Shoefinder: Holiday Edition

Going to a holiday party this year? You're going to need some shoes. That's where I come in.

For the giant family gathering where you will spend most of the time chasing tiny nieces and nephews around the living room with a nerf gun, because you want them to revere you as the awesome aunt who is both fun and glamorous:

Vera Wang Lavender flats

If your sister-in-law gets annoyed, just point out that she could have fabulous shoes too, if she wasn't spending all her money on child-rearing. Then smile and say you hope they like the drum set.


For the gathering of high school friends/enemies you haven't seen in years, who may or may not still think of you primarily as the person who once slipped on a cafeteria tray and toppled six tables, domino-style, before coming to rest on a freshman (who was a good sport about it, considering):

Loeffler Randall "Zuri"

Fun and festive without trying too hard-- because even though everything else about you has changed, you still don't want people to think you care that much.


For a company party in a hotel ballroom, where everyone stands around talking about whether you'll get acquired and tries not to drink so much that the dance floor starts to sound like a good idea:

Salvatore Ferragamo "Davina"

They say, "I am restrained and professional, and also awesome. Plus, I have very good balance."


For a work party in the company cafeteria, where too much awesomeness would look out of place and you'd rather just be comfortable:

Sofft "Noral"

These are to the previous as Martinelli's sparkling apple juice is to champagne: Nowhere near as glamorous or fun, but sweeter and less likely to leave you feeling painful in the morning.

Shoefinder: I Believe in Summer

I know that right now, for many of us, hot and dry weather seems like a dim and distant possibility, but I believe that the time will come*, and when it comes we are going to be wanting to spend as much time as possible in sandals.

I also believe that Nordy's has a pretty decent selection in their sale section right now, so in the interests of keeping this simple I'm going to be drawing only from there. Maybe next week I'll go on and do another retailer. Maybe I won't.

First up: Some comfortable flats. Because sometimes when it's hot and your feet are sweaty, you just don't have the bandwidth to deal with a heel.

Then again, sometimes you do. After all, there are evenings in the summer, aren't there?

(Disclaimer: Despite the name, nobody in Berkeley has ever worn these shoes.

Of course, in some places it's sweaty at night too. If you can handle the little bit that goes between your toes, these are a nice flat-but-still-dressier option.

I'm not typically a fan of the platform wedge, but these have a kind of appealing breeziness. Is this what people wear in the Hamptons?

Would the chains on these rattle irritatingly and possibly chafe? Very likely. Are they cheap and trendoid and intended for someone half my age? Almost certainly. Do I find them appealing anyway? I think we both know the answer to that.

These are mine. No touching.

*Also, I'm going to Spring Training with Mom in two weeks.

Shoefinder: Sophie's New Book

 Shoefinder: It's Not Just For Shoes Anymore

Today we have our first repeat visitor to the Shoefinder world, and this time we are going Beyond Shoes*. Sophie Littlefield, cross-genre author extraordinaire, has a new YA book coming out and we are going to help her develop a look to go with it.

The book is called Banished and is about, according to the description,** a sixteen-year-old named Hailey Tarbell, whose only aspiration is to get the hell out of her dead-end Missouri town until she discovers that she has awesome and scary healing powers, which make her a person of interest to people who may or may not be interesting, but definitely have guns. (I'm paraphrasing here.) Also, I have it on good authority that there may be zombies.

So you can see the styling issue here. On the one hand, this isn't the sort of thing where you can show up at a signing in a floral twinset and eyelet skirt; but  you don't want look like you went all supermarket-spree on a Hot Topic either. I think the look to go for here is kind of "upscale goth"-- ideally to look like the kind of person the be-eyelinered and parasol-carrying gothlings can look at and aspire to be when they grow up.

Disclaimer: I don't mean to imply that all of these items are to be worn together. That would be a little much, in terms of look. Plus, you would be wearing two pairs of shoes.

First, the jewelry. It's tempting to go full-on skull ring, but that's a little obvious, don't you think? Not that I have anything against a skull, I just like it better when it's done with some wit, like in something like this.*** Or, even better, this one, which is really quite beautiful, and it's only when you get up close that you notice the skull in the detail.

(Bonus: Sword earrings from the same store.)

[fang necklace]Another unexpected touch? A fang necklace in oxidized silver. And don't tell anyone I told you this, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it come up for cheaper on Gilt Groupe.

And yes, I realize I may be overdoing it a bit on the skulls thing (you aren't supposed to wear these together, remember?) But I just have to include these, because they're just that amazing. He has a rose between his teeth! They're on sale until Monday! What more could you possibly ask for?

Well, okay, maybe you could ask for some crazy over-the-knee, lace-up-the-back boots. But that's really it.

And while we're on the subject of accessories, let's talk purses. I like the of something in a snake print here, and I have to admit that I am kind of taken with this one, despite the fact that it's a completely obvious rip-off of the Valentino version, which was apparently itself ripped off from a YSL design from '03. Also, it would get completely squished in the car, and probably be really uncomfortable to carry under your arm, but I try not to let my self be restrained by reality here.


On that note, how about a leather dress? Yeah, cost, cleaning, breatheability, whatever. I've just got one question for you: Is it awesome?

Yeah, I thought so.

But I've got something even more awesome here:

That's right, it's a jacket with feathers on the shoulders. Feathers! Could anything possibly be more high-end gothness than that? Plus, unlike fur, you're very unlikely to have people throwing red paint on you, which is a good thing, because that can really ruin a look.

So, what do you guys think? Any suggestions?


*Which is kind of like being Beyond Thunderdome, only without the awesome Tina Turner song.
**Which I refer to because it will not, technically, be published until Tuesday.
***Extra creepiness points for being from the skull-heavy collection he designed before he died.

Shoefinder: Jora On Her Feet

After a brief summer hiatus, Shoefinder has returned, and today we will be finding shoes for Jora:

Jora has a fine job as a firmware engineer, working in what I believe is the "small things that sometimes go 'beep'" field, and for some reason her employers have seen fit to give her a standing workstation. So Jora needs comfortable shoes.

She also, being a sane and sensible person, needs cute shoes. That's where we come in.


First, allow me to say that I am fully aware of the existence of flats. I love flats. In fact, I'm wearing some right now. But I am not going to be featuring a lot of flats here because the fact of the matter is, it simply does not create that much of a challenge-- comfortable and attractive flat shoes exist all over the place. And I am all about a challenge.

I like these for being work-appropriate but still kind of funky, and the relatively low and wide heel should keep them stable and relatively comfy. Other pluses: will go with anything, fashionable without being trendoid, so they can stay in the rotation for a long time. Unlike these, which I have an unaccountable fondness for, but even I have to admit the the oxford thing is probably not going to stick around forever. Also, that is one serious platform.

In terms of wedges, I think these would be much more along the right lines. Yes, they're a bit on the summery side, but we're moving into fall-- or, as we call it in the Bay Area "summer"-- but they have a kind of retro-preppy charm and I know from experience that Sperry makes very comfortable shoes.

Another product of experience: Faryl Robin. Yes, I've talked about them a bunch of times before, no, I'm not going to stop. Ideally, I would like to imagine a day when I have personal knowledge of every major shoe brand available (I'm working on it) and could dole out advice on quality, comfort and sizing accordingly. But until that time you are just going to have to put up with me going back to the same well, and trust me when I say that Faryl Robin makes good shoes that are, in my experience, very comfortable for their height. And I'm sure these would be no exception.

On the other hand, like the man said, you don't have to take my word for it. Sofft, as a brand, comes to me highly-recommended, and for a brand that's so well associated with the dumpy side of comfort, they've done a good job adding some stylish offerings to their lineup. I like these for an everyday sort of look; the gray makes them neutral but the green keeps them (moderately) interesting. Or, if you'd rather embrace the nude-shoe trend that is sweeping the nation (or at least about two-thirds of the actresses on the nation's red carpets), you could certainly do worse than this. As every editorial on flesh-toned shoes has pointed out since pretty much ever: it's leg-lengthening!

I see no reason to doubt them.


All right, you say, these are all well and good, but how about something a little more French? Are you just bitter because you've burned all your vacation days for this year and airfares are ridiculously high to Europe right now, so you're avoiding the topic?

Not at all, I reply. In fact, I was just waiting for you to ask.

So chic! So cute! So entirely designed by a couple of girls from Massachusetts, who have no connections to France at all! But no matter, I still like them. And anyway, it's the spirit of the thing that counts.

Also, while we're on the subject of sliver wedges, these have pink, python-embossed uppers and Nike cushioned soles. I'm just saying.


Which brings us to our grand finale. I really wanted to post these, because I think they're great, but they're only available in a size 10, which I realize is kind of limiting. So instead I think I'll go with these, for being work-appropriate but still kind of funky, available in a range of sizes, and making comfort a front-and-center claim. Because if you can't trust advertising copy, then what can you trust?

Shoefinder Redux: They* Said It Couldn't Be Done

The tasteful men's pirate boot: Fact or fiction? Solid fashion plan or fevered sartorial nightmare? I would have said the former, which is why, when I did this Shoefinder I didn't even try. But my failure has been bothering me, and that, combined with the fact that we are going to a winery pirate party next weekend** made me think I needed to revisit the topic, and see if I can't succeed where I once failed***.

First, what we're not looking for:

When I say "tasteful," I mean, "something that could reasonably be worn by a sane person who does not live life like it's one big Ren Faire, on a day other than Halloween." So anything with "costume" in the name is right out. Also, black polyurethane boots? Hello, fungus!


Of course, in this context, "tasteful" is kind of relative.

These fall on juust this side of costume-y, which is closer than I usually like to come, but when you're talking pirate boots, you aren't talking subtlety.


If, on the other hand, you like the idea of pirates but don't actually want people to think you're trying to dress up as one, there's always this route:****

Has the same general idea without all the froofraw.***** I like these, but I'm at a bit of a loss on how to wear them, though I am confident that if worn with shorts the effect would be less "plundering the high seas" and more "mucking out the stable."


Finally, continuing with the "inspired by" theme, we have these:

Would an actual pirate have worn them? Well, no. Would he have wanted to? I think so. Will everyone you meet, upon seeing you in these shoes, start thinking about pirates without really knowing why? Absolutely.******



*And by "they," I mean "me."
**I will not, to my knowledge, be dressed as a pirate.
***The smart money's on "no."
****A word about prices: Yes, everything I have posted here is rather significantly on the expensive side. There are a few reasons for that: a) if you're going for an extreme style, you want to go as high-end as possible, or the risk of looking tacky jumps exponentially, b) decent quality men's leather boots are inherently expensive and c) I don't actually expect anyone to be going out and buying these things.
*****Yes, that is the technical term.
******Well, that or creepy medieval churches.

Shoefinder: Form Rejection As Expressed in Shoes, A Photo Essay

Something a little different this week, as the hilarious blogger The Rejectionist is running a contest on her site for articles on the topic of "What Form Rejections Mean to Me." I've decided to make mine about shoes, because that's what I do.


For those of you who do not spend your leisure time mailing manila envelopes to strangers in New York, a little introduction: A form rejection is exactly what it sounds like, a form letter rejecting you, or at least your work. In this case we are talking about rejections from literary agents on the subject of representing your novel, but I'm sure they are available in other areas as well. I don't blog a lot about my attempts to get published, (except when I succeed) because it's hard to do without sounding like you're whining, and I only get to do that on alternate Wednesdays. So, instead, I am going to revert to my natural position of being the rejector, not the rejectee, and tell you why I choose some shoes for the blog over others, and how this relates to the literary world.


Up today: Purple shoes. Why? I'm not sure. It popped into my head a while ago that I would like to have some (non-plastic variety), and I figured there would be a manageable number of them on Zappos for me to go through. So purple it is; now let's talk about rejecting them.

First, I should point out that this will not be a perfect analogy, because in order for shoes to make it all the way to market they have to be in some way functional as shoes, and if the web's blogging agents can be believed, the same can not be said for a lot of the books they see*. So this is going to be more about the ones that are there but not quite, like the contestants on American Idol that make it to Hollywood week and get cut in the group round. It's mostly a subjective judgment-- I might find something unacceptable that you think is absolutely charming, and there is room enough in the world for both of our opinions, except that I'm right.

Mostly:

I believe I have made my opinions about Crocs abundantly clear. These get a form rejection because they are not shoes, they are gardening clogs. It's as if you queried a literary agent, but instead of sending a book you just had an envelope full of pictures of your cat.


Past the expressions of pure evil, we have the hilariously bad:

And the just plain not-a-good-idea:

I see these as being kind of like my first novel, a murder mystery set among flower fairies that was so hilariously wrong-headed that I am very glad the blogosphere did not exist in any real way when I was querying it, because I'm pretty sure it would have shown up here.



Beyond the flat-out wrong, we get into the more specific reasons for rejection, such as being something you've seen too many times before:

These are the shoe equivalent of a book about an otherworldly being that disguises itself as a high school student and falls in love with an adorably awkward teenage girl.


Something that's kind of great but would never work in the real world:

Equivalent: a beautifully written book about murder-mystery solving flower fairies**.


The thing that isn't what you're looking for at all:

How did these show up in a search restricted to purple shoes? This is like sending a cookbook proposal to someone who only represents literary fiction.


And the simply prohibitively expensive:

Let's call this one the brilliant idea that would take too much of the agent's time and effort to get it ready to sell.


Then, in the most common category, we have the ones that are perfectly nice but just not for me:

I can't see buying these for myself, but I might recommend them for someone else.*** This is not a bad thing, but the downside is that if everyone sees them that way, you are going to end up with a pair of unsold shoes on your hands. And, unfortunately, there really is no way to mark down a manuscript for clearance.


And then, finally, we have the ones that work:

Would they be everyone's first choice? I hope not, because I'd like to see that price come down a bit more. The point is, they hit the sweet spot for me of being the right shade, the right shape,**** and the right match for what's already in my wardrobe, without duplicating something I already have. If I was an agent, I would be sending them a request for a full manuscript right now.



*I mean they're not functional as books. For all I know they might make very nice shoes.
**Not that that's what I had, but I'm assuming it could be done.
***Speaking of which, does anyone out there need any shoes recommended?
****The wrinkly thing can be off-putting, but I have found it to be very comfortable, particularly for plane rides when your feet end up rather larger when you get off than when you got on.

How To Dress Like a Rock Star (Lilith Fair Edition)

(I couldn't exactly call this a Shoefinder post because, as you will see, there is so much more than shoes to talk about here.)

On Monday Cameron and I joined what must have been half of all the women in the Bay Area (and very, very few of the men) at Lilith Fair, where we had a fine time and heard lots of excellent music. And, being the shallow and predictable person that I am, I became mildly obsessed with the performers' outfits, and decided I needed to do a blog post where I showed you pictures of them and how to reproduce their looks on your own. Because, really, what else was I going to do?

(Note: I'm not trying to replicate the outfits perfectly, because that would be too much work. The suggested items are meant to invoke the same style as the original, some more successfully than others.)

The first person we saw performing (actually, heard before we saw, because the line to get in stretched around the side of the venue to the stage she was on, and by the time we got there she was already into her set) was Terra Naomi, who we had been to see when she played the Bottom of the Hill a few weeks ago. It was actually a pleasant surprise that she was on the lineup for the fair-- she hadn't been when we bought the tickets, but it turned out that she was playing two sets and we ended up seeing both. (Sadly, either because we missed the beginning of the first set or because she decided it wasn't quite right for the venue, we didn't get to hear The Vicodin Song, a new addition to my list of favorite really messed-up love songs.)

The Outfit: California-simple, tie-dyed maxi dress with a long necklace and black sandals (not pictured, because I decided that asking her to pick up her skirt so I could get a shot of her shoes crossed the line from "enthusiastic fan" to "creepy fetishist.") Clearly, the guy in the Borders booth approves.

Next up was the band The Submarines, fronted by singer Blake Hazard, who was tremendously nice to me when I came up to take her picture (at the time, she was sitting on the lawn, chatting with fans) even though all I could do was babble nonsensically about my blog and repeat several times "I really liked your performance." Also, their song Sub Symphonica has a video that is both trippy and adorable, which is quite a feat to pull off.

The Outfit: Indie-feminine (feminindie? no), sailor blouse, black miniskirt and the low-top version of the Comme des Garcons Chucks that I posted on David's Shoefinder, which are making me think that I need some low-top Chucks of my own, pronto. I kind of like the idea of these, even if they aren't quite the classics.




I don't have a photo for the next performer. Or, rather, I do, but it seems to be a blurry shot of my fingers and therefore not terribly useful in this context. I'll do my best to describe her outfit, but I can't even find any pictures online so you'll have to take my word for it.

Marié Digby is best known for her acoustic take on Rhianna's "Umbrella", which got her a contract with a major label and a featured spot on the Lilith tour, which isn't too shabby at all. Also not shabby: her outfit. (Smooth transitions: I has them.)

The Outfit: Light blue sundress, red belt, brown sliver-wedge boots, straw fedora. I thought at first the boots might be the Loeffler Randall ones-- and in that case that YouTube video would have served her very well indeed, but based on the fact that they had zippers I'm going to guess not. Either way, she was the picture of the cool hipster chick on a hot day, and it was working for her.


(This post is starting to get a little long, what with all the pictures, so I think I'm going to have to continue it after the jump.)

Shoefinder: Wish I May, Wish I Might

This week's Shoefinder is going to be kind of lame, and I would like to apologize for that. As you may have noticed, I've been busy and having trouble getting the posts up in time, due to travel and also being generally lame and lazy. So I didn't manage to get a Shoefinder subject lined up in time for this week's episode, leaving me with no option but to fall back on the one person I know who always wants more in the way of shoes: myself.

Specifically, I am bringing you some things that are on my wish list. (I'm a big fan of Amazon's "Universal Wish List" button.) They're ones I haven't quite brought myself to buy yet.

These actually made it onto the list twice; I came across them the other day and added them, only to discover, when I scrolled down, that they were already there. They're still available in my size, but the one thing Zappos is not so great at is competitive pricing, and I keep holding out for a better sale. But they really are cute, and hey, I don't have any white flats.

By contrast, these boots just popped up the other day on the Lucky magazine blog, and I wishlisted them less with the intent to buy than just to keep an eye on them. I like the texture and the chunky heel, though I'd have to try them on before I was sure about that seam across the front. But these are really more an "inspiration" item than a "to buy," because, while I like them, I do not three hundred and forty-five dollars like them.

Speaking of boots, I've been wanting a pair in this style for a while now, and I have to admit that, price-wise, they seem like they're a good option. (Better, in that way, than these, which aren't available in my size anyway.) But the product reviews have me concerned about the quality, and I feel like I could stand to hold out for a sale.

Holding out for a sale is something I do a lot, sometimes to my benefit, sometimes not. For example, these sandals. I knew upon seeing them that they would make great go-to comfy summer wedges, which I would probably wear to destruction just like I've done to my last three pairs of comfy summer wedges. But ninety dollars seems a little steep, and I know Sperry does good sales, so I've been trying to wait it out. The problem with this strategy, however, is that summer sandals are the sort of thing you want to have around during the summer, and I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems to be July.

On the other hand, I have no such rush with these guys because, barring meteorological craziness, we shouldn't be seeing any serious amounts of rain until Novemberish, because this is a civilized place.

And these? These are my secret shame.

I have no business liking Tory Burch. I don't want to like Tory Burch. It is a line (ostensibly) designed by a New York socialite for other New York socialites and she (or her actual designers, or more likely her marketing team) are big into logos. I mean, really big. (Seriously, at that point, why not just go ahead and leave the price tag on?) But lately, to my horror, I have been finding myself drawn to her stuff-- like I'll be looking at something and thinking to myself, hey that's really cute, and then I'll look at the designer and it will be Tory Burch. This has been happening a lot. So, when I was in New York, I finally gave in, went to the boutique and ended up coming out with a really awesome leather jacket (no logos). And now that I have accepted that this is who I am, I find myself looking at more of her stuff and liking it, and the shame is slipping away.

These sandals, I will admit, do have a logo, but it's a small one. And despite the thong they look fairly comfortable. In fact, the main thing that's keeping me from buying them is that I saw them elsewhere at a greater discount, but couldn't pull the trigger before my size sold out, and now I'm reluctant to pay more for them. That, and everything I just said.

And finally, at the other end of the brand-concern spectrum, we have these. I've written about them before and actually, the only reason I haven't bought them yet is I just haven't gotten around to it. Which I can see I am going to have to do soon, because I could only find one website that had them in my size in "berry," which is obviously the color to go for here.

If you'll excuse me, I think I have some business to take care of.

Shoefinder: David

(Apologies for the wonky text formatting in this post; the new blogger photo thing is being entirely obnoxious.)


Something new this week: Our first ever pirate! Also, he's a dude.

David is not looking for any shoes in particular, just "interesting ones" and he does have some parameters. Specifically, that along with being interesting, they also be tasteful, versatile and comfortable, and no tassels*. He also mentioned that he prefers slip-ons, but I didn't see that part until I had already mostly put together the list, so I'm just going ahead and ignoring it. Also most of the other stuff, except for the bit about the tassels.

First example of the laces thing: these shoes. But come on, I mean, they're Chuck Taylors with an angry heart. A fashiony angry heart.
Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the classic Chucks-- they're called classic for a reason-- but this is Shoefinder, and around here we don't just tell you what you already know. We tell you that you need shoes with angry hearts on them.



Speaking of classic, there's a reason "interesting" men's shoes look more like this and less like this. It's the quality and the details that are important, not the over-the-top mad fabulousness and potential qualities as an offensive weapon. Which is why I am including these, and not just because they're Ferragamos. Okay, mostly that.

On an entirely unrelated subject, the manufacturer of these shoes is calling them sandals. Which strikes me as being a little like calling these "shorts." They look more like capris to me. Regardless, whether they're extremely modest sandals or well-ventilated shoes, I think they look kind of cool.

I think these boots are great. They have an excellent somewhat-retro masculinity, durable without crossing the line into big stompy boot territory, which can run the risk of making you look like you're dressing up as a mid-eighties punk when you're not. (If you are, then never mind, carry on.) The name suggests that they are a reissue of some earlier model; I don't know anything about that, but I assume they date to a time before Timberland got carried away with the fact that a hip hop producer and started selling stuff like this.



These are boots too, and they're cool in a different way. Actually, I'm not crazy about that side buckle (too big), but I like the stitching on the front because I think it looks like a spiderweb. Spiders are cool.

Initially, when I saw these I thought they were a candidate for the big pile of no folder. But then I realized that they were slippers that are styled to look like wingtips and that was really kind of awesome and I actually wanted some for myself, if only they were available in my size. (They aren't.)

Finally, a lesson about logos. Here we have two pairs of white sneakers. One has the logo thing done in a clever, blatant-but-not-obnoxious way**, while the other is nothing more than a way to tell the world, "Hey, World, I spent three hundred and sixty-four dollars on this pair of sneakers." Don't be that dude.












*RIP Rue.
**As all opinions presented here, this is entirely subjective, but still correct.