Sculpted Scrimp n’ Splurge

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I feel like I should be constructing some kind of Scrimp vs. Splurge list with the title that I've used for this post, the type of thing in magazines that always leaves me thinking that the scrimp option is nowhere near as nice as the splurge and thus spend the rest of the day berating myself for being a superficial loser.  This is not so much a practical list but a way of organising my recent shoe buys that have both veered towards the sculptural… I seem to be hell bent on grouping purchases into categories, which only makes sense to me and no one else.  As if justifying by categories makes them a lot more worthy… I put it down to the manic organiser in me and also being spurred on by a wardrobing project that I'm undertaking (I'm very egg-cited about this pending project… but again, for personal and geeky reasons and not because it's actually an exciting project…) 

Trail of thought, where are you again?  Ah yes, sculptural shoes…

First, up these vintage Casadei sandals that in no way matches up to the heady heights that contemporary Casadei is churning out these days but as an eBay find for $19, with its cut-out wedge and odd puffy straps… I'm fairly chuffed with them…

Casadei

Next up… the much praised Nicholas Kirkwood sample sale.  How many pairs did ya scoop?  I think the combination of Swarovski lounge's plush carpet, pretty lights and of course racks and racks of Kirkwood's sculptural feats caused a morning of unabashed girly squealing and plenty of sentences beginning and ending with "Those are to die for…!".  Now you know how I feel about people dying over fashion, but I'll forgive and forget seeing as the sale was rather spectacular and wonderfully aided by helpful Kirkwood shoe elves who kept on replenishing the sale in addition to Kirkwood himself present and overseeing proceedings.  I loved eavesdropping on the guys who were there explaining in as much detail as possible to girlfriends on the phone about what was on offer ("Errr… there's a purple pair with a weird strappy bit!!"). 

Many left juggling several boxes and alas, I was going to make off with two pairs but sadly a certain pair of wedges were just a tad too small so it was the one pair for me.  These are from the current A/W 09 collection and feature the chunky cut-away heel that is a recent shape development by Kirkwood, a front exposed platform and a paint splatter motif.  Hope everyone who made it to the sale are also cooing over their purchases… maybe not as obsessively as I am with my Nikon pics but drooling is all the same, with or without photographs.

Nkirkwood
(N.B. The way I photographed them makes them look like they're too big but no, they're a true 38… I'm just leaning stupidly…)

21 comments

  1. really fabulous shoes…i love your writing-style also.great inpo, great taste, great sense of humor.keep up the fab work u do.
    anna from norway

  4. That quote you posted is lovely – and totally apt for the blog post. Will you enter the challenge?
    I love both pairs of shoes but I love the Kirkwood ones the best – the heels are amazing! I really must move to London for all those Sample Sales.

  6. How was the Kirkwood sale? I wasn’t sure if they would replenish stock and the idea of getting up early and crossing town to stand in line and then fight with girls over shoes wasn’t tempting but it seems like it wasn’t so busy? What were the discounts like?

  12. It was lovely to hear from you; weird too as I had just been reading your blog… did you somehow see that on a blog visitor’s app? Either way, I am sitting here dying a slow death of shoe jealousy.

  15. Almost bought those, just found them literally ridiculous to walk in. They just didn’t hold my foot in. I know the fellow that did the foiling on the toe, a wonderful chap. They are such pretty shoes… but I went for some of the classic big buckle sandles, beige with brass buckle? I keep putting them in the box, then taking them out of the box. They putting them back and looking at them. Then putting them on, then taking them off… you get the drift.
    Prices were from £100 for some plainish heeled pumps to 400-450 for high boots.
    The sale wasn’t busy on Thursday evening, just busy enough. No fighting, no queuing.

  16. Absolutely stunning, both pairs! The 2nd strikes me as rather Scandinavian, but not in the predictable black-leotard-with-boots type way.

  17. I almost like the vintage shoes better than the Kirkwoods! But I’m just weird like that, they’re both marvelous.

  18. Ha! That was my bro you might have heard on the phone, he said he was one of two blokes there so it could have been him? Bless him!
    He lives in London so I gave him orders to get himself there, and sure enough he came away with some grey pumps with a cut out slingback heel, super high heel with metal platform much like the ones on your shoes. I so wish I could have gone and met Mr. Kirkwood himself.

  19. wow how cool to have the designer at the actual sale! the shoes are fantastic and so easy to wear forever

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