Friday, January 15, 2010

Do Your Homework, People

I just saw this ad on a fashion website:


I am not providing a link. They don't deserve to be linked to until they get their merde together.

What's wrong with this picture? Well, as anyone with even a passing interest in fashion and/or pop culture knows, that is a Manolo Blahnik shoe, not a Christian Louboutin shoe. Said shoe was a fairly important plot device in the "Sex and the City" movie and pretty much anyone who pays any attention to this sort of thing knows that. It doesn't really matter much, it's just really sloppy editing or whatever you want to call it and it offends me for that reason. It would be one thing if they'd used a shoe that wasn't so instantly recognizable, but... this is just dumb.

Because every Shoe Whore (yeah, I said it!!) worth her heel taps knows there are vast differences between Blahhniks and Louboutins. Even if you don't wear either of them, you know the difference when you see them. I'm a Manolo gal. I guess that makes me old school. Some of it is that I see Blahnik's shoes as more classically elegant and Louboutin's are more about the sex. Which is a debatable point, of course, and certainly a matter of taste. Mostly it's about the fact that Louboutin shoes never fit me. They seem to be made on an incredibly narrow last, and I have yet to ever squeeze my foot comfortably into a closed-toe shoe from this line. Even the peep-toes -- way too narrow. Actually, everything about them is narrow. Case in point:



This is Mr. Louboutin's Ginevra boot. Now, try to look past the zebra print, which I know a lot of folks will complain about, and just look at the shape of the thing. Which is stunning. I mean, that is a boot that wants to have sex with you. (Or anyone else who comes along with $2500 in his or her pocket. Yeah, seriously.) Last weekend, I tried on one of these bad boys at the sale at Neiman's, only the one I tried on was better -- it was a solid red leather and it? Was heart-stopping. I'm usually a size 39 or 39.5. I put on the 40.5 and it was still too narrow -- no way could I have worn that boot if I needed to actually use the -pedal part of my bipedal classification. Those are sittin'-down boots only, and I'd have to be carried from my closet (where I put them on) to the barstool on which I sat and accepted drinks from besotted men who plied me with Veuve Cliquot in the hopes of getting a piece of that boot-y (on purpose) action. But not only that -- I couldn't get the dang things zipped. Not even close. I will cop to having fairly muscular legs as a result of my running habit, but I can usually get a pair of boots zipped, at least. These boots? Ils ont ri de moi.* In French. Putain!**

At any rate, you need some pretty skinny pins to get into these boots. Way skinnier than mine.

Fear not for my shoe ego, however. Exhibit B:



Mmmmmm...

I went on a No Buy for the last part of 2009. It certainly contributed to the general crappiness that was Style Spy's 2009, but it needed to be done. It's a palate cleanser, for one. It also was a financial necessity, and did all my balances a world of good. And since I stuck to it awfully well (there were a few pairs of underwear here & there, and a couple of CDs), the Shoeniverse, once again, rewarded me. There was a sale, and a coupon, and when the dust settled... Oh, I'm not even going to tell you. It'll just upset you. Suffice to say they were a very, very good deal. Even more so considering they're the kind of shoes I can wear day in & day out, all year long, for the next 20 years. This weekend, they have a date to celebrate Ms. A's birthday by accompanying me to some as-yet-undecided fabulous watering hole to raise a glass of something bubbly. And I will be able to walk. Run, even. (In case anyone wants to chase me!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!


* "They laughed at me."
** Really? Do you need a translation for that?


Photos: Shopstyle.com, NeimanMarcus.com, Style Spy

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10 comments:

Susan B said...

Ohhhh, those Manolo's of yours are Magnifique!

I can't get three toes into Loubies. But a few weeks ago just for grins I tried on the Manolo jeweled open-toe d'orsays from the SATC "she shoe-shamed me!" episode. Have nowhere to wear 'em, but they fit and were gorgeous. And I'd at least be able to make it to the barstool under my own power.

StyleSpy said...

Deja -- Ahhh, the Sedaraby. It's a classic. Literally -- Blahnik does it every season in a few different materials. So if you can't get 'em now, fear not -- something to look forward to.

No one makes a foot look nicer than Mr. Blahnik. I don't know by what magic he does it, but he sure pretties up a hoof.

Toby Wollin said...

ooo, those black Blahniks are (quick, the smelling salts). The boots? Well, all that is missing is the black stretch leather mini and a whip. Jeeze. Why is it I think Blahnik is one of those guys who actually likes women..and likes women's body parts and designs for them? Because I look at those shoes and I say to myself, I could look really elegant in those. Me, all 5'2", stout, Ukrainian grandmother'd, chin falling a little bit...I too could look veddy nize indeed in those shoes. And I could leave them to my daughter who wears the same size, too.

StyleSpy said...

Toby -- I think M. Louboutin probably likes women, too. Just a very specific kind of woman. But it's okay -- that's his thing and goodness knows there have been plenty of his shoes that made my breath catch.

I love that your daughter's feet are the same size as yours. What a great excuse to buy quality shoes! Why, they're practically heirlooms!

Plumcake said...

This whole post makes me very very happy. Well, except for the stupid editing in the ad.

Christian Louboutin makes some beautiful shoes, but he's also the guy who said Barbie's ankles were fat and insisted they be slimmed for his little doll shoes. Ooohkay.

(p.s., just lucked into unopened bell jar of Bois et Musc...you want some?)

Pearl Westwood said...

Gah they do not deserve the responcibility of selling them!!! I never bought LB's or Blahniks, they just dont stock them up here! All you see in Harvey Nics is a sea of YSL tribs!! You can't ge any good Prada either when I really love the studded ones this season, I just have to console myself with Chanel xx

StyleSpy said...

Plummie -- perhaps we should kidmap M. Louboutin and use our wiles to help him see sense. You seem to be good with the French guys. I'm just sayin'...

The SL Bois (Boiseseseses?) have never really been good on me, much as I appreciate them on others. I'll bet you smell delish.

Pearl -- My London posse does tell me that Manoloas are harder to come by there, but last time I was at HN's (Nov 07) I remember feeling intense shoe envy because the Prada collection was so much larger than anything I'd seen here. Eye of the beholder, I guess!

jill said...

Ha! You do crack me up, Ms. Spy! ; )

It just occurred to me that I've never actually attempted to try on a real Louboutin, so I don't know if they'd fit me, either. It all sounds a bit like the Cinderella story. I did have a pair of real Manolos, many moons ago, when a British supposed "IT' girl/friend, in NY, used to borrow money and pay me back in cast offs. She gave me a pair of Manolos instead of $100, because her mom was friends with him (I'd never heard of him - this was pre-S&TC) and I just didn't like them. They were outdated, for starts, but in hindsight, I wish I didn't give them away, unworn: they were navy and quite ladylike (at a time when that wasn't what we wore on our feet).

Well at least I held onto the purple leather Claude Montana motorcycle jacket! ; )

Thanks for your sweet comment. The sun did indeed come out, but so did the wind! Perhaps that means I'm a breath of fresh air? Or a blow hard?

All Women Stalker said...

I'm not a Shoe Whore. But I am a stickler for details. I can't believe they didn't research enough or bothered to make sure they had the right designer.

Jess said...

Wow, identification fail. I could tell from the tiny thumbnail of this post on my dashboard that those were blahniks.