Monsieur Lacroix et Moi

These, as you may recall, are the shoes I've been obsessing over:

(Christian Lacroix Couture, S/S 2007)

And these are the shoes I've created to soothe my obsession:

(Sorry about the crummy photos, but it is remarkably difficult to get shots of your own feet!)

I'm actually rather pleased with them. I wore them out tonight for a birthday dinner with My Girls (Happy Birthweek, Anita!) with a black skirt and my favorite white blouse. I'm going to stay on the lookout for a pale pink or nude shoe that will work in the same way, but I've had these little red satin numbers in my closet for a few years now, and those strappy bits across the toes made them perfect for attaching flowers to. I got the sweet little fabric flowers from Connie Day, my favorite vintage dealer. (If you're in Austin & hankering after vintage, go see her at the Austin Antique Mall. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the stuff she's got. Plus, she's a love.)

Now, perhaps they aren't quite as fabulous as M. Lacroix's shoes. However, those are probably going to run you a cool 500 - 600 bucks, minimum. The red ones above came from Foley's (before it became Macy's). Pretty sure they were on sale and set me back well under $50.00. The sweet little flowers came to $7.50, and I've got scads left over. I pulled apart the little bunches and wrapped the wired stems around the straps on the shoes. Took me all of about 15 minutes. Strappy sandals are not that hard to come by, and if you don't have access to a fabulous vintage dealer, silk flowers are available at pretty much any fabric or craft store. Buy yourself a neutral-colored pair of sandals (red is a neutral for me) and with the right blooms you can customize them to go with any outfit you own. Why stop with flowers -- how about a few beautiful feathers, or a little silken butterfly?

So, yeah. For $7.50 I got myself a new, personalized, one of a kind pair of shoes. Couture shoes, if you will. It was a good day!

Photos: Style.com & Style Spy