Marrakech, Morocco

My family and I were just in Marrakech last week, visiting family relaxing and of course, shopping. I took some pictures of the famous market that was as always, bustling with tourists. I only had my iPhone so the quality isn't great but you get the idea...

There were snake charmers all over the place!! It was so crazy to see these dudes playing musical instruments to these cobras and they just sort of danced and stood at attention

 They looked fake until you saw them up close.

 Shops just filled with stuff. Stuff stuff everywhere!

We picked up some olives to go with our dinner

 Jewelry and blankets and fabric and nicknacks

These little shoe shops were everywhere!

So many colors!

My sisters and I made some new reptile friends

Blocks of perfumed wax. I took some home to put in my closet :)

The famous spices...

So beautiful!

I want to incorporate these colors into my next shoe collection! They're so great.



You may have heard, this same marked was bombed yesterday. A suicide bomber killed at least 16 people at the popular Argana Cafe. I was shocked and saddened by the news, and also so grateful that we weren't there.
As you can see by my photo, we were right there just one week ago.

Crazy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. I hope all this terrorist shit comes to an end some day soon. It's all so senseless and tragic.


xox

Home Sweet Home!

Hello friends!! I'm home :) I can't believe I was gone for so long... almost a whole month! Here's a little wrap up of what I was up to over there...

I flew into London where we only had one day to shop. London has some of my favorite window displays like these featuring some seriously amazing shoes.

 (Lanvin)

(Louboutin)

Then it was off to Italy- Pisa to be exact. From Pisa we drove to Florence where we stayed and shopped for the day. I finally got to go to Luisa Via Roma and I felt like I was going to the motherland! While I was there I met super talented designer Alejandro Ingelmo who just happened to be there at the same time. He was super nice and quite cute I might add ;)

We stayed at the Excelsior Hotel which was AMAZING and I took lots of pictures, but I lost my iPhone in a taxi in Milan so all the photos I took are gone. Such a bummer.

Milan was next... more shopping and some amazing food. We have this little restaurant we go to every time we go to Milan. It's some of the best food I've ever had in my life! Again... lots of pictures but we'll never see them. Here's a preview of the shoes I found in Milan

 (Casadei)

(Guido Pasquali)

Next was Paris! Another store I love but had never been to was Colette. I was so excited to see it in person and I wasn't disappointed. I found my dream dress for my upcoming 30th birthday but... I'm not about to send $10,000 on it. haha!

I also found these amazingly weird shoes by Margiela. Love.

My friend Sheva met me in Paris and helped me shop some more! 

 And eat some more...

(on me- rvca shirt, gucci glasses)

Such a bummer...

(on me- alc leather jacket, alexander mcqueen scarf, seven jeans, tori burch flats)

If you ever visit Paris I HIGHLY recommend taking the metro everywhere. It's SO cheap and SO easy. I can't believe how easy it was. We took it all week and didn't get lost once.

I also recommend wine and cheese. Obvs.
These are my new nerd chic glasses from Gucci. I'm obsessed with them!

I wanted it to be a raspberry beret...

(on me- comptoir des cotonniers trench, kookai top, paule ka necklace)

There was some seriously amazing, though seriously expensive, designer vintage near the Place de la Madeleine. 

I went a little nuts at the Acne store. Oops.

(on me- comptoir des cotonniers trench, zara scarf, puma shoes, balenciaga bag, gucci glasses)

Paris was so much fun and I was so glad to be there with a friend :)

(on me- f21 top, hale bob leggings, chanel necklace)

Last stop on my trip was Morocco where I met up with my family for a week of relaxation. It was truly amazing.

I want to do a more detailed post but I just wanted to let you guys know what I've been up to!

Talk to you soon!

xoxo

Love and Paris

Internet connection sucks here... I lost my iPhone in Milan which had lots of pretty pictures to share with you :( but now I'm in Paris and I'm taking lots more photos! I'll be in touch soon... miss you guys!
My friend Amita is here too (you know, the lovely manager over at the Louboutin boutique at South Coast Plaza?) so you know were gonna get into lots of trouble.
Financial trouble... haha

à tout à l'heure mes amis!

Get it? LOVE and PARIS?? hehe ;)

Off to Europe!

Well friends, I'm off! I'm leaving my puppies and husband behind for a whirlwind of shopping mania! A couple co-workers and I are going to be running around soaking in all the latest trends in footwear and fashion for the next week or so, then I'm off to Morocco with my parents and sisters. I'm excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Were going to 3 countries in 4 days and packing for a 3 week trip is really hard- especially when it's basically 3 separate trips. Shopping/Fun/Family.

Anyway- I'll try to keep you updated as much as possible. I went back and forth on whether or not I was going to bring my laptop (and therefore, my blog) but I decided to pack the extra 5.6 Lbs ;)

LOVE YOU GUYS!!

While I'm in London, Paris, Milan, Florence, and Morocco is there anything you'd like to see? I'm officially taking requests now so let me know!

xox

Behind the Scenes of Shoe Design...

I brought my camera with me to China to take some photos and show you a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes of shoe making.

These are shoe lasts... They are essentially shoe molds. These determine the shape of the shoe, the heel height, and the size.

There are a few different methods of pattern making when it comes to shoes. One involves taping the last as shown here. The pattern maker covers the last in masking tape and then makes a 3D version of the designer's sketch onto the tape.

From there, he removes the tape and translates it to a paper pattern like this-

The paper pattern is then laid onto the leathers or fabrics to be used for the shoe. The leather/fabric is cut and sewn and then "lasted".

This is an example of a lasted shoe. It is carefully pulled and stretched onto the last and heated to fit onto it perfectly.

Some tools of the trade...

Here is an upper sewn and ready to go on its last

And here it is after it has been lasted and had the outsole and heel attached

This...

Becomes this!

Pretty cool, huh? I'll have some more for you in my next post :)

I'm going back to China next month and though I already asked this, few of you answered so I'll ask again... Is there anything specific you guys want to know about the whole design process? Anything about working in China you want to hear about?

Let me know :)