What Would Project Runway Shoe? (#WWPRS) Designs to Make You Sweat

 

Ground shakers, hurricanes, claw scratching quitters, sour graps and all the September issues… What a week!  It was the Heidi New Balance challenge making us all sweat in our designer slippers.  I guess you could call it sportswear but I think the end result is definitely a sporty and casual chic look available for purchase on Amazon. ‘What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS) is about pairing a shoe or two with the winning look, and in this week’s case, looks, of the week.  SPOILER ALERT!  Stop reading if you want to wait and watch the episode first reading about the winning design.

I’m not exactly sure what it is about this challenge that throws the designers so much.  Cecilia called it quits because the guilt from her flailing last week was haunting her while Bert found a new way to bring upscale to sporty and sour grapes.  It seems that its really hard to design New Balance Heidi Klum worthy outfits.  And as such, there was a Project Runway first of no clear top and no clear bottom designs.  There was no one team that had a collective win.  However, Mr. Viktor (#PR9viktor) and Ms. Anya (#PR9Anya) were able to bring it with their versatile designs to take the top prizes of immunity and having their designs be part of the Heidi Klum for New Balance line.

For Viktor’s urban warrior look, I picked the ‘Benjamin’ by L.A.M.B.  Leave it to Ms. Gwen Stefani to master the urban warrior look.  ‘Benjamin’ exudes urban warrior with its distressed color and edgy, modern t-strap like design.  These are crazy high with a total height of 5 ¼” heel that includes a 1 ¾” platform wedge.  These will give Viktor’s design that extra sass that every Working Girl needs to balance her pulled togetherness she masters every working day of the week. 

It seems that the maxi dress is here to stay for another season…  It may be one of the most relaxed ways to transition into the Fall weather.  The elongating effect you get from the smart design of the maxi dress lets you be easy breezy.  What better way to be easy breezy than with the ‘Serenite’ by Steve Madden?  This fantastic thong sandal gets a great edginess from the buckle and woven back.  The thong design is a great compliment the racer back on Anya’s maxi dress.

This season is heating up fast, and I’m excited to see who’s getting clawed up next week.  See you here for next week’s “What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS)  *hearts*

  

What Would Project Runway Shoe? (#WWPRS) Nina Garcia: The Ultimate Working Girl Fashionista

Oh my GOODNESS!  I think this episode rings to be the Working Girl’s Shoe Closet *most* favorite Project Runway episode yet!  Ms. Nina Garcia is such an icon for me because she projects the very essence of the ultimate Working Girl Fashionista.  This week’s challenge to design her a perfect day-to-evening look brought out what has been lacking in our expansive fashion world.  And the difficulty the designers had in trying to create something fashion forward that is office appropriate and can transform to evening flair equals the challenges all the rest of us working girls face in trying to shop and dress in the morning every day.  So, for all you newbies to my blog, ‘What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS) is about pairing a shoe or two with the winning look of the week.  SPOILER ALERT!  Stop reading if you want to wait and watch the episode first before reading about the winning design.

We got wowed on the runway with three really fantastic chic day to night designs by Anya (#PR9Anya), Kimberly (#PR9Kimberly) and Viktor (#PR9Viktor) but it was Kimberly that took the top prize.  Her impeccable, now signature, tailoring of the well proportioned pants with the wide leg was the perfect foundation for the shiny gold asymmetric sleekly fitted top.  The balance and range of the top’s shine and the dark pant make a seamless transition from day to evening. And as such, I’ve chosen one day and one evening shoe.  For the day shoe, I really wanted a red shoe.  I felt that an office design this bold and confident needed to not be outshined by an equally bold and confident shoe.  My Piperlime search led me to these Steve Madden ‘Felicite’  as the exact shoe that I was looking for the day look.  I loved this shoe for many reasons.  The first, and most obvious, was the color.  Like I said, this is an outfit that has confidence as its most fabulous accessory, so only red can really stand up to it.  The peep toe helps to keep the look from feeling too covered.  Because the outfit consists of pants, you need a balance of some skin.  The 5” heel with a 1 ¼” platform gives you the extra height that every girl needs when wearing pants.  And as of late, Steve Madden’s platforms have been increasingly more and more cushioned to help you run around in your heels with more comfort.  The chunkier heel also helps give you more stability to avoid those wobble moments when dealing with urban terrain.  No matter how tall you are, or aren’t, using the magic of an elongated line that you get from a dark pant coupled with the added enormous platform height, you establish yourself as a fabulous working girl fashionista with this pulled together ensemble. 

For the evening look, I chose the Badgley Mischka ‘Fierce’ and fittingly so because not only is Ms. Garcia fierce, but you in these shoes and outfit, THAT’S fierce!  Going with the gold bling color turns up the volume on evening glamour for the overall look.  The criss-cross straps on these elegant sandals are a delicate counterpart to the coverage of the top and pants.  The 4½” heel with ¾” platform give you that verticality that makes your thighs disappear… my most favorite way to lose 5 pounds! ;) 

Joanna Cole underscored her eloquence in her commentary.  She captured exactly what fashion’s role for working women should be in that it should make us feel like the queens of the cubicles when filling out our expense reports and time sheets.   Fashion should make us feel empowered not entrapped.  She reminded me why I absolutely adore her AND how amazing she’s made Marie Claire magazine. 

Next week promises the cat scratching that makes for great reality TV!  Bring on the claws… I can’t wait! :)  See you here for next week’s “What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS)  *hearts*

  

What Would Project Runway Shoe? (#WWPRS) Tall Orders with High Drama

Well, Season 9 of Project Runway hasn’t wasted any time giving us high drama!  AND, this week’s challenge was designing for stilt walkers too! ;)  ‘What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS) is about pairing a shoe with the winning look of the week.  SPOILER ALERT!  Stop reading if you want to wait and watch the episode first before I give up the goods. ;)

This week’s winning team designed an absolutely elegant red dress.  The style of the design reminded me a bit of something from the house of Badgley Mischka. I think Nina gave a little dig about that in her feedback on the look.  But it was the self described ‘St. Louis Barbie’, Laura Kathleen that got to take the win from the duo team of Laura and Anthony Ryan.  Mr. Anthony was such a gentleman to give her the win.   I am so sadly disappointed in Mr. Bert acting so childish and yet designing so old.  I hope he can turn it around next week!

So as a nod to the brilliance of Badgley Mischka, I felt that the ‘Humbee II’   was very appropriate to complete this look.  I really loved the very elegant luxe flowy red lushness.   It was just really pretty.  Plain and simple, but gorgeous in its seemingly effortless simplicity.  As such, I wanted to bring the elegant bling to the look with these sparkly open toe pumps.  The cascades of flowy red fabric beg for a little “peek down at my toes” moment.  The 4 ¼” heel comes with a ¾” platform to translate that stilt walker height to you. :) A sparkly strappy sandal would be a nice compliment here but  I feel that the open toe pump mimics the understated sophistication of the dress in a more Grace Kelly classicness kind of way.

Ms. Nina Garcia is the subject of next week’s challenge and I am more excited to hear her critiques in the work room than anything!  See you here for next week’s “What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS)  *hearts*

YSL With A Looming Debt Ceiling

I have been ALL about the wedges this summer.  While I have decent selection in my current Working Girl’s Shoe Closet, I have had the urge to add a little flair to the mix.  Sadly, with this recession that’s lasting longer than that bad Tijuana hangover in college, the shoe funds must be spent more mindfully these days. 

I was absolutely thrilled to find my reminder from Decades Two of their biannual shoe sale!  For those of you not familiar with or, sadly, far from LA, Decades Two is a designer consignment shop with a very discriminated stock of very well cared for second hand items.  The shoes they take are virtually pristine.  The shoes are fully scrubbed and resoled in a way that really makes you do a double take on them being used.  In many instances, there are some items that have never been worn, which makes it a phenomenal find. 

This particular sale is twice a year that sells everything pretty much at $150…. Yes, ladies, you read that right… Louboutins, Manolos, Gucci, Prada, D&G, Choos, Zanotis, you name it, $150.  So you know that you have to get there at the latest at 6 am to get in line for the 9 am cracking open of the doors.  If you are a hard to find size, you get to sleep in since those are the shoes that are still there around 10 am.

 I was lucky enough to get my wedge fix with these fantastic platform Yves Saint Laurants.  It took me a little while to get used to a 4” platform that is not much of a heel, but they are so very comfortable.  I really loved the tassels that are so very soft.  I was completely swayed by the olive green color that is a great neutral for all my khaki Summer and Fall casual outfits.  And at $150, there’s clearly more to debate over raising the debt ceiling than whether or not to get these fabulous platform wedges.  You can’t beat designer kicks on a recessionista budget. ;)

*hearts*

What Would Project Runway Shoe? (#WWPRS) Trashion, not Fashion, Classy or Assy?

Oh my Lord of the rings!  Manopause has hit Ms. Michael Kors in this week’s Project Runway episode.  Fortunately, the winning look and shoes to match have no manopause taint. ;)  For those that haven’t seen these posts of mine before, ‘What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS) is where I pair a shoe or two to go with the winning look of the week.  SPOILER ALERT!  Stop reading if you want to wait and watch the episode from this week and spill the beans.

Little Oliver Green’s modern chic dress made from pet shop finds of dog bedding and hamster filling took top prize this week.  The top was really my favorite piece of this outfit.  The tailoring and silhouette really made it so very sleek.  Given how they make our office subzero in the hot summer months, I think this would be a great office look.

Oliver’s choice of shoes was very good, I must say.  The ‘Gracious’  from Nine West is a fashion forward platform bootie that gives the look an updated modern edge.  My only qualm is with the color, Toasted Taupe, he chose.  I get that he was going for the neutral tones and the shade works with the model’s skin coloring but I would have liked to have seen a little more color interest and gone with the Grey Moon instead.  It’s still in the same color family but doesn’t wash out the overall look.

My more sophisticated and classic inclination for office wear makes me prefer Sam Edelman’s ‘Niland’ platform peep toe pump in the Putty color.  It has a classic, clean silhouette that plays to a timeless feel, perfect for emanating fantastic work wear.  The twist on this fab platform heel is the little keyhole like peeptoe.  Mr. Edelman brought us this updated peeptoe last year and the facelift on the sexy 1950’s icon is here for another few seaons.  Again, I chose the Putty for the same reason I think that Oliver should have gone with the ‘Gracious’ in the Dark Moon - slight visual interest without throwing too much in the mix.  And I’m not gonna lie, the faux croc like print was TOO perfect for the theme of this challenge to pass up here. ;)

Next week’s episode promises “high” fashion and a little Kim Kardashian guest judging.  Come back for next week’s “What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS)  *hearts*

   

What Would Project Runway Shoe? (#WWPRS) Season 9!

Hey Ladies, it’s that time again!  Season 9 of Project Runway is off and running!  The double dose episodes of seeing those that made the cut and those that made it in catered to my longing for some good fashion and drama.  As such its also time to start up with the weekly ‘What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS) where I pair a shoe or two to go with the winning look of the week.  SPOILER ALERT!  Stop reading if you want to wait and watch the first episode and not spoil the winner of the first challenge here.

The sweet and unassuming Bert Keeter took the win last night with his uber chic dress made from his adorable boxers and t-shirt.  He sort of won my heart over with the story of his struggles of losing his friends and partner to AIDS and pulling himself out of alcoholism to return to his passion of design.  Aren’t we lucky to have him back in the mix making the world more fashionable?  If nothing else, his design in this first challenge proved that.

Now, while like Nina, Heidi and Miss Michael Kors, I adored the dress, I did NOT adore the shoe choice.  I think he was going for a nude look to elongate the endless leg of the gorgeous model, however, the yellow heel was a bit of a fail.  What I would have gone with was the ‘Ionia’ from Sam Edelman.  The truffle color is absolute perfection because it plays to the taupe shades in the dress and also is a neutral that lengthens the line of your leg.  Because the hemline is rather short, flats keep the look at a chic and elegant place. For us lovelies that are 5’ 4” and under, you could do a pointed higher heel but that’s really more about your own vertical comfort level. ;)  The geometric details that create the modern edge to the garment are well complimented by the pointed toe and stay on ‘point’ with the clean lines of the look. 

The sweet gingham checkered print from the boxers also lends itself to be paired with some espadrilles because it just screams summer fun.  However, care needs to be given to picking out the right kind of espadrilles because the feel of espadrilles can take you into Frumpville in one quick step.  These ‘Ruckus’ from Charles by Charles David have that very clean look and feel while still having those natural and organic fabrics that exude fun in the sun.  Color is just as important as style of the espadrille because keeping it in that taupe range will ensure that you’re not detracting from the very cute details of the dress that made it the winner that it is.  Espadrilles also let you get away with the higher heel because the natural fibers have a more playful and youthful feel that don’t say you’re turning tricks later down on Sunset Boulevard.  The tweed on these ‘Ruckus’ keep you being the proper lady that you are. ;)

See you next week for Episode 2 of “What Would Project Runway Shoe?” (#WWPRS)  *hearts* 

   

‘Flipps’ Not Slips…

You may recall my fabulous Nordstrom Rack super find of the Joan and David’s 'Flipps' in two colors last Fall.  Well, I have been wearing these wonderful patent pumps well through this Spring and Summer to make my work outfits classic and yet fresh and modern.  They have been fantastically comfortable and truly versatile with so many different office appropriate looks.

My ONLY issue arose when traversing the various office terrain consisting of very slick cobblestone tiles and marble floors.  I’ve had more than one near fall experience.  Had it not been for my cat like instincts of sticking to landing on my feet, I’d have fallen flat on my booty on more than one occasion.  So, having grown tired of the continual worry taken with each step in these fabulous heels, I decided to resort to my shoe guy for help. 

I took my Flipps over to him and asked him to resole them, not because I had worn out the soles, but because adding a new sole would be a rubber base for my little tootsies to run about town with no worry of slipping anymore.  The added investment proves its worth when not having to think that at any moment, you may end up showing your “C U Next Tuesday” to every pedestrian in eyeshot, coworkers more likely than strangers…  Given that I had gotten them for such a deal, a few more extra dollars doesn’t take away from the overall bargain that they were to begin with at The Rack.

A few words on finding a good shoe guy…. If you’re finding yourself in a new neighborhood, ages from your old shoe guy…. The best way to find a new, good and reliable shoe guy is by either word of mouth or Yelp.  Also, walk in, get a feel for him.  Look at the sample shoes on display that he’s fixed and already has waiting for pick up.  Also, test him out by doing something small like re-heeling your favorite Winter boots.  Summer’s a great time to do that because it’s off season so no matter how long it takes him to do it, or more importantly, how long it takes you to make it back during the hours he’s open, it won’t affect your wardrobe outfit choices. J  Depending on how well he returns the shoes, you can gauge whether you can trust him with a “real” job…  Trust your instincts ladies.  If it feels ghetto, don’t go back… if you feel pampered, and your SHOES feel like they’ve been pampered… chances are, your shoe guy is a keeper. ;)

*hearts*