WHY didn't I got to her outlet when I was in Paris??

I adore Sonia Rykiel. I usually try to start my entries with some sort of clever hook before I get to the point, but with Sonia Rykiel, there's no need. I have a vintage Sonia Rykiel top that's possibly my favorite top ever (next to my also dearly loved Built by Wendy tops), because it's slouchy-tastic and it just always looks stylish. I think that it's safe to say that any piece from the new Sonia Rykiel collection would do the job just as well.


I was going to try to find some vintage sweater dresses on eBay to offer a more wallet-friendly alternative to Sonia Rykiel's gorgeous knit dresses, but there's just no alternative. My advice to you would be to learn to knit. But, if you're dying to recreate Sonia Rykiel with a little less cash, the color chartreuse (usually so ugly. . .) was also a prominent feature of the collection. Again, I love it, especially in typically luxe charmeuse, and especially with amazing teal patent heels. But, the easiest, safest, and undoubtedly cheapest way to recreate the look to pair your LBD with a pair of chartreuse tights. I usually wear deep teal or blood-red tights when I want to look a bit edgy, but this might just be my new color of choice:

Lovely as always. I adore Sonia Rykiel.

Cute shoes that are comfortable??? BLASPHEMY!

Wednesdays are the worst day. The week is already in full swing, but the end is not yet in sight. You have all your work laid out in front of you, but you've yet to make a dent in it. To top it all off, you're sleep-deprived, the weather is awful, your thesis proposal is due damn soon, you've stabbed yourself in the eye with your mascara wand, and, to top it all off, you've just remembered that you left your wine glasses in a friend's room--on Saturday night. You promised to pick them up Sunday. But they're still there. And it's Wednesday.

Or, at least, that's my Wednesday, and, in suit, it's a tough one. So, what could make it better? Why, shoes, of course! But, given the crappycrappycrappy weather, let's look at sensible shoes, shall we? Oh, quit your whining. I promise it'll be fun.

Now, the gold standard for sensible shoes is Dr. Scholl's, though I'm not entirely sure how comfortable their shoe insert products are. Still, I have a pair of their famous buckle sandals--mine are flat slides, and they were pretty freakin' expensive for so little shoe, but they've lasted two years and they are comfortable, so I shouldn't complain. Perusing Dr. Scholl's at Zappos, we have a Chloe knock-off and a Marc Jacobs knock-off:

And it's a no. I'm all for knock-offs, especially comfortable ones, but these ones are, well, ugly. These next ones aren't exactly cute, but I'm attracted to their strangeness, and especially if they're comfortable, I would totally wear them.

Their collection at Zappos is full of iterations of the buckle slide, some ugly heels, other mediocre knock-offs, a few cute flats, a cute pair of granny boots, and a few real gems. Nothing, however, topped this:

Overall, I'd say it's worth wading through the ugly (some of which is quite appealing, like the strange boots I pictured, and also a pair of sort of. . . I dunno. . . combat maryjanes, if you will) to find the few real treats. I'd love the above boots and t-straps. Especially the boots, given the weather. Still, I admit the Dr. Scholl's is a bit of a pedestrian choice, so let's move on to the big guns: Nike for Cole Haan. Now, this isn't a line of couture sneakers. Apparently, Nike has taken their foot-friendly sneaker technology and put it all in cute little heels, boots, and wedges. Sounds good to me. I have a friend who has a pair of their boots and adores them. They all have a little bit of a platform below the ball of the foot, which I think is where the "Nike Air Technology" goes, and they all look pretty damn good:

Especially the two pictured above. Damn. Sexy. Still, the brand that I'm finding most intriguing is probably Devotte. I do remember reading somewhere (helpful, I know) that they're quite comfortable, and while I'm not sure why they're hailed as particularly comfortable on a technical level, but if you look:

That's a low wedge and a sensible heel--hardly something that could twist your ankle or make you sore. And they're lovely, simple, and vintage-y, without being stale and boring. And you can get them at my favorite internet boutique, Active Endeavors.

As long as I'm obsessing about jumpsuits. . .

. . . let's add this one to the list, shall we?

Ugly, and ooooh so desireable. . .

Things are getting out of control. First, I succumbed to skinny jeans, because I thought they were the only way to wear last season's blousy tops. But soon, I was wearing them with all things shrink-wrapped, and just about everything else I can think of. I love 'em.

Next, it was ankle boots. I used to think that they looked hopelessly dated, but the hopelessly dated look grew on me, and I now own a beautiful teal pair that I wear whenever I can. I'd wear them even more than I do, but I got them in England, so they'll be hard to replace.

So, what it is now? Oh, the shame, I can hardly bring myself to say it. . . a jumpsuit. Yes, it's true, fashion show coverage and some salutation from the mags has me wanting my very own onesies. I dunno if I'll break down and do it, but I'll keep you posted one way or another. . .

This 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent one would be a great choice, but I actually just bought a 12th Street dress, and it set me back enought that my jumpsuit will probably have to come from H&M. Oooh, the humanity. . .

But do I really need yet another pair of boots?

I used to find them ugly.

Then, I started thinking that they were hopelessly '80s.

Later, I thought they were somehwat intriguing, but equally trendoid.

But now I've broken down. London has me legitimately wanting my very own pair of ankle boots.

Denim dilemma

You know, I'm usually more than willing to embrace trends. I'd like to think that I do have my own aesthetic, but it's always changing, and while I'm not a fashion whore, I usually stay up to date. Bring on the long shirts and bubble skirts. I may even venture into the world of leggings.

But, open as I am to new things, I've had a problem with jeans lately. Observe:


Those jeans are on a model, people, and they're still making the poor wearer look hippy. It's just simple logic that if you wear jeans that are supertight over your ankles, your hips will look wide in comparison. The only person who I've seen who doesn't look a little bit wide in skinny jeans is, I'm pretty sure, anorexic. One way or another, she's way too frighteningly skinny to look cute in just about anything.

Now, I'm not saying that women shouldn't embrace their curves, and show a little hip when they want to. I mean it's hard to be comfortable with your ass when all the women that we're shown in ads and movies are a size 000, but if you are comfortable enough with your body to wear supertight jeans, more power to you. In fact, I even think that this pair is pretty cute:


The wash gives the legs a nice contour (that sounds really weird), and the color and the length are good, too. I could wear these. I would wear these.

BUT! Skinny jeans are going out! Now that pretty much everyone is used to them, and a lot of people have shelled out hundreds of dollars for them, we're being asked to accept super-baggy slouchy jeans as the next big (literally) shape. I mean, I suppose they're more comfortable than skinny jeans, but they're not exactly the world's most flattering fit, either. I love PaperDenim&Cloth, but even they couldn't come up with anything better than this when working with a baggy fit:


Ugh. Hudson did a slightly better job, but it's still an awfully drastic change from supertight jeans:


Silly as both these trends may be, I've shown examples of both styles that are quite bearable, so it's not like either trend can't be made to work. I just can't see why we needed a new denim trend to begin with. Sometime around 2003 or 2004, I think we really hit upon the perfect jean. Do you remember it? You probably own a pair or two that you take for granted. It's low, but not so low that you can't move without indecently exposing yourself--the waistband bisects the hip bone. It's fitted through the thigh and knee, but it's a little more forgiving around the ankles. Even though it flares out around the calf a little, the flare is neat and relatively small, just big enough to balance out hips--they're not ridiculous 60's (or 90's) bellbottoms. They're long enough to touch the ground, even to get a little scudgy around the hem, but they don't drag on the ground. They're perfect. Sigh. Well, just in case any of you don't remember/own/still constantly wear those jeans, here's what I'm talking about:



Wow, I'm all nostaglic now. Well, rather than continue to moan about the disappointing state of modern denim, I think I'll leave you with that uplifiting image.