I was asked (again) the other day by a guy, "Why do you love shoes so much?"
It is a question I have been asked a lot and normally by men. The answer is simple.........
They make me fall in love over and over.
I love nothing better than a pre-season preview of upcoming styles that will be available for the season. Seeing the colours, styles, heels, fabrics, embellishments make me smile instantly. Clothes have a similar effect but shoes just take it to a whole new level. A shoe makes your outfit feel complete. When I put on a pair of heels, I'm ready to take on the world. (well maybe not the world, but a good night out)
Don't get me wrong, I so love a good pair of Converse and don't get me started on Havaianas as they are my go to when I really don't want to wear shoes but have to.
Over the years I have had some amazing pairs of shoes. They have been beautiful to look at and possibly painful to wear. Yet the pain is nothing when another girl comes up and comments on your shoes. You see girls aren't always so forthcoming with the compliments, especially if it's a stranger.
I have bonded with girls in nightclub toilets over shoes. Ok maybe alcohol was involved as well but it was the shoes that introduced us.
I remember as a kid, being allowed to dress up in mum's clothes. Mum always had the latest fashions, but walking around in her shoes was more fun. Put on those heels and you immediately felt grown up. I would dream about where I would wear them when I was older.
Shoes are less discriminating than clothes. Unlike the latest clothing fashion, the latest shoes have better chance of always fitting your feet and looking good. And unlike clothing, there are certain shoes that a lady of my age can wear that a 19yo can't quite carry off. Whilst they may look good in them, they just don't have the wordly confidence to "wear" them the way they deserved to be.
A while ago there was a discussion on Fifi & Jules about whether wearing leopard print was trashy. If my memory serves me, I remember Fifi responding that she in fact was wearing leopard print shoes that day. Whilst the boys thought leopard print makes woman look cheap. 20 years ago, if I had of worn leopard print, I may well have agreed with the boys, but now I love a pair of leopard print shoes with a black outfit. Those shoes have made a possibly boring outfit, just a bit more exciting.
The shoes make the outfit!
Imagine a gorgeous bride wearing a stunning Vera Wang and then peaking out from underneath were a pair of plain boring black t-bars. Most people would be thinking, why is she wearing them? It has ruined the whole look.
How many times in the 90's were we not allowed into nightclubs because 1 of our group wasn't wearing the right shoes? I remember when Blundstone were the in thing to wear (i kid you not) and we would go to the nightclub in our 501's, Chambray shirts with our Blundstones on. Sometimes you would be allowed in, other times you were not. Everybody was wearing them and whilst they were deemed as fashion at the time, they still weren't classy enough for some clubs. They were a godsend to wear on a big night though, dance all night and never have sore feet.
When I was a young teenager, I had bought a pair of red desert boots. I was so eager to show them off, that I deliberately wore them to netball training instead of my runners. That made for the longest 90 mins of my life but I loved the compliments I received. Of course Netball is a winter sport, we trained at night and suede doesn't hold up so well in the rain but hey I looked good and it only took a few washes to get the red out of my white socks.
Shoes invoke memories for me, like smells, food and music does for others. So if it means I have to buy more shoes to create more memories, then point me in the direction of the latest heels and I'm on my way!
Sunday 26 August 2012
Saturday 4 August 2012
When I grow up..........
What do you want to be when you grow up?
This was a question you got asked as a young child. As you grew up, this changed to "What do you want to do when you leave school?" It went from being a dream to oh crap I need to think about the rest of my adult working life. This as a teenager can be a daunting thought. Some kids always knew they wanted to be doctors, teachers or maybe even join the circus. I myself didn't dream too much about it when I was really young but looking back I realised that the signs were there.
You see, when I was in high school I started giving it some thought. I realised I loved art, painting, sewing etc. As a young girl I had always loved drawing dresses and making clothes for my barbie dolls.
So when it came around to doing work experience in grade 10 and we had to list 3 jobs we were interested in pursuing, I decided to test the career teacher. I listed the following three jobs:
1. Music producer
2. Work at a cool magazine
3. Fashion Designer
A couple of weeks later we found out where we were working, I was expecting a job somewhere close to home and it would involve pouring coffee. Nope, I was off to work at The Australian Ballet in the wardrobe dept for 2 weeks. Oh shit, now I have to show I'm serious!
So off I set on the train, eventually made it to Flemington after turning up at the Melb Arts Centre. My first task for the day was to iron 100 pirate shirts. JOY!! Needless to say, by the end of the first day I was over ironing and also second guessing this "experience".
For the rest of the 2 weeks, I spent it working side by side with the amazing headdress team where I not only helped them but also made a headdress that would be used in one of the productions. I also watched a "fabulous" man make a 3 piece suit from scratch. I was totally inspired!
I then spent the next year making clothes all by hand. In grade 11 I even helped a classmate make her deb dress. (Mine was bought, as I ran out of time!) I used to love wandering around fabric stores, just feeling the fabrics and dreaming what could be made from then.
The following year when work experience came around again, I knew I wanted something creative again. The problem was, we had to find our own workplace. Somehow I decided to give floristry a try. I worked for 2 weeks with a local business, they were busy enough to have lots of work but not so busy that they didn't take the time to show me things. I really enjoyed it. I loved working with my hands and being creative. So when the opportunity came to start actually working full time for them at the end of year 11, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately it didn't work out, as they were florists who enjoyed other types of green plants at lunchtime. So my floristry career was short lived.
I was never able to get another position with a florist, so I had to take a new direction. Let's see a girl who loves clothes what can she do? I know, RETAIL!!! As a 17 yo it seems like fun, as an adult it is just a job that pays the bills.
Fast forward 20 something years and I'm now asking myself.....what do I want to do for the rest of my life? Hmmmm, I wonder whether that careers teacher is still around?
This was a question you got asked as a young child. As you grew up, this changed to "What do you want to do when you leave school?" It went from being a dream to oh crap I need to think about the rest of my adult working life. This as a teenager can be a daunting thought. Some kids always knew they wanted to be doctors, teachers or maybe even join the circus. I myself didn't dream too much about it when I was really young but looking back I realised that the signs were there.
You see, when I was in high school I started giving it some thought. I realised I loved art, painting, sewing etc. As a young girl I had always loved drawing dresses and making clothes for my barbie dolls.
So when it came around to doing work experience in grade 10 and we had to list 3 jobs we were interested in pursuing, I decided to test the career teacher. I listed the following three jobs:
1. Music producer
2. Work at a cool magazine
3. Fashion Designer
A couple of weeks later we found out where we were working, I was expecting a job somewhere close to home and it would involve pouring coffee. Nope, I was off to work at The Australian Ballet in the wardrobe dept for 2 weeks. Oh shit, now I have to show I'm serious!
So off I set on the train, eventually made it to Flemington after turning up at the Melb Arts Centre. My first task for the day was to iron 100 pirate shirts. JOY!! Needless to say, by the end of the first day I was over ironing and also second guessing this "experience".
For the rest of the 2 weeks, I spent it working side by side with the amazing headdress team where I not only helped them but also made a headdress that would be used in one of the productions. I also watched a "fabulous" man make a 3 piece suit from scratch. I was totally inspired!
I then spent the next year making clothes all by hand. In grade 11 I even helped a classmate make her deb dress. (Mine was bought, as I ran out of time!) I used to love wandering around fabric stores, just feeling the fabrics and dreaming what could be made from then.
The following year when work experience came around again, I knew I wanted something creative again. The problem was, we had to find our own workplace. Somehow I decided to give floristry a try. I worked for 2 weeks with a local business, they were busy enough to have lots of work but not so busy that they didn't take the time to show me things. I really enjoyed it. I loved working with my hands and being creative. So when the opportunity came to start actually working full time for them at the end of year 11, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately it didn't work out, as they were florists who enjoyed other types of green plants at lunchtime. So my floristry career was short lived.
I was never able to get another position with a florist, so I had to take a new direction. Let's see a girl who loves clothes what can she do? I know, RETAIL!!! As a 17 yo it seems like fun, as an adult it is just a job that pays the bills.
Fast forward 20 something years and I'm now asking myself.....what do I want to do for the rest of my life? Hmmmm, I wonder whether that careers teacher is still around?
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