These Shoes Were Made for Walking
Glamour has been keeping an eye on Fashion Week Paris, and has compiled a list of shoes from the city of light.
When we’re batting our lashes at Philly Weekly, which happens sometimes we wonder if that old standby from Maybelline that comes in the green and pink tube is really the best mascara out there. Teen Vogue went ahead and tested and reviewed a mascara a day for an entire month. We wish we could apply for a job like that, but we’ll stick with reading the review for now.
We spotted these next little goodies in Marie Claire, but they’re also available at Foster’s on Market Street. Helpineedhelp.com has cute little packages with bandages and aspirin and antihistamines inside. It reminds us of our childhood when we thought bandaids were so cool that we’d put them on when we didn’t have a cut…or umm…maybe we shouldn’t talk about that?
There’s also a ‘help i’m bored’ section which has cute little links. ‘help i’m overstimulated’ leads to a blank white box, while ‘help i’m too nice’ gives you engines to imitate to practice growling.
Lastly, the Today Show posted a list of over the top gifts from Nieman Marcus, which included motorized cupcakes that you can drive around in. Really. Hoda & Kathie Lee were driving in them during the fourth hour of the show. At $25,000 a pop, we’re running to get not one, but two.
A visit to the Shoe Museum
I wasn’t even aware that there was a shoe museum in Philadelphia until I caught word of it a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been trying to get over to see it ever since; it’s slightly more complicated than just putting on pants and taking the train to Market East.
It’s on the 6th floor of the Temple School of Podiatry, which is at 8th and Race, and let me take this opportunity to say that although it’s free
YOU NEED AN APPOINTMENT
Which you can get by calling the place’s curator, Barbara Williams, at 215-625-5243 or emailing bwilliams@tuspm.temple.edu, although she says it’s easier if you call. The museum is right in the middle of an in-session medical school with, you know, a guard at the door, so if you don’t let them know you’re coming, you won’t be able to get in.
Once you make your appointment, I wouldn’t schedule anything for at least an hour, because despite it not being a huge collection (two halls, one room), Williams can tell you something interesting about pretty much every one of the 250 pairs of shoes on display. I left after three hours (I asked a lot of questions) feeling as if I’d taken a college class (in a good way!).
For random reasons I ended up taking pictures almost entirely of the one room and not the two halls, but there’s also a ton of world shoes on loan from the Mutter Museum, including the Chinese bound-foot shoes above (they were 3-4 inches long), a bunch of shoes from Hollywood and sports stars, 19th-century wedding shoes, etc.
Don’t expect a visit with, like, echoing hallways and an atmosphere of austere contemplation, because the displays are in fluorescent-lit halls actually used by doctors and students, and they’ll occasionally wander by. However, it’s a totally neat and different experience to get your own personal guided tour. It honestly made me feel bad about how quickly I usually blow through museums, spending maybe a second or two looking at each piece and maybe austerely contemplating the placard for a few seconds more.
But seriously: wear comfortable shoes. Not like these:
This shoe had heels so high that it wouldn’t stand on its own. Nevertheless, the woman who owned it in the 1890s wore the heel down to the nails. Clogs, Docs, mukluks and more after the jump…
Mellow Yellow
There are some wacky runway styles out there, and NBC10 wants to know if you’d wear these recent runway looks.
Good Housekeeping wants to help you dress for less. NBC10 is also looking out for the professional side of things, and making sure that you can afford a professional look. Looking professional doesn’t mean that you need to buy out Ann Taylor, you can still throw in a couple Forever 21 pieces and look professional. This article has some great tips, including purchasing pumps that stand out.
I’ve noticed yellow as the color of choice for standing out. I want a pair myself. Here are a few of my faves off of zappos.com
GREAT IDEA: Rollasoles
From the Department of “God, why didn’t I think of that?” come these roll-up ballet flats, by Rollasole. They’re sold in vending machines in 25 or so clubs around England, so if it’s been a long night and your feet are about to fall off because of your heels, you can just drop about the same amount as you’d spend on a cab and spend the end of your evening in comfort.
The package even comes with a little tote bag to carry around your ouchy shoes for the rest of the night, in case you don’t feel like jamming them into your purse.
They come in small (US sizes 5-6), medium (7-8) and large (9-10), and at £5 – £7 (about $8.25 – $11.50 at the current exchange rate), they seem pretty reasonable. And they’re actually cute, too!
Unfortunately, although the vending machines are apparently enormously popular in Britain, there’s no information on when creator Matt Horan (who came up with the idea after seeing his girlfriend’s painful experiences at clubs) is planning to start marketing them internationally. But if you neeeeeeeeed them, or are an entrepreneur with a shopping cart you can park outside Rouge, you can order them online, too.
We should get these installed all over Old City and Rittenhouse, just so I don’t have to feel the pain of all the girls in sparkly party tops hobbling around at closing time while I’m tromping home in my sneakers or flats. Or, I dunno, change societal expectations so that women don’t feel they are obliged to wear shoes that cause them pain. But as that may take a while, for the short-term let’s get some Rollasoles stateside.
Rollasoles: via NotCot
Sunshine Day
With the sunshine finally peeking out and temperatures rising, you might be inclined to throw on a sundress. Just make sure you don’t become a don’t. I’m open to a lot of different interpretations of things, but sun dresseses are not something to mess around with.
Recently, you may have been tempted by a good buy in a thrift shop, Salvation Army or Goodwill. If you’ve ever been tempted by a pair of shoes in one of these stores, but also a bit skeeved out because you pictured someone else’s sweaty feet inside of them…here’s how to disinfect your footwear.
Glamour magazine also has a list of the ‘50 Most Glamorous,’ which translates to powerful and stylish women that have made an impact. Love it.
Cosmo has put together a list of exercises to do in order to get whipped into shape like your favorite celebs.
If you need something to help pull you through until 5 o’clock, check out TopShop’s video podcast, as well as this necklace that they’re selling. Afterward, head on over to Net A Porter’s site to be inspired by brights for summer. For something a little more affordable, but also a little less bright…check out Alexander Wang at the Gap!
100 Days of Style
In honor of President Obama being in office for 100 days there has been much analysis. However, USA Today also made sure that there is a breakdown of what Michelle has been wearing.
People.com compiled a slideshow of shoes that they think are outrageous. I’m just in love with each and every pair. If anyone out there wants to give me a pair of any of the shoes pictures, please feel free. Aso check out People.com’s home page, the are set to release the names on their 100 Most Beautiful People list.
David Beckham is launching his own style collection! It looks like the collection will be on the more sporty side than the metro sexual side, as the collection is a joint venture with Adidas.
Jezebel posted pages from a 1972 Sears Catalogue. Do any of the pieces in your closet look like these?
Sniff Sniff
Even with our economy in the toilet, it seems that people still want to smell good. Check out all of the 170 women’s fragrances released last year. Who knows, maybe a new scent is enough to change your outlook.
Wanna take a walk on the wild side this summer? Check out these shoes.
I read somewhere that Betty Suarez on Ugly Betty actually wears pricey designer pieces, just in the wrong way. Whatever her stylist is doing, it’s a look that I won’t soon forget. I’d put it on par with coogi sweaters and Urkle glasses. As for the other end of the spectrum, Lucky Magazine compiled a list of Most Stylish TV Characters.
Topshop opened it’s doors in NYC last week, but it doesn’t look like the NY Times is too excited. The lines were too long, the vibe was too lame 80s. I’ll have to check it out myself and report back.
Also, it looks like everyone is over Abercrombie. Sad, really. It’s like the end of an era. Will they be forced to go back to having tents in their stores a la EMS? After all, Abercrombie & Fitch did start out as an ‘outfitter of sporting and excursion goods.’ Hmm.
Whatever happens, be sure to check out ‘Yappy Hour’ at Parc. Bring your puppy, or just buy drinks. Proceeds go towards the PSPCA’s Dog Park Project.
You know what they say about guys with big feet…
…they have a hard time finding comfortable shoes.
“Special Air Mission 28000,” above, and “Long Runner,” below, can both be found at the Dufala Brothers‘ “Trophy” exhibition at the Fleischer-Ollman gallery.
“Trophy”
27 February-28 March, 2009
Fleisher/Ollman Gallery
1616 Walnut, Suite 100
via coolhunting
Never Send A Man To Do A Woman’s Job
By now I assume you’ve all seen the video where an Iraqi reporter throws his shoes at good ol’ G.W. Bush. My first thought: Stilletos would’ve done more damage.
Intern Beth Loves Nude Shoes
Maybe I watched too many episodes of Eureka’s Castle during my youth, but I put faith that somewhere inside us all there’s a bouncy and elastic technicolor creature patiently awaiting its chance to frolic through Rittenhouse square.
On dreary days that creature cries for something different, and that’s why I love United Nude’s “Fold” shoes. United Nude started as a collaboration between architects Rem Koolhaas and Galahad Clark and has grown to include designers, magazine editors, and photographers. The first shoe, “Mobius,” served as launchpad for a collection of one-piece shoewares.
It’s a pretty high-concept brand, and making fashion choices an intellectual commitment generally irks me. According to brand, wearing these shoes makes you “sexy in architecture.” What’s next? Should I be fashioning a line of Wonderbras made from highlighted copies of Ulysses? Sexy in literature?
Still, I hate heels—walking in them, standing in them, thinking about them, putting them on and taking them off—so a shoe made from a glorified rubber band sounds pretty sweet to me, and the colors and patterns are zany enough for Muppets to wear them. And you get to be the weird girl with the crazy shoes no one understands.
* Written by Elizabeth Fiedorek