Heart Broken

I've been sitting on this secret for a week now (which is why I've been slow on the posting and eating so much ice cream) but I just want to be the first to tell you guys that our company lost the license for Betsey Johnson. You may know that Betsey Johnson was having some financial issues and that Steve Madden got involved in the company to help out... I won't get into it but if you want to know more, go here, here or here or google it.

Steve's very capable company will be taking over the design and production for Betsey which means I am out of a job. A very amazing job that I feel very fortunate to have had.

Working with Betsey has been one of the best experiences of my career so far and I am so honored to have been her shoe designer. I think Betsey and I were a match made in cotton candy heaven and I will miss our meetings but will always feel like part of her world.

BETSEY I LOVE YOU!!!

Thank you for sharing your light with me! 

So what's next?? Stay tuned to find out! I still have Harajuku Lovers and I've heard rumors of some exciting stuff that may be headed my way :)


This is still the coolest thing ever... Sent to me from Betsey after our last collection.

With a heavy heart, 

Celine

Your Shoe Girl

XOXO

The Clog Debate

Ever since I saw the girls clomping down the runway at Chanel's Spring 2010 show, I thought... Hmmm. Really? I've never liked clogs as there's nothing sexy about them and they are technically frumpy.

I remember even proclaiming that you would NEVER catch me in a pair of clogs. No matter who said they were cool!

Then I saw Miu Miu's clog...
Cute...ish. Still not sold.

But then these babies, also Miu Miu-

Kinda love them. Maybe because they're not opened up? I think they're really effin cool, though clearly too heavy for Spring.

This month's cover of British Vogue has Alexa Chung wearing clogs (Chanel I think) that she looks pretty great in. Then again, I personally think she looks great in most things.

So I've decided to go try some on tomorrow and see if I can get into it. This looks like a Spring trend that I will either have to pass on or try out in a cheaper way.

This one by Steve Madden seems OK and basic for a trial pair.

And of course, this beauty by Jessica Simpson that I should have bought before it sold out everywhere. Not a clog but clog-ish.

What do you all think? To clog or not to clog?? Will YOU be braving this trend or leaving it to the pros?

China to Shoe Girl: "We No Like You!"...

Hello readers! I am sending this message through my wonderfully helpful and super sexy husband since I can not log in myself. 

Yes, it seems that the iron fist of China has finally delivered the killing blow. They have blocked my blog. :(

I'm not sure what they think it is I'm writing about... maybe they don't like the idea of their people being up on the latest shoe trends? Maybe they invision riots on the streets of Guanzhou. Women everywhere fighting over the last pair of YSL trib too boots on sale? Mass chaos and confusion over deciding if a shoe is the original, or just another perfectly executed knock off by the clever team at Steve Madden.

Well, whatever it is, I'm sorry to say that I won't be blogging for the rest of the week. But fear not- I will be home next Monday and promise to deliver with some new posts. 

Thanks for your patience and I miss you all.

xoxo

Celine

(Your Shoe Girl)

Has Steve Madden Gone Too Far???

Ok, so I found this this morning and it fired me up. I don't understand how he can just blatantly knock off designer shoes and get away with it! The shoe shown in this post is an Alexander McQueen shoe, and the shoe of the week is Steve Madden's "interpretation". 

This is basically stitch for stitch the same shoe. The buckle is different but I'm sure that's only because Steve Madden didn't want to open up a mold for a new buckle. 

I've put this up as the shoe of the week cause I'm interested to see what you guys think (and for some reason you don't like to leave comments, with the exception of 3 or 4 of you) 

Honestly, there's a part of me that thinks that designer knock offs are great. It's a way of bringing high style to the masses. (am I repeating myself, I feel like I've said this before?) But then you have to realize that it effs up the whole scheme of things because by definition, high style is such BECAUSE it is elevated from the masses. Make sense? 

Snobby? Maybe, but you know I'm right.

What do you think???

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon?

Ok so I'm kind of pissed off right now. As part of my new "buying cheaper shoes" experiment I was browsing Steve Madden's online store when I saw these. WTF? Direct knockoff of the Balenciaga boots... which I own thank-you-very-much Mr. Steve "I've served time in prison" Madden!!!

I'm sorry, I mean, getting a knockoff that looks almost as good as the real thing for like, a thousand dollars less is amazing- but it RUINS it for those with the real thing!! It's like, what's the point of having the real thing!? Obviously the Balenciaga boots have amazing details and hardware compared to this one, but still.  

What do you guys think? Knockoff handbags are tacky as hell- unless of course you get a REALLY good one. Is it the same for shoes? Where do we draw the line?