Jil Sander Fall 2010 RTW

What did I think when I saw these elegant Jil Sander looks at Style.com? Dream come true! Stylish clothes for us urban cyclists out there in the streets. Fantastic filmy cover ups for overly revealing bike shorts. Exquisitely sleek biker boots. And collars that are far more interesting and sculptural that any standard work wear.

Chanel Fall 2010 RTW Shoes

Fashion extremes can be amusing in themselves, but what fascinates me are the incongruous touchpoints with practicality. Look no further than Karl Lagerfeld's Fall 2010 RTW "global cooling" Ice Age show.

“Let our shaggy coats drag in water as if we are polar bears. But our shoes. We must protect our shoes!”

Love the lucite heels on the faux fur boots. But what I really like are Cinderella's rain shoes! The boots with what looks like an outer shoe. A transparent pump over a two-toned leather boot, maybe? Does anyone besides Karl Lagerfeld know?





(Thanks to Style.com for the detail pics!)

my yelp review: Lineage

Lineage
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Coolidge Corner
242 Havard St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 232-0065

Leslie C.
Shoes are the best revenge
Boston, MA
4 star rating
3/4/2010

Two of us treated a grieving friend to dinner at Lineage, her favorite restaurant, and we all had a nourishing experience in palette and spirit.

The decor (yellow walls) was warm but minimal and barely half full on a Wednesday evening. Starting with the deceptively simple lobster appetizer, which we shared, everything was better than expected. The true test came when we faced down that fourth taco, with those small chunks of juicy mango and large chunks of lobster. It was not easy to split one small taco three ways, but none of us wanted to give up our share. Same thing happened with the entrees: the gnocchi, the mackerel, and the scallops — each better than expected and hard to share. My gnocchi was astoundingly good — not heavy, just sumptuous little pillows of heaven — and there was not the remotest chance of leftovers.

The service was excellent, laid back and friendly and patient when we were not ready to order even after the waiter visited us several times. The peak for me was just before dessert, when I pondered ordering a half glass (because who really needs that third glass of wine) and the waiter came back from the bar and said it was possible. I have no way of knowing if the great service was because my friend was a regular, but for what it's worth, I got the impression there were lots of other regulars too. A good sign, no?

To bring this rave review back down to earth, I will say that I was not impressed with the rolls and do not think they were the brioche rolls others have mentioned. They looked and tasted like plain, white flour dinner rolls, and although I only took one bite, I must admit that my dining partners devoured the rest (so maybe I'm wrong?).

My last reaction is to the prices, which I find a bit high. I am one of those people who prefers to spend discretionary income on clothes (preferably shoes) than food. This was perfect for our occasion, but while I might return once or twice to try some of the appetizers I missed (I'm a sucker for beet salad with goat cheese), I think brunch or during Restaurant Week would be a better value.

Prada Milan Fall RTW 2010

In this Prada collection, I noticed first the accessories -- red futuristic glasses! But, more ominously, in the third picture, that under-boob cut-out. Is this the next part of our bodies we're going to be revealing?

Marni Milan RTW Fall 2010

I'm sure fashion editors have a lot of complex reactions to a collection like Marni. Me? My first thought was: Knee socks? My second thought was: What a great way to mix orange, brown, and black. The last photo is Marni's designer: Consuelo Castiglioni.

Fashion Icon Suicide

Far far away from his universe, I knew Alexander McQueen's name mostly for the blowback from his outrageousness. I mean, come on. Those Spring 2010 shoes! Positively reptilian! Did he design them for the movie Avatar?












So much fun to pooh pooh. Yet, also fun to look at. As a tribute, and a way to learn more about his work, some looks from his Fall 2009 collection, from New York magazine's Fall 2009 Alexander McQueen RTW shows.

Writer Quote of the Day

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” —W. Somerset Maugham, English novelist (1874-1965)


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Nothing like some cynicism to cheer up the February doldrums and my inevitable head cold.

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cigarette card image from NYPL Digital Gallery

Shoe Designer Quote of the Day

A shoe can tell you a lot of things: It can tell you that it’s stable and strong, or it can tell you it’s flimsy and light just by how it looks before you even pick it up. —Tinker Hatfield, Nike designer. From "10 Questions for Tinker Hatfield" by Jennifer Ernst Beaudry. Posted Monday February 08, 2010. From Footwear News Issue 02/08/2010.



The $170 Air Jordan 2010, which hits stores this week, has features that sound crazy to me: a transparent circle on the side and a "bottom-loaded airbag." Maybe it's just the confusing use of the word "airbag," which in this case, seems to be more like an air bubble, not something that will inflate at high impact.

I love the idea of shoes telling stories. The “story” here is about Michael Jordan’s playing strategy, that he starts out “transparent” to lull his competitors, and then he mixes it up, to keep them on their toes. The transparent circle with airholes toward the heel of the shoe is the translation of Jordan’s strategy. I get it. Pretty cool.

As always, I wonder about the practical implications. What will we see through this transparent circle? Will sock colors change as a result? Or will we just see dirty white socks? Or even worse, tiny beads of sweat?


photo from sneakernews.com

Hard-to-Toss Shoes

Every time I've tried to toss them, they'd remind me that we are old friends, going on ten years. I definitely haven’t worn either in the last year, and for the reasons below, it's time for them both to go.

• On the left, a sweet pair of Esprits, which I got at DSW, Downtown Crossing, Boston. Must’ve been when it first opened. Wore these as indoor sandals or around-the-pool flip flops. But once that band started to crack and dig into my skin, I stopped wearing them.

The unspoken factor, though, in the experience of wearing both of these shoes is the “shoefeel,” a term I am coining after the wine-tasting term “mouthfeel.” Shoefeel is the way the shoe feels as you walk, in terms of pleasure, spring, or support. Hands down, the Esprits had a better shoefeel. The molded footbed fit my foot perfectly. The rubber sole was both soft enough and hard enough to make me want to walk for hours, and the massaging nubs around the inner arch felt great on the nerve endings of my foot. I will miss these shoes.

The shoefeel: energizing and relaxing.

• On the right, the Josef Seibels, which my husband bought me in a South End shoe store on Berkeley Street, near the Chandler Inn. A place with a few womens shoes but mostly incredibly cool mens shoes. Since the store was often empty, I wasn’t surprised when I found a cafe had replaced it.

Wore these to work and as a general outdoor summer shoe. My husband loves the little ladder design up the front, but the slides were slippery enough that unless I completely clung on with my toes, they would slip off or go flying down the sidewalk. Plus the Seibels always had a weird lack of support in the insole, as if someone forgot to put any cushioning between the pieces of leather, so it caved in around my foot. I will not miss these!

The shoefeel: totally distracting and disappointing.

Writer Quote of the Day

Don Quixote. The message matches my own—life is unbearable without a dollop (or more) of madness; one can live one’s life as a knight errant (or whatever) if one is ready to pay the consequences. But successfully executed madness for artistic purposes requires aforethought. Before setting out to right wrongs, Don Quixote did his reading, outfitted himself authentically, and acquired a squire. —Jeffrey Tayler


Photo of Jeffrey Tayler by Tatyana Shchukina.
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Jeffrey Tayler is the Atlantic Moscow correspondent, whose stories I put into type for many years, and who recently friended me on Facebook! From his Facebook page, I found this great quote in a 12/31/05 interview on "World Hum,""the best travel stories on the Internet," by Jim Benning.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." — Mark Twain (or Abraham Lincoln?)
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Today I came across this truth (and this sweet chair) wrapped in wit and extra-strength cynicism. Yes, actually, now that you mention it, I did recognize myself in it, but I wasn't going to say anything.
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