Fashion DIY: Gray Suede Boots

I picked up these sassy gray boots from Steve Madden last year.  I like the unique triangular shape to the heels.  However, I'm not crazy about the foldover design.  Because the lining material on the inside of the fold is different,  it's not a matter of just unfolding it.  So I took these to my shoe doctor in Westwood, and he told me these are a total tear-apart project, as he would have to cut off the top part at the ankle, flip it and reverse it.

Yes, he inadvertantly quoted a Missy Elliot song.

I visualized the process as he explained it, and told him it's cool, I got it.  The boots used to look like this:

Here is what they look like now, after I did my cut-off, flip & reverse magic:

I cut the material off at the ankle, turned it inside out (so the lining would be on the inside), then used fabric glue to attach the top parts to the shoe part.  I'm stoked on this.  Will update with what I decide to pair these with!

Boots, My Fave Part of "Fall"

*The term "Fall" is being thrown around loosely here, as it's 85 degrees out and it's early November.  Go home LA weather, you're drunk.*

In preparation for "fall,"  I've started with my annual boot-shopping spree.  Here's my haul so far:

[Gray suede boots- Steve Madden.  Black low ankle boots- F21.  Black platform beauties- Zara.]

I swear I catch a whiff of pumpkin spice-flavored anything and it makes me gag.  I also hate the bulkiness created by layering winter clothes. Boots are the only redeeming thing about fall.   I am STOKED on my new Zara platform lug sole boots.  Leather pants + drapey fur.  Black tights + green plaid for a holiday look.  Silver glittery tights + black collared shirt dress for a (barely appropriate) work look.  So many fab possibilities!

Wide Leg Pants

No, I'm not referring to the atrocious 90s era Kikgirl or JNCO pants we all wore as kids, but won't admit we wore.  I'm talking about the dressy, classic look of high-waisted pants with impossibly wide leg openings.  Case in point:

I'm a firm believer in dressing to flatter one's body shape, and I used to think that I lacked the right body shape to pull off this look.  Annalynne McCord, the chick from The Hills, and Bar Rafaeli above all are rail thin and have long legs.  If women with this body shape wear wide leg pants, the extra draping fabric of the pants will not make them look like elephants. My concern was that the extra fabric would widen my less-than-rail-thin frame, rather than flatter it.

Then I thought, eff it, I'll try it out anyway.  Here are two attempts:

[Top- Express.  Pants- Nordstrom.  Shoes- Asos.com.  Watch- La Mer Collection.  Belt- Took this off a coat dress I already had.]

[Jumpsuit and Belt- Love Culture.  Platform shoes- Steve Madden.  Watch- La Mer Collection.]

In both attempts, I wore high shoes.  I thought that this created the effect of elongating my frame.  I'm so pleased with the look, that I am on the hunt for the perfect camel-colored wide leg pants.  Future post!

Fashion Fail: Part III

We all know what an impulse buy feels like.  You walk into a boutique, and everything is gray and shapeless.    Then- like the mythical pair of Prada pumps on the sale rack in your size- it appears.  An article of clothing so perfect, so fitting to what you would have envisioned if you had known of its glorious existence, that it beckons to you.

It's too bad this happened in Vegas last year when my friend Matt and I stumbled into the AllSaints store in the Cosmopolitan.  Vegas and impulse buys most definitely do not mix. Matt emerged unscathed, and I emerged with this atrocity.

[Top- AllSaints.  Necklace- Nordstrom juniors dept.  Skirt- Charlotte Russe.  Shoes- Steve Madden.  Bracelets- Juicy Couture and Davani's of Santa Barbara.]

I have written about signature pieces before, and I only wish that this thought would have been invoked during the course of my vodka cranberry-induced shopping spree that day.  Fashion 101 states that bizarre prints are never classic.  The only prints that could be considered classic are leopard (Only if done correctly.  I will elaborate in a separate post.), stripes, and certain types of logo print.  Aztec was trendy for a split second.  That split second is certainly not worth $430.

Lesson learned:  Take a breathalyzer before running the Visa in Vegas.