Hardly Ever Wear
Miss Sixty Heels
Miss Sixty HeelsThese comparatively innocuous heels have a versatile shape and design. The spaghetti straps wend their way up the ankle and are ornamented with little black leather stars. It's a simple black shoe that hits my practical sweet spot with a little fun and a little sexy at the same time. Best Buy ever.
F@*$# Me Perspex Platform Heels I wore these trashy platforms once for Halloween. They were the shining jewel of a "Ho turned Goth Pimp" furry coat ensemble & a testament to my shabbily uneven feminist aspirations. Truth is, I didnt even buy them for my costume. Worst Buy ever. But maybe not in the opinion of some guys i know who would like these heels for their girlfriends.
Miss Sixty HeelsThese shoes have a stacked wooden heel with leather and denim uppers. I was immediately attracted to the dangerous steel spike of this otherwise pretty typical sunny summer sandal. My dog chewed them up at one point. Here they are refurbished in a denim bluer than the original. I havn't worn them in years, but I'm still very fond of them. They are also much more comfortable than they look.
Diesel HeelsThe juxtaposition of detail attracted me again. I love the demure kitten heel shape of these shoes in contrast to the hippie Birkinstock-esque cork footbed. The heel is a translucent red plastic and the upper is pink, white, and red velour stripes. Perhaps there are too many ideas in this one shoe but they are like strawberry jelly and granola at the same time, and I like both!
Charles David HeelsThese heels are all the best parts of the iconic 40's shapes plus milk chocolate perforated leather (holes again) and dark chocolate edging. The stacked heel shape is conservative, but the soles are rubberized like sport shoes. Mostly, I couldn't resist the dramatic hot pink patent accents that make the stuffy classiness more punked out. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to style these shoes, so I've never actually worn them.
To sum
I've apparently got a long enduring thing for disparate worlds crashing together in some way, whether it be high/low culture, techy vs organic materials, and unlikely colors playing subordinate surprise roles. These combos don't always work, but I find the awkwardness endearing.
Daily Wear
Saks Fifth Avenue Black Ballerina Flats and Brown
Leather Reefs
Saks Fifth Avenue Black Ballerina Flats and Brown
Leather Reefs
I bought these on sale to wear at work and not-at-work, respectively, although - to the chagrin of my long-suffering bosses - I was never properly strict about those distinctions. Nothing special abouteither, except that they are plain and comfortable and have worn fairly well without a lot of attending. I'm not possessed with a great rage for sneaker cleanliness and tend to wear my shoes pretty hard so I try to buy decent pairs that last me awhile.
Puma Miharaya Suhiro Specials
I got this pair of sneakers as a Christmas Gift from friends. They are actually too big but I ended up stuffing them with foot pads. The upper is blue leather with white (not the dingy clay-stained grey in the picture) suede Puma stripes. The best part of this shoe is the iridescent rubber covering the entire heel and sole. The downside is that the gill-like texture of the soles catches rocks like a horse without a shoe. Nevertheless, my buddy has pair too. We walk around like a couple of label-matched idiots.
Geox SneakersI was traveling and thought that I'd better take embarrassing self-aggrandizing pictures before all my Christmas Cake went bad, so I got myself to a Taiwanese glamour studio and fulfilled the technical parameters of my girly teenage fantasy. In reality, the purportedly arty portraits fell far short. The only good thing that came of the experience were these sneakers in all their mustardy-acid-yellow suede, indigo plastic and metallic silver mesh glory. I've had people call them ugly. I've had b-boy San Francisco funky types gaze longingly as I traipsed by. No one knows that the soles have air holes for ventilation. That part is my comfortable little secret to dancing all night long and breaking a sweat in a good way. I never wear heels to a party that involvesa DJ.
Cole Haan Sneakers
These are delicate, pliable, perforated suede; softer than a ballet slipper. The fancy gold trim just barely shines against the camel. My favorite is the teal edging, but I would have preferred the Nike Air bubble sole in black. I was going to fill in the white parts with a sharpie but never got around to it. I feel like I'm walking around in socks when I wear these shoes, and they look sharp enough for work or going out (at least in my laid back opinion).
Anonymous Maker
To Sum
These are my favorite boots. Not too high. Not too low. They are part of a set custom-cobbled for my Godmother in Taiwan long ago. I ended up with a box full of barely surviving color blocked 80's pumps and
these fantastically colored oxblood-red knee-highs with leather chains running up the leg.
these fantastically colored oxblood-red knee-highs with leather chains running up the leg.
To Sum
Quite simply, I live in sneakers. The more comfortable the better. I like them lightweight and streamlined. Other shoes necessarily fill in the void of particular fashion occasions, but they have the same prerequisites.
Hidden in yet another unassuming strip mall is a hidden gem of a restaurant. Serving "Classic Japanese Cuisine" - Kaiseki style - the 7 course meal at Kaygetsu is built from familiar dishes with twists so classic they're new again. Onmono (sole on tiny table grill served with grated daikon, japanese greens, and a quail egg) and Sashimi (with a lace of shiso) boast flavors more subtle and refined than your average sushi joint.
The last dish is my favorite, a dessert like they serve them in Asia, light and not overly sweet but with a combo of flavors popping unexpectedly on the tongue. From the top down... a parfait of strawberries over green tea ice cream > above a divider of thinly bias sliced banana > topping a square of perfectly smooth sesame tofu > on a bed of tiny sweet cornflakes with a hint of molasses sauce. I'm a sucker for miniaturization (probably a remnant of too much Master of Orion) and here the presentation is satisfyingly dainty without getting precious. Although the Petaluma chicken Yakimono falls a little short of breathtaking, every ingredient is fresh to a fault and overall I feel the $98 dollars, though pricey, is well spent.
The last dish is my favorite, a dessert like they serve them in Asia, light and not overly sweet but with a combo of flavors popping unexpectedly on the tongue. From the top down... a parfait of strawberries over green tea ice cream > above a divider of thinly bias sliced banana > topping a square of perfectly smooth sesame tofu > on a bed of tiny sweet cornflakes with a hint of molasses sauce. I'm a sucker for miniaturization (probably a remnant of too much Master of Orion) and here the presentation is satisfyingly dainty without getting precious. Although the Petaluma chicken Yakimono falls a little short of breathtaking, every ingredient is fresh to a fault and overall I feel the $98 dollars, though pricey, is well spent.
