My friend Jessica sent me these images of paper shoes. They are by Ndeur, a Paris footwear brand, and they are a collaboration with Make a Paper world. Neither Ndeur, nor Make a Paper seem to have much of a web presence (or at least, a functioning one that explains their story) so I am just going to say they are very cool.

Images from the Ndeur blog.

Colette in Paris.

I got the Colette August newsletter into my inbox last week, and it reminded me of how much I miss shopping in Paris. Colette is an uber-cool lifestyle and fashion store in Paris, one of the first stores to embrace the “lifestyle store” concept. The upstairs has incredible, fashion-forward clothing, displayed on mannequins (no hangers or rails.) The ground floor has jewelry, books, beauty, CD’s, and whatever else is cool at that moment (Cartier rings, mini spy cameras, diving masks, diamond skull jewelry, weird zines, motorcycle helmets, giant coffee table books, anything.) And the basement is a water bar with a menu of over 50 different types of water, and the best hot chocolate ever.

No hangers, all the clothes are on mannequins.

During Paris Fashion Week, Colette is full of international fashionistas trying to find the “next cool thing.” It is actually a bit scary, and best visited off-peak or you risk ending up lining up outside the store amongst asymmetrical haircuts and giant sunglasses waiting to get inside.

The ground floor at Colette.

Anyway, here are some of the awesome Colette shoes we are missing out on…

Isabel Toledo’s Payless collection. There are some pieces that will be exclusive to Colette, and Isabel and Reuben Toledo will be in the shop on the 16th of August to customize your shoes. Can they come to Vancouver after? (And by the way, why isn’t Gravity Pope, Vancouver’s best shoe retailer with the world’s worst visual merchandising, doing stuff like this?)

The Havaianas limited edition Pinel & Pinel crocodile leather flip flop. There are only 24 pairs being made. For my Milan and London readers, you can also get these at 10 Corso Como and Dover Street Market (the two stores, that along with Colette, make up the three most amazing style stores in the world.)

The joint 50 year anniversary of Hello Kitty and Dr. Martens collaboration boots. I’ve written about Doc Martens a lot lately, and I am feeling I need to wear my old ones (red 8 hole boots) and perhaps invest in a second pair. Not sure I’d go for Hello Kitty ones, but these are very cool nonetheless.

Bottega Veneta pumps, $800.

I got a funny press release last week from podiatrist Dr. Oliver Zong, forwarded to me by a friend. It basically says that there may be problems for women who frequently wear high heels. Wow! Next we’ll hear that smoking and drinking is bad for you too!

The only logical explanation for this statement is that there are people out there that have not figured out that high heels are bad for you. Which is strange, because its pretty obvious that tottering around in 5 inch stilettos is clearly not going to do any favours to your back. But smoking isn’t good for you, neither is drinking, or running marathons, but we all do those things for other reasons other than they are good for our health (well, I don’t smoke or run marathons…) I wear high heels because, well, I love them. Any further explanation into my love of shoes will need a seperate post, or maybe a novel, to fully explain.

Miu Miu pumps, $670.

Anyway, the Doctor went on to explain ““If you hold a limb in a shortened position over and extended period, the muscles shorten.” Researchers found that high heel-wearers’ muscle fibers are on average 13% shorter than flat shoe-wearers, which explains why the high heel fans experience discomfort when walking barefoot or in flat shoes.” That might explain why I always seem to trip or fall over when I am wearing flats. I can dance all night in a pair of 5 inch heels, but put me in ballerina flats or a pair of Converse and I’m close to breaking my neck.

Alaïa wedges, $2090.

Here were Dr. Zong’s tips for us stiletto-obsessed women. (With my comments, of course.)

1. Invest in good heels. That’s right, the experts say to splurge on shoes! The money you spend on good shoes will be much less than the money you would spend on visits to the doctor.

AMEN! That is the best piece of advice…ever. Mom, if you are reading this, then note that this is the exact reason why I spent thousands of dollars on shoes in the past ten years, not on a house.

2. Trade quantity for quality. You don’t necessarily need to squander your entire life savings on a collection of high heels. Expensive shoes are not necessarily better and cheaper shoes are not necessarily bad.

Ummm…is he suggesting that it isn’t necessary to have a closet FULL of gorgeous shoes? Because if that is the case, I’ll have to disagree. There is nothing more satisfying than having a beautiful collection of shoes one can caress and adore. And wear, sometimes.

Versace ankle boots, $850.

3. Don’t wait to buy new shoes.

The man is reading my mind…

4. Always stretch your lengthened legs. This tip is especially relevant for fashion addicts. You can do all sorts of leg stretches while sitting at your desk, waiting in line for coffee, or even while standing in an elevator.

A practical tip, and one worth considering. Can these leg stretches be a replacement for yoga classes?

5. Treat yourself to a foot rub! After walking in heels all day, foot massages and pedicures can do wonders for tired, achy feet.

What the Doctor really should be saying is that non-pedicured feet are scary. I am not saying that everyones needs professional pedicures, but there is nothing worse than a great pair of shoes worn with a set of rough nails with chipped nail polish. Paint them, or hide them.

Versace ankle boots, $875 (Versace is kicking ass in the shoe department these days.)

On that note, I’ll share a rather funny story that happened to me today… I am in the process of trying to buy a house in a small mountain town outside of Vancouver (more on that if and when it is finalized. I don’t want to get excited until I have keys in my hand.) I was speaking to an insurance company about contents insurance, and she was telling me that if I had a bicycle worth more than $10,000, I would need separate coverage, etc… I don’t know who in the hell would consider spending that much on a mountain bike (for 10K you could have ten amazing pairs of shoes, a 5 star holiday, or a ‘69 Ford Mustang, so why the hell would you want a bike?) I explained to her that I had a hefty clothing and accessories collection worth well over $10,000.

Alaïa sandals, $2680.

Her jaw dropped and she said I must have one hell of a collection of shoes (yup.) “But you don’t actually have a pair of shoes worth more than a few hundred dollars, right? I mean, sorry, but, can I ask how much is your most expensive pair of shoes? For the insurance?” She as beginning to stumble, either in confusion of the shoe prices, or sheer jealousy, I think a combination of both. I told her my most expensive pair of shoes was $1,500 (they were my wedding shoes…of course I’d spend that much!) and her jaw hit the floor.

I guess there aren’t many pairs of expensive shoes in the town I’ll be living in…which should be interesting. Anyway, I am not moving there for the shopping, or the fact that I could make use of a $10,000 mountain bike in the mountains nearby, as I’ll be doing neither. I caught her checking out my shoes on the way out (a pair of red Chie Mihara sandals, in case you’re wondering.)

Charlotte Olympia pump, $715.

(The images above are all from Net A Porter, and are a selection of shoes I’d like for Fall. In case I decide to spend money on shoes instead of a house.)

I love Marni shoes. In a world full of super high, ultra thin stilettos and precariously delicate footwear, you can always trust Marni to design shoes that you can truly clomp around in, whilst looking good. Marni is in the camp of Dries Van Noten, Chie Mihara, and Finsk when it comes to footwear: shoes that look fabulous but that can be worn longer than the home-taxi-party-taxi-home shoes. I have always coveted Marni shoes, but last time I tried to buy a pair, they didn’t have my size. I’d be happy to take a few pairs from this Fall 2010 collection.

Images from Tooklookbook.

Trust a Swede to come up with a concept like this. Liza Fredrika Aslund has created these dreamy shoes from wood left over from furniture construction. It is part of a project by What’s More Alive Than You, an Italian accessories manufacturer who are working with design students to come up with interesting new products.

Thanks to PSFK for posting these pics and being a great source of all that’s cool.

Here are two pairs of brown booties I spotted whilst skimming Hypebeast, the latest addition to the Searching for Style Reading List. (Hypebeast is an amazing streetwear product blog, with a lot of amazing running shoes and other cool stuff. The problem is that they publish at least 15 new posts a day, and so it can pile up, and there is no condensed version. Sometimes I erase 50 posts at a time without reading them because it becomes overwhelming.)

Anyway, the two booties are nothing like each other, but I felt they merited a joint post, as they are clearly two opposites on the brown bootie spectrum.

I love…

these incredible brogue-style booties by Makato Taguchi, a recent graduate from London College of Fashion. The details are fantastic, the tone of blue coming out from the perforated leather, the knotted leather strip holding the lower and upper part of the bootie together, and the rope trim between the sole and the boot. Click here to see more pieces from his graduate collection.

I loathe…

this Gucci mountaineering runner. It is so tacky, and it is exactly this type of product that resulted in Gucci being associated with WAGs and blatant logos, rather than fantastic, equestrian-inspired luxury goods.

Both images taken from Hypebeast.

Nothing beats a great pair of Converse high tops. Everyone needs a pair in their closet, it is the absolute must-have cheap, perfect shoe. I have a few pairs, one plaid pair from when I was 14, that is completely falling apart (I’d like to have them bronzed), a pair of denim Converse that my friend Daniel re-designed by splattering bleach all over them (it makes a nice pattern) and a pair of plain red ones. If was in the market for a new pair (when am I not in the market for a new pair of shoes?) I’d take these blue ones. I love that they are completely blue, aside from the sole. The blue label, laces, and lace holes make them look…different. In a cool way.

It is a shoe-love weekend!

Image from Hypebeast.

Sometimes I see a shoe that is completely breathtaking. This is how I feel about Chau Har Lee’s work. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. The only other thing I can say is how do I get a pair? And are they wearable?

I am the type of person who knows what I like, and when I find a fashion item that I really, really like, I often buy two. This doesn’t mean I buy two of everything, my system usually applies to basic items, or things I know I’ll wear to death. Previous examples have included Banana Republic white t-shirts, American Apparel lace underwear (although that did cause me some problems), Uniqlo jeans, and COS shirts. My latest double-acquisition, is a pair of Finsk pumps.

The amazing thing about these shoes is that they are cut asymmetrically.

To be honest, this isn’t the first time I’ve bought two pairs of the same Finsk shoe in different colours, I’ve actually got a pair of sandals and a pair of peep toe wedges that I have in double (and there was a third pair of those wedges bought for my Mom.) When I was in London in April, I ordered two pairs of the Finsk asymmetrical pump, one in pewter and one in a dark gold colour, because I knew it was the perfect fall shoe.

This photo shows the gold pair, which, due to my poor photography, doesn't look that different to the silver.

The Finsk brand works two ways for me, there are the crazy, amazing shoes that I wear for impact. But the other reason I fell in love with Finsk, is because she makes amazing shoes that are extremely comfortable. Most people say it is impossible to wear a 5 inch heel that is comfortable, but I have to disagree. Julia Lundsten, the designer behind Finsk, has all these lovely little tricks that make her shoes comfortable. Which is why for my fall Finsk order, I decided to go practical, and buy some shoes that I would be able to wear to work, and during my day to day life.

Believe it or not, these wedge boots are extremely comfortable.

I love the detail on the heel.

The two pairs pumps arrived yesterday, along with this fantastic over-the-knee wedge boot. Things like this make me excited for the fall and winter!

Be jealous: my Finsk collection is AMAZING.

Ever since my Christian Louboutin shoe dilemma which began a few weeks ago in Barneys in Scottsdale and ended when I found out that Kim Kardashian had a pair (I didn’t buy them, and that was one of the reasons why), I have been in a crazy shopping mood. I had that feeling of “I HAVE TO SHOP” and thankfully living in Vancouver means there aren’t a great deal of places to shop and therefore much less temptation. But I popped into Holt Renfrew today to have one quick peek at the sales rack in the shoe department, and suddenly I was handing over my debit card.

The acquisition was these Camilla Skovgaard shoes. I have been a fan of hers ever since I discovered the brand, and I love her signature zig zag sole. The shoes were heavily discounted, fit beautifully, and are a classic black, round toe pump so I can wear them for a while. My husband approved and said “It’s our 2 year wedding anniversary. Buy them.” That is why I married him! (Ok, one of the reasons. He is also the best guy in the world.) Now I am satisfied for at least a week.