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Shoe Save # 29/100: Old Faithful

by Shoeperwoman
4
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
May 21, 2012

SHOES: New Look tan slingbacks (also saved here and here)
OUTFIT: Mint green Zara dress; New Look clutch; Gucci sunglasses
SAVED: Sunday, May 20th, 2012

Well, it’s a good job I managed to get so many pairs of shoes saved in the first couple of months of the challenge, because May has been an absolute wash-out: literally, I mean. I feel like it’s barely stopped raining at all this month, and that, combined with the fact that I’ve been more-or-less chained to my desk, writing advance posts for my holiday, has meant precious few opportunities for shoe saving. Or for, you know, actually leaving the house. Roll on June, is all I can say!

Thankfully, though, we did get a tiny window of both sunshine and spare time over the weekend, which helped save my sanity as well as my shoes: I was starting to get cabin fever from being cooped up in the house all the time listening to the rain! These shoes are a pair of golden oldies from New Look: I’ve had them for years now, but they have real leather uppers which have held out pretty well, so they still get quite a bit of use every summer. I wore them on Sunday to my friend Mhairi’s birthday lunch, with this mint green dress from Zara. I only managed to get a couple of usable photos of this outfit because we had to take them in a bit of a hurry, and it was colder than it actually looks, so I was glad of the cardigan I’d brought along with me. Still, we had a lot of fun, and it was lovely to spend a bit of time with friends, so that’s the main thing. I’m still praying for some warmer weather soon, though!

4 Comments
Tagged gucci sunglasses, mint zara dress, new look tan peep toes
Shoe Save #28/100: White gold

by Shoeperwoman
3
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
May 8, 2012

SHOES: New Look gold peep toes (previously saved here and here)
OUTFIT: Zara pants (gift from my parents); La Redoute sweater (buy here); Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag & Gucci sunglasses (both c/o Shopbop)
SAVED: Saturday, May 5th, 2012

I found a green garage door to pose in front of, everyone! A green door. Some days are almost too thrilling for words around here, I’m telling you.

This is just a very causal, weekend outfit, featuring my ancient gold New Look peep toes:

I think these are one of the oldest pairs of shoes in my collection at the moment, but I still wear them fairly regularly: they have a low heel by my standards, and a real leather upper, which has worn in nicely over years I’ve owned them, making them very comfortable, and something of a “staple” look for me – gold is such a fantastic neutral for shoes, because it works with just about everything.

I’m a bit obsessed with oversized, slouchy sweaters right now. I realised earlier this year that I didn’t have nearly enough casual clothes in my wardrobe, so I’ve been stocking up on things like this, which are cosy, comfortable, and just really easy to wear. This one has a metallic thread in it, too, which makes it a little more interesting than the photos suggest.

Unbelievably for me, I managed to get through an entire day, including all meals, without spilling anything on those white trousers. Miracles do happen, kids!

About the Shoe Challenge:

I’m currently trying to wear all of my shoes at least once within the space of a year: any pairs I don’t manage to “save” in this fashion will be donated or binned. If you’d like to join the challenge and start saving your shoes too, you can click here to read more about it!

3 Comments
Tagged gold La Redoute sweater, Gucci cat eye sunglasses, Marc Jacobs Fran bag, new look gold peep toes, white Zara trousers
Shoe Save 27/100: Grass

by Shoeperwoman
11
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
May 4, 2012

SHOES: Carvela ‘Grass’ wedges (available here) c/o Sarenza (last saved here)
OUTFIT: Dorothy Perkins polka dot midi dress (available here); Gucci sunglasses and watch
SAVED: Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

We finally got some sunshine! And it’s forecast to disappear again as suddenly as it arrived, so I sprung into shoe saving action to rescue my red Carvela ‘Grass’ wedges, which I got as part of the Sarenza brand ambassador programme last year.

Now, before you all yell at me, I should point out that I didn’t actually have “prancing around in a field” in mind when I put these on. But the field was right by the side of the road, it was pretty, and who was I to argue with it when it said, “Shoeperwoman, come and stand in me, in your red suede wedges”? Never argue with fields, people: you will not win.

This dress is from Dorothy Perkins, and I’ve been coveting the lilac version too, ever since Sara wore it as part of her dress challenge last week. Because midi lengths can be a little matronly if you’re not careful, I always use the longer length as an excuse to wear my highest heels: these would be a bit too much with a short skirt, so something like this helps balance them out a bit. Or I thought so, anyway: while we were taking these photos, two guys drove by in a van, and one of them shouted, “Get yer tits out!” at me. So maybe the outfit was giving off a different vibe than the one I intended. Or maybe some people are just weird.

11 Comments
Tagged carvela grass wedges, dorothy perkins polka dot midi dress, gucci sunglasses
Shoeper Shoe Challenge Roundup: April 2012 in shoes

by Shoeperwoman
3
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
May 1, 2012

SHOES SAVED: 10
SHOES ACQUIRED: 3
PROGRESS: 26/100 – over 1/4 of the way!

Hooray for May!

May has always been one of my favourite months of the year. It’s normally the month before I go on holiday, so I have something exciting to look forward to, the weather is generally nice (in fact, May tends to be much nicer than the so-called “summer” months, here), and there are always lots of fun, summery activities going on, too.

This year, I’m even happier than I usually am to see the end of April. As some of you know, this April wasn’t a great one for Shoeperman and I: we were involved in an accident at the start of the month which, although minor, resulted in our car being written off, and as well as being pretty traumatic and stressful, it also cost us a lot of time, money and energy. Then there was the weather. Let’s not even talk about the weather…

Still! Despite not being a very good month for me personally, April did manage to be a pretty good month for shoes: I didn’t quite rival March’s 16-shoe-saves-in-a-month, but ten pairs isn’t too shabby, and although I acquired a further three pairs, I DID manage to save all of them within days of buying them, so you could say it’s almost like that didn’t happen. Yes you could. Ahem.

April was also the month I discovered that garage doors make an excellent, albeit lazy, backdrop for outfit photos. So there was that.

I may have bought some shoes this month, but I did also get rid of a few pairs, which means the collection is currently back down to 100 pairs. I’d ideally prefer for it to not get too much larger than that, but given that there’s a new pair of shoes en route to me as I write this, I somehow don’t hold out much hope. Here’s hoping that May brings better weather: there were more closed-toes in April than I’d have liked, so hopefully May will bring lots of opportunities to save the more summery shoes in the collection!

3 Comments
Shoe Save #26/100: Rocket

by Shoeperwoman
15
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes, Uncategorized
April 30, 2012

SHOES: Gold Rocket Dog pumps c/o SoleStruck (previously saved here)
OUTFIT: H&M check pants (last seen here); gold Dorothy Perkins sweater; Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag & Gucci sunglasses (c/o Shopbop)
SAVED: Saturday, April 29th, 2012

I was hoping to save some more summery shoes this weekend, but unfortunately the weather (yes, I know, I talk a lot about the weather, but, well, I’m British. And it does have a pretty big impact on what I wear every day, unfortunately…) didn’t want to co-operate: it may look sunny in these photos, but it was pretty cold, and rather windy, so while my outfit is a little more ‘Autumn’ than ‘Spring’, at least it kept me warm!

These shoes are by Rocket Dog, and were a gift from SoleStruck, back in my Shoewawa days. I love the sparkly heels and heart-shaped cut-outs on the upper), and I wear them quite often, although the heels feel super-low to me now, compared to the kind of shoes I usually wear! In fact, I’m reminded of something Steph said in the forum yesterday about how times change: when I got these, I thought they were really high, and quite “out there”, but compared to a lot of the shoes I wear now, they’re really pretty tame!

This outfit has a secret:

Yes, I’m wearing my sweater backwards. How very “fashion blogger” of me! Actually, it has nothing to do with being “edgy” or anything like that… I learned a long time ago that I can’t wear V-necks without flashing my bra all the time, and even with something underneath, they just don’t flatter my shape. For some reason, I kept on buying them, though, and then not wearing them, but when I was putting this outfit together, and bemoaning the fact that this sweater has a v-neck rather than my preferred boat-neck, I suddenly realised that it could, actually, have a boat neck – I’d just have to turn it around first! So I did. And I liked it much better that way, especially given that the back was hidden by my hair, anyway. I’ve always liked low-backed sweaters, though, so I’m pleased I found a way to make this one work: you can’t really see in the photos, but it’s made from a glittery, lurex fabric which picked up the glitter in the shoes in a way that satisfied my matchy-matchy little heart.

This was the only shoe save I managed this weekend: we’re currently without a car, so were a little bit limited in what we could get up to. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week, though – and let’s hope we finally get some sunshine, so I can get back to saving all those peep toes and sandals!

15 Comments
Tagged gold rocket dog pumps, h&m check pants
Shoe Save #25/100: Blade

by Shoeperwoman
10
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 27, 2012

SHOES: Casadei ‘Blade’ pumps (c/o Spartoo)
OUTFIT: ASOS skirt, Forever 21 top, vintage clutch, Gucci sunglasses
SAVED: Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

So, you have a pair of super-high, super-skinny heels: the kind that are really designed to go from car to bar, and nowhere else. Where are you going to wear them for the first time? Why, on the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, of course! And you’re going to make sure you have to walk up at least one steep hill in order to get to where you’re going, too. Well, you wouldn’t be a Shoeperhero if you made things easy on yourself, would you?

These, as you can see, are my new Casadei ‘Blade’ pumps, and this was their very first outing. I wanted to wear something special with them, but unfortunately this turned out to be one of those outfits that looks much better in person than it does on camera. The skirt is the twin sister of this one, from ASOS, and it has the same huge, puffy shape, but sadly the car wasn’t kind to it, and then the wind kept catching at it and blowing it either straight out in front of me, or pressing it up against my legs, so the effect was lost. Ah well, I’ll just have to come up with an excuse to wear it again sometime soon!

As or the shoes, however, well, I certainly put them through their paces on the walk to and from the restaurant, and I’m pleased to report that they actually performed better than I’d expected them to. No, they’re not exactly what you’d call “comfortable”, and I don’t recommend them on hills, but I managed just fine, and although they did start to pinch my toes a little by the end of the evening, that was after several hours and a bit more walking than I’d planned, so they get the thumbs up from me, and I’m looking forward to wearing them again. Just maybe not over cobbles, this time…

10 Comments
Tagged black ASOS umbrella skirt, Casadei Blade pumps, green forever 21 top, gucci sunglasses
Shoe Save #24/100: Jefferson

by Shoeperwoman
8
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 25, 2012

SHOES: Christian Louboutin ‘Jefferson’ slingbacks (last saved here)
OUTFIT: ASOS skirt; no-name top; ebay sunglasses
SAVED: Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

Well, I promised you a different photo location for my next Shoe Save, so here it is. What I didn’t promise, however, is that I’d stop twirling around in gigantic skirts, so…

This is actually just the very start of a a twirl, and the only reason I’m even showing you it is because all the rest of the “twirling” shots were positively obscene. Folks, that skirt has a LOT of fabric in it. A LOT of fabric. (Which makes ironing it tons o’ fun, but that’s neither here nor there…) And when you twirl around quickly in a skirt that big? Well, let’s just say it was a good job the cyclist you can see in the background of the first shot had disappeared by then and there was no one else around. Ahem.

Anyway! The shoes! These are my Christian Louboutin ‘Jefferson’ slingbacks, and they almost didn’t get saved this weekend, because the weather when I got up was so gloomy I had planned a completely different outfit. By the time I was ready to get dressed, though, it had performed one of its notorious about-faces, and was warm enough for bare legs, so I decided to save some peep toes while I had the chance. You have to grab these opportunities whenever you can when you’re a shoe addict in a cold climate.

I actually managed to save a second pair of shoes too, when we went out to dinner that night… but that, my friends, is another shoe save, for another day.

8 Comments
Tagged asos mustard circle skirt, ebay sunglasses, jefferson pumps
Shoe Save # 23/100: Variations on a Theme

by Shoeperwoman
8
| Shoe Challenge, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 23, 2012

SHOES: Next black patent pumps (last saved here)
OUTFIT: J Crew pants; Primark trench; Gucci sunglasses
SAVED: Saturday, April 21, 2012

Yes, I’m posing in front of garage doors again. This is actually a different blue door from the last one I posed in front of, but fear not, I will find a different photo location for next time, otherwise I’ll start to become known as The Garage Door Girl, and that wouldn’t be good. For now, though, I’ve just been trying to make as much use of the natural light as I can to get in some outdoor shots before winter closes in again, and I’m stuck back indoors all the time.

Anyway! We’re here to talk about shoes, not garage doors! These ones were a gift from my parents last Christmas, and because we took these photos in a hurry, I forgot to get a close-up of them, but they’re black patent pumps which are coming in handy in the current weather, which is that strange mix of pouring rain one minute and blinding sunshine the next. In Scotland, you never go out without sunglasses AND an umbrella…

I seem to be drawn to wearing lots of black and white lately. I’m itching to wear more Spring-like stuff, but the weather just won’t co-operate: boo!

As some of you may have seen from my posts in the Shoeper Shoe Community last week, I had a bit of a clear-out, and am currently down to 100 pairs of shoes again. Not for much longer, though: I have a Sarenza code just waiting to be used…

Want to join Shoperwoman’s Shoe Challenge? Click here to read more about it!

8 Comments
Tagged gucci sunglasses, J crew black minnie pants, next patent pumps, stripe trench coat