Sometimes email is just plain fun to open.

Case in point:

Note that Jimmy Choo is launching the “Project PEP” Collection in which 25% of the net sales will be donated to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Also note that you can preview this collection online now or at the 72-hour ‘pop-up shop’ - if you are lucky enough to be living or travelling in the UK and in range of the Jimmy Choo concept store located in Selfridges, London.

In my case, I’m pretty much stuck with the online preview of this very colorful Choo collection.

Here are my quick faves:

The ‘Pep Loop’ sandal ($975):

Or, this cute little wrist cuff ($245):

And, because I’m really more of a wristlet than huge handbag gal, this little ‘Filipa’ wallet:

Which one is your favorite?

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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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What can I say… These shoes are HOT!

Dsquared2 ‘Bloody Mary’ Vernice pump $1040 $751.50 at Zappos.com / $750.90 at Endless.com

(There’s also a knee-boot version and a sandal version of these - but they don’t make me swoon.)

I can’t even tell you just how much looking at these makes me forget to breathe a little bit - these are such insanely hard-core lust objects. (Even hubby thinks these are pretty fab, though he wouldn’t like the price.)

I have had mixed reactions to the great number of studded shoes that we have been seeing over the last 18 months or so. The Gucci Babouska’s had studs that were just too much, too over-sized, and too gold for my taste; the Rodarte’s - too pointy.

But these? I am surprised at just how much I love these. They are like that 3rd little bear with me as a darker-locked version of Goldilocks; these are just right.

Flattened silver-toned star-shaped studs.  Just a hint of Oxford appeal. Wrap-around double-buckle strap Maryjane reference. Mixed-leather textural contrast…..To steal a phrase “I die”.

I wonder if the “Bloody Mary” name is a tribute to the Louboutin ‘Mad Mary’ Studded pump sold a little while back?  I’ll probably never know the answer. Oh, well.

And, with Halloween just around the corner, I find these babies to be aptly named. Strap these onto your feet and even the terrifying Bloody Mary Worth of legend would think twice before leaving her mirror to come after you…unless it was in jealousy over being unable to own a pair of these amazing namesake shoes.

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Emilio Pucci is known for playing with vivid colors and vibrant, abstract prints on his footwear designs.

And while I admittedly love color in my footwear choices,  my preferences tend more toward bright, single-color styles, two-tone color-blocking, and feminine florals than the swirling, vibrant color abstracts that are typical of many Pucci’s offerings. These prints tend to remind me of Mondrian - which inevitably leads me to visualize to opening sequences to such shows as the Brady bunch and the Partridge Family; an unfortunate set of programmed associations which clearly identify me as a child of the 70’s.

I know.

*wince*

But, in spite of all of this, here two Pucci styles that make me exclaim, “how delicious are these?”

Emilio Pucci “79492″ leather and suede boot ($994):

And, Pucci “794943″ suede and patent peep-toe webbed-heel pump ($774) @ Zappos):

I’m definitely loving the colorful, acrylic?, webbed, insert on these lovelies.

Is there that expected Pucci hint of modern abstract patterning? Yes, but just a hint.

There’s just enough color here; it’s as if your shoes have a little secret that only flashes out when viewed at precisely the right angle.

This is the type of shoe that causes the wearer walk as though she has some dark and mysterious secret that you can’t quite put your finger on….

And, which one of us wouldn’t want to be that girl, from time to time?

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Remember how - not too long ago -  we were anticipating the new Christian Siriano-Payless Shoesource collaboration?

Well, some styles are now available in-store an online.

So far, I am seeing 2 shoe-styles and 1 handbag online:

Christian Siriano for Payless “Slither” $49.99. Don’t expect these to go on sale anytime soon.

Christian Siriano for Payless “Sandstrap” platform peep-to $34.99. This is a cute and classy shoe.

Christian Siriano for Payless “Sassafrass” extra large hobo handbag $34.99. I wonder if that little inverted pyramid-thingy will be the Siriano trademark?

These are cute and I like the idea of supporting new designers - particularly when they are trying to create affordable fashion for the many folks who must stay on-budget every month.

But, online styles appear to be limited ….. Let’s hope there are more styles to be found in-store.

…Or, am I just being unreasonably greedy to get my hands on a pair of the edgy little chain-adorned numbers we saw on the runway?

Now I’ll just have to  try to get some time to go into town today to see if anything has shown up locally. Unfortunately, small-town living may not bode well for me in this instance.

ETA: Another new style just popped up on the Payless site (particularly useful to those who’s local stores never saw any September in-store stock); these certainly weren’t there yesterday morning - Brown snakeskin flats:

Christian Siriano for Payless “Saunter” $29.99

I suppose there’s some of that chain we have been mentioning in the comments below.

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