SHOES: New Look navy bow pumps; Topshop green ‘Glam’ pumps SAVED: January 12 & 13, 2012
I wore two almost identical outfits this week. Yes, we’re talking good ol’ pencil skirt, turtleneck, and pumps: a Shoeper Staple if ever there was one! I didn’t bother taking full outft shots for either of them, because I figured you’ve all seen me in pencil skirts n’ pumps enough times now, but I did record the shoes themselves, which are my navy New Look platforms, which I’m wearing today:
and a pair of Topshop’s green suede ‘Glam’ pumps, purchased in the sales and worn yesterday:
As much as I love green, it was actually the yellow version of these shoes which I’d been coveting. Those were sold out by the time the sale started, though (an eBay alert has been set up, never fear!), and the green ones were on sale for £25, so I allowed myself to be talked into it. By myself, I mean.
I’m really glad I did, though, because I absolutely love these – the photos just don’t do them justice. The only slight problem is the sizing: I ordered my usual size, but they seem to come up very small – I actually wondered if they’d sent me the wrong size when I opened the box, but nope, it’s the right one according to the soles. They do fit, and were fine for a day which didn’t include a huge amount of walking, but I’m hoping the leather will ease up a bit with wear, and if I were to purchase another pair, I’d size up – unfortunately the size 5s were sold out by the time I got these, so I’m just going to persevere with the 4s instead!
SHOES: Blue Primark platforms SAVED: Tuesday, January 10th, 2011 WITH: River Island skirt & top; Primark belt
Three things:
1. I mis-counted the shoe collection. Contrary to what I said in yesterday’s post, I DO have over 90 pairs of shoes. In fact, I have 90 pairs exactly. (And it would have been 91, but the Lady Dragons I posted on Facebook last week were too small, and had to be returned, much to my dismay…) Gulp. I have no idea how that happened. Well, OK, I DO…
2. I’m wearing blue again. I know.
3. I’m also wearing an outfit that’s really more suitable for Spring than for now, but the Shoe Challenge will be over by Spring and, well, I really wanted to wear this skirt again. I love this skirt. A little bit too much, perhaps.
These shoes were yet another Christmas gift from my parents, who truly spoilt me this year. I had actually picked these ones out myself, but I was still excited to open them on Christmas morning: you can never have too many pairs of blue suede(ette) shoes. No, seriously, you really can’t….
P.S. I’ve been getting quite a few questions lately about whether or not there will be another Shoe Challenge once this one finishes… The answer at the moment is that yes, there will be something to replace the current challenge, but I’m still working out the details of how it will work and what it will be, so stay tuned! (And, of course, if you have any suggestions for what would make you more likely to want to take part in another challenge, I’d love to hear them!)
SHOES: Sam Edleman over-the-knee boots (c/o Shopbop) SAVED: Monday, January 9th, 2012 WITH: Topshop skirt, Primark sweater (gift), H&M coat, Michael Kors watch c/o Shopbop), Gucci sunglasses
It’s Shoe Save 80, everyone! And that means that we’re finally – FINALLY – in the home stretch. I don’t think my shoe collection will go over 90 before the end of the challenge on Valentine’s Day, but then again, I didn’t think it would go over 80, either, so I’m not going to swear to it…
This outfit is basically the winter version of this one, in which I discovered my love of pairing green and blue in the same outfit. It was also partly inspired by the Diane Von Furstenberg Fall 2011 runway, which used monoblocking of bright blue, plus the combination of slouchy sweaters and pencil skirts. I’ve been meaning to try it out for a while now, and yesterday seemed like the day to do it!
The boots are by Sam Edleman, and I like them because of their almost-nude colour on me, which lets me wear them with anything and everything – well, almost.
This is the first time I’ve managed to take photos outdoors in I don’t know how long. Yay for very slightly warmer weather! And, of course, for reaching the landmark moment of Shoe Save # 80! The end is almost in sight…
SHOES: Black patent pumps (Christmas gift from parents) SAVED: Sunday, January 8th, 2011 WITH: Black trousers (J Crew); top (Topshop); blazer (H&M, also a Christmas gift); clutch bag (Accessorize); watch (Gucci)
This weekend was a bit of a failure as far as shoe-saving was concerned. I had intended to save a pair each day, but on Saturday I didn’t leave myself enough time to take photos before I went out, and although I did leave time on Sunday, the fact that I didn’t have to wear shoes (or, indeed, makeup, for that matter) until we went out in the evening meant that the light was so bad all of the photos ended up a dark, blurry mess.
I couldn’t let the weekend pass without at least one shoe save, though, so I’m resorting to showing you some Instagram shots, which are at least supposed to look a bit grainy and weird. To say I’m looking forward to being able to just wear my shoes again without having to worry about photographing them would be an understatement!
The shoes and blazer in this post were both Christmas gifts from my parents: I’m lucky that my mum and I have almost exactly the same taste, so they’re pretty good at picking out things I’ll like (the blazer was probably easier, mind you, given that my mum had watched me try it on and drool over it a few weeks before Christmas!). I couldn’t resit getting all matchy-matchy with the Accessorize clutch bag from my New Year’s Eve outfit, too!
This outfit would’ve been a little too cold as it was for this time of year, so I threw a coat over the top for the short journey from car to restaurant: it’s actually been quite mild for January, though, which is good news considering the new peep toes that may or may not have found their way into my collection recently…
I can’t believe I’m almost at Shoe Save # 80! And I’m just a little bit freaked out that I still have so many pairs left to go…
SHOES: Zara blue suede-effect court shoes (buy here) SAVED: Friday, January 6th, 2012 WITH: Topshop jeans; Primark sweater (gift from my parents); Michael Kors watch (c/o Shopbop)
As you can see, I’m still taking a super-casual approach to dressing these days: I don’t think it gets much duller than the good ol’ jeans-and-a-sweater combo, but as I said last week, January is a time for comfort-clothes and dressing down: or, at least, it is for me!
These shoes were an impulse purchase in the Zara sale… I was actually ordering another pair of shoes (which will be saved soon!), and before I hit the “checkout” button, I decided to take a quick look around, as I always do, to see if there was anything else I wanted while I was there. (I tell myself this saves on shipping costs if I decide I want something else later, but it’s really just an excuse to look at more shoes…) These were on sale for just £12.99, so they found their way into my bag, too: well, I can always use a simple pair of pumps, right?
The green soles were a pleasant surprise when I opened the box the next week. A less pleasant surprise, however, was when a duplicate order appeared at my door the next day, with Zara having somehow managed to send me (and bill me for!) the same thing twice. I ended up with FOUR PAIRS of shoes – two identical pairs – but not for long: thankfully Zara send a courier to collect returns, so I’m awaiting his arrival as I write this, so I can get my refund: I mean, I like the shoes, but not enough to want two pairs of them!
The pointed toe and lack of platform is a little bit of a departure for me, but I think I’ll be wearing this kind of style more often this year: it’s good to have a break from platforms every now and again!
Now, which pair will I save next?
(P.S. There are some out-takes from these photos over here, if you want to see them!)
(Apologies for the blurry photo – I just liked the way Rubin was photobombing me!)
SHOES: Black heeled boots (originally my mum’s!) SAVED: January 5th, 2012 WITH: Leggings and cardigan, Primark; tunic, H&M; scarf, New Look; watch, Michael Kors c/o Shopbop
This is one of my lesser-spotted casual outfits, just to prove that I do actually have some – and also because by this stage of the festive season, casual clothes are pretty much all I want to wear: yes, even Shoeperwoman gets tired of dressing up all the time after a while!
Our festive season is a particularly long one, because as well as Christmas itself, and New Year, we also have a lot of family birthdays and other events to celebrate, so we start the week before Christmas and don’t stop until… well, around about now, actually. It’s a lot of fun, but you do eventually get to the stage where you just want to throw on something comfortable and not leave the house for a week!
I did actually have to leave the house yesterday, and as the weather has been absolutely horrible, I went for an old pair of boots, which I liberated from my mother’s closet a few years ago:
These are totally plain, but that does mean they get a lot of wear, because they’re the kind of footwear you just don’t have to think about. Sometimes that’s just what you need…
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times now, Shoeperman and I are currently working on some changes to the site which we’re hoping to launch soon, so as the open post style roundups seem to have been working quite well, and to give us more time to focus on that, I’m going to continue with this style of roundup for the time being.
We’re now up to Week 47 of the Challenge, and the start of the New Year has definitely brought a new sense of urgency to my own shoe-saving: of course, it doesn’t help that my shoe collection seems to be growing faster than my “saves” are, at the moment, and not all of my new additions are particularly winter appropriate!
How’s everyone else getting on with the Challenge? Have you bought any new pairs recently? And, more importantly, let’s see the shoes you’ve saved this week: just upload your image in the comments and feel free to tell us a bit more about the shoes!
(P.S. If you’re having difficulty uploading your images due to the file size, I highly recommend Piknik, which is a free image editing programme which will allow you to change the size of your images and add all kinds of fancy effects, into the bargain! It’s really easy to use, and will allow you to save your image in a size that’s suitable for web use.)
