I'm terribly sorry that this blog has fallen by the wayside. For all those of you who have visited, my apologies. Life has been getting in the way, though now it looks like I might be able to get posting again.
Any of you visiting this blog, please post comments to this post if you would like me to continue, or if you have suggestions for changes. If no one seems to care then I probably won't continue, but if there is interest than I will go back to the weekly post (maybe biweekly?)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Hail Gladiator Sandal, we who are about to go trendy salute you! -or- I had to do this post at some point, so let's get to business PART II
Sorry for the delay everyone, college has started so I've had to settle down and all, and summer vacation was long; never to fear though, I'm back! Let's get down to some no muss, no fuss, shoe-ing.
Let's start with a basic:
Clean, simple, not light and delicate, but also not heavy and clunky. For $70 these faux snake-skin heeled gladiator sandals are basic enough to be a utilitarian shoe to wear with many styles, but the snake-skin adds a bit of edge (and snake-skin is in right now) to make sure this shoe doesn't get boring. You can pick them up in black or a purple from ASOS.com.
These I think show what can go wrong with gladiator pumps. The straps make them kind of look like a ankle bootie that went through a blender, or like you took a pair of really ripped up socks. These shoes might work if it wasn't for the abrupt cut off at the ankle. I need some kind of transition or something to give these shoes the seal of approval, or wearable.
As I was talking about in the previous post, I dislike most gladiator style boots. These have 3 counts of bad taste; the straps are far too clunky and tangled looking, the panels running down the from of each shoe is wide and looks just plain ugly with the plain rectangular shape (kind of looks like you slapped some knotted up rotten duck tape on your legs, no?), finally the thin flat soles with your toes in the open like that with the abrupt perpendicular strap right before them looks bad AND is bad for your feet.
But don't you worry, for there are good pairs also!
I know I've been showing a lot from ASOS.com, and since pretty much everyone reading this is here in the states, the shipping takes a while, but there selection is good, OK prices, and the pictures they give of each shoe are nice (especially showing them actually ON someone). Now maybe I'm alone on this, but I love this pair. I could see that in person they could look hideous, but going off these pictures this is a gladiator shoe going up the ankle done right. With asymetry in the strapping pattern and variations in width and style of the straps you get a funky edgy look, but the thinness of the straps and overall simplicity makes these shoes appear lighter than the previous pair. Instead of looking like a fat hairy gladiator with 'canckles' you'll be the hotest girl in this season.
If you want a similair look but for less money and not as extreme, take a look at these:
I'm glad I got to include these shoes since I was going to put them in the article "Hot Weather, Hot Shoes, Hot Mama! " but ended up leaving them out (Generally I look at over 100 shoes in writing an article, so obviously some good ones will fall through the crack). With a basic gladiator-esc look but a very feminine wrap around the calf, these shoes would be a nice addition to many outfits of a dinner type affair. If you want to try out the gladiator trend but are looking for less of a day to day shoe and don't want to go all out, this is a good option. They should still be available at ASOS.com (got to love those brits!).
And to end on on the amusing:
This one hurts me. It's like a cheap BDSM fantisy, with a zipper for ease of use. Someone actually designed this, as in they set out and created that thinking it was a good idea.
Hip-Muppet is a look I've never been able to go for. It's not like tassels never work, but you wouldn't know it looking at these. If you want to look like you've got hella hobbit feet, be my guest, for me I'll take a more classic look as oppsed to a Tolkien-esc romp through pede-trends.
Let's start with a basic:
Clean, simple, not light and delicate, but also not heavy and clunky. For $70 these faux snake-skin heeled gladiator sandals are basic enough to be a utilitarian shoe to wear with many styles, but the snake-skin adds a bit of edge (and snake-skin is in right now) to make sure this shoe doesn't get boring. You can pick them up in black or a purple from ASOS.com.
These I think show what can go wrong with gladiator pumps. The straps make them kind of look like a ankle bootie that went through a blender, or like you took a pair of really ripped up socks. These shoes might work if it wasn't for the abrupt cut off at the ankle. I need some kind of transition or something to give these shoes the seal of approval, or wearable.
As I was talking about in the previous post, I dislike most gladiator style boots. These have 3 counts of bad taste; the straps are far too clunky and tangled looking, the panels running down the from of each shoe is wide and looks just plain ugly with the plain rectangular shape (kind of looks like you slapped some knotted up rotten duck tape on your legs, no?), finally the thin flat soles with your toes in the open like that with the abrupt perpendicular strap right before them looks bad AND is bad for your feet.
But don't you worry, for there are good pairs also!
I know I've been showing a lot from ASOS.com, and since pretty much everyone reading this is here in the states, the shipping takes a while, but there selection is good, OK prices, and the pictures they give of each shoe are nice (especially showing them actually ON someone). Now maybe I'm alone on this, but I love this pair. I could see that in person they could look hideous, but going off these pictures this is a gladiator shoe going up the ankle done right. With asymetry in the strapping pattern and variations in width and style of the straps you get a funky edgy look, but the thinness of the straps and overall simplicity makes these shoes appear lighter than the previous pair. Instead of looking like a fat hairy gladiator with 'canckles' you'll be the hotest girl in this season.If you want a similair look but for less money and not as extreme, take a look at these:
I'm glad I got to include these shoes since I was going to put them in the article "Hot Weather, Hot Shoes, Hot Mama! " but ended up leaving them out (Generally I look at over 100 shoes in writing an article, so obviously some good ones will fall through the crack). With a basic gladiator-esc look but a very feminine wrap around the calf, these shoes would be a nice addition to many outfits of a dinner type affair. If you want to try out the gladiator trend but are looking for less of a day to day shoe and don't want to go all out, this is a good option. They should still be available at ASOS.com (got to love those brits!).And to end on on the amusing:
This one hurts me. It's like a cheap BDSM fantisy, with a zipper for ease of use. Someone actually designed this, as in they set out and created that thinking it was a good idea.
Hip-Muppet is a look I've never been able to go for. It's not like tassels never work, but you wouldn't know it looking at these. If you want to look like you've got hella hobbit feet, be my guest, for me I'll take a more classic look as oppsed to a Tolkien-esc romp through pede-trends.Two things:
The next 7 days there will be a shoe-a-day, so keep coming back daily! (Maybe a shoe a day will keep the creditors away, or attract them faster, I don't know.) Each week I'll have a theme like this since now I'm more free so I can kick this blog into full gear (One or two long articles will be coming on the weekends)!=. AND Email me at AboutShoesEtc@Gmail.com with any suggestions for new articles, questions, want to find a shoe (and I'm assuming a cheap one) to go with an outfit, or anything else!
The next 7 days there will be a shoe-a-day, so keep coming back daily! (Maybe a shoe a day will keep the creditors away, or attract them faster, I don't know.) Each week I'll have a theme like this since now I'm more free so I can kick this blog into full gear (One or two long articles will be coming on the weekends)!=. AND Email me at AboutShoesEtc@Gmail.com with any suggestions for new articles, questions, want to find a shoe (and I'm assuming a cheap one) to go with an outfit, or anything else!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Hail Gladiator Sandal, we who are about to go trendy salute you! -or- I had to do this post at some point, so let's get to business PART I
So sorry!!!
My internet crashed while writing this article, apparently having around 30 tabs open all with shoes makes my computer give up (le sigh), this means I had to write this article twice.
Sorry for the long delay though, I just started work and after hours on end staring at computer monitors, you aren't really in the mood to blog when you get home...
Anywhoodle, well trends come and go, and it seems the gladiator sandal came back this season, with a vengeance! (Bum bum bum! Lightning! Thunder!) I'm breaking this one up into 2 parts. In part un I'll blabber on about my opinion, ' do 's, ' don't 's, and some haha's, hehe's and possible a few hoho's. Part duex I'll have some shoes that are available right now in various price ranges.
Now how someone saw these guys:
and thought, "sandals!!!", I don't know. (The one on the right, if he was actually that big, would be adorable with that over sized helmet)
Seeing as Roman and Greek styles have been around for over 2,000 years, coming in and out of style, I am not really sure if we can call the gladiator sandal a fad or trend at this point, but this is one trend I'm cool with and if done right will add a new edge to your summer outfits.
What defines the gladiator sandal is the strip bisecting your foot with perpendicular straps attached to that with both these going all the way up the course of the shoe (or boot if it's a gladiator sandal that goes up to the ankle or higher). One simple rule is that the more perpendicular straps, and the finer the straps, the edgier and trendier the shoe. If you looking to pick up a pair remember this: the ones with fewer and wider straps will tend to not look out of date when gladiators aren't in, but if you want that hip edgy look, lots of thin straps are your friend. (Your sexy / trendy friend who doesn't take no sass, Mmmmmhmmmm)
When it comes to gladiator sandals I'm not a big fan of the ones that go up your leg. If your going to play this look remember that, since a gladiator sandal is a fairly simple shoe in terms of structure, you need to use it in the same way you would use a shoe as an accent (more of an accessory like jewlery). You can add a lot of punch to an outfit with one of these shoes climbing up your calf, but only if it acts as part of the outfit, tying in with the look and giving a unified vibe. Perhaps some bangles on your arm will help, but simple, flat, monochrome fabrics on their own won't cut it. You need texture if the outfit is more flat. Think lively folding fabric or textures like leather.
Hopefully that helps a bit, but more will be explained in the next installment. Stay tuned; tomorrow part II is coming (with pictures of shoes, I swear!).
Completely unrelated - To see more mouse, cat and dog armor visit this artist's website; this person has great talent. http://jeffdeboer.com/Galleries/CatsandMice/tabid/77/Default.aspx
My internet crashed while writing this article, apparently having around 30 tabs open all with shoes makes my computer give up (le sigh), this means I had to write this article twice.
Sorry for the long delay though, I just started work and after hours on end staring at computer monitors, you aren't really in the mood to blog when you get home...
Anywhoodle, well trends come and go, and it seems the gladiator sandal came back this season, with a vengeance! (Bum bum bum! Lightning! Thunder!) I'm breaking this one up into 2 parts. In part un I'll blabber on about my opinion, ' do 's, ' don't 's, and some haha's, hehe's and possible a few hoho's. Part duex I'll have some shoes that are available right now in various price ranges.
Now how someone saw these guys:
and thought, "sandals!!!", I don't know. (The one on the right, if he was actually that big, would be adorable with that over sized helmet)
(much like a mouse wearing this: 
)
)Seeing as Roman and Greek styles have been around for over 2,000 years, coming in and out of style, I am not really sure if we can call the gladiator sandal a fad or trend at this point, but this is one trend I'm cool with and if done right will add a new edge to your summer outfits.
What defines the gladiator sandal is the strip bisecting your foot with perpendicular straps attached to that with both these going all the way up the course of the shoe (or boot if it's a gladiator sandal that goes up to the ankle or higher). One simple rule is that the more perpendicular straps, and the finer the straps, the edgier and trendier the shoe. If you looking to pick up a pair remember this: the ones with fewer and wider straps will tend to not look out of date when gladiators aren't in, but if you want that hip edgy look, lots of thin straps are your friend. (Your sexy / trendy friend who doesn't take no sass, Mmmmmhmmmm)
When it comes to gladiator sandals I'm not a big fan of the ones that go up your leg. If your going to play this look remember that, since a gladiator sandal is a fairly simple shoe in terms of structure, you need to use it in the same way you would use a shoe as an accent (more of an accessory like jewlery). You can add a lot of punch to an outfit with one of these shoes climbing up your calf, but only if it acts as part of the outfit, tying in with the look and giving a unified vibe. Perhaps some bangles on your arm will help, but simple, flat, monochrome fabrics on their own won't cut it. You need texture if the outfit is more flat. Think lively folding fabric or textures like leather.
Hopefully that helps a bit, but more will be explained in the next installment. Stay tuned; tomorrow part II is coming (with pictures of shoes, I swear!).
Completely unrelated - To see more mouse, cat and dog armor visit this artist's website; this person has great talent. http://jeffdeboer.com/Galleries/CatsandMice/tabid/77/Default.aspx
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