Family Reunion: Viva Irregular Choice Character Heels!

So it's the moment I've been waiting for. The moment I didn't realise I was waiting for until this week, but still! To celebrate 20 years of Irregular Choice, they've been bringing back select archive styles from the past decade or so, every Friday throughout May. For the final week (brilliantly there's been 5 Fridays this month), they were instead launching some older character heels with all new uppers, alongside accessories, trainers and flats. I never bought any of the archive revival (either already had the originals or didn't want them) and besides some bags and the Bellissima shoes, I haven't bought anything from SS19. There's some I've liked, but nothing has been a "get it or regret it", must-have moment. Until this collection!! On Wednesday, we got a sneaky look at the heels in this range, but even from that little glimpse, I knew this was the collection for me.

I've loved Irregular Choice for a lot longer than we've had character heels, but the release of that bunny heel in 2013 was a defining moment. A heel the shape of a rabbit, that you could actually wear and walk on, available at an affordable price (the original bunnies were £99), it was unheard of. By this point we'd had several collaborations or limited releases, but the bunnies got their own launch date and time (Friday at 12pm, yeah we didn't used to have that either!), it was an exciting time and to be honest I'm not really sure I looked beyond the bunny at that point. It wasn't until the second release (gnomes) that I realised this was opening up a whole new world for the brand in terms of what they could design. I'd already come to expect weird shaped heels, lights, garish prints and fancy trims, but I knew they were going to give us anything and everything in heel form and that was an exhilarating thought.
My imagination was working overtime as I knew no animal, object or figure was out of bounds and each new release brought something unexpected and different from the last. A unicorn head, a vintage looking cat, fawn, Santa, rockabilly Elvis head, there was no limit and the next release proved that. Encased in a perspex wedge heel, a tiny ballerina figure that not only rotated when wound up, but did so to music. Actual magical, music box heels, it was (and remains) an incredible feat. I'm still too terrified to wear mine, but they continue to be a pair that I pinch myself in disbelief of their existence. I do this with a lot of my characters to be honest. There's so many times that I've done nothing but sigh and stare upon their arrival, speechless at how beautiful they are. You find yourself going back to them throughout the day, just to reinspect how wondrous they are and check they're real. This is what it's all about for me. I've loved shoes since I was a kid, I've collected them since I was 12, but the euphoria these character heels bring is something else. You're not just looking forward to fantastical uppers, but a whole new heel concept and/or added elements like lights or sounds.
In 2015, I wrote a history of the character releases thus far (I'm laughing at my 20 pair collection back then, we need an update), but we've seen so much more since. Different finishes; metallic, flocked, glitter, mirrored, transparent. We've had an abundance of animals, a mermaid wedge (a dream of mine), grass skirt wearing hula girls (Waikiki are one of my all-time favourite IC's), a feathered bird in a cage, an entire garden scene with toy animals and more recently, working glitter and snow globe heels (again I hoped for that, back in that post). A special partnership with Disney has brought about many more, including light-up, noise-making lightsabers from Star Wars, outfit changing Miss Piggy from Muppets (something again, I asked for in that post), a dancing Cinderella, movable toy blocks and teacups and teapots. It feels like they'll attempt anything and I love that.
So this collection today was very special to me, a celebration of the wonderfully weird things we've stood on over the past 6 years. Some heels have been updated in new colours, the pandas have become sparkling polar bears and some remain their same, lovable selves. However, upwards from the heel, everything is entirely fresh and they've not held back. There's a rainbow, a flashing neon sign, a castle shaped ankle boot, roaring and screaming city scene and an asymmetric, see-through, fur trimmed style. There's colour, there's prints, there's flowers, embellishments, bows and embroidery. Unlike the earliest releases (which tended to be relatively plain or simple), these shoes are competing with the heels. It's whimsical, playful, outlandish and bold, but above all else, it's fun. It's Irregular Choice at their very best; unapologetic for the eccentricity, defying the norm, jubilant in the unique heels and niche they've created. It's what I wanted, no, it's what I needed. I don't necessarily look to Irregular Choice for the more commercial styles, in my view, I can get that anywhere.  I don't even particularly need that in my life as I don't have a dress-code to adhere to (though understand many do, for work etc), so because I can wear what I want, I find myself drawn to selecting those wackier creations.  The ones that spark that emotion in me are the ones I reach for and the ones I want to wear.  I don't want a phenomenal concept, watered down. Don't stifle that creativity, don't rein it in, don't lower the heel height, dull down the colours or remove the trim, do the opposite! Give me all the colours, all the glitter and all the embellishments, because that's what separates Irregular Choice from any other brand.  I don't want limitations or restrictions, I want to be amazed, I want to be awestruck, overwhelmed and blown away.  That's what I go to Irregular Choice for, that's what I expect from them and that's what I want to spend my money on.  I want to slide open that box and have tears in my eyes (looking at you Angelica Pearson). I want to be wowed, I want to be moved and this collection, especially after what's so far been a bit lacklustre for me, did just that.  
I like complete strangers stopping me or shouting across the street that they love my shoes and it's cheered them up. I don't mind passing Santa's Globe around the old ladies in the congregation of the church Christmas service so they can all have a shake of the snow. I didn't care that while we waited for our train back from Manchester last year, the staff alerted each new passenger to the platform that my shoes lit up and that they had to see them in action (cue aching legs from me). I obliged to the passer-by on Regent Street while we were hailing a taxi after the Toy Story launch, to take photos of my hula heels as he'd never seen anything like them. I laughed (afterwards, my mouth was full at the time) when the dental nurse would message other staff members to come in and see my shoes whilst I'm sitting in the chair, feet in the air, mouth open wide (8 people was the most we ever fitted in the room at one time)! I've made friends with women who look forward to seeing which shoes I wear (when we randomly bump into each other) and we don't even know each others names, but they recognise me as "the girl with the fancy shoes". I love seeing other people (male and female) be amazed by these creative heels and showing genuine appreciation for something they likely wouldn't even wear them themselves. They are a joy to wear and a joy to share.  They are a talking point, a conversation starter, an ice-breaker and I love that about them.
If every collection were like the one today, I would be very happy, but also very poor! I showed little restraint (actually none), but you know what? I had the savings for it and they were styles I just couldn't imagine not having in my collection. These were the must-haves, the items that I didn't contemplate buying, but wanted immediately.  I never take for granted owning all these beautiful things. I don't like to use the term "lucky" because it makes it sound like I won the shoes rather than paid for them myself! However, I do feel very blessed to have a shoe room (at all) filled with these stunning creations and to be able to wear them on the rare occasions I get out. It's truly a pleasure to rummage through the shelves and decide which pair to wear that day and I'm finding it's the character heels that get selected most often because they are so delightful to wear. Some will say "they're just shoes", but to me and I'm sure many others, these aren't, they're so much more than that. I'm so very, very thankful to Dan and the whole Irregular Choice team for continuing to captivate us, pushing what we think possible and making my dreams (and beyond) a reality. Continually blending the wildest innovations into a wearable or functioning style, can't be easy. It's been a magical and adventurous ride over the past 20 years, not just since the character heels began and I wouldn't ever want that to change. Now for the long wait until my delivery arrives on Monday and I can see these beauties in all their glory!