Happy Birthday Carlos Santana

Singer and shoe designer Carlos Santana  turns 63 today.   Santana was born July 20, 1947,  in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico.  Carlos learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight.  He eventually settled in San Francisco where he began his career as a guitarist, starting the band Santana.  When I think of Carlos Santana, I think of  Oye Como Va.   I love that song.

(more…)

Happy Birthday Robert Clergerie

Robert Clergerie turns 76 today.   Born in Paris in 1934, he started as a manager in the Charles Jourdan factory in the 1970s, then worked his way up to designer.  His first women’s line debuted in 1981 with a pair of menswear oxfords.  He later designed pumps with parallelogram heels that were copied enough that the shape was referred to as the Clergerie heel.  He then introduced a steel high heel which is thought to be the pioneer of the spike heel.   The factory is still in France and Mr. Clergerie is still in France.

Until working on this post, I had never really paid attention to Clergerie shoes.  Now, I am quite intrigued with them. (more…)

In Your Closet: Amanda

“My husband and I redid our master closet for our anniversary last year.

….. I hope you enjoy the pics and keep up the fabulous blogging!” – Amanda

Hi, Amanda.

It’s always nice to hear kind words from an appreciative reader. Thank you for allowing us to peek into your closet.

Now, speaking to your fellow readers,  it’s fashion-voyeur time.

(more…)

Head Over Heels Cards

In Prescott, AZ there is a boutique called Fancy That.  It’s a fun place that sells antiques and made to look antique items. The owners are friendly and remember you, which is unusual in a town that has tons of tourists.  I go there periodically to see what they have, and sometimes they have something I can’t live without.   I found something.

How cute is this?

They had a whole section of cards that were shoe related.  This is the get well card.  The inside says, “A pair of new shoes…the best medicine for what ails you.    Feel Better Girlfriend.”   Sometimes after wearing heels all day,  my feet feel like they need a pair of shoes like this.

This comes from a line of cards called Head Over Heels designed by Barbara Music.  There are monogramed cards, greeting cards, note cards and sticky pads with shoe drawings.  They are all quite elaborate drawings. The web site has more than just cards.  She has t-shirts with shoe designs makes custom wedding shoes, and has classes that teaches how to make sandals.  I am still trying to figure how to get myself to New York  to take classes from Llorraine Neithardt.

Dekkori accessories: Spats meet modern fashion.

I encountered the Dekkori brand a few weeks ago while surfing *playing* around the Endless website.

Here’s the deal.  At endless.com, these are referred to as ‘boots’.  That took me aback for more than a moment or two.  But, really, once you get into the product description you begin to realize that these are not meant to be boots; at least not in the classic sense.  If worn by themselves, I suppose these would be more of a pseudo-boot – a potential fashion statement for the bared-foot lovers out there.  I can even really see how these would fit right in onstage at a dance recital.  The reality of these ‘boots’ is more straightforward: These are  a wonderfully modern take on a much older shoe idea: Spats.

Spats (also sometimes called gaiters), in the classic sense, are not seen much in modern times outside of stage, film, and fringe-fashion scenes.  Originally meant as protective footwear extensions to basic shoes, they have, occasionally, taken on a more fashion-centric role (And yes, for good or ill, the occasional resurgence of leg warmers might be seen as part of this trending cycle).

It is the idea of having a detachable shoe upper that can instantly transform a basic or past-season shoe into a completely new silhouette that is still relevant today – particularly if you are a runway fashion lover living on a bargainista budget.

Classic spats have been out of mainstream fashion for decades.  Luckily, these shoe accessories from Dekkori are made with a eye to modern fashion sensibilities and with the current consumer market in mind. The result is silhouettes that  are anything but old-fashioned.  The transformative power of historical spats still remains present within these accessories. But, as you can see, Dekkori has moved far from the spats source ideas in bringing their accessories collection into reality.

So, these are the two ‘boots’ (from the SS ’10 collection) that originally grabbed my attention:

Dekkori ‘Devon’ Cutout lace-up boot $208

Dekkori ‘Riley’ eyelet pull-on boot $128

Dekkori ‘Rocco’ Gladiator boot $146

But these two (from the Fall ’09 collection) are my personal favorites:

Dekkori ‘Charm’ ankle piece $62

Dekkori ‘Innocence’ bow ankle piece $58

The one problem I see with these accessories is their relatively high price-tags. I understand that leather goods have become more expensive over the last 5 years. But, with prices ranging from $40 – $200+ per pair,   a lot of savvy shoppers will be able to find one or more reasonably-priced  ‘whole shoes’ for the cost of just one set of these quirky accessories.

Overall,  I find these to be an intriguing idea. They appeal to the portion of me that loves the idea of limiting production waste.  Interchangeable uppers have the potential to be a great way to ‘go green’ while still indulging your shoe-love.

The basic idea would seem to be a natural marriage to meet the needs of the budget fashion-shopper.  However, the cost on these may be too prohibitive for many consumers. I’m just not convinced that  these are adequately priced to gain the attention of the  ‘budget-based’ consumer.  Instead, these seem to be priced more toward the mid-range and luxury-aspirational consumers, a smaller market by far.  The consumer on a budget knows that  $50 for a pair of shoes was a lot of money 10 years ago – and it still is a lot of money for them today – but today it just doesn’t stretch as far. Will such shoppers be willing to spend this amount of money, or more,  on a partial shoe?

The one place where the Dekkori pieces have an identifiable advantage is for those women who have limited storage space. You can fit a whole lot of Dekkori accessory uppers into the space of just one boot box in your closet. For those shoe lovers with storage issues, Dekkori shoe accessories might be a viable solution to the inevitable storage space dilemma most shoe-collectors eventually face.

Opinions, thoughts?