The Takeover: Espadrille Fever

Spring is officially upon us and the one thing that I'm looking forward to the most is spring time footwear! I have been reading up on what the hottest shoe types will be and one shoe that is guaranteed to be big for spring and especially summer is the espadrille. There are so many colors and styles, there is bound to be an option for everyone. Check out Nine West's salute to one of the major shoes of the season. Enjoy!

Im Officially Obsessed With...

Mary-Kyri. If you are a shoe lover like me, you are always looking at shoes; weather that is as people pass you in crossing or you are out shopping for shoes. I often discover shoe designers I haven’t heard of before or don’t know much about by flipping through magazines or watching shows that discuss what the celebrities are wearing and then doing my own research on them. The designer that I am obsessed with right now is Mary-Kyri. As a shoe lover like myself, you may already know this shoe brand and know how amazing the shoe creations are. If you haven’t heard of this designer, make sure you check out the website, Mary-Kyri.com, they have amazing shoes! If you are already familiar, just take a few minutes and admire the genius of the shoe line below. Enjoy!



Some friends and I were sitting around a table flipping through a magazine while waiting around to start our project and the page was flipped past these amazing blue shoes. I caught just a glimpse of the shoes and had to go back to the page because I had to know who the designer was and where I could get them. I googled the designer when I got home to find that no, I could not get them (way out of my price range) but I could admire and add Mary-Kyri to my list of shoe designers I am obsessed with.

Obsessed with high-heels from a very young age, the passion didn’t waiver as Mary-Kyri got older, it grew stronger. It was during her teenage years that she set her sights on becoming Australia’s own version of Manolo Blahnik. I would say she is well on her way. She has made her mark on only in her home of Australia but also in America, Paris, New Zealand, and many others. They can be found in boutiques alongside other recognizable names such as Jimmy Choo, Guiseppe Zanotti, and Prada.

Create Your Own: From Four Inch Heels to Flats

Everyone knows how much I love shoes, so I was extra excited when a friend of mine called me and told me about Milk and Honey Shoes. Milk and Honey Shoes is a website where you can create your own shoes.  How exciting! Not only is it exciting, it is very addictive when you see just how many options the site has available for you to chose from. Milk and honey is the brain child of two sisters, not unlike myself, who have an obsession with shoes.

 I think that this is a great site not only for people who simply love shoes, but it’s a great site for those who hae an interest in shoe design, in my opinion. The site is great place to play with color combitations and shoe styles.  Another person who should visit and use this site is the woman who can never find the shoes she wants in traditional retail stores. This site allows you to pick your width and heel height, in additon to style and color. If you have wide feet or very narrow feet, its not always easy to find shoes that come in width options. How frustrating is it to find a shoe you like and it not fit because your foot is wider or more narrow than the average woman? Well, if this sounds like a problem you have, Milk and Honey Shoes is the site for you.

While I think this is over all a very good site, there are a few, minor details that I think could be changed to make the site even better. One problem I have with the site is that the heel size doesn’t change as you create your shoe. As you go through the process of buidling your shoe, the features you chose pop up on the shoe prototype. The heel size is one feature that doesn’t change however. I think to get a better idea of exactly what you shoe will look like, I think it would be helpful to see the actual heel height differences. Heel heights range from 2.5 inches to 4.5 inches, depending on your design. During my initial introduction to this site, It bothered me that some options that I might want to see were not available. After reviewing the site more,  I found that if you want something that is not on the site, they will try and make it for you. I have played around on the site and created shoes but I haven’t actually purchased any yet. I am excited to hopefully buy a pair soon. How cool would it be to say I designed the shoes Im wearing? As someone who one day wants to design her own shoes, I think this is great. See the pictures included to see some of my shoe creating from the site.

If you have never heard of Milk and Honey Shoes, check out the site and let me know what you think. Send me pictures of your creations!

Don’t forget to subscribe to my site and check back for updates.

I Spy: Fashion Faux Pas

We have all seen it…a woman in a business suit, stockings and then we pan down to her feet and she is in sneakers…Ay Dios Mio! This is a fashion catastrophe far worse than many others in my book. I understand that for some comfort is far more important than fashion and style, but isn’t there a happy medium between being comfortable and converting all the way to wearing tennis shoes with your business attire? While I live in Charlotte and haven’t witnessed this particular travesty in person, it is more common in larger cities where there is much more walking required. I am sure if I spent some time in uptown Charlotte during the work week, I am sorry to say I would probably witness it.

While I like to be comfortable, I cannot bring myself to participate in this fashion faux pas in the name of comfort. Call me shallow and superficial but if I have to choose between being fashionable and wearing my tennis shoes with my skirt or slacks for the sake of being comfortable, I’m going ride with fashionable on this one. I know that not everyone agrees with my style over practicality mentality, but I do have a suggestion for those who lean more toward practicality; why not aim for comfort and style? Perfect Example....

Michelle Obama does comfort and style with ease.

With a pencil skirt and button up/sweater combination

 

With a business suit

Investing in a quality pair of flats can give you the comfort of not having to walk around in your heels but it also gives you a little more style and cohesiveness to your look than the mixed match look of business from head to ankle and gym class from ankle to foot. Another option could be opting for a heel that is lower than your normal heel, such as a kitten heel. You could always do what my friend Chelsea Long, author of the Off with your Jorts blog does, never leave home without your “purse flats.” Purse flats are the name she has given to the pair of flats she carries around in her purse and has ready when she needs to relieve herself from her heels. Everyone’s opinion on just how important style and fashion is in the grand scheme of things will always differ and some will never see it as important in their life but for me, it does hold a degree of importance and I think that with a little effort fashion and comfort can co-exist and not have to be independent of each another. Do you think comfort and fashion can co-exist, or do you think you have to choose one or the other?

Tell me what you think of this Fashion faux pas and don't forget to subscribe to my site for updates