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.”

I never really paid any attention to DKNY until a few years ago when I wandered into their concession in Harrods. I was really surprised at how nice the collection was, everything was very wearable, and really well-designed. Also, the prices are totally reasonable. This is definitely a great brand to find good quality every day clothing, and really nice day or cocktail dresses.

I Love…

this Clueless school girl look.

this amazing coat, with a beautiful shape and a perfect contrasting trim.

the layering, the textures, the oversized scarf, and the socks. But the skirt is a bit too short.

I Loathe…

the mix of patterns here, gone terribly wrong.

more bad colour combinations. And why aren't the girls wearing tights? They all look too thin and pale.

Images from Style.com.

Yesterday we looked at one of the most influential shoe designers of the 20th century, and today I am going to introduce you to another shoe master. I am obsessed with shoes, and Roger Vivier is definitely one of my favourite footwear brands. He started off as a shoe designer in the 30’s, worked for Christian Dior in the 1950’s, and his signature shoe was a pump with a buckle on the front, called the Pilgrim. Roger Vivier is thought to have been the inventor of the stiletto, so ladies (and men, let’s face it, who doesn’t benefit from the stiletto,) lets take a moment to honour this VERY important man.

A signature Roger Vivier Pilgrim buckle shoe.

These are some more fabulous Roger Vivier for Christian Dior shoes from the 50s and 60s.

Image source.

When I was planning my wedding outfit, there was no question in my mind that the shoe was going to be the most important part of the outfit. I knew I was going to be wearing Valentino, because it was sort of a childhood dream, and it was the last season of ready-to-wear that Valentino was actually designing, so the collection had significance. (I wore a short, “Valentino red” knit dress, which was possibly the easiest shopping experience in my life. We happened to be in Sloane Street area, and I went into the Valentino store with my friend Nora, we tried on three red dresses, two made me look fat, so I bought the third. SO easy.)

Anyway, back to the shoe. The brand was just as important as the shoe itself, because I had to buy a fabulous shoe brand, not a WAG brand (Jimmy Choo or Christian Louboutin), not a predictable brand (Manolo Blahnik), and not just any clothing brand’s shoe (YSL or Chanel.) Pierre Hardy would have been an acceptable brand, but his stuff was too chunky.

I was training staff at Harrods about fashion trends one day (which is really good money, but pointless if you spend four times your wage as you walk through the footwear department on the way to your room) and I found these Roger Vivier shoes. Roger Vivier had recently been relaunched, with Bruno Frisoni as creative director, and it was the perfect footwear brand: luxury, respectable, a wonderful history, French, not over-exposed, and beautiful. Plus, these shoes were exclusive to Harrods, so there were a very limited number of pairs made. And, they were rock’n'roll.

It was love at first sight.

(I’ve condensed this into a collage for the benefit of my readers…but I could easily write about 15 blog posts about my wedding shoes and their significance, and my love for them and blah blah blah, but I’m afraid I might lose most of my readership. And don’t ask me about the story behind the D&G shoes, that’s another hour long tale of search, desperation, hunting, luck, and glory.)

So, the reason why this post came to be is because, after searching high and low, I finally managed to find a fairly complete selection of photos from the Roger Vivier Spring Summer 2010 Couture Collection. Here’s a blurb and some of the photos that I found from this article on Telegraph.co.uk.

“…brace yourself for fashion’s latest excess – the £30,000 pair of Roger Vivier heels.”

“They feature an assortment of life’s little luxuries such as 24 ct gold-coated mesh, semi-precious stones, jet, satin ribbons, silk chiffon, diamanté and crocodile skin fashioned into dainty rosettes.”

“The “Dovima”, an 11cm, spike-heeled confection of gilded silk mesh and jewels, is embellished with a pair of rose pink-dyed, taxidermy birds with gold and crystal heads.”

“The collection is called “One is Too”, for each pair can be inserted into and buckled onto matching crocodile or snakeskin protective “platforms”, based on the “pattens” of the Middle Ages. They add height and save the expensive, fragile works-of-art for the feet from actually making contact with anything as rugged, commonplace and downright dirty as the pavement.”

Read the rest of the article here. And the article tells you where to buy them, if you’re interested in remortgaging your house. These shoes certainly make yesterday’s $2700 pair a bargain.