at the SFO airport for way too long… I’m running on about 2 hours of sleep. I’m paranoid that I will miss my flight… lose my chance at New York. So, my body naturally wants to wake up every 20 minutes. So, I give up at sleep around 6AM and deal with my morning. My flight is at noon, but I need to make sure everything is square for me to go. I get to the airport early at 9, because John is forced to go to some ridiculous meeting/training with the company he just put in his 2 weeks notice with.

So many new beginnings, while so many things end.

Geez I’m starving. I feel like when I have a proper breakfast, I’m hungry way too often for the rest of the day. I’m gonna be stuck at an airport bored out of my mind with no internet access because I forget my cable to tether my phone. When I am packing, I don’t like to be under pressure, because I’m going to forget something for sure. I can’t even find my old apartment keys. It’s in one of the large 15 boxes that I packed within the last few days. (Sorry Will, I’ll FedEx them back to you when I find them I swear!)

Some amazing friends came over with cold beers, while I packed. We were reminiscing about past memories together; things we want to do together in the future.

3 hours later…

Of course I have the worst luck. My flight was delayed by 2 hours and I’m also late for my connecting flight. How frustrating is that? How am I suppose to meet a friend in Bed Stuy (Brooklyn) at maybe 2AM or 3AM without being paranoid that someone will jack my stuff? I won’t even check in my luggage because I’m afraid it’s going to be lost somehow.

The Cage Boot

Damn you Barney's for selling out... and Net-A-Porter for never carrying my size in the first place.  I needed you to be my birthday shoes I got this year.  I guess I will stick with the 3 dresses I bought instead. Some of the best purchases I made this year.  You'll see it in a post soon! (Honestly, I've been laptopless for 2 months now!)

Anyways... I'm working on a fun project with a good friend.  I'm really excited about it.  I'll hopefully post some fun info during the process... maybe even a video (if Vy doesn't mind doing that, lol).

What I Want: Margiela Cowboy boots S09

(Style.com)

I always feel like anything that Jane posts will be sold out from Barneys. I wanted to post these boots a while back when I saw them. I have been searching for the perfect cowboy boot for years. Dior did a pair many fall seasons ago, which I can no longer find them. Yet, I can't help but still look. The heel is high enough (a little less than 3 inches) and it's a beautiful color. I wanted a pair of cowboy boots with a heel because they are so comfortable. All of Margiela's stuff is so comfy. These will be mine soon enough.

What I Want: shoes... shoes...SHOES! (Shoe Print by Vee)

My buddy Vy has always given me the best gifts. For the past decade, almost every gift she has given me was made by hand. This past Christmas, she asked me what shoes I liked. I thought it was some project she was working on with at her graphic design job. So I tried to think of shoes that I like the past 2 seasons in less than 10 minutes.

Turns out she made me this:


A hand drawn print of selection of some of the shoes. Can you guess what some of them are? Some of them have been on my blog.

Shoe Collection: Olivier Theyskens for Rochas

I love these shoes! They have this amazing cork texture to them. When I found them at Nordstroms I literally had a heart attack! I rarely ever saw Rochas anywhere and was even more surprised that Norstroms had them.

Olivier Theyskens is such a talented designer... it's a shame that Rochas closed house a few years ago. But it's funny that they are reviving the brand during a economic crisis.

Just Purchased: Marc Jacobs Collection F/w 2008 boots

I get shoes from MJ every season. This was my pick this time. It was really hard to find anything I liked in my size. I had the Las Vegas store go ahead and ship them to me. Here are the details:

What's in the Closet: Shoe Faves

Vy came over my apartment to hang out and have a drink. I was showing her more of my extensive collection of shoes, when she mentioned she wanted to take a picture of a few of my favorites.

The picture didn't turn out a clear as it could've been but it was a lot of fun doing it.

The majority of the collection includes Marc Jacobs, Manolo Blahnik, Dior, Lanvin, Chanel, and Alexander McQueen.

This is actually her with my Thomas Wylde bag:

Shoe collection: Alaia Booties F/W 2007

I have a extensive shoe collection, so I decided to to why not show a pair once a week, since I'm so weird about taking photos. Really it's more like I don't have anyone around to take a photo of me.

Since it is fall, I figure a pair of spotted pony hair Alaia booties will suit well.

Chanel Gun shoes by Laurence Decade

So, my friend Jackie told me that she wanted to splurge for once ad get something she really really wanted. When these came out we were just guessing how much they would be. I was thinking maybe $895 would be about right, but I was soooo wrong.

These puppies (shown on Leigh Lezark from The Sartorialist) are a whooping $2200. Ouch! Karl... you just know how to make a girl charge up her credit card! *Sigh* God, but even though it has that hefty price... I still want them.

Fall Cleaning: Letting go.

Ugh.

So I'm planning to move again soon. A move that will take me way too far... away from my native California. *sigh* So, I've been trying to get rid of a lot of my stuff, such as my closet. I've been editing it down a lot. Even though what I still have is an insane amount, I still need to continue to cut it down. I've given away so many things. Besides furniture, kitchen supplies and televisions, I had to give away about 30 pairs of shoes... yet I still have so many... in the 3 figure range, so I figured I'm going to off it on eBay. Especially the stuff that I have bought that made large holes on my B of A debit card, that are literally unworn, because they simply are too big or small. It's a shame really and it makes me sad, but it's relieving at the same time, because the only things that cause a mess in my poor room are my clothes. So, my monstrous stacks of shoes and clothes are slowing going down.

I'm planning to get rid of Alaia, Zac Posen, Stella Mccartney and Alexander McQueen's this week. ))): It pains me to say it. More will come soon.

Sorry I just needed to vent a little about it.

What to Wear Daily: The High-heeled Boots.

I'm really picky about shoes. Alright... alright I admit it... I'm kind of a shoe snob. I only worked in a major department store's shoe depart for almost half a decade. But when I knew I was going to be running around, I wanted a pair of comfortable boots with a relatively high heel. I'm really short, so I need a little help.

When I went to Nordstrom Rack (one of my favorite discount stores), I found these G Series boots. G Series collaborated with Nike Air, to create more comfortable shoes. Really nice tan leather and the boots are mid calf, so I could wear them with jeans or dresses. I also love the fact I could actually roll down the boot to make it a shorter boot.

Too bad one time, while I was working at the old magazine, he had me pass out fliers for this event that they were throwing. When I was done with the day, I felt like my feet were seriously bleeding. I walked within a 5 block radius of Union Square, going to every cool and hip store/person to personally hand the fliers out. The publisher refused to have me place them at a store so anyone could pick one up.

Shopping in SF: Luxury stores

Since I have a few days to myself off from work, I have been spending time catching up on past and present fashion news. I spent almost a whole day inside... so I decided to take the BART out back to SF and just hang around. I was walking around everywhere just to familiarize myself with the city. I was trying to look for the location of this publication company here in SF and found myself going around in circles. I went back and forth to about 4 places about 6 times too many. When I finally got to the location (which was way to late; 5:00pm) I was greeted by the staff that seemed confused about why I was even there at all. Turns out they don't even know if there are intern positions even open... or any positions opened at ALL.

So after that long walk... I went ahead and took a stroll to my favorite street in SF, which is Maiden Lane. I visited Chanel (which had nothing I wanted in my size/it was too expensive still, even on sale), Yves Saint Laurent and then of course... the most frequented store I go to, Marc Jacobs. Out of all the MJ stores I've gone to all over the country... I'd say that I like the associates there the most. Maybe it's because they know me, because I have gone there for about 5 years... or it's just the fact that there is always this down to earth feeling in that store... as if it wasn't really actually a expensive luxury store at all. Sometimes when I go to certain stores, I feel like I'm in a museum and I can't touch anything.... there are always people staring at you. Sometimes I'm not even greeted.. and if I am... it's feels like a scold.

The only purchase I made today was for a pair of Marc Jacobs Collection jelly mouse flats.




I got these at a steal. They were 70% off... it was a grand total of $48. I know... some people might think that they can get jelly flats from the Asian Market down the street.. but they aren't the mouse flats! I held off for a long time because I didn't want to spend the $160 these originally are. I can add these to the rest of my mouse flat collection.

Go away Croc!

I don't understand the whole sensation with crocs. They aren't flattering and they don't look comfortable either. It's just basically a rain boot (but chunkier looking) that has been hole punched so you can wear them during the summer. These things are everywhere and it needs to stop. I'm sure anyone that owns a pair has more than one.

In 2007, crocs increased an amazing 607%. That's just insane. They made $830 million last year on these shoes, which made them the top growth in revenue. Now they are banking on cellphone accessories. I don't know who will actually buy these things, but when I spotted these... I couldn't help but cringe.

Other brands that made it on the top ten list are Sketchers and Steve Maddens. Two other brands I just dislike. They are poorly made shoes and they are knockoffs of everything. I guess in a way, it's a good thing because people are able to afford Steve Maddens over Manolos but they are so uncomfortable. I worked in a shoe department for the longest time so I got to see the quality of the shoes after so much wear from people. These things just loved to fall apart, but they were really popular, so I'm not surprised by their increase in revenue.

But trust me, you will never catch me in any pairs of these shoes...

shoes.

I have been slowly moving my stuff in the past week into my new apartment. The first thing I pretty much moved over was my shoes... and I had to move them all over at once (well john had to move them too). I haven't kept track of my shoe collection in the past 2 years, because I just really didn't want to know how much of my salary has been invested into them. From all the boxes that are visible, I counted up to 100 and then immediately stopped.

Recently, in a article from the L.A. Times called, "Manolo lovers feel financial pain at the pump," shoes are having their "runway moment." Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie, in Sex and the City probably made this a universal phenomenon. I knew of Manolo Blahnik from growing up fashion obsessed, but the rest of the world had no clue. Now retailers "mark up shoes 2.4 to three times the wholesale price. (On clothes and bags, the average markup is generally twice the wholesale price.)"

Come on ladies... what are you trying to do to me? Just stop buying shoes... or at least go ahead and wait for them to go on sale.

My shoe obsession started before I even discovered SATC (I finally payed attention during the 5th season because of my roommate, Arlene). I worked in a shoe department for a major department store almost 5 years. I got my first pair of designer shoes at 19. A pair of Marc by Marc Jacobs teal flats, that look like they are in relatively brand new condition because I had them resoled twice already. That's one great thing about designer shoes... you can always make them brand new again. So, besides having a large bill from MJ himself, I also get a large bill for my amazing shoe repair guy, but it beats trying to find another pair to replace them for $400.