Shoes, Glorious Shoes! 33 & 34

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Betsey Johnson. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Honestly, no. Nevermind. Because if I count, I might shame myself, and then not allow myself to continue indulging in your glorious work. Let's move forward.

I remember when I first started getting into fashion as a preteen/teen. I wrote the most sadly pathetic e-mail to CoverGirl, asking them if I could be one of their models. In their defense, they actually responded (heaven knows they get thousands to millions of e-mails a day - between consumer affairs, models, spam, etc) - telling me to sign with a modeling agency first - then get back in touch with them. Maybe they saw potential in the pics I sent, maybe they were randomly taking pity on a sad, sad girl. Whatever it was, it was enough to light a fire under me. I started buying every fashion magazine I could get my hands on, and burying my face in them night after night. Often tearing pages out when I would find something I was so obsessed with (both fashion and modeling poses/looks), I couldn't bear to throw it away with the rest of that magazine. To this day, if you were to go through my storage boxes (and for that matter, folders on my computers), I PROMISE you: you will find stray magazine pages.

Now I had years of the "modeling" world. What this boils down to is being screwed over by a "modeling agency", but also many wonderfully fun years of posing for a photography class for U of M, and eventually, the photogs I made friends with from said class (and a couple from a modeling site I had joined). For the most part, those days were glorious fun, and I remain friends with several people I met during those times.

But my heart was always more on the fashion side. As time went on, and I learned more about who was who in the designer world, Betsey Johnson always stood out to me. When I first encountered her, it was - "She's kinda weird. And I like it." As the years went on, and ESPECIALLY now that I've grown into my personality as a woman, I admired her for her focused determination to live life youthfully. Who cares what number your birth year puts you at? Age is what you feel. Who you are. Your spirit. And by golly, Betsey Johnson lives and breathes this every single day.

An added bonus for me: I ADORE her work. While that bonus did not work out for me in my younger years, and budget being what it was - over the years I've learned to save. watch for deals, etc. So today's blog is a tribute to two pairs of heels, but really - as you can tell - Betsey herself.

Brand: Betsey Johnson Name: Barbe

Store: Honestly forget - maybe Amazon

Review: 6" heel. True to form for Betsey, fits 1/2 size small. So me being a 9, I always order a 9.5 for Betsey heels. I love, Love, LOVE these shoes. Besides the fact they're houndstooth (ROLL TIDE ROLL, AMIRITE?!), they are sexy as hell. I can't help but strut when I'm in them. 

Brand: Betsey Johnson Name: Leanah

Store: Amazon.com

Review: 6" heel. Probably closer to 7 (as is Barbe, above). Fits true-to-Betsey. I wanted this shoe for 2 years, but couldn't afford, given financial times. Life happened, and suddenly she appeared before me again. Haiiiiii. Guarantee you, this will be one of my most-worn heels. Comfy and SEXXXY.

Betsey, I love and adore you. Please don't ever stop realizing your brilliance! I could post pics of everything Betsey here, but just know there's a lot. Plus this:

http://mindifibugyou.blogspot.com/2012/10/shoes-glorious-shoes-12.html

http://mindifibugyou.blogspot.com/2012/06/shoes-glorious-shoes-7.html

And be aware there are more Betsey shoes to come. Long live Betsey Johnson.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes! 32

I'm making an effort these days to do things that make me smile. Life is really just kicking the crap out of me/my loved ones the last 6 months. But if it has taught me anything, it's that you have to keep making attempts to find reasons to smile. Some days are easier than others. But I've decided I'm no longer just settling for things as they are. I tackled something that has been bringing me down for years at the beginning of this week. No guarantee that anything will change, but I did at least do my part to make the situation better. That's all you can do. You have to learn that some things are just out of your control, and it's what you do about those situations - speak up, leave, bite your tongue and be miserable 24/7 - that affects your every day life. I have been known to speak my mind on occasion...

*insert raucous laughter from friends and family here*

...however, when it comes to a situation that affects my daily life (i.e. friends, family, work), I tend to hold my tongue. Usually at the cost of my mental health. I don't want to hurt the feelings of people I love. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable in a day-to-day situation. And so, I stay quiet. Sometimes (like in this case) for years, where things build and get worse until I finally break. My goal is to get better about this. It will probably take baby steps, but I'm at least making strides. While I still don't want to hurt people I love, I know they also don't want me to be hurt, and that requires me speaking up. 

Speaking up for myself aside, I've also decided I'm living life this year. Taking weekend trips with friends, going to movies alone when I want to see something but no one is free, seeing a pair of shoes I want and not thinking twice before hitting the checkout button, etc. Which brings us to today's pair.

I am switching everything up for a while. Since most of my outfits are usually 90% the same, given they're work outfits, I'm going to start picking and choosing when I post outfits. Spring/Summer you'll probably see more outfits than Fall/Winter. Just more options when it's warm. Plus you can see the shoes better in a skirt than in long pants. So today, we focus on the shoes and accessories.

This pair is SO MUCH FUN. And totally me. Anything that has a rocker edge, I'm good with. I instantly go to "I can wear these to an Aerosmith concert!" (sidenote - I have a new ring that is SO AEROSMITH-worthy, I geeked out when I saw it; you'll see it at some point)

Brand: Style by ShoeDazzle Name: Yousra

Store: ShoeDazzle.com

Review: 4" heel. Fits true to size. I'm not going to go into the typical ShoeDazzle vs Katie's long toes in their pumps story here. These are actually pretty comfy, as long as you're used to walking in heels with no platforms. And SO rockstar, right?! No? Super plain, you say?

Sssssssssssssssilly you, for thinking I would tease a rocker shoe, and not deliver. Plus, I love a little toe cleavage. Sexy, edgy, different. LOVE.

So why not pair it with a matching ring? A 4-finger ring, at that (excuse me while I switch into Bama mode for a second - FOUR FANGERS! FOUR FANGERS!). Note: if you have never worn a 4-finger ring, prepare yourself. It flat-out does NOT work in an every day world. I had it off for most of the day at work. You can't do most tasks, because you can't separate your fingers. But if you're wearing for a social engagement, it's fine. Not uncomfortable for several hours wear, as long as you don't need to type, write much, etc.

And then a little extra special touch on the other hand. LOVE this ring/fingertip accessory ring. The spike ring on my pointer finger is hard to see, but the rocker vibe was carried out. 

So for now, dear blog readers, I bid you adieu. But hopefully soon, I'll have a lot more to talk to you about, and not just shoes. 

Shoes, Glorious Shoes! 24

So this post is going to be a bit of a hodge podge, as I was still in transition with the how's and where's on picture taking in my new location. Following this post will be all of my "found a good-enough spot" posts until the next move or I find another way to take the pics.

Rather appropriate that post #24 - 24 being my favorite number - has one of my all-time loves (other than shoes), houndstooth. Being a Bama fan, houndstooth is obviously a huge part of the history there. Bear Bryant is god in Tuscaloosa, so if he said houndstooth was fashionable, who are we to question him?

ROLL TIDE ROLL.

It only helps my cause that houndstooth is one of those patterns that NEVER goes out of style. It is timeless. As a result, you can find it everywhere, on everything. Clothes, purses, shoes, etc. etc. etc. And it also allows me to be myself (I've always had the reputation for being overdressed, when my friends are casual) when representing my team. While this might "help my cause", it also can be dangerous to my bank account. Because when you combine two of my biggest passions, fashion and Bama football... let's just say I have to limit my internet shopping. Bills, ya know?

But anyway, on to the shoes! This pair was part of the purchase you read about here. They immediately jumped out at me as being something different, and something that I would not usually buy. For whatever reason, the combination of those two things made me crave them. I have tried stepping outside of the box with my shoe purchases before, and it usually ends up being a waste. While I love the shoes, they usually don't go with 90% of what is in my closet, and thus end up gathering dust for years on end. Since this pair was black & white, I knew I stood a much better chance of this not occurring. My wardrobe is broken down as follows: black/white 60%; red 20%; pink 15%; everything else 5%. And while these aren't houndstooth, I knew I could get away with wearing them with houndstooth, since it was still a black & white geometric print. So I added them to my cart, and here was the result:

Brand: Paper Fox Name: Kit

Store: ShoeDazzle.com

Review: 4" heel. Fits TIGHT. I wouldn't necessarily say small, because the length on these is fine. But it takes some time to get them on and off. I think it's because the straps are so tight, and that makes it hard to zip up the back of the shoe. I'm hoping the more I wear them, the more they'll loosen up and this won't be an issue. Right now, they're more of an office shoe than a party shoe. My feet look like they've been mauled when I take these off.  

Just another view (from the website), so you can see what the whole shoe looks like.

As you can see, this picture is from my old apartment, and I do not have the above shoes on. This WAS the outfit I had on that day, but again - working on logistics for pictures in the new location. I'll get it right, eventually.

Let's continue on, shall we? 3 more blogs heading your way!