I'm a Little Slow...

I've never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer but I've never really felt so stupid. It took me 2 months to "get" Tumblr. I don't know what it was that wasn't clicking, or if I just wasn't really trying, but I finally got it.

Since I'm pretty consumed with getting this new line off the ground I'll be posting to Tumbler in between blog posts. Just photos of the shoes I'm wearing and maybe shoes I'm seeing out and about. Quick little shots of, well, my life in heels... ;)

I hope you enjoy it- I think it will be fun and an easy way to share some fun fabulous (and maybe even not so fabulous) shoes! I share a lot of these on Twitter but I realize that a lot of you aren't Twitterers. I get it.
Please check it out and follow me if you'd like. My Tumblr 

(L.A.M.B. shoe straight off the runway)

(Louboutin)

(gianmarco lorenzi)

(L.A.M.B. shoe in the showroom in NY)

(DSquared2 "rain boot")

What's Going On??

"Where has she disappeared to this time?" you may be asking yourself. Well, there's a few things, first being my laptop was stolen and I lost ALL of my photos files and info.
"But you must have a backup!?" well, no. No I don't.

So new laptop, new start I suppose. Such a bummer. But on to the good news that I'm finally allowed to share!! I hinted to a new line with a super mega celeb a few months ago and I still can't reveal who she is (dangit!!) but I ended up passing on that project anyway. Why? Well for what may be the most exciting project in my career!!
"Better than working with Betsey Johnson?" Kinda.
"Better than working with Gwen!!??" Sorta.

Drumroll please..............

My very own line! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! Can you believe it!? So I'm obviously very preoccupied with that and with getting it started and whatnot, but I'd really like to share the process with you guys. From concepts to sketches to samples- everything! I obviously have to do it on a bit of a delay so ideas aren't copied and stuff but I can't wait to show you what I'm working on!!

Until then, I do have one favor. I need a name! Now I've asked some friends and they of course said "name it The Shoe Girl" but I don't think that really makes sense for a brand name... What do you guys think?? I'd love suggestions and if you come up with a name that I love you'll forever have bragging rights that YOU came up with the brand name. ;)
Think girly and fun and not too junior sounding. I know that it looks like a food company from my images up there but I want it to have that felling of delicious treats for your feet. I don't know about you but when I see the right pair of shoes I crave it, just like sweets.

I should remind you that I can't use my own name because Celine is already taken and is a well established French high end line. Bummer.

Yippee!! I can't wait for this next adventure!

LOVE YOU GUYS!!
xox

Q and A

There were a lot of good questions about my last post so I just want to take a minute to answer them...

(a shot of past samples in our sample room)

Angela said...

Now, is this the design process for all shoes? Or just better made shoes? Because I've wondered why there's such a discrepancy in fit. I'm sure each company has their own way to come up with the right last, but I wonder why some leave way too much room between the shoe and my toes and others are perfect.

This is the process for all shoes. There's really no way around it. The difference in high quality shoes and less expensive shoes is not the sample process but the actual production of the shoes. Meaning, after department stores and boutiques have seen the samples and placed their orders it's time to mass produce them in order to fill the orders. Better quality shoe companies have stricter rules and standards do they usually fit and feel better. Also, notice how good quality leather feels on your feet as opposed to man made leather that most lower priced shoes are made of. Check the lining because that's what your feet are actually feeling. If the outside is leather and the inside is faux, you'll definitely feel the difference.

Murderanda said...

What are some of your inspirations when it comes to designing? Do you have.. an 'inspiration board' of some sort or something?

I do make inspiration boards and I can't wait to share them with you guys. I haven't been able to yet because we design so far in advance that the inspiration board and sketches I have are just now coming out in stores. I'm not allowed to show sketches for shoes that aren't out yet ;)

Jessica Alice said...

What are the heel and outsole made of and how are they shaped?

For the sample process the heel is usually hand carved out of wood. We (designers) sketch out an idea of what we want and usually go through a few tries before getting exactly what we wanted. After the wooden heel is confirmed, a mold is opened and it is made in plastic. About 90% of all shoes have plastic heels, the exception being chunkier wood heels and wood wedges. Wooden heels are unstable and can break easily, especially on super thin, high heels. Plastic is more durable and way more cost effective.

Outsoles are cut from thick but pliable leather, based on the last and heel shape. Less expensive shoes may use rubber, plastic, or reconstituted leather to save on price or make the shoe more durable. 

holly in heels said...
...I personally would like to hear how a shoe gets NAMED--what creative elements/what team ideas go into naming a brand's shoe style. 

Every company is different, I'm sure. Smaller companies or Luxury brands can probably name their shoes anything they want but when you're dealing with mass production and distribution, you have to have a system. I can only speak for myself and the company I work for, but we can't repeat names within a 3 year period (so there is no confusion in department stores' systems) and we use one starting letter per season to help our customer service reps to know what shoe a customer is referring to. For example, let's say we're using "C" this season for Betsey Johnson. We'd have a Cassy, Carrissa, Courtney, etc. Usually a baby names book is involved. ;)

BobHH said...
The designer sketch you show is exaggerated in the shape. How is the actual last shape determined? Are there lots of lasts or just one for each heel height? Are they modeled from someone's feet?

I actually visited a last factory this past trip and was super bummed that I didn't have my camera. I'll try to go back again! 

The last shape is usually taken by a standard measurement and then adjusted accordingly. It can be a long process to get the last exactly the way you envisioned. The sketch in the picture was made by a European designer which typically means the drawing is more stylized and exaggerated. In my opinion, more beautiful- but everyone has their own style. My sketches are more straightforward but kind of boring ;)

There are thousands of lasts in our factory. I was trying to find the last room but they may have moved it off site. Every different shoe shape has it's own last. If there is a slight change from another style, it's a different last.

Here are some examples of how different designers sketch completely differently:

(photo: Footwear News)

william said...

When it comes to heel shapes do they simply carve a proto and then make a mold of the final result? I'm always curious with high fashion shoes that don't have acrylic heels, do they have to carve each heel individually? And how do stacked leather heels work.. is there a steel rod down the center for support? I'm always baffled by super skinny stacked leather stilettos because I don't know how such a skinny heel could support weight without added structure.

Ok, great questions!

1- Yes

2- Most high fashion shoes DO have plastic heels but for the rare times they don't, I'd imagine that they'd be hand carved though I can't say for sure.

3- Stacked leather heels are simply plastic heels wrapped in a thin piece of stacked leather, like this...

4- Most heels do have metal rods in them for added support- especially the super thin ones! 

I hope this gives you guys some insight into what I do :)

Before I Go...

So I'm off to China to work on my shoes for the next 8 days (boooooo!) but I wanted to share something real quick!

I've posted about my shoe storage before since many of you ask me what my closet situation is. Well, it wasn't pretty.

Piles of shoe boxes...

Piles of shoe storage boxes...

Hot mess status.

UNTIL! Ben and I had a crazy idea...

What if we made our home office into a sort of shoe room. (well my half of the office anyway)

Well, we did it. And I freaking love it.

TAH DAH!! Yay!

And with this post, I must go. My flight to China is taking off. I can't blog from China but I'll try to get Ben to post some stuff for me. :)

xoxo

Save My Sole!

A few months ago a company called Kushyfoot contacted me about sending me samples of their products. Being the shoe whore shoe lover that I am, I told them that I would gladly check them out... well I sure am glad I did!
The product that I thought would be the most useful for me were their Flats to Go. They're super easy to stuff in even the smallest handbags and are a total life saver when you need them. They're a no-brainer and I wish I would have thought of them first!

I had them with me in my bag at all times during Fashion Week in New York in case of a shoe-mergency. 

They look Ok though I definitely wouldn't wear them as shoes on purpose. They're not ugly, just not "real" footwear and though they don't seem durable enough to last forever, at only $9 a pair... who cares! They get the job done. They lasted through Fashion Week and literally saved my feet numerous times. Think heels in the meatpacking district!! All those cobblestones? Forget it!

(image piedolatrie)

Princess Poochie and I both slipped ours on after the Betsey Johnson show on our way to the Stacy Lomman show. It was raining and we both felt like our feet were getting a bit soggy in them but they survived and they saved my precious Spine Heels from the wet streets. 

I think they should add these to women's restrooms at bars. Like, they should have a machine that has tampons, lip gloss, and disposable flats. Genius if I do say so my self. And I do. ;)




The product that sort of caught me off guard though were these Super Low Cut Foot Covers. Um... AMAZING. I am not exaggerating ladies. I will be wearing these with everything this Fall. They are a new ShoeGirl staple.
I almost overlooked them in my package of goodies they sent but when I was packing for New York I grabbed them just in case.
I usually use regular ped socks when I wear boots or any kind of lace up shoe but I have these pink oxfords that are low cut and a regular ped would show. So, I tried these out and I will never look back. They have padding on the ball of the foot and even more importantly, in the back... you know, where you usually get blisters from shoes rubbing if you walk too long? Not any more. And they're thin like tights so they don't make your shoe feel smaller. They're low cut enough that you can wear them with pumps if you want too!! They're total pedicure savers too which is a great bonus. I hate when I get pedis in the Fall and then wear a closed toe shoe that chips off my polish!

I love love love these and think you should check them out. You can find theme here at Kushyfoot.com or on Amazon.

Back From China!

YAY! I'm back!

I'm still in zombieland, aka jet lag central but I have a couple of good posts in the works. :)

I just joined Facebook so make sure to stop by and say hi ;)

I missed you guys!!

xoxox

Love and Shoes.

Ben and I went to our good friends Mark and Gigi's wedding and I was very pleasantly surprised at how many great shoes I saw! I became that creepy friend taking pictures of girls feet all night. Ha ha.

But seriously- Gigi is a very stylish girl, so I shouldn't have been surprised by all her cute friends. Gigi wore my favorite shoes of the night- nude Valentino d'orsay pumps with a big oversized bow. I was honored to hep her pick them out months before her big day. :)

She wore a beautiful vintage inspired knee length lace dress and she looked absolutely perfect!

(Paris Hilton knocked these off)

We had so much fun! Ben wore a Marc Jacobs seersucker suit and I wore a Diane Von Furstenberg dress and YSL shoes.

Here are some of my favorite shoes of the evening... Most of which are surpprisingly affordable!

I even saw a girl wearing a pair of Harajuku Lovers shoes. I was very excited!

(The HL shoes)

(Report Signature)

(Zara)

(Steve Madden)

(Middle pair- Bakers... on sale right now)

(sweet hot dog tattoo)

(L.A.M.B)

If I find out who any of the other shoes are by I'll update. :)

And Hello Haters...

Don't make me sick Stella on you!

I would like to address the "Anonymous" people that leave me rude and nasty comments. This is so silly of me to even pay you any attention but I'd just like to make a few points.

First- This is MY blog. Mine. I will write about how much I love my husband or any other subject that bothers you as much as I want. If you have a problem... GO AWAY. I can write whatever I want. You do not need to read it.

Second- I do not for one second think I am a model or that I am gorgeous. I post pictures of myself to show what I'm wearing and how I wear it. I realize that I am completely average on a good day so you can stop with the comments about how fat/ugly/unattractive I am. I get it. Though I did get a kick out of the "you look like Lady Gaga, but uglier" comment, and joke about it often with my friends.

Please don't get me wrong- I have no problem with negative comments about outfits or shoes. I expect them and honestly welcome them. I do however take issue with personal attacks on me. It makes you sound envious and honestly, pretty pathetic. Especially when you don't have the balls to leave your name.

I am not cocky about anything but my taste in shoes, which I am obviously proud of. That is what this blog is about. Shoes. So talk all the shit you want about how tacky you think I am or whatever- but stop with the nastiness.

I will from now on delete mean anonymous comments. If you leave a name/url for me to judge you by- I'll go ahead and leave them up.

Ok- rant complete. I love you all so much! Thank you for reading weather you love me or hate me or something in between. It's been over a year now since I started this and I really love writing it.

XOXO

Your Shoe Girl

Celine

So I'm Still Kind of a Rookie...

I don't totally know what I'm doing still, so please bare with my ghetto blog. You can now subscribe to my blog and get emails whenever I post new content. Exciting, right?? haha

Its over there on the top left of the blog. I hope you'll do it!

Thanks everyone for reading and commenting and for all the nice emails!!

xoxo