Sing along… ‘I put
my new shoes on and suddenly everything is right’. You’re not wrong there Paolo, you gravel-voiced
Scottish gem you!
Recently I have bought six pairs of new shoes. That line
originally said five until I found shoe box number six in the bottom of my
wardrobe! I love shoes - plain and simple. Well not plain and simple shoes
necessarily, but it’s plainly obvious that I simply love shoes. (Yes Mel, I
think they get the idea, shhh now). And, when I open up the box, I get this rush
of pleasure that I remember having as a kid when I got new shoes. Back then
new stuff was a rare event, so I guess I’m making up for that now.
Why all the new shoes? Well, as I mentioned in my last
post, it’s a hangover from my no jeans to work week, where I realised I needed
an injection of change and newness for some extra oomph.
Nice clumpy sole!
Walk this way..
I shall start with the sandals that I bought from Topshop at the end
of March. At this time I don’t think a sunny day was even a twinkle in 2014’s
eye, which is probably why I had forgotten about them. They’re not dainty or
typically pretty but that makes a nice change. They are the Doc Martins of
sandal world. I like them because they add something more to an outfit than a pair
of gladiator sandals would. They look great with skirts, shorts and rolled up
jeans. However, they’re not as flexible
as the usual thin soled sandals - so I need to get used to the reduced amount
of ‘movement’ before they get their first public outing. I’m happy for them to
look a bit Herman Munster-ish but I certainly don’t want to walk like him!
Blue Loafers from NEXT
These blue loafers were bought to complete the ‘Prince
William’ chino outfit as mentioned in She’s Got Legs. Now, a rule, or rather a question I ask myself, when
buying new clothes or shoes, is, will the item go with at least three other
outfits or pieces in my wardrobe? And I can safely say that these do. They have
been worn with my chinos, my blue trousers and jeans. I wear them to work and at the weekend and they are
comfy. I sounded old then didn’t I? But it’s true, they are. They also come in
a light grey, which, had it been a slightly darker grey, I probably would have bought
those too.
Blackadder shoes
These pumps, which Mr. B nicknamed the Blackadder shoes, have been taken to the charity shop as they didn’t float
my boat anymore. I hope some lonely feet
have now given them a new home and that they are very happy together – ‘sole’
mates even (lousy joke). Anyway, I
needed a pair to replace them. I tried on lots of ballet pumps and I found them
to be either not worth the price tag or in most cases just not that great
looking. Mmmm, I think a friend of mine is having a similar problem on the dating
websites at the moment. Anyway, some revealed way too much toe cleavage for my
liking (we’re back to the shoes now by the way) and though I’m no prude when it
comes to revealing a bit of flesh, I think it can look odd. I ordered some from
H&M and, with me being a big H&M fan - I was more or less convinced
that they would be great. But alas no, they didn’t fit well either. Hard to
explain, but my big toes kind of pushed up through the leather, which is odd as
I don’t have particularly Frodo style feet.
Cutesy black pumps
Anyway, NEXT came to the rescue again with these cutesy,
black suede pumps. Not too cleavage-y and a good fit. I have so far worn them
with my black jeans and patterned trousers from H&M. I'm sorry couldn’t find a
link on the NEXT website, but they have a good choice of ballet pumps, so worth
a browse.
A bargain must-have
Yes, I always play hopscotch in heels, don't you?
Next on the list are these elegant heels. Bought not to
replace anything actually, I just really liked them. I love the heel height, I
love the simple strap across the foot and I think ankle straps are very sexy -
so I just had to have them. I knew they would go with loads of things that I
already had so I didn’t mind forking out the whopping, wait for it… £14.99.
They’re from George at Asda. This may surprise some of you, but actually, if
you’re on a tight budget, George can be excellent. They have a good variety of
clothes for all ages and their beach-wear is rather good. So if you need a few
extra bits for your holidays – take a look. As these shoes are not leather, I’m unsure as
to how they will wear but I‘m not overly worried about that at this price. Sadly,
I think they’ve sold out – but yet again, NEXT have come up trumps and have a
similar pair in suede.
Guilty silver pleasures
Mum, can I have my scooter back now please?
Now for these beauties! When I bought them home from the
shop I left them in their box for a while as I think I was feeling a bit… err
guilty is probably the word I’m looking for because they were over £50. Anyway,
Mr. B saw the box and exclaimed “Converse?! Whose are they?” I replied “Mine”.
And as he opened the box I said “And yes I know they are silver, but I didn’t
want black because my old ones are black and I didn’t want grey because that’s
not exciting enough and anyway I don’t care if you don’t like them because I
love them and they make me happy!”. Anyway, I wore them to the pub the other day and
a lady made a point of telling me she had shoe envy. Ha, feel the shiny shoe
love!
Yellow sunny sandals
And last, but by no means least, here are these yellow sunny sandals. I noticed them in a New Look email I received about three weeks ago
and I had been thinking about them ever since – my love & lust sandal
scandal! So, last week, I bit the bullet and ordered them (only £19.99 and they're leather!). I was concerned that
the colour may be different in the flesh; too gold (which wouldn’t be good for
my ‘winter’ colouring) but they’re not, they’re the perfect yellow. Having
already planned what I would wear them with before I bought them, I’m now
looking forward to more sunny days. They will, for sure, add pizzazz
to my blue trousers and stripy top, rolled-up jeans, maxi skirt and a lovely
blue dress that I wear to work. Did you picture that last sentence as one
outfit? Oh blimey!
BREAKING NEWS...
We
interrupt this shoe broadcast with news just in.
As
most of you will know, not so long ago, Mel used to have long hair which she’d been
growing for 100 years.
100 year old hair
On
the advice of Gail, her tutor at Study in Style, she took a big step and
had her hair cut - approximately 10 inches off!! This cut was nicknamed the Lob (long
bob).
Front of Lob
Back of Lob
But
4 months on, having pored over pictures on Pinterest and feeling emotionally
prepared, she went for an even bigger chop.
Short Bob (Shob)
In a
statement released this evening, Mel had this to say:
“I just
want to thank everyone who has been there for me on this amazing journey. Those
close to me will know that all I ever wanted was long hair. And though I now know
they actually thought my long hair looked quite naff, I’m nevertheless grateful
for the support I received throughout the growing process. I love my new, short
hairstyle – it suits my small head and features and so I don’t think I’ll ever grow it long
again, in fact I may go even shorter! I know it’s a cliché, but I won’t let this
change who I am. In the vein of J-Lo “don’t be fooled by the locks
that I’ve lost, I’m still, I’m still Melly from the blog!”
Mr.
B, Mel’s partner, who doesn’t have hair of his own, said “the reaction has been
amazing, but we’d now like to have some privacy to appreciate the new style
together”.
Her hairdresser
was unavailable for comment but rumour suggests that her tweet “That felt so
good. #abouttime” was in response to Mel’s recent appointment.
We’ll
now pass you back to the New Shoes blog…
Well, I hope you’ve all enjoyed seeing my new shoes and that
they’ve inspired you to get your socks off and paint your toe nails.Let’s hope they also encourage the sun to keep his hat firmly in place and carry on with the amazing weather we've had today! And just before I posted this, I checked my emails
and I had one from Clarks – suffice to say, they are producing some very exciting shoes right now! Think I
need some new wedges all of a sudden! Take a look for yourself.
Next time I’m hoping to share with you
some of my favourite necklaces and whatever else takes my fancy at the time! Until then, take care, M x
So, with my G&T sharpener now finished, I bid
you all a happy weekend.
