This girl *gets* shoes...is it in her genes?

This was written by my niece, Flora Wilds, who is in 8th grade. Love this girl, and love the way she thinks!

Attack of the Shoes

Click-clack, click-clack
Can you hear them talking?
Click-clack, click-clack
All the shoes are walking

Sitting in a cardboard box
In the stores all day
Waiting for some lucky buyer
To purchase and take them away

Stilettos, pumps, boots, and flats
Each have different personalities
Dressy, sporty, new, and old
Living in their own realities

Designer, vintage, men's, and women's
Plain, bold, and polka-dotted
Sitting lonely on a shelf
Anticipating being spotted

But when they are purchased and taken home
Off the shelf to be free
Worn by their owners (a shoes greatest joy)
So they, too, can click-clack happily

Some shoes smile, some frown, some have a pointy nose
Some like to show five white teeth (or toes)
Some shoes are short, others are tall
And to each other they endlessly call
In voices big and small:

"Hey! Look at me!
I'm the most beautiful shoe!
I'm shiny, I'm red, and I'm new!
I click and I clack
And I'm on the attack!
For I am the prettiest shoe!

Shoes can be vengeful and ever so tight
Yet some can be comfortable and free
But no matter what, they love to be worn
By you, and by her, and by me

So be kind to your shoes and wear them alot
Because they have feelings, too
Keep your feet clean (and don't ever smell)
Because they're the ones carrying you!

It bears repeating

Vintage clothing on Google, page 75

Recently I ran across something about Neanderthals: Some scientists now believe that they died out and were replaced by Homo sapiens largely because they were not as adaptive. Apparently, they used similar tools for tens of thousands of years without significant changes.

Which brings me to myself. The fact is that I find it so very hard to move on to the next thing always. I still keep books mostly by pen on paper, and when I do creative writing it is always by hand. I work online, and know how to type, and I'm very glad for those little steps I've taken.

Recently I was exposed to the concept of Google AdWords, and I read of people striving to create the perfect verbiage to be picked up on Google, to be almighty found in the vast sea of information and commerce.

Today, as a Homo sapien that probably has a drop of Neanderthal blood, I want to laud those who have not achieved among the first pages of Google in vintage clothing. As a matter of fact, I'm looking at page 75 in the search "vintage clothing," and on it are some fine things! I have purchased an item from Frock of Ages and I can say that whenever I check back, there is something sensational on sale. Look at the little black dresses by Suzy Perette, for instance.

On page 75 I see a piece about Xtabay, a wonderful shop I've visited in Portland. Not only is it a great shop with an interesting name, but the owner is a smart and sensitive person who has an amazing eye for what works on people.

Then there's Marian's Vintage Vanities Clothing, and who wouldn't want this 50s halter dress for $35?

I don't really know my point...maybe just that holding still doesn't necessarily mean one is worthless. For my sake, I hope not.

Isabella Blow: A disarming risk taker remembered

ISABELLA BLOW's husband Detmar confirmed this morning that the 48-year-old fashion guru died in the early hours of Sunday morning at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. The news has shocked the international fashion world, for whom Isabella has been a bastion, credited with the discovery of such successful figures as Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, Sophie Dahl and Stella Tennant. "She was a ray of sunshine," said Detmar, of the woman he proposed to just 16 days after meeting her at a wedding in 1988 before marrying her the following year. "She was a beautiful, brave woman; indefatigable, courageous and brilliantly intellectual." Blow, who recently underwent surgery to remove a tumour and had also suffered severe depression, had been confined to hospital for some time but her husband said he had still been hopeful of a recovery. "She was original, impactful, generous-minded and spotted some of the greatest talents," said Geordie Greig, editor of Tatler magazine for which Blow was still working as a contributing editor. "She was the most intelligent and creative person in fashion. In many ways she was the British queen of fashion. She was intoxicating. You could never get enough of her. She was a free spirit." Philip Treacy, whose hats Isabella was rarely seen without, also paid tribute from the Blow country home this morning: "She was a great champion of young people," he said. "She came from the establishment but she was a punk at heart. Her love was talent, rather than money. Her ethos was beauty and elegance. And her encouragement was rare." (May 8 2007, AM)

Dolly Jones, Vogue.com


10 reasons why I love Isabella Blow

1) There is no compromise about her. She is very much declaring with her style 'Here it is, you can like it or lump it.'

2) There is nothing random about her dress sense. It's a controlled madness, a whimsy that's not indulged to the extreme.

3) Amid the crazy ensembles lies a classic formula of a slick of fresh lipstick and a hat. There's something quintessentially old-fashioned about that and I love how in her own fantastic way she sticks to this formula.

4) She discovered Alexander McQueen.... good god, what the fashion industry owes her is priceless.



5) She describes herself as a pig sniffing out truffles when detecting fashion talent. Said truffles include models like Stella Tennant and Sophia Dahl, designers like Hussein Chalayan and photographers like Jurgen Teller--not to mention Mr. Treacy and Mr. McQueen.

6) She used to arrive much later at fashion shows than anyone else because she changed into a different outfit in between shows. That's an example of a perfect fashion spectacle in all its decadence.

7) Her relationship with hats is a true love affair - 'You can't be lonely in a hat' she says. It protects her from fashion vampires; 'That's why I wear the hats, to keep everyone away from me. They say "Oh can I kiss you?" I say, "No, thank you very much. That's why I've worn the hat. Goodbye." I don't want to be kissed by all and sundry.'



8) Unlike her steely ex-boss Anna Wintour (for whom Isabella worked for at American Vogue in the early 80s), you can sense a vulnerability about Isabella, underneath the hats, the sharply cut attire and the bolshy speech.

9) Popular culture seems to seek out Isabella as she appeared in Wes Andersons' Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in a cameo role (wearing a fabulous hat of course!).

10) Quite simply there just aren't that many risk takers in the fashion industry. People are constantly following other people. True, original, risk-takers are hard to come by.

Quoting liberally from susie_bubble, 07 August 2006, stylebubble.typepad.com



B/W images by Steven Meisel, Orange acrylic disk hat photo by Donald McPherson, Alexander McQueen w/ Isabella Blow by David LaChapelle

May Flowers from denisebrain

This month at denisebrain, the garden party never ends, with plenty of blooming prints and sun-loving styles!

This is a tribute to a wonderful older woman that I met years ago when I answered an ad advertising a 200-item vintage clothing collection for sale. Joann lives far away now, and is in failing health. I know she looks at things online with the help of her daughter, and I think--actually I know--it will please her to see her favorite sort of flowery and feminine clothing shown in her honor.