Indieness

I'm unashamedly an Indie girl. I love everything about the indie scene, but mostly the music and the fashion. When indie became big in Melbourne, the hottest scene was Streetparty parties and I hit them all up for a few years. Guilty of partying too much, but never succumbing to a nightlife that would affect my daylife, I enjoyed every aspect. As the years wore on, a noticeable shift occurred where the patrons of these parties became younger and younger. It became very obvious that my friends and I were at least 5 years older and so we were forced to move on, feeling much too old for the scene.

When we think about indie shoes, I think of interesting shapes, interesting colour combinations, but not necessarily the dark and evil that many people think Indie equates to.


My good friend Imelda wrote a post recently about this topic, on attendance to the Saint Augustine fashion show. Hilariously written and good points made about indie style. Signature features; cropped hair in a bleached, red or black colour, pointy shoes in black or silver, mish-mash of patterns.

Texture

Most of the items I own are pretty flat in terms of the texture of the item. I really want to buy lots of interesting textured pieces overseas, I think Australia lacks the variety that the UK and Europe have in terms of what is available.

Like nearly every single girl in her twenties, our muse, Susie Bubble always has something to say on any subject. Recently she wrote about Reiss skirts from the S/S08 season and the pretty skirts that featured in the collection, including the amazing ruffled and tiered. I'd possibly only wear them with a plain singlet, but it's hard to find anything similar in Australia.

In terms of shoes, we really lack a lot of choice in terms of texture. Earlier this year, I wrote about Armand Basi and the raffia shoes. Prada's S/S08 shoe features amazing art nouveau texture.


But when it comes to your read to wear shoe, something the masses can easily afford, what are we left with?

A good search of shoes.com shows that the most texture we can hope to find it buckles and snakeskin. It would be interesting to see a chainstore churn out some texture...

Maybe these could be considered textured, or these?

How To: Brave it in crazy shoes

Thanks to Yvan/Facehunter for taking such a great pic.

How much do you like boots?

Some people are very boot friendly, and others not at all. What about you? Some voguettes from Australia's Vogue magazine forum portray views that buying boots they like and that suit them is incredibly difficult. Some of the difficulties include that boots can be too chunky and not pretty enough. Sometimes I think boots can be too casual, or in contrast too sexy for an outfit. It's a fine balance and a lot of elements need to be taken into consideration. A chunky boot does no favours for anyone in my opinion, but a boot that is too refined, i.e. a stiletto heel and pointy toe is also favourless for the wearer. The right balance needs to be found to achieve a balance between outfit and accessories.

Some ideas for boots that I really like...

Something missing

There are some gaps in my wardrobe where I think I need certain things, particularly silhouettes. In terms of what shoes are missing, well something like these.The asymetrical shape and colour would stand out among my shoes as the bold and brightest. Most of my shoes are pretty and girly, and so now it is my mission to find something that will hold a candle to these pretty shoes.

And, it seems I'll be able to do that in my trip to Europe, which I'm leaving on in 15 days. Yes, I've quit my advertising/marketing job and I'm heading to Europe for 3 months. I'm excited about the adventures I'll have and I'll be updating the blog as often as I can. I'm going to be doing a lot of shopping, in fact I've condensed my packing list to something so miniscule so that I can justify and fit in all my shopping.

Countries I'm visiting include

• Italy (staying with my family initially then travelling alone)
• South of France
• Barcelona & Spain
• Paris
• Amsterdam
• Berlin
• Stockholm
• London

If anyone has any recommendations on where to shop, what to see/do, I'd be most appreciative. I've been dreaming of this trip for years so I'm fairly sure of all the things I want to see and do, but more suggestions would never be wasted.

I'm going alone, leaving my poor boyfriend at home to fend for himself (xxx), but I know I'll have a wonderful experience.

Being Tagged...

Thank you Miss Sheri for tagging me!!

Here are the rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

quirks.
I like to think I'm rather quirky, I think it's better than being cool etc.

one.
I like peanut butter sandwhiches with HEAPS of butter, real butter. I could eat one now.
two.
I spend inordinate amounts of time trimming my blunt fringe. I'm constantly making sure it's perfectly even.
three.
Only one person in my entire life has told me to my face that they don't like me. I laughed.
four.
I love Japanese boys, and accents. A boy who can speak another language is dead sexy in my eyes.
five.
I fish for compliments from my boyfriend, parents, brother and closest friends. They know I like the attention, I'd never do it to someone I don't know.
six.
I have a really fantastic vocabulary but lately I can't recall any of those words.

Aha! Now for the tagging
Miss Glitzy
Lady Melbourne
Tam's Thoughts
Trisch Express
Coco's Tea Party
Imelda

Happy Tagging everyone!!!

How to share!

If you want to let someone know where to buy the best black pump, or the cutest printed flats, take a look at iliketotallyloveit.com

A community where you can publish and share cool, innovative and interesting products from all over the world wide web.

Check out all the shoes

Pop Up Shops

Being a marketer myself, I really love the idea of pop up shops for branding exercises. I think big brands, particularly those in fashion, can benefit from the word of mouth, exclusive nature of a pop up store.

K-Swiss opened a store in Santa Monica a few weeks ago, it'll be open for a month and will then travel to the next town. A bit like a circus really.

Read more here...

Ben Sherman & LastNightsParty

Street style party photography is continuing it's reign as the preferred and cooler style of fashion photography. Merlin Bronques, the controversial nightlife personality has teamed up with Ben Sherman to launch their new bold logo. The art project is interactive and features the photographs on the newly redesigned Myspace page. Check it out here, and read the article here.

Marketing Strategy - Bionda Castana

Bionda Castana have put in place an interesting marketing strategy.

"Established in 2006, the London-based Bionda Castana is a retailer's dream. By allowing buyers to select from over 60 different fabrics—including chic satins, supple leathers and luxe exotic skins—for each available style, Bionda Castana can effectively tailor their merchandise to each store's specific market. Thus, the same vertiginous pump might be outfitted with bling accoutrements in Dubai, while it's cast in a conservatively hued matte leather for maximal appeal in Washington D.C." (JC Report)

This idea is fantastic! Imagine the different retailers, especially the large department stores. Those in more conservative locations compared with those in more high fashion locations. This also applies to socio-economic location. Retailers in very rich areas will ultimately choose more luxe and exclusive materials, whereas the more mainstream retailers will choose the more practical and less pricey materials.

Based in Milan, and handcrafted in Italy.

Art and Shoes Part 2

I love writing about the combination of art and shoes. It's a topic that isn't stimulated much by the Australian footwear industry as shoes are much more practical and generally inspired by international fashion. Of course I love all of the Australian independent brands that are working hard in Australia, but when we look at the proliferation of international shoe designers, Australia is really falling behind. I've talked about this before, so I'll get onto the good bit!

Chrissie Morris is an accomplished designer taking shoe design to the next level. A balance between practicality and design, a greatness in form and use of colour. I see some parallels with Prada, especially in the nude leather pump.


For more about Chrissie Morris, have a read of this article.

Working for Prada

If you want a job at Prada, these are the rules you have to follow... RockTheTrend found these at Frillr.

Miuccia Prada gave these instructions to her New York employees...

• Desk and work surfaces should be clean and uncluttered. Pictures, calendars, etc. should not be taped to cubicle/office walls

• Pets may not be brought to the corporate office or the store

• For corporate employees, all coats should be hung in the appropriate coatroom and not kept in offices or hung over cubicle walls

• Window shades should be even (either completely up or completely down) throughout one side of the floor. Items may not be placed on the window sills

• Absent extenuating circumstances, lunch may not be eaten at your desk

• Violators “may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.”

I'd still love to work for her!

Ethical sandals

Ethical products are always commanding more and more attention, and so they should. Fashion is at odds with the idea because so rarely does a company employ the attitude they should. It's high time more companies started meeting fair trade and ethical practices to provide high fashion without the high cost to humanity.

Where Fashion in the United Kingdom is one such company spawned from the pressure to become more ethically acceptable. Where Fashion describe themselves in this way

"Unlike many ethical brands we combine traditional workmanship with leading designer know-how. The result is a fabulously stylish range where the number one must-have accessory is a social conscience." (from here)

As they say, look at these shoes, they are gorgeous!

They are stocked in TopShop and will soon be stocked in many other parts of the world.

Generations gone by

My very cool friend Ryder has a amazing grandfather who passed away when he was just 7, but his legacy is well remembered.

Nathan Stark, or Nat as he is known to his family and friends, a Polish Jewish man who escaped Poland before it was too late. A shoe repairer for the Australian Army in the 40's, who developed an amazing talent. Living with his wife in Melbourne, he opened his own store, his garage named 'Nat's Shoes' and he sold them in the garage from the 70's until he died in 1994 on the 27th of March. Nat was always an extremely tanned man, and as he got older,while sunbaking on his lilo in the pool everyday, customers would turn up and he'd quickly jump up and serve them.

I recently had the amazing opportunity and pleasure to see the shoes, and even to take some home with me! Such amazing talent and gorgeous styles, mostly reminscent of 70's and 80's eras.

What I wish I were doing/wearing right now!

Product Information

Barely There

The must have colour for Spring 08? It's barely there, it's NUDE.

Yesstyle says yes to prints!!

Yesstyle is one of my favourite places to buy clothes, and their feature on prints this season is really gorgeous.

Pretty colours, gorgeous shapes and giraffes, my favourite animals.

Polyvore LOVE

check it out - by randomlike

Inspirational

I've seen quite a bit of Guy Aroch's work over the past few years and I've really enjoyed it.

Chloe Sevigny is one of my favourite people. I love how she is not conventionally pretty and I aspire to be as cool as her. In this Nylon shoot with Anja Rubik (one of my more liked models) and Clemence Poesy, Chloe looks just divine. The combination of colours, form and the balance between the three girls, is just perfect!

Modcloth new picks!!

I love modcloth, I've talked about their great shop and products before. The owners of ModCloth are fantastic and I really love buying things from them!

Check out some of the shoes in store at the moment...

Black and White holepunched spectators

Colourblock Sandals

Stripey Heels that look like cake!

Enjoy!!

Prada's new shoes...

There once was a young woman named Prada. In her dreams she designed beautiful clothing, shoes and accessories. Her designs were world renowned and she made a lot of money. Whenever she woke up, she longed to return to her dreams.
Gorgeous aren't they? Maybe not wearable, but totally worthy of our attention. It's collections like this that have me excited, excited by the possibilities of art in fashion.

Shoes through the ages

Inspired by Gala Darling's post on what she would wear at 40, I've done a little post about what I'll wear wearing in the coming years, and err decades!

Late Twenties

Thirties

Forties