Confession and Confusion

I stand before you, my head hanging low in shame.

I have violated my No Buy.

In my defense, please look at them:

(Manolo Blahnik Prisca)

If that's not enough for you, consider this: 75% off. Yeah, you heard me. So. Yes, I broke my No Buy. But I feel that unthinking orthodoxy in any belief system leads to fanaticism and you don't want me to become a fanatic, do you?

I didn't think so.

Seriously, this was the sort of gift from the Shoeniverse that it would have been wrong -- and potentially dangerous -- to walk away from. When the Footwear Powers That Be toss you this sort of goodie, you dare not say no. Because the Shoeniverse might then decide that you are unworthy of its gifts and withdraw them (insert ominous organ chords here -- dun-duh-DUH!!!!!) forever. It was a test -- a test to determine whether my devotion to shoes outweighs my common sense.

I'm happy to report that it does.

Look! Look at them!



Tiny adorable sparkling crystal flowers! The merest slivers of shiny, warm golden leather! Swoon!!!

And a further confession -- my shoes appear to be smarter than me. I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to wear these little beauties. The straps on the back lend themselves to a variety of configurations and I can't quite decide how I'm going to work them. There are long cords that are obviously supposed to be ties, but there are also loops that are either supposed to function as slingbacks or as halters that go across the top of the foot. I'm not quite sure of how Maestro Blahnik envisioned these. So tell me what you think. (The black tights in the photos are a device to make it easier to see the straps, not -- I repeat, NOT -- a fashion statement.)

(Also, a warning. The rest of this post, unless you are as shoe-focused as I am, is going to strike you as meaningless, blithering gobbledegook. Unless you, like me, are the sort of person who can spend a good chunk of time tying and re-tying a scarf, adjusting the length/configuration of a long strand of beads, or fiddling with the placement of a brooch on a sweater, well... the following is probably just going to make you want to smack me. Just so you know, I'm actually a fairly well-rounded person -- I can talk politics or literature or food & wine... but this is my style blog, dammit! And here we talk shoes!!)


Halter across the back, tie around the ankles once with a bow at the back. I find the bow a little floppy and annoying.



Same thing, but wrapped around twice and knotted in the front. I think this is a nice neat option, but I'm not convinced I love the whole ankle-tie thing. I also did this in reverse -- halter across the front, wrapped twice and the small knot in the back. I think that's my favorite of the ankle-tie options.


This is the halter at the front and the ties wrapped once and bowed in the front. That bow is way too big.


Here I've got the halter across my instep and the tie knotted at the back of my ankle, without wrapping it around. Now, the length of these ties makes it obvious that they were supposed to be wrapped around the ankle at least once, but I'm kind of liking the bareness of this option -- this is about as little strappage (I just made up that word) as you can get and not have it be a slide. Very bare, especially on a naked leg, and that is always sexy. However, if I choose to do it this way, I'll definitely have to cut the ties so that they're shorter because that bow is out of control. And who am I to destroy the work of the Maestro?


This is the same thing in reverse -- halter at the back, tie on the front. Ditto comments about cutting ties.

So, what do you think? Or did you tune out four photos ago?

On a practical note, these are going to be my birthday shoes. I'm having a procedure on my foot to finally fix this endless plantar fasciitis foolishness on July 20, which will require me to wear (oh, I can hardly say it) one of those surgical shoes and then sneakers for something like two weeks. By the time my birthday rolls around in mid-August I should be cleared for high heels again (not to mention being able to wear flats without weeping -- hurrah!!!) and these seem like the perfect way to celebrate both my increasing stock of wisdom and maturity (::ahem::) AND my good-as-new, no longer painful, no-more-limping foot. So if you see me out & about in Austin in mid-August wearing these shoes and enjoying a crème brûlée, wish me joyeux anniversaire!

Photos: Style Spy