Urgent

I need your help girls and boys. Do I keep the shoes or return the shoes? They are ASOS BLACK BASQUE Leather Zip Curve Wedge. On the one hand I was never taken with the odd mesh bit at the back and I'm still not, I think it distorts the shape of the shoe at the back; they are difficult to walk in; I have no where to wear them and I should really be saving my money so I can like move out but on the other hand I fell in love with them the moment I saw their little picture on the site. What should I do? Lots of pictures included to help you.

Female of the Species

Post title is a song by Space. I had this idea of just putting media player on random and using the title or some lyrics from the first song that comes up as my post title. Let me know if you prefer the more traditional post titles.

Purple tights and blue shoes, yay or nay?

OMG! A New Post?

I'm back! Sorry again for the lack of content over the past couple of weeks, as I explained I went on holiday then I was stewarding at Reading Festival. Then I got sick and all down about the prospect of applying for graduate jobs again. Anyway I'm hoping to get back into some kind of routine with the blog so lets get started.

I bought these shoes back in July from the Break Charity shop but only just got round to posting them. You know how it is, for one thing I never seemed to have decently polished toe nails when I thought of photographing them. On that note I'm not sure that green, ever, is a good toe nail colour. I'm thinking mine have ended up look slightly fungal, but at least I match my wallpaper. These shoes are really not my usual style, I tend to prefer more substantial styles, but they seemed such a bargain at £5 I figured I could make them work. It's also nice to have a few more lower heels in my wardrobe. They are originally Dorothy Perkins and are clearly a sale purchase that was never worn. The hint was the sale sticker left on one of the inner soles.

Blue Shoes

My latest obsession is shoes, incase you hadn't noticed. It's a rather more expensive obsessionthan my last one with tights and socks. To keep costs down I've been doing my best to see what I can find in charity shops.

T-Shirt Dorothy Perkins
Jeans very old Dorothy Perkins
Shoes Sue Ryder Charity Shop

I bought these blue shoes, originally New Look, for £3 from Sue Ryder then when I got them home realised that they didn't match anything in my wardrobe. Then the other day I decided to use them to add a pop of colour to a grey tee and jeans.

Ring Dorothy Perkins
Angel Wing Necklace Made by Me, Charm from Cards & Craft UK
Religious Charm I don't remember getting this but my mother says that I took a fancy to it in a shop in Ely when I was younger.

I bought this chunky ring in the sale from Dorothy Perkins (seem to be shopping there a lot recently since I feel that the quality of some other high street shops in the UK has declined) for £2. It is meant to be the start of me wearing more jewellery other than necklaces.

ASOS Randal Buckle Wedges

I first saw these shoes here on iheartvintagex and I didn't like them. I've never been a major fan of wedges but I kept looking at them online and they grew on me. After they came back into stock I convinced myself that really they would be very practical and I had to have them. I'm so glad I did because now I love them.

T-Shirt New Look or Dorothy Perkins (I can't remember which black t-shirt I was wearing)
Dress Topshop (known to my friends as the 'wonky boob dress' because of the way the gathering runs in different directions on the bust)
Bracelet One of my DIY ankle chains (love how many ways I can wear these)
Shoes ASOS (you can get them here. They also have them in demin and taupe. The grey is sold out again)
Hair Very much au naturale

Ebay Shoes

My shoe craze continues with this pair bought on ebay for £5 including postage. They are a little too small but as they are leather I have convinced myself that if I keep wearing them around the house I will eventually break them in, or alternatively they might end up in a charity shop within the next two years.

Brown Brogues Baby

I love brogue style shoes. I already have a pair of flats and a pair of heels in black but have been on the hunt for some more colours for a while now. So just imagine my delight when I found this unworn Clarks pair hiding at the bottom of the shoe rack partially covered by long old dresses in the British Heart Foundation charity shop for £5.99 in my size.♥

New Shoes

I went on something of a shoe buying spree with my birthday money.

Black gladiator sandals with a low wedge from Office. Please ignore my weird long toes.

Belle & Mimi taupe wooden heel sandals via Dorothy Perkins. These shoes turned out to be a perfect match for a handbag I got in the January sales which was an added bonus.

Light grey t-bar court shoes from Next. Worn here. For some reason these are available in every colour expect the grey on the website.
I am slightly hating Office now as what I really really wanted was a pair of grey brogues but I couldn't find any anywhere so I compromised with these grey courts. I just spotted these on the website. The Next ones are spectacularly comfortable though.

Black and grey high heeled brogue style shoes with hiden platform from Faith. I got them for almost half price in the sale but I can't find them on the website. Sorry guys they may all be gone now.

Bruised Knee

There are a number of lessons to be learned from this incident.

1) Remember to roughen the soles of new shoes so that they have some resemblance of grip.
2) Beware stiletto heels and polished wooden floors.
3) Pay at least equal attention to walking as to eyeing up the chefs.

If I had learned these lessons previously maybe I wouldn't have taken a spectacular dive in a crowded resturant.

*Impressiveness of bruise varies according to monitor settings*

Shoe Refashions

This week I went to town with a black permanent marker to refashion some shoes.

I forgot to take a before picture (again) but previously the now black parts around the sole of these trainers were white. Over time and wear they had turned to a nasty orange/brown colour. I would normally have just thrown them away but I bought these shoes when I was in Australia when I was 17 and they hold some good memories. Plus they are super comfortable. The black parts are a bit too shiny at the moment but I hope they will tone down with wear.

My favourite pair of party shoes. They are surprisingly comfortable for their height although I can't last the night in them like I used to, need more practice! Sadly after a few scrapes the metal on the heels was showing a lot of wear with unsightly copper bits showing.

So out came the black marker. I thought it would rub straight off the metal but it has stayed on perfect, even in the rain. I am feeling rather pleased with myself.

A Risky Strategy (Removing Stains from Patent Shoes)

I have been sorting out all my shoes, polishing, repairing and throwing some out or donating them to charity, trying to make room for my sales purchases. I have even cut up a pair of green patent pumps that I have worn to death with the idea of using the green patent and green leather lining in another as yet undecided project. Anyway I have a pair of yellow patent shoes. They only go with one outfit but I love that dress so I wanted them to get to keep their place in my wardrobe but they had some strange brown stains on that no amount of rubbing could get rid of. Then I had a brain wave, nail varnish remover! I just rubbed a tiny bit over the stain and it came right off. It is a risky strategy. Rubbing nail varnish remover over patent leather just seems like a recipe for disaster. I did think that the patent might discolour or even melt right off but they seem fine. I have since done the same thing with a pair of black and a pair of red patent shoes and they too are stain free and just fine. I do wipe the polish off with water as soon as the stain has gone. Feel free to try this if you dare, but please don’t blame me if it all goes wrong. I did say it is risky. Best to try with a pair of shoes you were going to throw out. I’m going to keep using this method. Will be sure to let you know if it all goes wrong.

p.s. Have since done a quick google search on this and it turns out that quite a lot of people have successfully used this method to remove stains on patent leather. It did ruin the finish on a few though.