If Carrie Wore Vintage Shoes . . .

Getting really excited here at Fashion Preserve Manor because tomorrow is a big night with the galpals. On the agenda: swilling strong cocktails, eating guacamole, and tottering a couple hundred yards on stupidly high heels to the local theatre to see SATC Part Two. Of course I've read the reviews -- but it really doesn't matter how bad the film is. Simply seeing the attempt to recapture the magic will be entertainment enough for this viewer. Also, it looks like the film will be packed with retro caftan-like maxis, which I love.

Anyway, the point of today's post is that Carrie famously mixes vintage with cutting-edge couture from the ankle up, and indeed helped spur the latter-day gold rush to unearth gorgeous old clothes on the part of the entire world. And yet this same character, who equally famously spends gaspworthy amounts on designer footgear, has never in memory been known to wear vintage shoes.

This seems peculiar. While I understand the potential skeeve factor at play with old shoes, many many vintage examples are in excellent new or nearly-new condition.


I think if Carrie were ever allowed to break free of the Choo and Manolo product placements and range into the vintage shoe realm, Charles Jourdan would be her go-to label of choice. Because these shoes are widely available, not terribly expensive, dead sexy, and cool cool cool. But maybe it's just as well these shoes don't get that kind of notoriety. It's nice knowing there are a few good vintage secrets left in this world.



(Charles Jourdan shoes for sale on Etsy, here, here, and here)

The Art of the Heel

Maybe it’s the cumulative effect of magazine image upon image of soaring stilletos and platforms that reach for the sky, but I’m starting to think that maybe I want some serious party heels after all.


If only I could find a pair like these. How cute are these shoes? And funny. Forget Vuitton’s fertility goddess heel, I’ll take a giraffe every time. These were designed by Stephane Bonnaire in ’96.


Here’s another pair that I love: from Thea Cadabra, a British designer whose art-to-wear designs are now featured in many museums. She started out creating disco shoes for friends in the 1970s and later went on to work for Charles Jourdan. Talk about pulling shoes.