History Repeats Itself

Maybe if you lived in a cave you might not have heard this phase, history repeats itself. Is it true? Well yes and hopefully no. There are a few too many horrible historical events I hope will never be repeated. But I do know fashion repeats itself. Some fashions when they return are welcome and others I always wanna know why. Lets pray mullets will never return, but I can guarantee you at some point they will. Fanny packs can die forever as well. And as a lover of beautiful shoes I hope crocs never return. But honestly I never would of guessed there would be a return of neon. I am (barely;o) old enough to remember the last time neon was the rage. And when it finally was extinguished from society it was nearly burned at the stake. I remember seeing many “ friends don’t let friends wear neon” t-shirts. The fashion trend did not just fade away; it was chased out of town with venom. By the time neon was out it was hated. But low and behold it’s back. And not hated, actually it looks kinda fresh and new. And I can’t believe but I just purchased neon athletic shoes—and I really like the brightness. So friends no intervention is needed, of my own free will I choose to wear neon.  History has repeated.

 

Sometimes it’s Done

Just like jobs, vacations, relationships and yes shoes, sometimes you just have to call it like it is, done. When I travel I try to streamline the shoe assortment to the bare minimum. Shoes are heavy and take up a lot of space in luggage. Plus I like to travel as light as possible. Less stuff means less to haul around. Which is so much easier if you are on a lot of trains, planes and subways… etc. A big heavy suitcase is cumbersome, annoying and exhausting to lug around.

I also like to travel with items, clothes and particularly shoes that are on their way out i.e. done. Getting one last spin out of them before setting them free in the world. Sadly I don’t know their fate after I have released them, but I hope they found a new purpose. One pair of shoes I loved called my NYC shoes I actually gave a watery funeral and threw them in the Hudson River. They were spectacular filigreed red velvet pumps but their life was over and deserved to be put to rest. My friend Dana and I each threw in a shoe and then cheered to the fun experiences enjoyed while donning these beauties.

My latest adventure I deemed Laurapalooza, rather pretentious sounding, but I really only meant it as fun.  During this holiday aka Laurapalooza I left a very serviceable workhorse pair of CFMs in Brussels. These shoes were by no means a favorite, but I did like them and they served me well. They cruised all over the Mediterranean last year with me and went on two military tours. I will forever fondly remember them as the shoes I was wearing when I fell off stage while performing in Moron, Spain. I am so lucky not to have really hurt myself.  Four feet into the abyss is a big drop. Yes the spot light was that bright. I could see nothing including the edge of the stage. That whole night is another story for another time.

Why did this pair get to travel so much? Because they were easy to match with many things and they were not among my pricey favorites. Never travel with anything you can’t bare to lose, words of wisdom. Trust me. As an added bonus I procured these babies on sale, deeply on sale in Boston. Thank you my road worthy friend, we traveled well together. Adieu.

Laura

Trickle up & Designer Shoes

As in fashion just like in economics there are the theories about where fashion trends come from. Do the less wealthy try to emulate the rich and famous i.e. trickle down. Or do the haute couture houses get ideas from the creatives on the street i.e. trickle up. And then manufacture the items with costly materials and a fancy brand name. Which allows them to charge insane prices because we like the quality. I mean the prestige or the fancy shop in which we procured the item. Its true, shopping in a posh boutique is always far more delightful than scouring the rakes at Ross.

Anyhow because I’m a keen observer in footwear trends (its hobby of mine if you haven’t noticed yet) I have noted in the last few years much more trickle up rather than trickle down in shoe styles.

I was in Monaco last week, you know like everyone ;o) It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world per capita. Of course the country is the size of a pimple in the grand scheme of things. There were Ferraris and designer everything is everywhere. So I was window-shopping because that is still free when I ran across a window display at the Gucci boutique. These shoes are very reminiscent of past designs from Betsey Johnson and the Taylor Says brands. Not cheap brands in the least but compared to Gucci they are at least in the I don’t need to take out a loan price range. And if you want to get  even grittier the recent designs in higher end brands are really coming from the streets, think Melrose Ave the non fancy part to the east, those familiar with LA. Anyhow I like it. I like that these shoes are fun. The ultra rich shouldn’t have to wear boring shoes just cause they have money.  Ferragamo makes excellent shoes, not question but no one will ever excuse them of being playful. Three cheers for fun!

Laura