I never understood people who say there’s “too much” stuff to get through – yes, I’m looking at you, former newspaper readers. (And former magazine subscribers, and …)

For one thing, “too much” has never been a problem for Americans, home of Costco and Sam’s Club and super-size meals. For another, most of the time it’s not like it’s all tossed in there willy-nilly – there’s some organization to let you pick and choose what you read/consume. Read the rest of this entry »

I got my new issue of Bazaar the other day (and congratulations, Glenda Bailey, on making Jessica Biel look mannish and like a graceless hoofer in her spread with a few different designers*). While I was leafing through the front pages I found a pair of Cesare Paciotti shoes I thought would be perfect for Shoe Hot or Not … but they’re not up on his website yet so I was forced to make a substitution.

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I’m baaaack! My flights were OK, and I was able to snap this photo of a girl wearing one of those dreaded velour track suits at Sky Harbor, on my flight out. (Although, truthfully, I did it because I thought they made a cute support system – her lap is his pillow, while his stomach is hers.)

And while I was perusing the airline’s magazine (note to self: next time remember pen for crossword puzzles), I found this week’s Shoe Hot or Not contender!

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Bettye Muller, your $495 pumps (at Neiman Marcus) have torn me asunder. Asunder, I say! You see, one part of me loves this Bonham flannel pump — did you call it that after Helena Bonham Carter and her period free-spirited yet restricted would-be wench characters, whom I can see tottering around on Italian cobblestone streets “on holiday,” waiting to fall into the arms of that dashing yet slightly socially taboo rake? — and its covered platform, even the heel wrapped in sturdy gray wool fabric.

The other part of me — the polar opposite side, so far away when they sit next to each other in the car, they shrink against their respective windows so they don’t have to touch — thinks it looks like a Minnie Mouse shoe. Not literally one she wears, but with that giant disc up front, it turns into the cartoonish version of something a gum-smacking dame reporter would wear with a pencil skirt in a 1940s movie.

I hate that disc, basically.

What do you think? Is this shoe Hot, or Not? Cast your vote in the interactive poll below by clicking your choice. (And if you’ve got a different take, feel free to create a new option.) You can vote once — but there’s no time limit. (Yes, I go back and check to see how each contender is faring, even months later.)

Plus, if you’ve got the time and opinion, leave a comment at the bottom – everyone who does so by Saturday, July 26, will be entered into a drawing to win a bottle of Barrels of Root Beer shampoo/shower gel/bubble bath from Philosophy. Good luck!  UPDATE: Congratulations to BBx, whose comment was chosen as the winner.

ammit

ammit

WHAT SAM WORE: 7/8/08
The shirt: Long-sleeved cotton button-down (J Crew)
The pants: Distressed khakis by Chip & Pepper (Last Chance)
The shoes: Chukka boots by R.J. Cole (Last Chance)
The scent: None.
Listening to: “Go to Hell” by David Ford — still. (YouTube video at link)

sammi

I’m not sure why Betsey Johnson has been on my mind lately — maybe it’s because her flirty, floaty dresses seem even more attractive in sultry summer weather. And the colors in this suede Tiara sandal remind me of oceanside summers — the light blue water, green leaves, tan sand … sorry, just having a little San Diego craving there.

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I really think I could have rendered my opinion based solely on the word “raffia.”

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Back when I was organizing fashion shoots on a more regular basis (as in, more than once every two years or so), I made the trek up to the (then-) recently opened Scarpé boutique in north Scottsdale to meet the owner, Tennille, and borrow shoes by Donald J. Pliner Couture and Cynthia Vincent. And every time I’ve stopped by Sol y Sombra for dinner, I always peer in to see what’s on the shelves.

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Today’s shoe reminds me of “California Dreamin’,” the Indian reservations near our house in Montana, and my neighbors who let us come over and listen to Fleetwood Mac albums when my parents wouldn’t think of letting us buy the records. (Which, now that I think about it 30 years later, is kind of odd: I was in love with that album and I wasn’t even in third grade yet.)

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Yesterday I was out sick, and I spent part of the day working on that “Beautiful Fall” book I mentioned Sunday, and part of the evening watching another fashion documentary I had on DVR, “Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.” The film, which trails Jacobs as he creates both his own line in New York and LV in Paris, was originally made for French TV so it’s a little more whimsical than I’m used to: In an attempt to visually convey the deadline drama in the sewing room (which, admittedly, tough) the filmmaker uses a colored filter to turn the fluorescent lights red, then strobes them like a warning siren.

What I particularly liked: Near the end, we watch the Louis Vuitton fashion show (painstakingly re-created in Japan – set, models and all – for the Pacific Rim’s exploding luxury market) and as each appropriate garment arrives on the catwalk, we flash back to the moment in the film when we saw it being created. So, that footage when the seamstress is complaining because they decided to distress the fabric using bleach and it dissolved the embroidery, which required her to do it over again? Here’s the dress it happened on. The compilation handbag that broke needles and machines and ended up having to be stitched together by hand at the last minute? There it is!

The other thing I liked: He rarely dresses up at work: Most of the movie shows him in a vintage T. It makes me feel better about wearing jeans to work today.

So, naturally, this week’s shoe is by Christian Lacroix.

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We’ve been hit by some unhappy events at the Trib, so I apologize for a lack of posting.

But it’s time to get back up on the horse. (And no, this week’s Shoe Hot or Not contender is not a pair of cowboy boots.)

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