much better/follow up

ok, with all the discussion around wedge sneakers, and my dislike of them, a week or so ago, i found myself revisiting my love for pierre hardy sneakers, which i consider the best alternative to the isabel marant wedgies.

and so i bought some.

and i'm feeling much better:

see how my feet & body all look nice and normally proportioned!? 

i feel much more like i have feet, and less like i have hooves.

fancy french sneakers.

no icky, weird feelings. hooray!

i tried, i tried.

as a lot of you already know, i am not a fan of wedge sneakers.

really, not at all.

but i found myself at barney's the other day, with a few minutes to spare before a meeting.

so, i thought, in the name of research, i'd see what all the fuss is about:

the review?

much, much, much more comfy and less weird feeling than i'd expected.

i still hate the proportions and how they look on the foot.

so there you go. i still hate them, but i hate them in a more informed way.

good song, good collection

omg, you guys. 

i just ran across the photos of this collection nike is doing, in order to celebrate black history month.

i'll admit that i'm a sucker for shoes, photographed in good lighting, under almost any circumstances.

but i think you'll agree that these kicks are pretty sweet....

most of the collection are "performance" footwear, and nike partnered with some (famous) professional athletes to develop the styles....

and of course, they included a wedge high top sneaker, because, well, it's 2013. i couldn't, in good conscience, include the photos here. (here's why.)

i'll bet it's really fun for athletes to get to work with nike on a project like this..... i hope they really enjoy the process, and maybe learn a little bit about shoes.

probably not, but i do like the idea of serena williams poring over materials swatches, and picking aglets, etc....

either way, i wish i could get my hands on a pair. i'm sure my twice-weekly (if i'm lucky) 1.5 mile jog would feel way cooler, in a pair of these sneaks.....

the "mantra" of the collection is

be bold, be true

maybe i'll try that during my next run? i'll bet i could go as far as 1.7 or 1.8 miles!

;)

nyfw #13

love the dress. i want.

oh! she's wearing the isabel marant sneakers that i blogged about! make the two people that i've seen wearing them....

black on black is probably one of the best ways to wear them, actually.

also, she's wearing the celine glasses from kelly's post!

i can't get down with this

i think a lot of you know that i'm a shoe designer, as my "day job".

i'll just mention it again now, as an excuse for why i have such strong feelings about footwear.

and here's my latest vent- sneakers with hidden wedges...

isabel marant has been doing these for a number of seasons, and they must be selling like hotcakes for her to still be doing new versions of them:

(however, i've only seen them on the street once.)

the fashion crowd seems to love the "leg lengthening" aspects of these shoes, which may or may not be real. however, i just can't stand the proportions of them. it's a bit hard to describe, but i having that wedge in there just changes the way that it seems like your foot is shaped inside.

it makes the foot look shorter (in length) and smaller than the actual size of the wearer's foot, and really exaggerates the top of the arch. it sort of almost reminds me of foot binding.

you can kind of see it in this photo:

obviously i'm in the minority of not liking these. as i've said, they've been embraced by fashion editors and bloggers the world over.

and now, marc jacobs has gotten into the act. he showed a few colors of these shoes for spring 12:

the proportions here are even worse. i hate the slight bump at the toe that remind me of the stride rite sneakers that i wore as a kid. these shoes really look like a brick at the bottom of the leg.

i really think it's a shame, because i love sneakers. and i love high-end sneakers even more. but i just can't get down with this trend.

what do y'all think? do you like them? it's ok if you think i'm crazy.....

wanna know which sneakers i'd buy if i were planning on dropping a few hundred dollars? (and which ones i recommend to you, dear reader, as an alternative to the cement shoes above?)

pierre hardy.

toujours: