I consider myself lucky to have purchased a house whose previous owner was likely a shoe-lover like me.  At somewhere over 120 pairs of shoes, even I have not yet managed to completely fill up this legacy  walk-through closet.

But, one glaring omission in my closet set-up is the lack of any proper stool or chair on which to sit when actually putting on the day’s shoes. Admittedly, it’s not exactly a crisis - but the daily hopping around on one foot while stuffing my other foot into a shoe would be a bit less comical and more dignified were I to correct this small wardrobe issue.  And, while it need not be fancy - we are after all talking about a piece of furniture that is only briefly needed on any given day - something pretty or fun would be a nice way of starting out the day.

Luckily, today’s postal offerings included some intriguing shopping options in just this area (in the form of a new catalog ‘Design Toscano‘ - on whose mailing list I have apparently been recently added).

Included are a fair selection of salon chairs, tabourets (of which I have always been fond), and boudoir stools to fit a wide number different styles, tastes, and decors.

Among them:

French Salon corner chair $198 $225

Mademoiselle Cezanne’s French slipper chair $249 $298

King Leopold’s cross-frame tabouret $175

Acanthus leaf mahogany tabouret $495

Lady Annette Boudoir stool $89.95

Madame Bouvier boudoir stool $85.00

And, finally, the piece-de-kitschy-resistance:

Folis Bergere boudoir stool $75.00

How much fun is this last piece - definitely not for those who take themselves too seriously.

Which one would you choose - assuming you have a place to even put it?

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So, Hubby, the kids, and I attended the inaugural year of Steamcon 2009 which was held October 23-25 at the Seattle Airport Marriott.

For a first-year convention, there were certainly a few hiccups, but most of those were a product of the small venue combined with unexpectedly large turnout. When planning a 1st-year event, the only numbers you can rely on are numbers for similar events, in this case, a normal first-year estimate would be in the neighborhood of 400 attendees. Over 1300 attended, and that is not including the number of people who showed up but were unable to get one of the extremely limited number of available day-passes.

Day-pass hopefuls roped a line around a large area of the atrium pool and waited hours for the chance at receiving a badge that would allow them to attend panels, workshops and gaming tables.  I suspect many without badges wandered the halls anyway and just soaked up the general atmosphere.  Can I even over-emphasize how important it was to pre-register?

Final reminder to self: Don’t forget to pre-register for next year at the earliest opportunity. Even with the convention organizers new hunt to locate a larger venue suitable for next year’s convention, it will likely continue to grow in size, so early registration will be vital!

Now, with that out of the way, was it fun?

Hell yeah!

This was absolutely worth finding a way to squeeze the price of registration and the two separate ticketed events out of our rather tight 2009 budget.  Admittedly, being able to get the room on bonus points helped out immensely.

So, hubby and I attended Steamcon as a sort of unplanned 18th anniversary gift to ourselves (though, what does it tell you that we both realized we had this anniversary coming up…. 2 days after it was past?).

Anyway, the kids were with us on Friday only as we got settled into our rooms (Grandma & Grandpa were working Friday, so we had a big family hotel adventure that day & evening), learned the layout of the hotel, checked out the vendor room, and bopped from panel to panel; generally getting a feel for the people and event as a whole. We dressed in steam for the entire event; shopping from our closets since our budget is closely controlled this year. An eclectic personal wardrobe made this less of a challenge for me than it might for others; vests, skirts, ruffled shirts, even a long cavalry-style coat made the trip to Seattle - just in case.

We were also able to spend time with friends we had not seen for years - a wonderful added bonus.

Highlights of the weekend:  Chatting with author Tim Powers while waiting in line at the coffee shop, watching my daughters get dragged onstage by Abney Park lead-singer ‘Captain Roberts’ with the sweeping phrase “Check out the awesome” in reference to their age and outfits,  wearing feathered hats without feeling even a wink self-conscious, and of course, just wandering around among all of the amazing and creative people.

(Abney Park’s Dread Captain Roberts…pardon the blurry focus, it was dark & a bit of a distance shot)

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the one thing most Steampunks have in common is a do-it-yourself attitude that takes many forms but which also tends to cross-over with a Victorian aesthetic.  So, these are not cheap Halloween costumes people are wearing; they are truly one-of-a-kind fashion statements.

So, without further ado, just a few of the fabulous and fun people - and outfits - from Steamcon 2009:

(These ladies were so hot; it completely put to lie the idea many modern fashion designers have that you must be a skinny stick-figure to make clothing look good and that curvy women aren’t a worthwhile designer type.  I posit that it’s the impeccable tailoring and fit to an individual’s body-type that makes all of the difference…something that we are unfortunately lacking in today’s ready-to-wear culture.  Lazy fashion designers who can’t fit a gal with curves are also a bit of a personal peeve. Could you tell?)

(Check out those Fleuvogs!)

These are actually Born’s - here’s a detail:

And a close-up of those spats:

There were simply too many amazing outfits and people to show you in a single article. But, if you are interested in seeing more from me or others - particularly if you love boots and spats, I am posting all of my photos in an album on Shoeblog’s Facebook page for your enjoyment.

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Now that my hubby and I are expecting our first child, my shoe universe seems to be expanding.  While my interest still lies in women’s shoes, toddler footwear suddenly seems more interesting to me, irrespective of the gender of our child.

When I first saw this picture of Suri Cruise in tiny d’orsay heels, a few thoughts were running through my head.

Essentially they boiled down to three categories (edited to more coherent thoughts for this post):

1. The practical side- Nooo!!!!  This young lady just learned how to walk.  Her feet need to be close to the ground to provide her with better stability, allow for strong ankles, and for that arch to be built.

2. The feminist side- How can women expect to be treated as equally when we willingly choose to wear heels?  When we wear hobbling heels, doesn’t this just symbolically emphasize how fragile and frail women are vs. our male counterparts who stand steady with both feet firmly planted on the floor?

3. The girly side- Awwwh, how cute.  Suri is going to be quite the fashionista when she grows up.  These must be Suri’s princess shoes (photo below of R5Bales’ granddaughter’s shoes)!

Honestly, I believe that everything can be done in moderation.   As long as Suri is allowed to walk barefoot or wear flexible soled shoes the majority of the time, I think that low kitten heels are acceptable.  Heck, they are loads cuter than Crocs.  Little girls should be allowed to play dress up and experiment.   It’s part of growing up and developing personal tastes and a personality.  But what do you think?  Are heels appropriate for someone Suri’s age?

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Meet Kevin:

This is Kevin Cozens (KrazyKev in our forums). In this photo, he is wearing a pair of Pleaser XTC 826 platform heels:

Why?

In his own words:

HI my name is Kevin AKA. KRAZY KEV. I thought I would let you all know a little about me and my liking for high heels. First let me put you straight on a few things.
1.)  Yes, im a bit krazy
2.)  Yes I have walked in public wearing womens high heels.
3.)  No I dont have a fetish for high heels unless worn by a sexy woman.

The reason I started to wear high heels is for a very good one. I was looking for a way to raise money for a UK charity called HELP FOR HEROES. I was after a way to emulate pain suffered by soldiers who have been injured while serving in Iraq and Afganistan. In the end I had the bright idea of a long walk but wearing very high heeled womens shoes. On 22 Aug 2009 my day had finally come. I was going to be wearing womens shoes in public for the very first time. I had never worn high heels in my life and I was about to attempt to walk a very long 5 miles in a pair of PLEASER XTC 826. The heels were 7.5” with a 4” platform. I had already made the event known to the public and i had already raised a lot of money. I now ask myself could I go the distance without doing myself harm. After 3.5hrs I finally arrived at my destination. I have to admit that a man wearing huge womens heels are a sure fire way of getting attention. Before the walk I promised my wife that if I complete the walk that I would DOUBLE the distance to raise money for her chosen charity which is Cancer Reasearch UK.

According to his original website, £723.00 was raised toward his chosen charity.

Now he needs our help to determine which shoes he should wear when keeping that promise to his wife - and perform a second, much longer, charity walk (tentatively set for Spring 2010).

Here are the shoes that Kevin is considering for this fund-raising event:

:

Now, all we need from you, dear readers, is your vote.

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Poll will remain open for at least 2 months. Let’s see how many people we can get to help out on this!

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So, is anybody else sitting at home feeling miserable with the flu? Ah, the joys of back-to-school and fall weather are balanced by the colds that seem to come home with the kids.

Since local weather is still too insanely warm for me to think about consuming actual chicken soup, consider today’s shoes to be ‘emotional chicken soup’.

Sweet-but-sexy, studded Oxfords … luckily for me, the Oxford trend has not completely wound down yet.

Betsey Johnson ‘Kadina’ $200 at Zappos

As my husband said when I showed him these, “Oh yeah, those are completely you.”  What can I say? I have a week spot for women’s Oxfords. Oh, and plaid. And, of course, Betsey Johnson; it was inevitable that I would love these shoes.

To steal a movie quote, these are ‘Everything I never knew I always wanted’ *…or something like that.

Menswear-inspired, wing-tip appeal; Check.

Adorable, plaid-blocked contrast; Check.

Lace-up Lolita details; Check.

Patent leather, studded-Oxford edging; Check.

High Heels. Oxfords. Plaid. Lace-ups. Rockabilly. Goth. Lolita. Punk…a match made in shoe-heaven!

*Extra points if you can name the flick.

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