Thursday, May 28, 2009

A Model of Restraint

I spent the Memorial Day holiday in Dallas with some dear friends. It was a lovely three-day weekend spent in the company of three of my most beloved friends, so even if I hadn't done anything besides sit on my butt in their living room it would have been great, but it was filled with fun. Saturday, we had dinner at a lovely tapas bar, where I ate a tuna tartare dish that made me nearly cry. (Yummy seasoned tuna over a pear slaw with a hazlenut/anchovy/olive purée. Seriously. So. Damn. Good. And these particular friends happen to all be big ol' weenies cautious when it comes to raw seafood, so I got to eat ALL of it all by myself!!!)

Sunday I finally got to go here:



This is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando and filled with some mighty fantastic stuff. This building is... words fail me. It is simply spectacular. Even if it didn't house some of the best art I've gotten to look at in quite a while (more about which at a later date), it's worth visiting just to experience the architecture. If you live within striking distance of Ft. Worth and you haven't been there, hie thee over and take a gander.

And then... there was some retailing. Because... well, because that's what I do. (You may notice you've yet to read about me going on vacation at a beach or an isolated mountain cabin or anyplace like that. Quelle surprise.)

I was retailing both with a purpose and with great restraint. The purpose was to replace a bottle of one of my Top Three Frags at Barney's and sniff some new things I haven't yet tried & some old things I'm interesting in trying anew. (I'm on the hunt for something kind of specific, fragrance-wise -- again, more about which later.) The restraint was... a fact of life. Style Spy is not blessed (Dammit!) with unlimited funds and needs to be pinching her pennies if she ever wants to return to Paris. (Which she does.) So I was good. I was very, very good. What follows here is a list of things I resisted, for which I would like to receive some cyper-pats on my curly little head, thankyouverymuch. Because all of the things shown here were either in my hot little hands or on my hot little feet and, additionally, they were on sale. Everything pictured here was available at 40% or more off this past Monday at either Nordstrom or Barney's and I? Said no to ALL OF IT. (::Style Spy bends to make head available for patting here::)





YSL. These come in black and navy, as well as the burgundy, which is gorgeous.
YVES SAINT-LAURENT - SOFT PATENT STUD TRIBUTE SANDALS
Even more fun? Pink! ones at Luisaviaroma.


I want a pair of Tribute-based sandals of some sort so much I can practically taste them, but thus far I have refrained. I just live vicariously through Thumbelina. More patting, please.





Nicholas Kirkwood sandals that seriously make a gal gasp out loud. These I didn't even put on because I was pretty sure they'd never come off. And then I'd have had a situation on my hands.
NICHOLAS KIRKWOOD - CRISSCROSS STRAP SUEDE SANDALS

They're available in purple at Luisaviaroma. Good googly-moogly...







Christian Louboutin Lillian in light pink. Oh, my.





Louboutin Hyper Privé in Shocking Pink. Yeah, buddy, these are PINK. Neon, crazy, not-found-in-nature pink. And yet? They work somehow.




I. Just. Want. Them. That is all.


In all honesty, the Loubies shown above weren't that hard to walk away from because they don't fit me. Louboutins are made on a very, very narrow last -- I have tried on exactly one pair of them in my entire life that I thought I could probably wear without crippling discomfort. These:



These? Are some pretty damned fine red patent sandals that would go with everything and never go out of style. Most yummy.





Also yummy. I do not understand how a bow can be made to look both girly and perverse at the same time, but they have managed it in this shoe. These were also available in burgundy, which is even better than the black and far more tempting to me. But I did find that even though these shoes made me instantly sexier and more sophisticated (really!), the top edge of the forefoot came up just a liiiiiiiittle too high -- if I wore these for any length of time they would rub me painfully. I was very surprised by this because typically I have great luck with YSL shoes, they're usually quite comfie on me.

Lastly, on pre-sale* at Barney's:



I put them on but I didn't bother to look at them in the mirror. It would have been too painful. They really are wonderful, but even on sale they're... well, frankly, they're ridiculously expensive. I could get airfare to Paris for the cost of these things, even at 40% off. Which is what I have to keep reminding myself. I have good shoes already. What I need? Is Paris.


How about you guys? Anything you're putting off in favor of something else? What's at the top of your list right now, and how are you faring in your quest to achieve it?





* "Pre-sale" is a concept that annoys the hell out of me. When things go on pre-sale, you're shown the items at their reduced prices and you pay for them, but you don't get to take them home right away. I do not understand the logic of this. I understand pre-SELL, when you put in an order for something that might not yet be physically available at the store so as to ensure that it becomes yours before all of them get snapped up. But pre-SALE, where I give you my real money (or my real credit card signature) for real items that you obviously have there in your real inventory, and then you keep my goodies hidden away until such time as you deem fit to release them to me? I think that's a little more Master & Slave than I like in my retail relationships, thankyouverymuch.



Photo: themodern.org


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9 comments:

vee said...

Pat, pat, pat. ; )

Honestly, I don't know how you passed up those blue Nicholas Kirkwood sandals or the YSL with the bow (even if it did ride high).

They are SO beautiful.

And beautiful shoes are like kryptonite.

vee said...

I forgot to share my wants!

1. That gorgeous green tagua necklace (and I swear, the only thing keeping me from buying it is the very strict budget I'm on - saving for moving!)

2. The unicorn princess heels at ModCloth. I so desperately want to wear them with my dark gray pencil skirt and gorgeous eggplant blouse, but they're sold out.

Susan B said...

I certainly applaud your willpower. Some of those shoes are really right up your alley.

I've tried on both Loubie's and Manolo's out of curiosity, and am happy to say that both run far too narrow for my feet. So now I can look and oooh and aaah, but without any real temptation. Sort of like looking at the Kandinsky's at the Pompidou.

Paris has become my saving mantra as well. (That and "porcelain veneers.")

Toby Wollin said...

I'm glad those shoes provided you with the opportunity to exercise your moral superiority..with my 6.5WW feet and orthotics, I'd have been able to stroll right by with nary a thought. Not a glance. A raincoat in bright eyepopping red, however would have caused me some definite palpitations.

Claudia said...

stroke, stroke, stroke.... you've beeen VERY good!

My wants are: Ummmm, that gorgeous building to be in my backyard and a trip to New York. Although it's not really ME holding off that last one, it's John. Does that count?

StyleSpy said...

Vee -- Those Unicorn shoes are fab! I see why you want them.

Deja -- Now you mention it, all my Manolos are open-toed, as well.

Toby -- We all have our weak spots. Going to keep my eyes open for a raincoat to tempt you with!

C -- When you say "trip to New York" what you really mean is "layover on the way to Austin," right?

Thumbelina Fashionista said...

All of these are amazing, esp. those Nicholas Kirkwoods...Drool...

I agree about Loubies. I find them oddly shaped. Somehow, a size 7 is too tight for me, but a 7.5 in them are too big. Argh. I have only one pair of Loubies for that reason alone.

And pre-sale drives me nuts too. Thank God YSL was more reasonable; pre-sale really meant "private" sale, but in a way it wasn't so private.

dana said...

The Sigerson Morrisons beat the YSLs, imho. But I don't know how you passed up those Kirkwoods! Oddly enough, that was the name of my high school. But those rock way more than my high school or hometown ever did or will.

Maravonda said...

Thank you, from the bottom of my covetous heart, for letting us know that the Loubies are narrow...otherwise, a perfectly lovely day was going to be lost to me while I tried to figure out whether to pay the mortgage or just GET THE PINK SHOES!!! After all, any designer who puts red soles on everything had me at Hello???