What type of shoe is more appropriate for rainy London weather than the wellie?  The Wellington boot, that is.  Popularized by the 1st Duke of Wellington (and seen in this portrait of the man himself), these boots caught on with the aristocracy and have now become rainproof staples of many a wardrobe for royals and commoners alike.

But a modern-day wellie-wearer may well want something a bit more fun for a walk in the rain.  What’s a girl (or guy) to do in the face of such a dilemna?

Pull on a pair of fun patterned boots from Emily Todd and Hannah Petty’s aptly-named wellies company, Emilyhannah.  They’re based in Shepton Mallet, near the yearly (in)famous Glastonbury Festival, which is notoriously muddy and an excellent place to wear your wellies.

Am I not right, Ms. Moss?

Anyway, I got a pair of the new season’s line of wellies from Emilyhannah a little while back and have been waiting for the perfect day to give them a test drive.

Today was it.  It was the day of the Lord Mayor Show in London Town, and it was also pissing down rain.  So I got all bundled up and wellified and went out to watch the parade.  And while the rest of me ended up soaked and shivering, my legs from the knees down were toasty and dry.

I have to give a shout out to these lovely wellies for not only serving their function but for doing it in style and comfort.  They’re nice and light (not true of many other rubber boots I’ve tried on in the past), I slipped my orthotics right into them, and they’re super cute!  See for yourselves.

Plus, my pretty poppies were right on target for the upcoming Armistice Day, for which people tend to wear poppy pins to commemorate the deaths of WWI soldiers, particularly at Flanders Field.

Anyway, I was pleased in the extreme with my poppy-patterned wellies.

But if you’re interested in your own pair, there are plenty of other fun fun patterns.  Paisleys and stars and dots and gingham flowers and leopard and… well… see for yourselves.

Plus, even more of a good thing, these pretty boots will only set you back £30 (about $47 these days), and they’ll ship worldwide.

So, no more excuses to stay inside on rainy days because you’re afraid your tootsies will get wet.  Slip on a pair of these fun rainboots and puddle-hop to your heart’s content.

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Last night’s Project Runway Season 5 Finale is over and done. And I,  among many others, am looking for my next fashion design fix to tide me over until new PR seasons finally start at the show’s new network. (Please, please tell me rumors of delays due to legal issuesare not based in fact? Noooo!) 

So, for those of you who, like me, will be lost without your regular weekly dose of Project Runway, here is an unexpected surprise for you.

While at Toys R Us this weekend, I encountered the following line of toys in the educational section(!) that made my daughters and I very excited: Project Runway design sketchbooks by Fashion Angel Enterprises. 

Branded with the official Project Runway logo, these are a variety of sketchbooks and ‘challenges’ of various types and are appropriate for a parent-assisted child or enthusiastic adult (sewing) amateur.

Available items are:

Project Runway Fashion Postcards for London, Paris, New York, and Hollywood ($9.99 each) 

Project Runway Design Projector Kit ($29.99)

Project Runway Fashion Design and Illustration Studio ($29.99)

Project Runway Fashion and Figure Drawing Set ($29.99)

Project Runway Patch-making Kit ($9.99) or Project Runway Graphic T-shirt Design Studio Set ($24.99)

Project Runway Fashion Design Challenge Sketchbook ($24.99), includes spinner to randomly decide challenge

Project Runway Accessories Design Challenge Sketchbook ($24.99), spinner included.

And, four Project Runway ‘Design Sketchbooks’ specifically for: Fashion, Costume, Handbag, and of course, Shoes.

Understanding that most folks are amateurs at fashion illustration, the majority of these sets feature paper pads with a Croquis (a pre-sketched form on which to draw fashion designs) to use as a starting point for your ideas. They also include a ‘Design Guide’ booklet that gives a little bit of a helpful nudge in regard to possible styles, materials and illustration techniques.

I don’t know if you are like me at all and have ever had the crystal-clear image of a new shoe float up into your brain just as you fell asleep. But, since I have had that particular experience, I thought this would be a fun way to try out this product and share the results here.

I have had exactly two of these shoe ‘visions’.

This first drawing is from one of the blank sketchbooks that I keep around the house to record fashion ideas when they come to me (I’ve learned the hard way that if I wait until I find some paper that I may forget the idea; apologies for the blurry photo):

Next, is a drawing I did yesterday using the High-fashion/high-heel croquis from the PR Sketch-a-Footwear-Collection Drawing Kit. I sketched the basic design and then enlarged it on my copy machine and colored it with the colored pencils included in the kit. 

These last 2 designs are by my 6-year old:

Now, I may or may not regularly use this myself as a design tool or as light entertainment.  However, I do have to say that my young, design-obsessed daughters are completely won over. They would love to use this everyday; which does bring me to the biggest flaw of these kits: There do not appear to be any paper re-fills available for the sketch pads. So, you might want to make some master copies of the various croquis in each kit before starting, just in case the manufacturers never correct this particular oversight.

Happy Designing!

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The humidity is climbing here in the Northeast, and summer has officially arrived. This means flip flop season.

Now, generally I’m not a huge fan of flip flops. They don’t have much support, the straps always tend to tear up my feet in one spot or another, and I’m not much of a beachy surfer style girl.

But I’ve been won over by Switchflops.

Because all of a sudden, there’s a flip flop that’s customizable.

Yep, these summer sandals have velcro that lets you remove one set of straps and switch it out for another, depending on your mood. So you start out with the sole you like best (choose from the standard flip flop, a wedge, or a kitten heel, and from brown, black, beige, or navy)

then (and here’s the fun part) choose whatever set or sets of straps you want, and mix and match to your heart’s content. You can do everything from team spirit with striped ribbons like the Parker (in my high school colors of maroon and gold)

to a July 4th barbecue with the Jackie

to a pretty darn upscale, classy looking flip flop with the Chloe

to the classic beachy look with the Isabel.

Really, the options are pretty endless. Well, actually, they’re not endless, but since there are almost 500 different possible combinations, they might as well be. And since each set of straps is only $10 and has such a cute variety of buttons and patterns, you can go wild without breaking the bank. Plus, you can test out different strap/sole combinations on the web site.

Who created such a fabulously customizable line? Lindsay Phillips, who is only 23 and came up with the idea originally in her high school ceramics class. She offers a great demo video on the Switchflops site that shows you exactly how easy it is to change out the straps.

I tested out the classic flop sole, and after several promenades and rounds of errand running in several different sets of straps, I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. The soles aren’t cheap, as flip flops go (they range from $32 for the flat flop to $47 for the kitten heel), but the price is worth it for the quality of the materials, which is higher than most cheap flip flops out there. The foam of the sole is nice and bouncy, and gives you good cushioning when you walk. And the thong and underlying straps (the ones that are attached to the shoes and don’t change) are positioned just right, so they don’t cut into your feet.

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun wearing flip flops. There’s a definite thrill to deciding which strap to use on any given day, and they’re fun shoes to stick on summertime feet. Never again shall my flip flops be consigned to the heading of “Shoes to be Worn Only When Returning from Pedicures.”

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A little while back, I mentioned that once the weather permitted, I’d take my new Taryn Rose Kaelyn’s out for a spin and let you know the results.

Well, the weather has permitted, and I’ve now worn them twice, with excellent results. The first day, which involved only my normal walking pattern to and from work, the edges of the peep toe and the heel rubbed uncomfortably. But yesterday I wore them again (on a day that involved a lot more walking all over the city) and I was much better pleased. The leather is soft enough that it stretched itself around my foot after just these few wears, and I had no blisters or abrasions, even though I walked all over and wore these without stockings.

As far as the look goes, they’re really elegant shoes. The wedge is 1.5″ so it’s enough for a little bit of height, but without sacrificing comfort. The heel in the back is very narrow and ladylike, not clunky like many “comfort” shoes can be. The patent leather is shiny shiny, and the whole thing is very sleek.

On the comfort front… well, they’re Taryn Rose. On the comfort front, they pretty much can’t be beat. The arch support is excellent, and the Poron cushioning is noticeable. Kept my feet perfectly comfy all day long, even standing and walking and running to catch the subway. And on the sole under the ball of your feet, there’s a non-slip rubberized section to keep you from sliding everywhere.

The one thing I’d mention is that, since it’s patent leather, these shoes don’t breathe as much as regular full-grain leather does, so my feet got a bit slippery in them throughout the day.  My plan to combat this is to stick a pair of Summer Soles in them.  Then I can have deliciously comfy shoes and feet that smell like a summer breeze, too.

Like Shoesense just said, the price tag on Taryn Rose shoes is hefty (though you can get the Kaelyn right now in black, red, or white patent from Josephs for $316 as opposed to $445), so it’s a good brand to opt for when you want something that’ll be classic and perpetually chic without giving up on your comfort. A low wedge patent leather peep-toe is about as perennially chic as it comes, folks. And this shoe is pretty divine. Perfect for classing up a summer sundress or pairing with the most professional of business suits.

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Hola, shoe-lovers! One of your bloggers (c’est moi, bien sûr) has been head over well-shod heels in a project that has consumed her life for…oh, too long to count now. The project is more or less out of my hands now, and the anxious wait for a review has commenced.

The point is, I am just now starting to realize how much of a solace shoes have been to me. There is nothing like a good session of shoe-shopping/browsing to restore my faith in joy and beauty after a prolonged session of dreary alliterative drudgery. I am slowly rediscovering — and savoring every minute of it!– what The Manolo has dubbed “the joy that is the shoes.” Let me tell you, he knows what he’s talking about!

I’ve been seeing so much sparkle, color, and wit (yes, wit!) browsing for the shoes of this season that, well, my spirits have been almost restored. Oh, and here’s what I got out of this:

Cynthia Vincent’s Judy silver ballet flat from the good folks at Heels.com (see, they also have flats!). My wardrobe was missing something silver (so hot right now), and what is great about these is that they have the ombre shading, so they’re really a gray-pewter in the back and a shinier silver in front. Very versatile!

I had misgivings about two things with this pair: the elastic back, and the flimsy sole. Both were unfounded–the shoes conformed to my feet and stayed put without a problem, and the sole is generously padded, so they’re really really comfy.

Ah, it’s good to be back in shoe-world. Remember, gals, when you’re in a funk, take comfort in the joy that is the shoes!

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