Men's Footwear, The Perfect Fit

Rugged boots, oxfords and sneakers, loving the trend of men's shoes for women.

All images courtesy of The Sartorialist

What’s in a Shoe?

And is fashion art? I think The Style Collective would think so. Designed, sculpted, drawn, rendered, hand crafted, embellished, cut, sewn and painted. If we accept this philosophy then shoes are like sculptures to the feet. They may adorn, but they are also a form of line and expression. In the best of shoe design, the proportions and lines meld perfectly together. One might even find no need to wear the shoe but to gaze at it and appreciate the creative process that went into one tiny miracle. A shoe can evoke a strong emotion and aesthetic appreciation? Theory is conclusive for me- fashion is a medium of art. While I agree there are certainly more profound art pieces in our world...variety and diversity in creative expression is not a bad thing.

Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon these YSL boots for a fraction of the orginal cost.

Images by S.S.- digi watercolors by Jaiden Steele

A true connoisseur of shoes… Jane from seaofhshoes.com. She’s got the best documented by her photographer mother.

(stylist note- Chanel Candy)

Images courtesy of Sea of Shoes

An amazing drawing by Marzena from definitelygolden.com. Please just study the exquisite detail. I would say that she and Alexander McQueen are undoubtedly artists.

Future seaofloubs.com blogger and art connoisseur - Lana Weber.

Photos by S.S.

If you’d like to draw your own conclusions about the debate of Art and Fashion here are two articles TSC would recommend to read:

The Guardian Debate

Plato and Stanford Definition of Art

Guest Stylist - Tiffany English

You can't get a more worldly existence than Tiffany English, the director of Ware Malcomb, a design firm specializing in commercial real estate. Raised in Africa, Japan and India, she has an exotic style mixed with modern lines. We certainly wish we could have joined her on the Herman Miller tour!

Tiffany English

Who is your style icon?
Jessica Alba’s casual ‘mommy’ style and her classy dress up style. She can pull both off so easily!






What is the one item in your closet you cannot live without?
Seven for all Mankind Jeans






Where is your favorite place in the world?
Too many to name but if my family and friends are with me it could be anywhere!





What are you obsessing about owning right now?
Classic furniture pieces, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Herman Miller furniture factory in Michigan just recently and was able to see original sketches from Charles and Ray Eames and other fabulous classic furniture designers and I want to fill my home with all of them.

Eames - La Chaise Chair


Arne Jacobsen - Egg Chair


Nelson - Marshmallow Sofa

What is the most used item in your makeup bag?
Channel Glossimer in Unity





What is your favorite neighborhood restaurant?
Tomoyama Sushi in Carlsbad, CA





What is your necessary extravagance?
Shoes

No, this isn't my closet but maybe one day?

How do you define perfect happiness?
My family’s laughter.

The Hit List

I landed in San Francisco over a week or so ago and high tailed it to Barneys to stock up on some "essentials". Here is what's on my hit list...

LOVE these ballet flats by Lanvin . I've been living in them night and day. If I could score a pair with a silver chain duo as well...I'd been a happy girl. Worth the investment, they are chic and feel like the best traveling shoes ever. Note- they are not security line friendly as you have to de-jewel your ankles every time which takes longer than usual, but well worth the inconvenience!





SEARCHING for my next carry all but so many decisions and want to make the right choice. Barneys definitely has the best selection but I missed my chance. Next time! See you around Arena Tricolor.




SCORED the matte black velvet and do'r illusion from the Chanel Shanghai collection. The tip here is not to do a typical black nail or a glittery gold nail, but to layer and get creative. Black tips on gold as shown here in the photo or the matte black with the do'r overlay for some dimension. Note-these are available at Chanel stores only... skip right on past Barney's to Maiden Lane.



NEED desperately some emergency treatment. My skin is paying the price from airplanes and late nights jumping from event to event. Next time around, I will pick up this jar of repair cream by Revive.





Thank you Barneys - TSC loves you!

Spring 10 Trend: The Shootie

The ‘It’ shoe of Spring/Summer 10 is the beautiful marriage of two favorite styles, the sandal and the bootie. Meet the Shootie in its newest form – open toed, strappy, and done in neutral tones. It's the perfect complement to Spring’s skirts, dresses and cropped trousers. Here are some of my favorites.

Miu Miu

Giuseppe Zanotti

Givenchy

Fendi

Elizabeth and James

Balmain

Altuzarra

Friday Favorites - If The Shoe Fits...

Like you, we love shoes! Here are a few of the designers and styles we're currently coveting.

Laura's picks...

I’m a die hard Chanel shoe fanatic. So much so that I even find myself lusting after Karl Lagerfeld’s interpretation of the clog for Spring. I swear that man can make anything look sexy. Especially when paired with the Chanel garter hosiery. LOVE.





Sybil's picks...

It's hard not to be obsessed with Nicholas's Kirkwood shoes. Each design a work of art!

Fall 2010Fall 2010Fall 2010Fall 2010

Spring 2010Spring 2010Spring 2010Spring 2010

Spring 2010

Leslie's picks...

I am a sucker for tassels! I use them a lot in interior design and I am loving how Etro uses them in their Spring 2010 collection.