#104 & 105 - Flat sandals

I originally planned not to include flat sandals in my shoe count (mainly because I don't like them), but I've realised in the past couple of weeks that I'm going to be wearing them a lot over Summer, so I might as well count them as shoes saved. I am now on the hunt to find some flat sandals that are actually nice. I will let you know how that goes.

Anyway, these are photos from last weekend, which was beautiful and warm and Summery. I went to the beach again, and this time I managed to avoid getting sunburnt!

Here is the view from lying on my beach towel :)

This is a cute flower ring I got at a market a while ago.

And my boring flat sandals.

I've bought a few dresses from Pinup Couture recently, and they are so amazing! The best thing is that they actually fit me, which usually doesn't happen with pin-up style clothing. I get them from Pinup Girl Clothing, which has a great range of dresses and super fast shipping.

And here are some more boring flat sandals! I think I only have one more pair after this, but I'll try to buy some more soon.

#103 - Black dress

I've never been a fan of wearing black. I've probably mentioned this before. I have acquired a few black dresses recently, just because a black dress seems like a staple item to have. I found this dress at Ojay recently, and it was probably the first black dress I've bought that I really like. It fits so well, and it would be suitable for going to work, and going out after work. I had a choice of buying it in blue or black, and I chose the black, which is unusual for me! But I think this will turn out to be a very useful dress to have :)

The shoes are from Alan Pinkus. I love the shiny gold circles!

Prada Spring 2012

I love these shoes from the recent Prada shows. I hope some of them will be available to buy soon. I'd better start saving now!

#102 - How to spot a fake

On this day, I wore a dress from Kate Spade. Or did I? Here are the reasons for and against it being an authentic dress:

For: It has the same type of zip, tag, and lace on the inside hem as my other Kate Spade dresses and skirts, and it seems like a very well-made, good quality dress. It also looks just like the dress on the official web store.

Against: I bought it from an ebay seller in Hong Kong for a price that was almost too good to be true considering that it's only a fairly new item. It's supposed to be silk but doesn't look or feel like it to me. There are lots of them for sale on ebay, which isn't usually the case with Kate Spade dresses.

I don't really mind if it is a fake, as I love it, and it almost fits me properly (which is a nice change for Kate Spade clothes, as they usually run quite large).

I suspect that the reason so many of these dresses are popping up on ebay is that Zooey Deschanel wore this dress to a recent movie premiere.

And I see that Emma from Glee wore this dress in one of the Season 3 promo videos, too. So it seems quite popular, and for good reason, too - it's really pretty :)

I can't say as much about my shoes, though. Even though I'm technically 'saving' them here, I will probably get rid of them, along with every other pair of slides I own, because they are completely useless shoes. They're not comfortable, practical, or particularly attractive, and the only real use they have is saving your feet from further pain if you've hurt them by wearing shoes that rub on your heels.

Through doing the shoe challenge, I've realised that a lot of my shoes have been impulse buys. Hopefully this will make me think more carefully about my shoe purchases in future!

#101 - Warm weather at last!

Last weekend I went to an art exhibit with a friend. It was on a beach at the Gold Coast, which is a great place to visit if you want to shop, and an even better one if you want to go to the beach :)

It was the first really warm day in what seemed like months, and I didn't even have to wear a cardigan outside. Yay! Unfortunately, I forgot how easily I burn in the sun, and I looked like a lobster when I got home that night. I have now learned my lesson, and I'm not going outside without putting on a heap of horrible sunscreen!

This is me with one of the artworks. I love this skirt! I bought it from a local store, Portmans, and I just love the colour and style.

My shoes are just some simple flats I bought from a cheap shoe store ages ago, but I find them really useful as they match a lot of things.

You know you wear too much of one colour when...

...you divide your washing into 'light', 'dark', and 'coral' :)

#99 & 100 - Week 30

I can't believe I've saved 100 pairs of shoes already! I'd better do a re-count sometime, just to make sure! But it's been fun doing the shoe challenge, and I can often be quite motivated when it comes to doing things like this :)

My first shoe save for this week was so boring that I didn't bother submitting it to Shoeperwoman, but it's interesting how you sometimes get compliments on the most ordinary shoes. I have a friend at work whose favourite colour is purple, and she loved these shoes, even though they are only simple flats.

Shoes from Tony Bianco.

My second shoe save for the week was (in my opinion) much more interesting, but I just have to talk about this dress for a while first! I don't know how many dresses I have now, but there are an awful lot of them, and I buy at least one every week. But I can probably count on one hand how many comfortable dresses I own. Most of them are too tight in some places, or I'm constantly worrying about them being too short, or too low cut (even though most of my dresses are pretty conservative, really).

When I tried this rather simple dress on the other day (mainly because it's my favourite colour), I didn't like how it looked so much as I liked how comfortable it was! So I had to buy it, even though it is slightly too big for me (that's the story of my life, I might add). It's from Fleurette, which I think is a new label by Fleur Wood.

J Crew is one of my new favourite places to shop! Although their clothes are mostly fairly basic pieces, I've found them to be really good quality, and useful pieces to add to your wardrobe. (The only problem I've had so far is that I somehow thought I was a US size 2, and I've since learned that I'm not. At least I'll know for next time). These J Crew Mona pumps come pretty close to being a perfect shoe for me. I want to buy them in as many colours as possible! They're simple, but they go with everything :)

Red soles

I have a confession to make. I only own one pair of Louboutins. And it's not because I don't like them, or because I can't afford them. It's because I'm too afraid to wear them.

With all the hype about the red soles, when I bought my pair, I started looking into those extra soles you can get to put on them, having them re-soled, cobblers in my area, other people's opinions on how to look after Louboutins, and it was all too much for me. I didn't know what to do. So I decided that I'd wear them, but only inside, and on carpet. (I even changed into flats when I was going to the kitchen or bathroom at work).

My sister has a pair of Louboutins too, and I've worn hers more than I've worn my own, because she's okay with wearing them outside. She's always telling me that they're meant to be loved and worn, and earlier this week, I decided that I was just going to do it. I wore mine outside for the first time, and they did get damaged quite a lot even from that one day. But I think I can accept it. Maybe now I'll look into buying another pair!

#98 - On wearing heels

This was one of my shoe saves from last week, but I'm a bit late with posting again. After my post on too-short dresses last week, I bought another short dress, but I tried to find a way of making it look longer. It didn't really work.

I think the problem was that the skirt I wore under the dress wasn't as full as the skirt part of the dress, so it looked a bit strange. I'm definitely going to invest in some proper tulle skirts of all different lengths and colours, and I'm sure that will help.

My shoes were bought from a random shoe store in town on sale a year or two ago, but I must say, I really love them! They're a bit sparkly for everyday wear, but they're so pretty and velvety.

I happened to overhear a girl talking about wearing heels the other day, and I just wanted to share this story because I can't stop thinking about it. She said "I'm still enough of a slave to fashion that I try to wear heels to work." I was horrified because it's such a negative way of thinking about it. I never feel like a 'slave' to fashion. I love clothes and shoes, and putting together outfits. I know not everyone does, but if you don't like a particular type of clothing/shoes, why wear them? I know a lot of girls who just wear flats to work, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I generally wear flats on my way to work, and change them once I get there. But when I'm sitting at my desk, taking off my boring flats and putting on my gorgeous heels, I never think "Ugh, here we go again." I always think "Yay! Look at my beautiful shoes!"

How can shoes like this make you feel anything but happy?!

2011 Stiletto Run

I've been looking into going to the horse races with some friends, and while I was doing some online research earlier this week, I came across a race of a very different kind: the 2011 Stiletto Run!

I've heard of these events happening elsewhere in the world, and apparently this is the second annual Stiletto Run we've had here. Basically, it involves contestants running 80 metres in heels!

It's being held on 22 October, and here are some of the details from the Brisbane Racing Club website:

• The winner will receive $5000 cash
• Registrations are open to eligible entrants (yes that includes males and females)
• Registration will include entry to the races and the Stiletto Run plus a tee and donation to charity
• To be eligible to compete, Stiletto Run contestants must be wearing heels with a minimum height of 7cm and 1.25cm in diameter (NB. Shoes cannot be taped to the foot. Contestants cannot compete in athletic shoes, altered with a heel. No wedges)
• All contestants will be required to sign a waiver

Is it bad that I want to do it?! I'm sure it can't be very safe (note the last point above) - I'd probably break an ankle, or maybe a shoe. But it raises money for charity, and I could do with $5000! I'll consider it, but even if I don't enter, maybe I'll go to watch. I like running, and I've started running daily again, just in case :)