Wild, wild animal print

My order (first ever) from Forever 21 finally arrived, and I can honestly say, this site is sooo cool! I'm now their official fan; out of a few things that I ordered, there was nothing that I would want toreturn, and this skirt is one of my absolute favourites (and it was only $8!)

Wearing: skirt Forever 21, top Burlap, shoes Lanvin, headpiece Forever 21

Blue dress

The history of this dress (by Vivien Tam)  has always been somewhat complicated. I bought it from Neiman Marcus (http://www.neimanmarcus.com/) about three years ago falling in love with the picture (the fact that it was on sale also helped). I'm not sure how they do sizing over there at Vivien Tam but the actual size of the dress had nothing to do with the one embroided on the label.
Nowadays, I would gladly send it back praising myself on frugality (yeah, I'm aware of the oxymoron) but three years ago, I alaways preferred to give a newly bought thingy another chance (yeah, I'm aware of the stupidity of the approach).
Anyhow, the dress was finally fixed and just two short years later, finally got its chance to see the world.

Because of the lacy bodice and the length, I think it has a slight 1940-s feeling.

The shoes are Lanvin, tracked down at YOOX (http://www.yoox.com/)

Lanvin: red'n glamorous

Every now and then, Lanvin comes up with a truly fantastic pair of shoes. Like these red silk slingbacks, for example. I totally agree that every gilr should have at least one pair of red shoes (sandals, flats, boots etc)  in her wardrobe but mine already has much more than one in it so with these I'm just windowshopping (sigh).

And of course, I want them (although I'm doing my best to ignore this feeling). But they're soooo cool!
From www.theoutnet.com.

Lanvin, ballet flats

Lanvin, spiring/summer 2010 footwear colleciton.
Something old

Something new

Found at mytheresa (http://www.mytheresa.com/) and Zoe (http://www.shopzoeonline.com/).

Lanvin: say ney to grey

To my surprise, for his spring/summer footwear collection Lanvin decided to step away from his usual somber-color palette and opted for a splash of color. As a long-time Lanvin devotee, I personally find it very unexpected, highly unusual and extremely seductive. And since one of my new year's resolutions was (try to)attempt at frugality, I guess I will have to make it into a poster and hang some place conspicuous - just in case.
So, behold!
Pompom espadrilles

Pearl-accented leather sandals

Multi-colored sandals with jewels

And last but not least - festive sneakers. Now, aren't they cute?

All the above merchandise found at http://www.mytheresa.com/.

On wedges and such

The universe of wedges is vast and immeasurable - classic wegde, fancy wedge, funky wedge, wedge that goes way beyond funky or fancy (or in any cases, both of them, combined). It instantely makes your legs longer, your posture better (no, you can't slack out in those) and overall, gives you all the benefits of a heel, at the same time offering much more stability and comfort. And they never wobble!
However, the quesiton of the right arch support still stays: if a wedge doesn't have it, in my experience walking in such footwear becomes even more impossible than in a comparable pair of heels. But technicalities aside, this is what the upcoming spring/summer season has to offer us wedge lovers.
Sporty and sporty/fancy wedges are especially great-looking this season and pose a serious threat to a shoe-lover's budget.


Lanvin, bi-color wedge with macrame strap (love the color)

Lanvin, satin wedge (love the color!)

Dior, patent bow espadrille wedge (1.25' platform nevertheless!)

Miu Miu, croc embossed leather wedge

Miu Miu,  strappy leather wedge

Christian Louboutin, Macarena wedge (wow!)

To be continued...

Shoe of the week

I decided that every week, I will pick out a shoe that in the past seven days impressed me the most. The qualifying shoe should, of course, be unique, beautiful and since I'm not actually buiyng it (although in some cases I might) it is one of those rare cases when price is really not a problem.
So, this week's winner is Lanvin black patent slingback with a diamonds-encrusted heel (found at http://www.kirnazabete.com/). Damn, they're beautiful!

The Lanvins arrived and they're fantastic! Even better than on the picure. The heel, although really 5' (they were not kidding!) feels strangely comfortable and a test run around our living room makes me very optimistic about being able to wear them around town, some time in the warmer future. For those planning to add them to their wardrobes - a word of advice: go half size up, this model runs kinda small. I'm usually drifting in the 8-8,5 area and a size 9 (the only one that was left, anyway) fits just right.
P.S. Oh, and I also found these at Nordstrom today; look very playful and they even have a name - Charlie (or Charlies since there're two of them?).
Pour la victoire - Charlie

My new Lanvins

Hm.... My yesterday's reminiscences about Lanvin shoes brought over some very interesting results. Taking a (not that) well-deserved break this morning, I went to theoutnet.com which is one of my absolutely favourite fashion sites and voila - turns out they're having a Lanvin shoe sale. And of course, I want them all. However, life is all about choices and this saying is proven especially well during sales so after a short struggle, I chose these. According to the description, they have a 5' heel and a 1'platform so let's just hope they're going to be comfortable enough to be worn farther than our local Japanese hangout two blocks away.

Other shoes that I liked

Lanvin

The first time that I saw Lanvin shoes was about two years ago. It was a warm summer day, the shoes - patent leather slingbacks on a huge wooden platform - were standing on the very top shelf in a very nice Midtown boutique called Chucky's and I was not impressed. Yeah, I'd heard about this brand before (and it would be hard not to since the majority of my friends are obsessed with everything Lanvin); I had also seen picutres but the reality proved to be somewhat less glamorous than I expected.
The slingbacks were put back on their top shelf and half an hour later, I walked out of the store clutching happily at a box containing a new pair of espadrilles by my favourite Emilio Pucci.
-After all, not everyone is a Lanvin person, - I was telling my friend Lisa later on and she was staring at me like I just confessed having descended from Pandora.
A year passed by; my friends and I went on regular shoe expeditions (or shoexpeditions, as we called them) to Barneys, Bergdorf and Saks, especially during sale seasons. The nice Midtown boutique Chucky's was not forgotten, either. Lanvin was everywhere, in every possible way or form and my friends, still obsessed with everything coming from the parisian brand, dragged me over to where Lanvin shoes stood proudly on display hoping that one day, I would have a long-awaited revelation and abandon Cavalli, Pucci, Luitton and Co for their favourite Lanvin.

Tough chance; still not impressed. They were losing their patience with me; I couldn't understand their persistence: with me out of the Lanvin picture, there would be more shoes for them!
-Well, I guess you're just not a Lanvin person, after all - said Lisa on a warm summer day of 2008, when the two of us were ramaging through yet another Bergdorf shoe sale, jumping from one shelf to another and probably looking even crazier than our usual selves.
--Wow! Look at these! - my scream made a melancholy sales guy jump closer to the emergency exit door; the next moment, however, he pulled himself together and asked if I needed any assistance (and I can only hope he did not mean calling the loon brigade).
And that was my revelation moment: another pair of slingbacks, this time, silver on a golden square heel and made of the softest crinckled leather made that happen. Unfortunately, they didn't have them in my size but as my friends proved, persistence usually pays off and eventually, I tracked the silver slingbacks on the Internet and finally added them to my shoe collection.

Here they are (also representing my first attempt at shoe photography).