If the shoe fits...

As you'll have noticed, I have a bent for old-fashioned fashion. And after Morag's 'bran-new' post about new shoes, I thought I'd take a look at - you guessed it - old shoes!

Really, really old shoes don't get preserved much. I mean, a good shoe only lasts so long, you can't keep passing it down. And archaeologically speaking, organic materials are some of the first to go, so early shoes are a rare and exciting find.

Roman shoes, 2nd century AD, found in Scotland in a well along the Antonine Wall. 

Fabulous medieval shoes. I would wear those! 

The fascinating thing that I found with shoes it that, like clothes, styles come and go, and even the most modern trends may really be just an echo of something that was popular hundreds of years ago. Take, for instance, the 16th century chopine shoes. Very like platform shoes!

Fancy velvet chopines - 16th century!

More 16th century chopines. 

17th century heels. Aren't they lovely?

17th century. I love the fabric & the buckles.

18th century.

18th century.

These look quite modern to me. Surprisingly, they're from the Regency era, around 1800.

Plain, ballet-like shoes of the 1830s.

More examples of 1830s shoes.

1860s. These are lovely, and at first glance could pass as modern shoes.

Very fancy 1860s shoes.

1890s shoes. Very fancy. They hark back to the 17th century shoes quite a bit!

Crazy pointy heels from the 1890s.

Lovely shoes from about 1910.

Heels from 1912. Lovely.

The 1920s might be my favourite era for heels. I love the shape of 1920s shoes. So fabulous!

Pink 20's heels. Ooh!

Simpler 20s heels, but still lovely.

And we come full circle with platform shoes from the 1960s and '70s. 

1960s

1970s

What do you think? Will fashion keep borrowing from the past? Do you prefer chopines or platform shoes? Which styles should be revived?

Golden to the Globes

We are now, officially, smack dab in the middle of awards season. Or, more importantly, Red Carpet Fashion Season! I am mostly an Academy Awards fan and rarely watch the various other awards shows. But I do love looking at the fashions produced, and analyzing everything from their sublime beauty, to their questionable hideousness.

I loved both of these dresses they arrived in, especially Tina's poppy print with side wings. Their jeweled dresses, later on in the show, were quite beautiful as well!

I love Tina Fey so much that I actually did watch the entire Golden Globes a few nights ago. (I was a little let down by the fact that Tina and Amy were scarce, but all of the handsome, bearded gentlemen more than made up for it! I am a sucker for a good beard!) But, aside from the actual awards, I am here to present to you my favorite dresses, least favorites and a few that are still up in the air for me. I would love to hear your feedback as I'm sure my list is greatly different from yours.

THE BEST: (In no particular order except the first one.)

Oh Cate Blanchett! You've done it again! I don't think the photo captures the absolute perfection of this gown! It is definitely in my top 5 awards-show-dresses ever! The interesting placement of the lace, the slight sheer-ness of the fabric, the faint shimmer! 

I had to include this extra picture which includes the back. Again, amazing!!!

Aside from the unescessary high slit, I thought this dress was the perfect balance between simple and fancy. That line of jewels in the middle was dark blue. So gorgeous! (Margot Robbie)

Some people might think I'm crazy for liking this as the cape thing is a little weird. But somehow it worked and she looked absolutely stunning! (Lupita Nyong'o)

I am a sucker for a crazy color combo gone right. She said she was inspired a bit by her role in American Hustle. That may be another reason why I like it, it's 70's under tones. (Amy Adams)

Again, completely unnecessary slit, but the rest of it was gorgeous and it fit her like a glove! (Amber Heard)

This may have looked wrong on a different person, but on Lizzy Caplan it is  flawless!

I was on the fence about this one, but I decided that the belt is what makes it work. Plus, ever since the Duran Duran, Rio album cover, I have always been a fan of the purple/red combination! (Julia Bowen)

I love the cut and silhouette of this! Definitely unusual on a red carpet. And the gold accents really work! (Julianna Margulies)

This was definitely not my top dress, but Kate Beckinsale looked precisely like one million dollars. Does that woman age at all?! 

Yes, Sofia Vergara ALWAYS wears a big, full, voluminous dress. I'm usually pretty bored by her choices. But for some reason, the simple cut of this black gown and the perfect flow of it completely took my breath away!

UNDECIDED:

When Emma Watson walked out on stage, this dress was completely thrilling. Simple, vibrant and with the subtle hints of the black pant underneath (plus I love the choice of the blue heels). Now that I've seen the back, however, I'm not so sure. I know I have said this before, but on her is still seems to work. I think am still inclined to like it. Despite the fact that it's kind of a mullet dress: Business in front, Party in the back.

I kept wanting to like this dress, every time I saw it. I think my ultimate problem was with the white. That bunched up middle section kind of brought to mind an adult diaper. Jennifer Lawrence still looked lovely, but something just wasn't right about the whole thing.

I love it in the picture with the wind blowing through it, but I'm not completely sold with it on Kate Mara.

I really want to like this, but ultimately I just can't support those color choices. And the color-blocking on the bodice makes it look too sporty on top. (Sandra Bullock)

ATROCITIES:

Oh Drew Barrymore, you never fail to bestow upon the world your zany sense of flower-fashion. From afar this one looked ok, but up close it was terrible!

I hate this dress! The cut of it is all wrong, especially on Hayden Panettiere who is only 5 feet tall. The strong graphic lines somehow accentuate her shortness, and whoever did her hair should be tarred and feathered! I usually think she's quite pretty, but I thought she looked terrible!!!

Now introducing the worst red carpet dress of all time! Yes, it is 100% more terrible than Bjork's infamous swan dress.  I'm not sure what kind of stunt Paula Patton was trying to pull when she walked out her door that day, but I don't appreciate it! Not one bit!

New Year, New Shoe

Without going into too much detail, life has been pretty down for me lately. You may have noticed that I haven't been posting as much. That is partially due to the Holidays, but also partially due to my mood. As I pondered on my next post, I realized that nothing cheers a girl up better than shoes. So why not do a post about shoes?

I'll take one of each, please! I especially love the striped heels.

I love seeing new ideas come out in areas where you think everything has already been done before. That crazy heel is way too cool!

These remind me of streamlined Creepers. I love them!

I've tried to research new trends that have come out recently or are due out soon, but it's not going to be anywhere close to comprehensive. But here is a smattering of new shoes that have managed to catch my eye. I tried to include more than just heels, but I think the selection is still a little lopsided. Be that as it may, I hope you enjoy, and I wish you a very Happy New Year! Now go buy yourself some new shoes!

I'm a sucker for a good, pointy toe! These bootlets are wonderful! I don't think I could choose a favorite.

The fancy lines on these take my breath away! So simple, yet so beautiful!

Cool idea.

I think I like the lace one's best. Surprise!

I love everything about these. I'll bet that heel detail would get caught on everything though!

Last but not least, I couldn't help but include these. I think I would call them more runway props than shoes. But who knows? Maybe they'll be all the rage soon?