What: Dune Olsen pumps
When: Friday, May 7th, 2010
Where: Bowling with friends
With: Ancient jeans (Dorothy Perkins), tank (Topshop); blazer (New Look)
Bowling. If there’s a more difficult activity to dress for, well, I don’t know what it is. And I don’t think I want to know. Let’s face it: bowling shoes are ugly. Nothing looks good with them. Nothing. Certainly nothing I own, anyway, because it was only as I opened my wardrobe last night to get ready to go bowling with my friends that I suddenly remembered that I only own skinny jeans. No boot cuts. No wide-legs. Just skinnies. (Actually, I do have some trousers with wider legs, plus a single pair of straight-leg jeans, but they’re all cut to wear with heels, and look even stranger rolled up than the skinnies do.) And skinny jeans + huge white flat lace-ups does not a good look make. Mind you, I’d say that NOTHING makes for a good look when combined with bright white, lace-up flats, so I was forced to just suck it up, roll up the legs of my jeans and accept that I was going to look like I’d gotten dressed in the dark for a couple of hours.
To make up for this humiliation, I wore the most impractical shoes I own to the bowling alley:
This actually turned out to be a more sensible idea than you might think in terms of working these shoes into the Shoe Challenge, because I only had to walk into the bowling alley, back out, and then from the car to our friends’ front door and back. And trust me, that’s about as much walking as you’d want to do in these, because they have a 4.5″ heel and NO PLATFORM, so they completely change your centre of balance, and even I need to do a couple of practice laps of the house before heading out in them. As a comparison, when I was deciding what to wear, I put on these and walked around in them for a while, then changed into the River Island peep toes from last week. The RI shoes have exactly the same height of heel, but because they also have a half-inch platform, after these babies they felt as comfortable as a pair of flats, and I’m not joking.
(I put the Dune shoes back on, though, in honour of the Shoe Challenge. I wear the impractical shoes so you don’t have to, readers! You’re welcome!)
Once at the bowling alley, though:
Don’t lie, you want these shoes.
You can’t have them, though, because… these are MY OWN BOWLING SHOES.
Yes, I am THAT MUCH of a shoe addict that I own bowling shoes. Or OK, not quite: what actually happened was that a few years back, Shoeperman decided he wanted to go bowling all the time. And I whined so much about having to wear nasty shoes that hundreds of other people had had their sweaty feet in (yes, I know they sanitise them, but it still feels icky to me) that when my parents were in the States that year and saw some bowling shoes on sale, they bought them for me. It’s actually a pretty good way to freak out the people you go bowling with, because when you pull out your own shoes, they immediately assume you’re some kind of professional bowler, rather than just being a professional shoe-collector, which is what I am.
Of course, “professional bowler” could not be further from the truth for me:
I’m “Amz”. I didn’t do so good.
I actually recovered enough to come third in this game, but in the next game I was… last. Ah, well.
I was rewarded for my efforts, though:
Notice how we got another, smaller pizza “just in case”?
Oh, and by the end of the evening, I was even able to run (well, trot) to the car in my stilettos. Practice makes perfect, people. Just not when it comes to bowling.
Beautiful shoes, as always.
Just out of curiosity (because I’m in the US) where do you GET a pizza like that?
There’s a place in california that sells pizzas about that size. I don’t remember the name, but I believe it starts with an F.
.-= Janelle´s last blog ..Life. Is Slowly Killing Me. =-.
I’m guessing the name of the place won’t mean much to you if you’re not from round here 🙂 It was from a local pizza place near our friends’ house.
Those are the kind of shoes I wear when I don’t have to go far too 🙂
.-= Tracey´s last blog ..Oh how I laughed. =-.
Fantastic shoes, and I agree with you about bowling and wearing those amazing shoes, and etc. I once in my life tried to play golf. And what did I wear? Beautiful boots I bought in Rome. No compromises! I love high heels, I almost only have high heels. So… wearing something else wouldn’t be me… You did it well, great choice as usual, and the pizza? Fantastic! And look how you are smiling there! It had to be delicious!
.-= Denise´s last blog ..UK, UK, UK, iu-hu! =-.
Me too – I always feel very uncomfortable in outfits that require “special” shoes , it just doesn’t feel like me! Golf would be a nightmare for me 🙂 The pizza was delicious, though!
I really do admire your ability to look absolutely stunning all of the time! Those shoes are fantastically gorgeous!! I love Dune; they are up there with Karen Millen as my two joint-favourite designer/brands. They perfect the elegance and feminine beauty that I crave in a beautiful shoe.
Also, I’ve mentioned previously, I adore the simplicity of your outfits! I’m so jealous 😀
Thank you so much 🙂 Where I live is super-causual, so I tend to keep it simple a lot of the time, although that’s really my preference, too. This is why I love shoes, though – you can wear the most extravagant pair of shoes with an old pair of jeans without looking overdressed!
You’re not wrong there! One of the [many] reasons I love shoes so much is because of just that; but even simple shoes can win an outfit (as your Dune shoes prove – gorgeous)! I also adore the power of a beautiful shoe as it breaks down barriers. Regardless of one’s shape, size or age, a beautiful shoe will always be a beautiful shoe and rids the wearer of any paranoia that dresses, hairstyles or whatever can leave. I believe this is an empowering thought for women 🙂
Oh, totally! You never have to wonder if a pair of shoes will make you look fat, or whether the colour will suit you, etc – shoes are so much simpler than the rest of the fashion and beauty world!
You’re an inspiration! Always looking gorgeous.
I just measured the heels i wear today – 5,5″ with an half inch platform. Killers! I know exactly what you’re talking about! I just told my boyfriend this morning, I can only walk in those from the car to the office and during the day a couple of times to the coffee machine. But then i like them so much! Took them off just now.. my feet don’t talk to me anymore, I’m afraid.
.-= Tali´s last blog ..Платформы =-.
oh those shoes are a dream 🙂
I really like your style. I love the way you mix sexy and casual look. The combination of the skinny jeans and heels is great!Their Louboutin-like style makes you look like a red carpet star!
My friend did the same thing, she wore these really high pointy stillettos and bowled.
hehe fun.
.-= Ally C´s last blog ..Dress of the Day =-.
I remember seeing those Dune shoes in the shop and thinking they were gorgeous while not daring to even attempt walking in them…
Dear God, those are some heels!!! I think I couldn’t make it anywhere in them…but they are gorgeous 🙂
Here in Germany bowling shoes are always red and black, which makes you look like a clown. Those ugly stinky bowling shoes are the true reason why I don’t go bowling that often (read: never) but I always say it’s because I’m just so bad at it (which is also true). I wonder why my boyfriend never suspects something 😀