Rodarte- Nicholas Kirkwood Fall 2010

I kept reading about the Nicholas Kirkwood shoes for Rodarte shown in New York being ultra high and made to look like melted candle wax. 

I didn’t understand what they were talking about, because this is what I found. 

THEN I found these photos.  NOW I understand.   Here is a close up of the shoes

These have Nicholas Kirkwood’s signature all over them.

Anthropologie’s Spring Shoes

Admittedly, I’m a bit of an Anthropologie addict. I just love everything in the store! For the last week I’ve been on California’s Central Coast for work and in my off hours I had the pleasure of visiting my favorite Anthropologie location at the Carmel Plaza! It wouldn’t be totally true to call the Carmel Plaza a “mall” it’s more of a luxurious and relaxing outdoor hangout surrounded by all of my favorite stores! The Anthropologie store is particularly impressive! It is huge, has an outdoor patio, has everything sold by Anthropologie, and always has the best sale section (dresses for $10 – seriously!)

Choosing my favorite Anthropologie items is always difficult. So after a lot of thinking and admiring, here are the shoes that will carry me into spring courtesy of my favorite store!

White Sands wedges for $365.

Solar Knots sandals for $238.

Traced Archway wedges for $178.

Cut and Pace flats for $225.

Happy Birthday Takada Kenzo

Takada Kenzo is 71 today.  Born in Himeji, Kenzo’s love for fashion developed at an early age through reading his sisters’ magazines.  In 1958, he joined Bunka Fashion College which had then just opened its classes to male students.  After graduating he evenutally landed in Paris to make his way in the fashion industry.  He had virtually no money.  Using the fabrics he found were found at Saint Pierre Fabric Market, Kenzo often had to cobble a piece together using different fabrics. 

Here is a vintage 1970s suede dress.

Vintage couture Kenzo dress below.

A few of my favorite Kenzo Shoes.

Kenzo Boot 294971 $632 at Endless

Kenzo 294827 Pump $300 at Endless

Kenzo 294956 Sandal $625 at Endless  My favorite.  This heel is wonderful.

Kenzo retired in 1999.  He is now designing home furnishings.

Prada Fall 2010

There has been an on-going issue about models and their weight and curves.  Runway models have been notoriously thin with absolutely no curves, while the curvier models are banned from runways, Prada’s included.  Incidentally, the age of these models have become younger – because a 14 year old can stay curve-less easier than a 21 year old can.  Anyways, this year Prada used older (21-ish) models this year with a line that celebrated the curves of women.  I for one, am glad to see this happen, however I doubt it is a permanent mind-set. 

  The fabric prints remind me of the fabrics my grandmother used in the late 1940s and 1950s.  There were a couple of dresses that I would LOVE to have in my closet.

How much fun is this dress?

Notice these dresses are made for women who have breastesses.

The shoes did not follow a single trend, but had several silhouettes.  Pointy toe stilettoes, reminiscent of 2000. Chunky heels square toed. Strappy sandals. Not a boot in sight. Not an extreme platform in sight (remember the models falling off their Prada platforms last year). All in wonderful colors, all worn with tweedy stockings.   Let’s have a look.

The following is a nice evening, party shoe.

I realize runway is not real life, so the thick stocking thing doesn’t bother me all that much, but I like the shoes without the stockings so much more.  So elegant.

Ms. Prada knows what she is doing.  I bet in September, 10 of the 18 shows will target women rather than girls.   These dresses are wonderful.  The shoes are wonderful.

Rachel Zoe’s Picks for Piperlime

I love Rachel Zoe! Her personal style, and that of her famous clients, is well documented. I especially love her sky high heels worn with wide-leg pants! As a loyal fan of her Bravo reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project, I dream of her firing her current assistant Brad and instead hiring me (Rachel Zoe, if you’re reading this, I’m totally serious and a very hard worker!).

As documented on the last season of her reality show, Rachel Zoe is now working as a guest editor for Piperlime. I totally want to buy every single pair of shoes she’s picked out on Piperlime! Here are a few of my favorites!

L.A.M.B. Vail platform for $299 at Piperlime (also available at Zappos for $303).

Cynthia Vincent Odeon sandal for $250 at Piperlime.

Elizabeth and James Mason pump in pink for $350 at Piperlime (also available in lime). Zappos also has the shoe for $354.

Missoni Squishy Flat for $390 at Piperlime.