It's Christmas!

I can never decide if posts with Christmas (or Birthday) presents in them are crude but, in the absence of strong feeling either way, I decided to share some of mine. As well as my Christmas day outfit. My ideal Christmas Day would be spent in pyjamas. When I was a kid, I was never fussed for getting dressed at Christmas and did so begrudgingly. Now that I am old and spend Christmas visiting family and whatnot, pyjamas won't cut it. Yup, I am firmly in the 'pyjamas should only be worn in the house' camp. The only excusable exception to this are:

• Nipping to the corner shop for milk (etc) and, even then you should add trainers and a sufficiently outdoor appropriate hoodie or similar.
• Unexpectedly having to pick someone up from somewhere in the car - see rule above for making said pyjama wearing acceptable.
• Emergency shit like fire alarms or ambulance travel.
• Being aged 5 or under - embrace it small ones!

Now, my Christmas day wear needs to be:

• Comfortable with plenty room for a food baby.
• Still look 'me'
• Have some sparkle. Well, it is Christmas after all.

Here's what I went with:

Dress: vintage from Godiva in Edinburgh, Cardi: Primark, Belt: Accessorize, Glitter ankle boots: schuh, necklace: Plastique.

How weird does my nose look? It looks like I've had an odd extension to it. I haven't. 

This outfit basically ticks all the Christmas boxes for me: the dress is pretty but also comfy (elasticated waist) and demure enough for a day with in-laws and the belt's a bit loose so plenty room for Chrimbo munching. Those and the cardi are lurex threaded so there's your sparkle. And, there's extra sparkle in the glittery boots. Which also have a heel that's low enough for any Christmas Day walks that get chucked in. My gorgeous mirrored Plastique necklace adds a final statement. What did you wear? If you say pyjamas, I'll be sick with jealousy!

And so to the potentially tasteless gift flashing. I got some lovely gift from some awesome people, including gift cards (NEVER impersonal  - don't believe anyone who says otherwise!), rum, Grasmere gingerbread, nice smellies, useful notecards and note books and, (casual as you like), a pair of Charlotte Olympia Priscilla in glitter. Oh my days. I can't WAIT to wear them. Mind you, I did wear them about the house while I tidied up Christmas stuff last night...

I hope you all had an ace Christmas! Here's to a happy New Year next...

Sunday shoe porn: embellishment

Sunday. A day of rest. And of shoe ogling. So sit back, relax, have a cup of tea (or a gin) and let your eyes enjoy this shit. It's all designer and unlikely to be in my life any time soon...

Alexander McQueen. Sigh. And for £700 and something for actual McQueen, not just McQ, it's really not bad. Here's the thing though - I like the shoe shape: classic peep toe with a chunky heel. Very practical. And I L-O-V-E the skull! But, I'm not wild on the colour and a really quite hate the little flower things. Here's the skull...

It is good.

And, on the topic of heads on toes - so macabre. Or religious in a kiss-my-feet sort of way - here's a leopard's head on the toe of a pair of Charlotte Olympias. The rules of my religion dictate that I must love a leopard/Charlotte combo. And if I was gifted these, I'd definitely wear them. Grr.

Do you know what I'd wear even more though? These Christian Louboutin stilettos. Red upper, soles and spikes? It's like blood and lipstick and fiery passion! I love a spike but I am a little tired of seeing them on everything. So this twist of having the spikes the same colour as the background gives me a reason to feel it again. And feel it, I do!

Speaking of which...
Killer. Just killer. That is all. 

Storing my shoe collection - it's complicated

My shoe collection is pretty big. I haven't counted the pairs but it's safe to say there are a LOT. Ideally, I'd love a giant walk in closet a la sex and the city where the shoes are all out of their boxes and lined up beautifully and somehow staying dust free. That's the dream. Being that we're a little restricted space-wise and that I've spent all my money on shoes already, that's not really an option right now. Or maybe ever. However, this weekend, driven by desires to actually see my bedroom floor again and to not break my neck falling over rogue shoes, I decided to get it all sorted out. Here's how they all (just about) fit in...

Apologies for the truly shite blurry pic. I took it and didn't realise how bad it was until it was on the computer. And I am lazy! Technically, this wardrobe is Mr Scribbler's. However, I have wangled a shoe rack and a couple of jackets in there. This "hangy thing" came from Ikea and is ideal for squishing in flats and, to be honest, shoes that are maybe a bit past their best that you don't mind not being in boxes. You can get a prettier version here. At this point I should tell you that piles of shoes in the bottom of a wardrobe makes me cry on the inside and feel a bit sick. It's just so wrong! Care for thy shoes! Which kind of goes some way to explaining this...

The tremendous shoe cabinet of awesomeness. AKA the home of my favourite and designer shoes. I update the contents fairly regularly cause I'm fickle and change my mind all the time about my faves. If you've been reading a while, you'll have seen the cabinet before, so proud of it am I. If you haven't you can check out it's transformation from orphan rescued (for free! FREE!) from a rainy street, to tremendous shoe cabinet of awesomeness -> here. It's a touching story.

Observe though, that the storage above does not finish with the TSCoA. Oh no. We also have stackable transparent shoe boxes. These things are genius: they're clear(ish) so you can see what's in them, they stack and slot into each other so you can pile 'em high, they're smaller than a lot of shoe boxes so save space AND they fold so if you have spares they stash away neatly! Just google 'transparent stackable shoe boxes' or similar and do some price comparison. I think mine came through eBay in the end but do make sure you look for the ridgy ones that slot together!

Along with the TSCoA, I also do actually have a walk in cupboard that has boxes of shoes stacked up in it. It is called the shoe closet. Like the normal person's version of the SATC scenario. The washing basket lives in here too so it is a bit of a jam but it keeps this little lot out of the way. Some of the shoes aren't in their original boxes but in smaller boxes I have, with their name/description written on the front. Every centimetre counts! And so does ease of shoe finding. There's a shelf on the wall in there too that takes a surprising amount of shoe weight:

My, so tonal!

One of my latest storage solutions is this over the door (hanging into the shoe closet) hanging thang with pockets from Argos. It fits 10 pairs of shoes in (mine are mainly size 7s) but you could probably get pairs of flip flops or smooshed up flats in one pocket if you felt the urge. I got it today for £6.99 (here it is - man I am helpful with my links) and am pleasantly surprised by it as a few of the reviewers said it only fit kids shoes in. It doesn't. Yay! You wouldn't get heels in or anything but it does the job for flats.

 

And finally, in a rare glimpse into the man side of my life, here are Mr Scribbler's shoes:

Yup, he's nearly as shoe daft as me these days (which makes my habit SO much easier to justify) and I finally had to get him some more rack space. The ones on the left we got today in Argos. It's actually two stacked together and they were £4.99 each. Bargain! They're nowt fancy but totally do the job. And, as I type this, he's actually filled them up.

So, now we don't have shoes lying about the bedroom and living room but we do have them on racks in the hall, in the wardrobe in the spare room, in a cabinet in the bedroom, hanging over a door and inside the shoe closet. Neat, non? If you have any space saving shoe storage tips, feel free to share them with me. Otherwise, I hope some of this was useful for you if, like me, your collection is somewhat unruly!

Anyone for a cliche? Yes? Presenting Sunday shoe porn: glitterMiu

I know, I know, shoe type posts are a total blogger cliche. BUT. I. Love. Shoes, I'm a total shoe girl. And some cliches are cliches cause they're classic. So let us go forth and enjoy some pictures of friggin' expensive shoes. Yes, today I am mostly living in fantasy land...

This lot are all off Net-a-Porter, one of the sites I have to settle for ogling fruitlessly. What a waste of time, eh? Still, at least now I know what shoes I'll be buying if I suddenly come into money. This weeks footly confections have a glittery theme. The magpie strikes back...

Charlotte Olympia. I love the signature Charlotte Olympia shape. A classic pump with an almond shaped toe, slim heel and disjointed platform. Trim it with turquoise ribbon and cover it in a multicoloured glitter storm and you have a winner!

Miu Miu. These are so classic and pretty. Platform, peep toe, Mary Jane, black suede. Add a dash of glitter on the back only and they suddenly get that little bit more interesting.

Miu Miu: I am a Miu Miu fan. As the double appearance of the brand here might suggest. They do pretty-glittery so well  but they aren't afraid of an interesting ugly shoe either, which I kind of enjoy in a brand.  Plus, they're one of the few brands of designer shoes that I own. Check mine out here if you're interested. Anyway, back to these beauties. I've gotten back into a pointy stiletto of late and, while I'm not a kitten heel fan per se, I find a smaller heel more acceptable with a pointy toe and I would love to dance about all the town in these. I also have a thang for electric blue so these do the double for me.

Oh dear lord. The face I pulled when I saw these. It truly wasn't fit for public consumption. I thought about recreating  and snapping it for the purposes of this post but a mix of vanity and knowing I couldn't possibly accurately capture such a spontaneous reaction in a staged format meant that I didn't. Instead, I just have the shoe from two different angles.

Nicholas Kirkwood. Nicholas Kirkwood is one of the designers whose shoes I covet the ass off and would dearly like to own. I'd already spied these in gold and had a right randy swoon at them. And then I saw these. Being something of a muddly person, I am attracted to a mix of colour. And being a magpie, I enjoy the glitter. So multicoloured glitter works for me. Add in the jewel tone purple, the multitude of straps, the disjointed glitter platform and the dancing-shoe-esque t-bar and you have Llara pulling one special-ass face. Santa, if you're out there and you're listening, you know what to do...

Lady(like) in red. And Charlotte Olympia.

No kidding - I can do ladylike sometimes. Only sometimes. It doesn't sit that well with me because I am a naturally scrappy person. I'm a chipped nails, sliding eyeshadow kind of girl who's likely to walk into a wall or whack her hand on a door. Right now, my nails are polish free, thus chip free. Prior to that they were fetching bright orange glitter with some almighty chips. However, in spite of said scrappiness, a 50's style frock really suits my shape and I love a high heel. So sometimes I just bust out smart Llara for shits and giggles. Boom!

Dress: ASOS, Cardi: Primark, Necklace: H&M, Shoes: Charlotte Olympia

Tweet, tweet

Look at that. Elegant to a fault. And not just wearing any shoes, but actual posh designer shoes. Fancy! Yes, I love my Charlotte Olympia shoes. As with all my designer shoes, they were bought on sale and, my oh my, are they worth every penny! That said, I am stopping buying designer shoes now in order to save for holidays next year. My buds and I have decided that, before we get "too old" (whatever that means), we're off to party it up in Ibiza. I went to Ibiza heaps of times when I was younger but it was always for a chilled out time. Back then, partying in Ibiza equalled lurid drinks, unknown drugs and STDs. I didn't much fancy that. Now we're old enough to just be in it for the dancing so we're going raving AND doing some chilling on the stunning island. I'm excited and terrified all at once!

Lord know these babies won't be coming with me...