New Shoes: Contemporary Footwear Design (Hardcover)

A little while ago, I was browsing through the accessories section at FIT's library and came upon this handy book. I flipped through and fell in love with the big, bright photographs of very pretty shoes and eventually brought my own copy via Amazon. A snippet from the book jacket's blurb reads, "Showcasing some of the most innovative contemporary designers from across the globe, this book presents footwear to satisfy all tastes, from subtle twists on classics to wonderful creations that leave you puzzling over how they are worn. Although not necessarily household names in their own right, the designers featured here are the unsung heroes who have headed up the footwear design teams for high profile fashion houses such as Donna Karan, Ralph, Lauren, Bottega Venta [...]"

The book showcases 25 designers by including gratuitous photos of their designs and short biographies. I've taken a few shots of my favorite pages and laid them out below (sorry, no way I'm ruining the book's spine to scan pages).

From the section on Bruno Frisoni:

Minna Parikka:

Pierre Hardy

Michel Vivien:


Purchase info available here.

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I do love pocket watches...dangling from my neck

I've always loved pocket watches because they're just so charming in a quaint, Victorian kind of way. Sadly, I have no clue about how to actually wear pocket watches and am mildly afraid of appearing obnoxious if I decide to start sporting a fob chain or a Double Albert chain. Fortunately, the DIYers at Etsy and the hipster designers at Urban Outfitters have thought of turning the watches into pendants for necklaces. I think Etsy offers a more varied, creative selection and singled out Fink Gifts for the shop's wide collection and affordability (prices range from $25ish to $50ish).

A few examples of the shop's goods, including Alice in Wonderland watches:




Fink Gifts also offers steam punked watches with exposed gears, which I think are pretty charming.



A backview of the watch shown above:


Ok, in case you do want to wear a pocket watch like a dapper old gentleman, you might want to check out this link. If you just want to be dapper, maybe check out my earlier post on Fine and Dandy.

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Spiders in my hair

What if clothes and accessories featuring animals and insects could function as magical talismans that summon real versions of the living things they depict? For example, a person wearing the Three Wolves One Moon T-shirt could actually produce three wolves (and maybe a moon) by making a simple wish.
What if I had a hairband with bejeweled and felt spiders on it and I accidentally trigger my accessory's magical power? I'd find spiders crawling all over my hair! Wouldn't that be terrible?!

Ok, I know I'm random and nuts.

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Photoshop + Illustrator = deep-fried sex

Today, I checked the mail and heard angels singing as I opened my package. My student version of Adobe Creative Suite had arrived, and I immediately passed out from excitement. After waking up and laughing maniacally and pointing at the Gimp's icon on my desktop (a cartoon dog head), I popped in the Adobe installation disk. Never before have I felt more bliss while waiting for the download progress bar to reach 100%. In approximately fifteen minutes, the bar climaxed, spewing its digital glory into my hard drive (and my goodness, such a big load--6 gigabytes worth).

Not losing any time, I fired up Illustrator and Photoshop and produced the following:



I took my inspiration from a character design from Bioshock 2, a horror videogame. I don't play videogames at all but can spend hours drooling at the character designs, and it's natural for me to start getting ideas.

An image of the "Big Sister," the chief antagonist of Bioshock 2.


Why yes, my illustration looking nothing like the inspirational source! I'm going to tell myself that's OK and try to move on.

Of course, this drawing took me half the time I would have spent in the Gimp. I want to cleanse my computer forever of that stupid grinning dog head thingie, but sadly, many of my images can only open in the Gimp.

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First finished illustration of 2010...

I've been lusting after thigh high boots for a while, but this is one trend I will just have to let pass. Those tall shafts tend to come with HIGH heels, and my wonky left ankle cries just at the sight of those four inch stilettos. Unfortunately, thigh highs with flat bottoms are just not my thing (they make me look like a stumpy troll).

So, I do what I always do. Make something I can't have mine by drawing it. (*SIGH*) And, here's the result:

A larger view is available here.

I love my black boots, but would love to see a few pairs that explode with color. This especially applies during winter, the time when New Yorkers are covered with black pea coats, black leggings and black boots. I love walking through the blend, murky pedestrian crowd during winter time and catching a bright spot of red or blue.

Close-ups of the textures I made using Gimp's "Galaxy" brush tool:




I liked the way that this piece turned out, but my hate for GIMP has solidified into a black hunk of stone wedged in my heart. As a gift to myself, I will make use of my student discount privilege and buy a damned copy of Adobe Creative Standard. I look forward to not having to deal with the Gimp's wonky kinks on my computer.

(On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't dump the Gimp just yet. My doctor informed me my blood pressure is on the lower end of normal, but the frustration of having to click the erase button ten times before seeing a difference has probably raised my blood pressure just a little.)

Anyway...happy 2010, peeps. :)

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