shoes i am squeeing about

Free People is one of my favourite brands of clothing, and I might even venture to say my favourite over all. Enchantingly hobo in style, you can mix and match nearly anything they sell, and many of their pieces are made specifically to be layered. Their clothes are reminiscent of when little girls are five and their parents let them dress themselves. Finally we seek our parents approval, looking like a gap ad gone wrong with purple and teal striped leggings, a brown plaid skirt, and last Christmas's starched white blouse. Only, FP is more stylish and much more intentional. Pictures of lovelies I find may make their way into this blog, but right now I think I will just feature a round of boots that I have had on my 'you wish' list for a while now, with a few newer ones thrown in : )

The Hamilton Tall Buckle Wedge boot is along the same lines as a lot of the styles we are seeing today. They look very steam punk to me. I like the heel and how it's shaped, and I like how it looks from the front. The Beford Ankle boot is so cute - very much like those worn by women in the sixteenth century. I'd think they'd be a good match to a renaissance festival costume too, though : P They come in brown and grey, but I find I prefer the brown myself. The Linus Riding, We The Free Tomboy Scout, and Clermont boots are beautiful too. They're calf heights, with varying stresses on leather. I think that leather is important when it comes to boots, and how realistic it looks as well. I don't think I've ever seen a boot I liked that wasn't made of leather.

A wrinkle-free shirt is like a football uniform without grass stains: It makes you look third string. Hesitant. Pretty. It makes you look correct, yes, but life isn't correct; it's wrinkled. Anyway, wrinkles are a badge. They're evidence that we've hailed a cab or reached for our wallets or leaned back in our chairs or fought something. They're proof that we've moved. A wrinkle-free shirt is for someone who wants to cover his tracks. It's a safe choice, and in style, safety is not a virtue. Texture is. We should look flawless only when we're standing in front of the mirror in the morning and congratulating ourselves on how wonderful we are. Then, starting immediately, our clothes should start gathering a history. Attempting to convince everyone around us that we look this sparkly, this utterly without stain or spoil, is pretending we're someone we're not. It's hiding. And if it comes down to hiding, and it always does, then we'll just put on our jacket.

McCammon, Ross. "The Endorsement: The Rumpled Shirt." Esquire Mar. 2009: 76.

Louboutin cuts a great shoe. I haven't really ever been huge on footwear - I mean, I like shoes, but when I shop for some it is not with the intent of getting a really great piece. I always shop for something that can go with a lot of things that are all ready in my wardrobe. It is the same for everything I buy. I always work it in.

Thanks to a friend of mine, though, I have been re-introduced to the world of fashionable footwear, and this time around I like it a lot more. The newer cuts that are coming out, with the chunkier look and then thin heel, and then the turn of the century booties, are absolutely spectacular. At first, I looked at them like O.o what? Because I thought they looked ridiculous. But now, I am absolutely in love. I don't have any that are really like them, save for one pair my sister just recently gave me. They're similar, but not the same. I guess it is still difficult for me to purchase something that won't blend easily with things I all ready have.

I think that my favourite Louboutin I have seen so far has to be the three strap mary janes, shown here. They're gorgeous. Their straps would hold them steady to my feet, and the colour is beautiful. I think I like them because they would blend into my wardrobe well, but at the same time they're a definite statement. Just spectacular : )