Shoeper Shoe Challenge # 50 : The Jacket

What: Miss Selfridge platform bow court shoes
When: Friday, October 1st, 2010
Where: Abandoned mental asylum
With:  Stripe trench coat (Primark); black knitted dress (New Look kids department); umbrella (found in the back of my car)

I know you can’t really see it, but I promise it was actually raining when this photo was taken: that umbrella isn’t just a prop! It was one of those strange Scottish days where it veers wildly between torrential rain and blazing sunshine, which I think the picture captures perfectly. It was dry when we set out, had just started to rain when we arrived (which forced me to unearth the umbrella from the depths of the car), dried up again while we were walking (in fact, it got so sunny I wished I hadn’t left my sunglasses in the car), and then started to pour down as we were on the way back to the car. I got soaked, even with my trusty umbrella!

Anyway, we’ve now reached the fiftieth pair of shoes in the challenge, which feels like something of a landmark moment. To mark the occasion, I chose the black Miss Selfridge platforms I bought last month:

These shoes are now known in my house as “the eBay shoes” after someone stole my original photos of them (complete with my feet and legs inside them, I might add) to sell her used pair of these on eBay. Thanks to Momo for letting me know about my most recent eBay appearance!

The title of this post refers, not to my stripey trench coat, as you might think, but to the location of these photos: this is an abandoned mental asylum near us, which was used as the location for the film The Jacket in 2005 (great movie, by the way, check it out some time). It’s one of my favourite places to visit because it has such a brooding, haunted kind of atmosphere: I always expect to see faces at the windows of the old abandoned mansion houses you can see in the background here…

If you’ve ever seen The Jacket, you’ll probably recognise this church: it appears quite a few times in the movie. I’m standing right in front of the area they created a fake “graveyard” on.

As you can see, I’m still obsessed with the big hair. I’m not sure the line “But it was on ALL the catwalks this season!” is making it any more acceptable in my town…

I still search eBay every day for the red versions of  these. They would make my life complete.

Just before it started to pour down…

One of the largest villas on the site.

Not exactly the most practical shoes in the rain, it has to be said, but I do love them.

(Thanks to Terry for the photos!)

(P.S. If you’re particularly bored, there are one or two extras from this challenge over at my personal blog)

22 Comments

  • I am blown away with these pictures- fantastic! You should be a stylist- the clothes, the location, the hair. My god, and the picture where you are reflected in the puddles, your husband did an excellent job with the photography! I’m super-impressed. Ok, and the shoes are amazing (of course)!

  • That jacket is so fab! I love stripes.

    And I see the weather where you are is just like the weather where I am (Canada)!

    • Oh, really? It’s such a pain – you never know how to dress because it can be pouring down one minute and then brilliant sunshine the next… then right back totorrential rain again! I’m just glad I have a habit of keeping umbrellas in my car!

      • Ooh, I know! We have the exact same problem here! There’s even a joke around B.C. (where I live) “Question: What do you do if you don’t like the weather in B.C.? Answer: Wait 15 minutes.” Such a pain when it comes to picking clothes/shoes to wear for the day!

  • Amaaaaazing, this is my favorite post up to now! The style, the shoes, the location (impressive!), the fantastic shoes and that picture where you are reflected in the puddles, like one of the readers already said, that is one of my favorite ones!!!!!! Congratulations for the team work, great model + great style and great photographer!!!!

  • Those photos are simply stunning. 😀 I love them! And I really want your coat.
    I’d be really interested to visit that area myself – it definitely looks great for photo opportunities!

  • Thanks for the comments, everyone – I’m lucky to have a husband who’s willing to take all these photos for me (and such a great location to take them in)!

  • these are you best photos to date! You always look great but these photos just have a super artsy edge to them, like they’re from a magazine.

  • Seeing these photos gave me a stab of recognition – this is just outside Glasgow, isn’t it? Have you taken any shoe challenge pics in the Necropolis or is that just in really bad taste?

    For some reason although you keep mentioning Scotland I assumed that you must just be visiting there from time to time. Now I am going to go back through all your posts to see if I can spot the location. I may have cycled through more than a few of them once upon a time (I’m from Paisley originally).

    Thank you for your wonderful blog and your inspirational style Amber x

    • Thank you – that means a lot, I love your blog too!

      These were actually taken just outside Edinburgh – feel free to DM me or something if you want to know exactly where it is 🙂

      I don’t get to Glasgow too often, but the Necropolis would be a fantastic place to photograph: I don’t expect the dead folks would mind 🙂

  • these photos are amazing!! i love the contrast of you (in that gorgeous striped jacket) and the building behind you. Overall, i got to say luv da pictures, really luv da shoes and especially LUV the jacket!!

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