40th Birthday Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana

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You might remember my post last year about my new-ish tradition of buying myself a pair of designer shoes for my birthday.  That and watching the Korean zombie film, Train To Busan (on my own because nobody else in my house would like it)!  Last year I bought the Charlotte Olympia t-bars and the previous year, Vivienne Westwood suede boots.  This year I turned 40, so I decided (pre-Covid) that such a milestone called for a mega treat of 4 pairs throughout the year, one for each quarter of the year (not so minted that I could buy them all at once!) and four seemed apt (and more manageable/sensible than 40!) to represent 40.  A lot of my friends had lavish holidays (multiple) planned throughout the year to celebrate their birthdays, which isn't something I could do with being ill and as a family we were struggling to find something I could manage to celebrate, so we had no plans before Coronavirus hit.  I figured before and after, that this was a longer lasting memento than a holiday or party anyway and was in keeping with my previous birthday treats. 

Irregular Choice: My Top 12 Of 2017

I don't think I've ever done a post like this before, but at the start of the year (these photos were taken on a very grey January), I thought it would be fun to put together my favourite Irregular Choice shoes and boots of 2017. I get asked for favourites a lot and I never really have an answer as I find it far too difficult to choose. I've tailored my collection over the years to those I really love and am lucky I can collect anything rather than having to buy specifics, like "black shoes" or "mid heels" etc.  So it's quite hard to pick one over the other, when you collect for passion rather than necessity. There are of course some you like that little bit more and that can be for a variety of reasons, not just aesthetics, but Irregular Choice make such interesting and innovative styles, that it made my job very difficult to select just 12. Actually it began as a Top 10 before I realised that was impossible. Look at it as one a month instead! I haven't included bags and accessories as I was already struggling to whittle it down, but I bought (and loved) a lot of those in 2017 too. I'm going to reveal them in a random order, because rating these 1-12 would've been excruciating for me, although I do kinda have a top 5.

Irregular Choice Disney: Oh My Bag

In the fourth Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends review, I have the first of my handbags. I mentioned to you in previous posts that it was the bags I was eager to get and I ended up buying three (and have a 4th on the way, but I'm not sure I'm keeping that yet). This was the first Disney collection to have bags and accessories alongside footwear, so that was a big deal.  Especially as so many of us had thought for Star Wars, Alice or Cinderella "wouldn't it be cool IF..." and here we are! I didn't necessarily try to match the bags I bought to the shoes, I just got the ones I liked most and it was a bonus that a couple go really well with the 2 pairs of shoes I have from this collection.  Generally (and because the collection was so big), there were several shoe styles that could be 'matched' up to each bag.  The darker coloured ones, tended to have more 'matches' than the others.  All of the handbag styles are based on shapes we've seen in the mainline collection over the years, which I see no problem with. My IC bag collection started off quite tentatively, but now I own a lot and have several shapes that I like so much, I'm keen to buy in new variations each season. All of the Mickey bags seem to have sold really quickly everywhere, so I think they've been popular choices.

Irregular Choice Disney: Chip n Dale Purse

Hi gang, I have another review for you today from the Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends collection. Right off the bat, I wanted the Chip n Dale handbag. Pre-release it was probably my favourite thing from the whole range (yep, even over the shoes), so it made sense if I was to get that, I'd need the matching coin purse too. Well, not need need, but you know what I mean!  Add to that the fact, my Sherbet Ice Cream heels were made from the same floral fabric, this triple combo could complete my life! The day of the launch for me, wasn't a good one. I spoke in my previous post about the hospital ringing right beforehand, telling me my surgery was scheduled for the next week. To be honest, I put that to one side to concentrate on the shoes, because I'd been gearing up for this for months! I was home alone (might just be me, but I like someone there to stress with, I like to share that emotion!), however it was the online queue system that really failed for me.

Irregular Choice: Disney Mickey & Friends Box

The Irregular Choice collection we've been eagerly anticipating is out! Mickey & Friends is the latest collaboration with Disney and if you're already an avid IC fan, you'll be aware of the little extras that make buying a pair of their shoes so special. If not, then let me tell you that the soles, insoles and boxes are often just as fancy as the outside! With each new season or special release, such as these Disney collaborations, we see new fabric linings and patterns and pictures on the soles and boxes. I've already mentioned the linings in my teaser posts over the past few weeks, but I can tell you the images on the soles vary between styles (like we saw with Alice). For now, I have photos of the box.
Collectors of either brand, I'm sure are going to love this design. The box has a glossy finish with tropical (gorgeous) Minnie on one side on a lilac and white background. I'd totally wear that whole outfit and you know it!