pastel palette

pastel palette by kathrinamonique featuring lace up boots

don’t rain on my parade

polyvore set # 15

monochromatic in leather

monochromatic in leather inspired by You Da One styling

nautical beauty

polyvore set #16: nautical beauty

just how many is enough? pairs of shoes, that is.

image from NYDailyNews.com

two days ago, a colleague asked me this question out of the blue: how many pairs of shoes did i have?

ha! i’ll admit, it took me about a minute before i gave him an answer, which was about 15 to 20, i told him. he then (yes, a guy asked me this question!) looked at me thoughtfully and nodded, turned to someone else beside me, and asked her the same question. his question got me thinking, just how many pairs are essential to any woman’s wardrobe? if you randomly pluck a woman on the street and ask her that, i’m sure she’ll say the same thing i would, “there will never be enough!” but the sad (okay, frustrating) truth is not all of us are blessed with the resources to buy any pair that catches our fancy. so i started to think about shoe must-haves for every woman (not an easy task, i tell you).

here are the things i think women should consider when stacking their shoe racks:

1.  buying a few pairs in monochromatic colors. think black, brown, white, and red. almost anything goes with these colors. choosing monochromatic colors gives you more mileage per pair (sounds very technical, i know) and gives you a wider range of colors and prints to pick for everything you’re wearing above your ankles.

2. making sure you have at least one each of different shoe styles. different occasions call for different types of shoes. this is my personal checklist of what should be in my shoe rack (a pair of the following):

• flip-flops (a given)
• ballet flats,
• sneakers,
• boots,
• sandals (one for a casual day out and one for a dressier outfits),
• wedges,
• peep toes (they’re just the right amount of sexy)
• pumps
• and of course, a fancy pair of stilettos for a night out.

3. investing in  a second pair of your favorite shoes. sounds wasteful, i know. but the times i wish i had done so are too many to count. i don’t know about you, but i tend to have favorite “go-to” pairs that i use, which match almost all of my clothes. using them day in and out causes wear and tear, and next thing i know, the straps or heels have snapped, and my once-glamorous and fancy feet accessory is now a grubby looking pair that ispast  unrecognizable. so i schlepp back to the store to get another pair, and lo and behold! i can’t find them anywhere. lesson learned: if there is a pair that i absolutely cannot live without, i must get a second pair of it.

4. purchasing a fabulous-looking, attention-grabbing pair of shoes. once you have the basics, it’s never a bad idea to tap into your inner wild child and get yourself shoes that are a statement in itself, one that screams, “Forget my outfit, looks what’s on my feet!”

5. brands aren’t everything, and not always does expensive translate to looking good.  being one of the regular gals (read: one of those who actually has to work to earn a living), i don’t have the luxury of buying shoes that cost an arm and leg. for us living in the real world, looking good and feeling good doesn’t necessarily have to mean expensive. with  lot of TLC, i’ve found that many a pair of my nameless, outlet-store-bought-but-snazzy-looking shoes last longer than i’d expected. and as for shoes with prices that make me gasp for air, well . . . sure, a lot of them give me a OMG-i-wish-i-could-afford-them feeling, but i’m a firm believer in  the saying, “money can’t buy you taste or style.” and i’m just gonna leave it at that. 😀

keeping it casual

polyvore set #15: keeping it casual

black and blue and red all over

polyvore set #14: black and blue and red all over

take it from a blog newb: creating one without knowing how to go about it is a painful process.

image from http://www.clearoute.com

pffftt . . . finally! i have just spent the last 4 hours creating this blog. who knew it would be so difficult?

apparently, not me.

Three hours for the banner—i have to say, not bad for a photoshop beginner [mentally giving myself a pat on the back]—and another hour trying to figure out how to upload the damn thing.

so why the blog?i know  i’m waaaayyy behind the rest of the world as far as leaving my digital footprint goes, but this has always been on my to-do list. and after putting it off for almost two years, i finally decided to step out into the edge of the ledge and jump headfirst into the world of links and tags and html codes.

this blog just seemed like a natural progression from my . . . errr  . . .   l’amour for fashion. and yes, i know there are about a million and one blogs on the interweb about it. everyone and their mother has probably said everything there is to say about it.

on most days, i believe fashion is about expressing yourself, telling the story of YOU on that particular day through the look you choose to project. the look may not necessarily be original. or avant-garde. or mind-blowing. but it’s who you are at that very moment. and so it is with this blog. many of my rantings ramblings will most likely be rehashed  feelings shared by many others. but they will also be MINE, a compendium of my thoughts and opinions on this ever-changing, circling, and evolving world.

i claim no expertise or superior knowledge whatsoever on the ins and outs of fashion, current trends, and what-not. truth be told,i can count on one hand (okay, maybe two) the names of designers that i know of. but i’m hungry to learn more. so here’s to hoping this blog will help me do just that.

cheers!