seaofshoes

Perhaps it is my life-long obsession with bugs but when I can never help but notice the resemlance between a shiny satin Lanvin sheath and the phosphorescent shell of a dogbane beetle. The darted shifts at Balenciaga last week, shown on stick-like models with elfish booties, were no exception. In fact, many things the past two seasons have caught my eye as being reminiscent of the entomological.

The closing dress at Nina Ricci was ethereal and evoked many different emotional responses. It featured the print of a chrysalis . I love that Theyskens could take something from nature so bizarre (the shell of a cicada always makes me wonder if they’re not the fetuses of alien spawn) and make it both wearable and beautiful. The model’s bare shoulders  and the volumuminous sleeves remind one of the actual process of metamorphosis-the pretty butterfly (aka Tanya) coming out of it’s shell.

The frothy fur at Chloe made me think of nothing other than the downy wings of a luna moth, complete with it’s spots and tufts of hair. I spotted similarly wing-like patterning at Prada-don’t the marbled designs of the tunic and the transparency remind you of butterflies? Very dreamy. I also loved the strange cutouts on Marios Scwab’s wobble dress this season. The gathered fabric peeping out of these perforations immiediatley brought to mind-and this may sound disgusting-insect larvae…but in a totally awesome sci-fi way. And of course you can’t forget the whimsical shoes and pins at Miu Miu this spring…check out the sandal with the beetle on it! A little far out for me, but I would still love one of those dragonfly pins.

I don’t know, maybe I should ditch my love of fashion to persue entomology…or I could get the Miu Miu brooch and have the best of both worlds.
jane

Just a mashed up scrap board of images, people, and things I’ve found inspiring over time. I’m craving a cozy sweater like the Comme Des Garcons one on the left right now, or like Ralph Lauren’s classic one. I like how Tanya wore hers with a turqoise turtle, how cute is that? Sweaters sound nice right now, it’s sleeting outside, a VERY RARE occurence where I live, thankfully. 
I wanted the Junya vest so bad when I saw it last fall, I tried it on and fell in love. Sadly it isn’t mine. I wish! The Givenchy’s next to it were love at first sight too, I can’t get enough of these sexy buckled gladiator shoes…
Another thing I love? The little Prada robot man keychain!!! I’ve always loved keychains but I saw a sales assistant at Barneys who had a version of this guy but wore it as a brooch and it was so cute! I wish I could collect them and stick a bunch on a vest.

I had another post in mind today but due to the nasty weather outside interferring with my picture taking I will have to post-pone it.
Fingers crossed that school will be cancelled tomorrow!
jane

I’ve never seen a pair of Barbara Bui shoes in Texas…c’mon people, these would sell like hot cakes! I know Dallas women like their slutty shoes. Myself included. I wonder where Barbara Bui is stocked?
(pictures from Barbara Bui’s official site)

Panel detailing-though I wouldn’t call it a trend- has popped up in several collections over the past few years-most recently in Rick Owen’s fall collection in Paris. He conjured up a gothic super-villain, complete with capes and seemingly wing-like fixtures on the model’s backs. The zip-up panels flap against the models hips and hug their torsoes-the result is irresistably bad-ass. 

Christopher Kane’s debut collection in Spring 07 caused a sensation with his ruffled, frilly, ring-embellished panelled dresses. The panels framed the erogenous zones and were scandalously short-Carine Roitfeld infamously wore a sheer black one that put her lingerie on full-display. Not that she didn’t totally pull it off-who wouldn’t kill for that woman’s body?

Anyway, both of these collections couldn’t help but bring to mind the scuba-inspired paneled dress Ghesquiere created for Balenciaga spring 07. I’m certainly not implying that Rick or Christopher were borrowing from this, but when you line them all up it’s cool to see how this has been developed. It’s futuristic and very sexy…I like that it flows with the body’s natural curves. Hope to see more of this soon!

jane

Things that come in pairs are twice as nice!

The above picture features is a pair of our pairs of platform Marni wedges. The chunky, irregular sillouhette is so futuristic, but completely wearable. Every variation shown on the runway was highly desirable. My mom and I both ended up getting a pair of these! Barneys is going to be getting this same shoe in a dove gray and pale yellow color combination. I should add that contrary to appearances these shoes are extremely comfortable to walk in! I like to wear them with more classic pieces, futuristic architecture looks great dressed down. I tried mine with a viscose-blend dress from the Row and Ralph Lauren jodphurs.

Shoes aren’t the only great thing to be had in pairs:

I love the symmetry that they create. Our fireplace is flanked by a pair of wooden gryphens and on the mantle is a pair of Ganesh figures. The wooden dogs in the lower corner were picked up at the Fair Park flea market here in Dallas, aren’t they handsome?? They are most likely from Guatemala or Mexico.

Real dogs are best in pairs too. Above picture are Staci and Toulouse, helping me with a sewing project

The pair of little men attached to my purse are voodoo doll keychains I bought in Mexico, I liked the fortune teller/hippie vibe they had when paired with my tie dye bag. Haven’t tested them out yet, though….

Till next time,
Jane

These past couple of weeks I haven’t been able to get this image out of my head…it started  in New York with the apparently blood soaked, slasher inspired dresses at Rodarte and the surreal, almost tribal deer head mask. This somehow stirred some of the images of Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, the heroine’s blood soaked face and the mystical creatures in her forest.

The latex Balenciaga and the ruffian looks at Isabel Marant and Ann Deemeulemeester would most definitely get Princess Mononoke’s nod of approval. The glint of the airtex fan clutch by Karman Sarwar almost mimicks that of the dagger she wields at poachers.

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you should! It’s been a while but the past few (fashion) weeks have made me want to see it again!

will blog more soon!
jane

Pictured above is an aerial view of our collection of Dries Van Noten footwear. Because you can’t have just one. Dries has a look that can’t be beat!

An in depth analysis…

The sillouhette of a Dries is unmistakable. You can spot it a mile away. The very sexy, very chunky heel looks great in any outfit, jeans, dress, or flirty skirt. We went nuts with Dries last year and we’re anxiousley awaiting spring shipments. The floral print heels are irresistable! Yesterday’s shoe featured some great rainbow strapped sandals, which is extremely cool and unexpected for winter.

We’ve found that our Dries have lasted and lasted thanks to the protective treading on the back, which looks tough but nothing too Timberland-ish.

The sillouhette is at once Lolita-ish but tough. A girl who wears Dries means business.

Here is a picture of mom and I wearing our Dries Van Notens…Toulouse made an impromptu cameo in the photo while the timer was going off, mom and I are having a difficult time keeping a straight face!

Mom wears vintage 501’s, vintage YSL jacket, morrocan scarf, maroon Dries pumps.
Jane wears a Junya Watanabe cardigan, vintage shirt, (unknown) scarf, black wax finish Levi’s, Dries Van Noten lace up booties.

We’re in the midst of Paris fashion and have yet to see what all there is to offer, but the new season looks promising already. Here are some our picks!

Red metallic peeptoe pumps with a wooden heel-MARNI
Black glossy pumps with elastic and misshapen heel-PRADA
Black boot with irregular heel-JIL SANDER
Black Loubs with ponyhair addendum-LOUBOUTIN FOR TODD LYNN
Brown patent peeptoe pumps with elastic straps-BURBERRY
Satin gladiator heel-CHRISTOPHER KANE
Pointy toe metallic and white heels-BALENCIAGA

More to come on the shoes that have caught our eye as of late…especially when more pictures become available!

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