The Christian Louboutin Clou Noeud shoe. Barneys can get them in black and in my size, and can ship them overnight...

I am supposed to be on holiday but I have had such an emotional shoe experience, it was essential that I share it with you, in hopes that someone will talk some sense into me, and reassure me that NOT buying the shoes is the best decision.

I am on holiday and my mother and I went shopping in the mall in Scottsdale yesterday.  No need to talk about the joys of an Anthropologie or a J Crew, I am sure you will all share the sadness I suffer that these stores do not exist in Vancouver. I went into Barneys to look at the shoe department. There were some amazing shoes in the sale. I decided to try on three pairs (a Proenza Schouler, a Balenciaga, and a Christian Louboutin.) But then…THE shoes caught my eye.

On the new season Christian Louboutin rack, there was a pair of pink shoes. The closest thing I had ever seen to the amazing Rodarte shoes Louboutin did a few seasons back, the ones that I have mentioned several times. If there was one pair of shoes in the world that I felt I needed, that would make my collection complete, it would have been those. And there I was, face to face with a similar pair. Not as many studs, and with a bow, and in a skin tone pink. But nevertheless, studded, and VERY high.

The guy looking at them told me “hands off” because he was buying them for the women in his life.  But I didn’t want them. I said, do you have these in black? The sales guy, the wonderful Niles, told me “they are coming in black very soon.” So I asked to try them on, and whether they would ship. He said yes.

While he got the pink pair in my size (to try on, just to check the size. And by the way, those were already taken, on hold for someone.) I started to formulate my plan. I would have them shipped to my friend in Seattle, to avoid the duty. She could bring them up to Vancouver on her next visit. My husband would be a bit surprised, but he would get over it. They were the missing link in my shoe life. But the price tag was well into the four digits, in fact, only a two hundred dollars short of the price tag I paid for the flights AND the four nights in a five star hotel in Scottsdale for my mother and I.

He brought the pink ones over. They were HIGH. But fabulous. They fit, and made my legs look like a million dollars. I told him to call me when he found a black pair in my size. Then we hit the rest of the mall. And then the emotional roller coaster began.

First, I was adamant that they were THE shoes, and I had to have them. My mother couldn’t argue with me, she was still suffering of shock over the price tag.  I went through an hour of confidence. They WOULD be mine. Then I texted my husband. “If it is your dream shoe, I guess you have to have it.” He is so nice. But he hadn’t seen the price.

Two hours later after shoe sighting, I called my husband. My husband is the best person in the world to talk me out of buying a pair of shoes. How does he do it? He says, “well, if you have to have them, get them.” The guilt associated with that comment, and the fact that he won’t tell me not to buy the shoes, is enough to talk me out of it straight away. I feel terrible. I mean, why should I have those shoes, when he doesn’t even have a smartphone?

We chatted for a few minutes. Then he started to sound doubtful. “It is a lot of money.” By then, the guilt had kicked in. I had to say no.

Of course now my holiday has been consumed by the shoes. I prayed to god that Niles from Barney’s wouldn’t call me. I had indicated that if there was a pair in the USA on Monday, they could have them shipped to my hotel room before I leave on Wednesday. And now I was living in fear of having to make the decision. If he coulnd’t find them, then I couldn’t have them, and there was no decision to make.

Meanwhile, my husband texted me and said, “It’s not a good idea.” How could I go against his wishes, when he has NEVER said no to a pair of shoes before? The D&G shoes: “They are really nice, honey.” The five pairs of Finsk shoes (bought on the same day): “well, you are helping a young designer.” The YSL and Dries double whammy: “It is true you haven’t bought shoes in ages.”

So it was settled, I had to say no. And now, it was the waiting game. Please god, Niles, don’t call me and tell me that you can overnight the shoes to me. Don’t make me have to say no.

I got back to the hotel room this morning after my morning swim, and there was a message on the phone. I checked it, a nervous wreck. It was the hotel PR, arranging to meet me this afternoon. Thank god. Then over lunch, my cell phone rang. I missed the call. It was Barneys. He said he could get the shoes. My heart sank.

But my husband had spoken. And I couldn’t go against his wishes, since he has always been reasonable. And do I really need those shoes? Really? No. Of course I don’t need another pair of shoes for the rest of my life. But I can buy three pairs of beautiful shoes for the price of those Louboutins. And I can buy my husband an iphone. And I can buy a new set of frames. And there are tons of great shoes out there, that cost less than a holiday and are still luxury and fabulous.

I called Niles and told him I had to pass. He was very kind and laughed when I explained to him that the husband had said no. But I know the shoes are still available. And theoretically, I still have 24 hours to decide . I could still have them shipped from Chicago tomorrow, to arrive at the hotel before we leave Wednesday afternoon. But they are not worth it, right?

This is a cool, fun, casual spring summer collection from D&G. The pieces are easy and effortless, and the satin tuxedo blazers worn with rolled up chinos at the end are weird but work really well.

I love…

a very nice picnic outfit.

that a sweater over the shoulders and tied around the neck doesn't always have to look lame-Geneva-rich-conservative guy.

summer greys.

pink menswear that looks masculine and classic.

this entire series of rolled up cotton chinos and shorts worn with satin blazers.

See the rest of my menswear spring summer 2011 coverage here.

All images from Style.com.

Fashion Moments… unforgettable style stories.

D&G Spring Summer 2007, the studded shoe on the catwalk had much longer studs than the version in store.

Some of you have already heard this story, since I have mentioned it in my blog and told it to almost everyone I have ever met that has complimented me on the aforementioned shoes…but I thought I’d write it up properly. It is a story about a woman on a mission, to get a great pair of shoes.

Once upon a time I saw a pair of black patent studded shoes in an issue of UK Vogue. This was before THE Rodarte Louboutin shoes, and around the time where studs were still a rarity on fashion accessories. Not everyone was doing them, quite yet. These shoes were insane, a peep toe shoe with giant 2 inch studs coming out in all directions. They were priced at 350 pounds, and for some reason I thought they were Versace. I had a feeling they were press shoes, but I wanted them anyway, even the diluted, commercial version. So the mission began.

THE Christian Louboutin for Rodarte shoes.

I went to the Versace store on Sloane street. The guys in there were ASSHOLES. I told them about the shoe, and they told me “Three hundred and fifty pounds? We don’t usually sell pumps THAT cheap. You must be mistaken.” I then explained that the magazines don’t always have the correct price listed, but they weren’t interested. I stormed off.

A few weeks later I was having drinks with some friends, and I met someone from Kurt Geiger, the company responsible for importing most luxury shoe brands into the UK. He told me that the shoes were Dolce & Gabanna, and that my best bet was to get them at Harrods’s since Harrods often got the most interesting shoes, sometimes even better than the brand’s own store. I called the Harrods’s shoe department the next day and befriended the guy working in the Dolce & Gabbana concession. He told me deliveries arrived on Wednesday mornings, and that I should try calling on a Wednesday. I called every Wednesday for the next three weeks, and to my disappointment, the shoes never came in.

I had given up by then, but one day popped my head into the Dolce & Gabanna store on Sloane Street, in the hopes of a miracle. The sales assistant told me the shoes weren’t Dolce & Gabanna, they were D&G, and they had already been in store for a few weeks. Panicked, I got the number of the nearest D&G store from him, and called them RIGHT AWAY.

The sales assistant at the D&G store told me that they had arrived a few weeks ago, and there were only a few shoes left in gold and silver. I told him I wanted them in black, with silver studs, and he said there might be a 36 or 37 in gold (I was a 40.) He told me to hold on. Then he came back… and said the best six words I have ever heard in my life: “I think it’s your lucky day.”

Mission complete.

Someone had returned a pair of the black patent shoes in a size 40 the day before, and they hadn’t put them back into stock. He said he could hold them for me, but not for too long. I told him I’d be there in 10 minutes. I hopped in a taxi, went to the store, and tried on the shoes. They were a diluted, commercial version of the catwalk shoe, but still amazing. They fit like a glove. My sales assistant, who was now, in my mind, the greatest person in the entire world, told me they looked great. They did. I bought them, at the bargain price of 270 pounds, almost 100 pounds cheaper than I had planned (see, the magazines don’t always have the right price!) I hugged them on the way home, in fear someone would rip them out of my hands (seriously. I am sad. I know.)

A few months later I walked by the D&G store, and I saw the sales guy who had sold me my shoes. He smiled at me, like he would with anyone, because it is good customer service. I smiled back and silently thanked him for my blessed shoes. I was with my friend Nora at the time, who said “Don’t tell me that’s the guy that sold you those studded shoes.” My face had given it away, I was probably staring at him dreamily or something. She said “You’re ridiculous.”

Snowboard chic is a big one for next winter, and D&G have put together some outfits that are worse than Emporio Armani. At least they didn’t style the gear over naked torsos… Although I wouldn’t say I am much of a fan of Dolce & Gabbana and the sub-brands, the menswear is usually cool and pretty sexy, and stuff I’d like to buy for my husband. Plus they use male models, not boys. But this collection is a bit disappointing, aside from a few nice pieces, it looks pretty poor.

I Adore…

this jacquard sweater, there are a few great versions of this in their collection.

the puffa version of the Norwegian jacquard sweater.

a fur lined coat. Super cozy and looks beautiful.

I Loathe…

the snow pants in this outfit, they are grossly unflattering.

men who carry furry handbags.

long john onesies over Mickey Mouse tees and worn with a giant scarf. Just not a fan, but I'll take the pieces separately.

more Mickey Mouse stuff. What is the point of it? And distressed jeans, I thought we were over paying hundreds of dollars for wrecked clothing.

bright yellow snow pants with a tailored coat. Ridiculous.

waiters that wear snow pants.

All images from GQ.com.

I was so wrapped up with my Decade Summary Posts (Remembering the Noughties Parts 1, 2, and 3) that I didn’t really upload many of my photos from the holidays. Here’s a couple of the parties and stuff. Christmas was low key this year, with presents mostly revolving around the home: a few French tapestries, antique silverware, money towards a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner, and a giant plastic rabbit toy with a cigarette in his mouth.

My Christmas shoes, old Sonia Rykiel press pieces.

What is a better present than a book about shoes?

A book about shoes that is hand drawn by an artist.

Girls who love Shoes 2009 by Dougal Graham. I hope there’s a 2010 version coming soon.

Douglas Coupland’s City of Glass was one of the secret Santa presents.

It is all about Vancouver.

This list of top ten surnames in Vancouver was, well, interesting.

Thanks to Kendra, Tara and Neil for throwing a great New Years Eve Party. A house party is always good, there are no variables…you know there will be a toilet, your shoes aren’t going to get ruined, and you probably won’t be cold either.

The pom pom wreath

I like their house

Happy New Year!

The NYE aftermath: my D&G shoes, Sonia Rykiel diamante anchor, Vivienne Westwood rings, money left over (a very pleasant surprise) and a midnight snack of Lindt chocolate.

Last night we went to my friend Maria’s house for drinks. Her husband, Gregory Kenny, is a furniture designer, so there was high expectations with regards to their house. It was beautiful, but unfortunately my photos didn’t turn out that great since it was dark.

I love the painted radiators

Greg’s work is modern, and they have done a great job mixing modern and old in their home.

Here’s a few pictures from Greg’s website.

Back to school and work tomorrow everyone! Good luck…

This week I dragged Jason out shopping again, as I still haven’t managed to see all the important Vancouver shops. Lyndi came with us, she does PR for Style Republic Magazine, and another one of Jason’s friends, who is Canadian but speaks Turkish and Mandarin. Her linguistic skills were probably the most exciting discovery of the evening, which doesn’t say much about shopping in downtown Vancouver.

I started alone in American Apparel, and I managed to get out without spending over 100 dollars. American Apparel is great, it is the brand that is not a brand, you can wear it in so many different ways, so practical , so simple, and so easy. While I was waiting for my shopping partners, I wandered into Adidas on Granville Street. Adidas is a fantastic brand, the clothes, shoes, and visual merchandising all look great. I am not very into sportswear, but since I became a contributor to View2 magazine a few years ago (which is a trend forecasting magazine for the sportswear and casual wear sectors) I developed an interest in some of these brands.

Look at the amazing running shoes in the Adidas store, I want the ones with the wings.

I'm trying to think of an outfit where I could wear these without looking clumpy.

Also very cool.

So many pretty colours and textures!

So our shopping destination was Leone, which is a high end store in Sinclair Centre that used to focus on Italian brands, but sells quite a few European brands as well. They carry brands like Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Prada, D&G, Jimmy Choo, Dior, and John Galliano. For those of you who don’t know it, this is one of the high end shopping destinations in Vancouver, probably second only to Holt Renfrew, our luxury department store.

There is definitely some nice stock in there, lots of it desirable and expensive but not ridiculously expensive. The problem was, like most Vancouver stores, the visual merchansiding. First of all, the brands weren’t grouped together, and luxury brands each deserve to have their own space (unless you are merchandising them like a boutique.) The sales people didn’t know what season the clothes were from. And the signage… oh my god the signage.

Can you imagine using a generic neon sign and tacky red sales tickets in a luxury store?

These signs were taped on several of the walls, all over the store. First of all, can't they get professional, classy signs made? Second, print them on expensive paper, not regular photocopier paper. And third, find a nice way to attach them to the wall, not globs of gluey stuff. Even H&M wouldn't use signage like this.

This is a shoe rack with Jimmy Choo, Miu Miu, Dior and other fabulous luxury shoes. They are displayed the same way you would display $29.99 stripper shoes. I bought a pair in London once, and they were displayed exactly like this. Can you imagine there must be at least 20,000 dollars worth of shoes on those cheap shelves...

Come on Leone! You can do better than this…

Dear Holts,

I had some very pleasant surprises yesterday when I came in, as well as a few disappointments. I was in a bad mood after work so didn’t want to enter in the shoe department, in fear I could leave potentially feeling worse. I could see some fabulous shoes that were out of my price range, which would not help to feel any better, or, worse, I could see no fabulous shoes at all. In fear of the latter, I went to your lingerie department.

Well Holts, judging by your lingerie department, your customer’s average age must be 65. You should call it your bathrobe department, because that is really what it is, with a few bras and panties and tights. The brand selection was pretty dull, including La Perla, Elle MacPherson, D&G, Lejaby, Donna Karan, and Chantelle (I have the BEST Chantelle lingerie story ever, see the end of the blog.) DKNY tights took up a full wall of prime space, wool tights shouldn’t exactly be the focus of a luxury lingerie department. And there was robes and nighties, robes and nighties, and robes and nighties.

Bathrobe department at Holts, with a bit of predictable D&G leopard print.

You also had another Canadian favourite, a selection of a basic piece in every colour of the rainbow (see Field Trip to Metrotown, Old Navy) this time things by Hanky Panky.

Hanky Panky thongs in every colour of the rainbow. Not so sure about the yellow...

I’ll admit there were a few nice pieces, the lacey Spanx were much better than the crotchless bicycle shorts the brand is usually known for (another great story to tell there…another day), a few nice Donna Karan bras reasonably priced at 89 dollars, and some a few bits of Stella McCartney and D&G (but why is it always the leopard print D&G? There are things in the D&G collection that ARENT leopard print you know…)

Crotchless bicycle shorts by Spanx

So really all you need is a few bits from some fantastic brands so that people like me can go in and treat myself tom something nice. Here is what I suggest, a bit of Princesse Tam Tam, Kiki de Montparnasse, Chantal Thomass, and Wondervoll.

This brand is so underrated.

Kiki de Montparnasse, sounds French but they are actually American.

Beautiful and totally affordable.

Possibly the only cool German lingerie brand.

I could suggest a few more, but I think you would need to start paying me for that…

And by the way, your staff were fantastic. That is one thing you can count on Canada is good customer service. (In case any readers are retailers in the UK, this word may be unfamiliar for you, so the definition of customer service is “the provision of SERVICE to customers before, during and after a purchase” Wikipedia)

As I was leaving I noticed that you were selling Peachoo + Krejberg. Well done Holts! What a fantastic brand, very edgy, but beautiful, and not mainstream at all! That was a very pleasant surprise. I will have a proper look around the womenswear after I’ve hit shoes, sometime very soon, and now you’ve given me something to look forward to!

Peachoo + Krejberg, a very mysterious brand...they don't even have a website.

——–

OK, the Chantelle Lingerie story…This happened when I was teaching at Central Saint Martins over the summer. I had a student from a Middle Eastern country, I won’t say which one, but it wasn’t one of the ones known for its giant luxury malls, nor one in full conflict. I’ll try and re-create the conversation as best I can.

Here is the situation, each student has been assigned a catwalk show, and they need to present a short report on it. My student was given Burberry.

Student: I am sorry, I am not familiar with this brand, Burberry?
Me: Uhhh, sorry?!?!?!?!?!?!
Student: We don’t have this brand in my country.
Me: You MUST have this brand in your country, this brand is in every country.
Student: No, we don’t have many brands, we only have one mall.
Me: Yes, but you should know Burberry, or at least you would have seen Burberry if you had read a fashion magazine. ANY FASHION MAGAZINE.
Student: No, no, never seen it.
Me: You must have. Ok, do you have Chanel, because if you have Chanel you probably have Burberry. And EVERYONE has Chanel.
Student: Yes, we have Chanel, but only the bras.
Me: They don’t make bras…
Student: Oh, sorry, I meant Chantelle. We have Chantelle, not Chanel.
Me: Please don’t tell me you have just confused Chanel and Chantelle.
I then needed to take a breather.