Ruby Slippers, Sapphire Stilletos & Fancy Clothes

[lady narcissa]

Where do you live? I suggested Blondo boots to Baitac in her "what shoes to wear in London" thread.

That is actually the brand I just discovered. I think zappos.com just recently added them because I haven't seen them there before.

[Daenerys Stormborn]

Where do you live? I suggested Blondo boots to Baitac in her "what shoes to wear in London" thread.

i live in the states, but have ordered shoes from Britain and Italy before. thanks for the suggestion, some of these look great!

[Angalin]

lady n - I have a pair of tall boots and love them. So comfortable, and warm, and waterproof. Plus laces up the back as well as the zipper up the side.

[Angalin]

i live in the states, but have ordered shoes from Britain and Italy before. thanks for the suggestion, some of these look great!

I advocated cross-border shopping to Baitac for them, although as lady narcissa said above, they're now on zappos.

eta for boot wearers: Sorels if you're serious about warmth, while La Canadienne are stylish.

[Lilith of Tarth]

Nice to see you again Lilith! Haven't see you in ages, though that could have just been me not being observant.

Your observation skills are still keen! I have just been absent for way too long. I just figured out how to negotiate the password gauntlet again.

How are you and yours and the wolf pups?

[Angalin]

I cracked and bought the Fluevogs that were on sale, as well as a seriously beautiful dress which the math department will not properly appreciate.

[Elder Sister]

I cracked and bought the Fluevogs that were on sale, as well as a seriously beautiful dress which the math department will not properly appreciate.

Those are great shoes.

Saw a lady walking in downtown Chicago yesterday in a pair of boots that I really need.

I would love to see your lovely dress. This is a group that will appreciate it more than the math dept. :)

[Elder Sister]

Also, are the blondos comfortable?

[Angalin]

I would love to see your lovely dress. This is a group that will appreciate it more than the math dept. :)

Almost anyone would appreciate it more than the math dept! :lol: If you want a picture of me in it, that might happen next week. Straight dress, tomorrow.

Also, are the blondos comfortable?

Mine were, and the friend who recommended the brand to me is exacting: she wouldn't have told me about it if she didn't think it was good overall. Once the snow falls, I'll probably wear the boots with the dress more often than the shoes.

eta: to be fair to the math dept, they might well appreciate it once they got over the shock of fashion.

[quirksome]

I cracked and bought the Fluevogs that were on sale, as well as a seriously beautiful dress which the math department will not properly appreciate.

Second the dress pics please! Set a precedent - stylish mathmos unite! :)

[karaddin]

It's true, but there are specialty shops out there! http://www.prettybig...com/site/shops/ I tend to look for wide shoes, not size 8+(IE), but a lot of these shops carry both.

Ooh very helpful, thanks!

[TerraPrime]

Okay, enough about trivial topics like politics and religion. Let's talk about the serious issues in life. Like about the fact that I now own not one but two pairs of red shoes. A shiny pair of red pumps and a cute pair of red suede Mary Jane flats with flowers embroidered on 'em. So what has shown up in your closet recently??

I haven't bought any shoes recently. In fact, my shoes never get worn out. I've been wearing my work shoes (brown, black, black) for over 5 years now and everything is still in good shape.

But that's not important.

The important part is... Lilith!!! ZOMG!! *gushes* So good to see you posting again! :D :wub:

Re: Yags

Nobody can ever accuse me of being disloyal to my brands.

Women, take notes: The key to undying loyalty to Yagathai is treat his feet well and use a lot of leather and rubber.

[quirksome]

Bought some blush suede pumps with silver chain detail from Russell&Bromley in the summer sale. And have had no occasion to wear them :crying:

This thread is bad for me! Repeat to self: I do not need more shoes. I do not... ... more shoes.... *clicks links* ...damn. :leaving:

[Yagathai]

What can I say? A man has needs, and a good pumice stone is one of those needs.

[Lilith of Tarth]

TERRRRRAAAAA!!!!!!! :D :D :D :drunk: :drunk: :cheers: :cool4:

[Angalin]

This is the best shot I can get right now. The dress has more detail as it goes up - I'm constrained by poor lighting.

eta: Yags, what's your best suggestion for caring for suede shoes?

[Rolex Baratheon]

Why does women shopping obsessively for shoes turn me on? I'm losing it.

[Elder Sister]

This is the best shot I can get right now. The dress has more detail as it goes up - I'm constrained by poor lighting.

eta: Yags, what's your best suggestion for caring for suede shoes?

Dang, I can't really see it but I love the rug andi am LOVING those shoes.

Angalin, I may have to hire you to be a personal shopper for me.

Please send a better shot if you have time and take care of my lovely shoes. :)

I use a suede thingy that I got with a blue suede Coach bag. It looks kind of like a pencil eraser and just rubs out dirt and marks. But if you get them wet, that's it. Bye bye, lovely shoes.

I don't have many suede pairs of shoes for this reason. Winter in the southern US is extremely wet.

[Yagathai]

eta: Yags, what's your best suggestion for caring for suede shoes?

Store them dry and dark - moisture and natural light is the enemy. Invest in a good suede protector spray, available at most good shoe stores. If you're not wearing them for a while, use a shoe tree or stuff with tissue or brown wrapping paper, since suede is very sensitive to humidity and can change shape.

When you're cleaning, use a suede brush to brush off dirt, even dried mud. When you do, make sure you only brush in one direction, against the grain, so you don't fuck up the nap. If the nap is matted or fallen, you can use a specialty "suede bar" to bring the nap back up if you need to, though I've also used a pocketknife or steel wool or a nail file -- but v-e-r-y carefully, since those can permanently fuck the material up.

You can also use a pencil eraser -- one of those big fat white erasers works best, I've found, but you can use the back of a pencil in a pinch -- to pick up certain kinds of scuffs or marks, but if they used a cheap dye on the shoe you can also pick up the dye and scuff or discolor the shoe further, so test in a small, inconspicuous area first.

If you get water stains, that's rough because water will discolor suede. There's no way to undiscolor it, so your only option is to discolor the whole shoe so that it matches. Wipe the shoe down with a clean wet sponge until it's thoroughly wet , then put it someplace well-ventilated to dry. Make sure it's got either a shoe tree or tissue or wrapping paper inside it, or otherwise it will shrink and deform. I've heard that you shouldn't use newspaper because the ink from newspaper can leak into wet suede, but I've used newspaper plenty of times and never noticed -- but then again, when I wear suede it's almost exclusively black, so I suppose I wouldn't.

This process will also get rid of salt stains from sweat or seawater or dirty winter puddles that you can't get out with a brush. For bad salt marks, the wetting process may have to be repeated several times, but make sure you give the shoe plenty of time to get completely dry between wettings. Suede will get moldy if it's kept wet for extended periods.

If you get oil stains (like from lifting your girlfriend's sister's idiot boyfriend's Corvette out of the sugar sand where he decided to park it, but the 'vette is leaking oil all over the sand and you step in it and it gets all over your boots and you don't know it) those fuckers are never coming out (though I guess it's your own damn fault for wearing new suede boots out into the Pine Barrens. What were you thinking, idiot?). You can try scrubbing at the stains with water and soap if you want to, but odds are even if that takes the grease out, which it probably won't, it will screw the suede up. So, don't get grease on them.

[Eyelesbarrow]

An aunt gifted me with a pair of dark brown boots. I plan to wear it with my new burgundy colored skinny pants, which I bought on sale. I never thought I'd have a pair of non-neutral colored pants, but there you go. I blame you, Hong Kong street style!