Sunday 6 March 2016

Irregular Choice Alice: Flowers Can't Talk

irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe
Hello lovelies, today I have the first of my Irregular Choice 'Alice In Wonderland' shoes to show you. As stressful as the shopping experience may have been, it was quite exciting to have them come in separate packages from different places over the course of a few days. My shoedoo sense of guessing sizes was pretty spot-on, with the exception of the All Mad Here boots, which I had to re-order in the size down (but more on that when I come to those). I photographed all 5 pairs earlier in the week and I'll be showing each style individually, as I took over 400 photos, which need to be cut down and edited! First up are the beautiful Flowers Can't Talk. irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoes irregular choice alice in wonderland flowers cant talk shoes irregular choice alice in wonderland character heels
Possibly the most elegant design in the Alice collection, Flowers Can't Talk are a single soled court shoe with Alice heel. It's unusual for a character heel, as many of them are chunkier and 'rounder' looking with concealed platforms. The shoe itself is black, though that can barely be seen for the stunning floral embroidery covering the entire upper. It really is just beautiful. The bright colour combinations and intricate detailing are eye-catching and striking. The vamp is cut low with a scalloped edge, trimmed in black, crackled metallic material. Their shape led me to believe the size up would be too big and so I stuck with my usual size. They fit true to size, but are generous in the heel (I found this with the likes of Longer Lashes boots too). The size down likely would've been too short in length, but some people may find they need heel grips to keep the shoe on, even in their regular size as your heel doesn't feel very 'contained'. Whatever you do, don't size up. irregular choice disney alice in wonderland floral shoes irregular choice disney alice flowers cant talk shoes irregular choice alice flowers cant talk tiger lily shoe irregular choice alice flowers cant talk dandelion shoe
The toe is rounded with a contrasting, large flower trim on each shoe. Initially (pre-release) I hadn't been overly keen on them being different to one another, I'd have preferred the symmetry of two the same. However it's grown on me and I'm rather fond of it now. I suppose it's a quirk that makes them 'irregular'! On one shoe is an orange tiger lily and a yellow dandelion on the other. They haven't scrimped on details and layering of trims in this part, I especially love the red pom pom 'nose' on the dandelion. irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe dandelion tiger lily trim irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe flower toes irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe tiger lily detail irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe tiger lily trim irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe dandelion detail irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe dandelion trim
As there's no platform, the heel is a little lower at 4". Similar to the recent flamingo heel. Both Alice heels are the same (no right and left) with a glossy finish. They don't feel overly heavy, just as I'd expect. The heel is separate, not taking on the wedge like appearance so many other character heels have and the heel tip is again quite small compared to previous styles (gold on this shoe). irregular choice alice flowers cant talk shoe heel tip irregular choice flowers cant talk alice heels irregular choice flowers cant talk alice heels close up irregular choice flowers cant talk alice heels side irregular choice alice in wonderland heel detail
Alice squats slightly with her hands crossed and resting on her lap. As you'd expect she wears her short-sleeved blue dress, white apron and black shoes. The dress sticks out like it does in the film (as she's wearing a petticoat underneath) and isn't symmetrical, as it would sit in real life. I love the detail of the bow of her apron at the back, something that isn't seen when you're wearing them (as it's underneath the shoe), but IC rarely miss these details. She's a little more tanned than I expected with blue eyes and yellow hair with her trademark black ribbon. The bow part obscured by the shoe sitting on top of her head. Like I say, she's a proper 'heel', detached from the shoe, other than the top of her head.
irregular choice alice in wonderland character heel detail irregular choice alice in wonderland heel close up irregular choice alice in wonderland heel front irregular choice disney alice in wonderland heels irregular choice alice in wonderland heel apron detail irregular choice alice in wonderland character heel close up
All the styles feature the same inners in pale blue fabric with characters from the film all over. "Disney, Alice In Wonderland" is embroidered on a pink insert with "Irregular Choice" stitched on the insole. The fabric is very soft against the skin, I think it would have some stretch to it if it were on a roll (hard to test when it's fixed)! It feels very cushioned and comfortable anyway. The soles are mostly different, with these featuring stills from the movie of the talking flowers scene. The right and left shoe showing different images. This is on the base, the heel end of the shoe is a replica print of the material used inside. I rarely feel apprehensive about wearing my patterned soles outdoors with no protection, but these are a pair I'm glad to have decent photos of, before walking on them. I still won't use sole protectors though! irregular choice disney alice in wonderland ss16 shoes irregular choice alice in wonderland insole detail irregular choice alice in wonderland sole detail irregular choice alice in wonderland flowers cant talk floral shoes
I'm absolutely thrilled to have added this pair to my collection. The talking flowers part of the film was one of the bits I liked most, so I was happy to see it translated into a shoe.  They are more sleek and less edgy than we usually see IC tackle, but my taste in shoes covers several styles and sometimes I fancy something a little 'polished'. I won't say "grown up", because the startling colours and flower trims are far from serious or dull and keep things true to the brand ethos. I wore One Lump Or Two? from the same collection over on The Shoe Girl Diaries earlier in the week and will be wearing these for Shoesday Tuesday soon.  What do you think, do you like them, did you manage to find a pair of these (check here if you you're still searching)? Keep an eye out for my other Alice pairs over the next couple of days.

29 comments :

  1. Love this blog. I don't have these shoes...yet...one day! Enjoy 😊

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    1. Thank you. They were one of the last styles I managed to get and it wasn't until I was faced with NOT getting them, that I realised how much I wanted them! x

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  2. They are really beautiful! I love seeing them up close and hearing what you've noticed about them. The flowers even have faces in the embroidery! So pretty and I love your floral background!x

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    1. Thanks Kezzie. Yes, I love that they have faces and you can see the tiger lily and dandelion even in the embroidery. Such a fun, colourful shoe. Paperchase gift wrap, sometimes the 'simple' backgrounds surprise me by working out brilliantly. They look fabulous together.

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  3. Love this! I look forward to you posting these great photos because my shoes haven't arrived yet!!!!

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    1. Thank you, argh, bet you can't wait to get them now!

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  4. They are absolutely gorgeous!! May I ask why you don't use sole protectors?

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    1. Thank you, I agree ; ) It's never bothered me, walking on the soles and wearing away the picture (as pretty as they are). I see it as they are there to be worn. Plus it would cost a fortune as I've had 100's of IC over the years.

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  5. They are absolutely perfect, down to every last detail! Your photos of them are beautiful, too!

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  6. Brilliant pictures, you are excellent at setting these style of shots up! Beautiful shoes, I got the Card Soldiers flats and adore them. Plus I agree wholeheartedly with your take on no sole protectors, I feel the same - these are my shoes and I have walked on all my other IC pairs so Alice will be no different. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the collection.

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    1. Thank you, that's very kind. The card flats are so cool, I love how they look so completely different from the gold side compared to the green. I wonder if our confidence in wearing the soles comes from owning so many? I find it's newer customers to the brand that are all for sole protectors.

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  7. Oh I wanted these so bad *cries*

    Kariss
    www.shystrangemanic.com

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    1. They are beautiful, they went really quickly though!

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  8. I'm finding these are sooo big on me, even with heel grips I'm worried they aren't going to fit :(

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    1. They are a bit of an odd fit, there's just nothing to keep your heel in. I thought the shallow sides would be the struggle, but hadn't reckoned on the heel being so large fitting and shallow.

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    2. I am writing this after my post below. I am thinking of taking my Flowers Can't Talk "rowboats" to a high end shoe repair place and having them attach black straps at two points on each side In front of ankle and just behind ankle (so sort of like a triangle that goes into one strap) and have these shoes made into Mary Janes. Now reading this again I don't feel as bad at the fit of the shoe, because it seems the sizing is just part of the problem, the shoe is just all around shallow as you say with a large heel. (You are spot on again) (I couldn't even finish reading your words before when you first wrote this because I just knew my shoes were going to be too big (I hadn't yet received them, being in SF) and so it was too upsetting for me to even finish reading) But I am going to see if I can get these made into Mary Janes with black fabric straps. That and the padding should be the ticket.

      At any rate, why can't IC test these things when they are prototypes and before they go into production. They need to hire you as consultant. You'd have set them straight on this.

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    3. That could potentially look quite nice with black straps actually. Ha, yes, well that would be my dream job, try them all beforehand and send back the ones I didn't want to keep and pay for the ones I did. I'd love a system where I could take my photos for reviewing beforehand so I could be ready to publish the blog posts on the day (I know they wouldn't want it beforehand), at least that way everyone would see it on the day and have it to refer to, rather than panic buying wrong sizes. I've also changed the minds of loads of people who DIDN'T like something until they saw MY photos of it and by then it's sometimes too late for them to get it.

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    4. You are truly an ambassador of Irregular Choice :)

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    5. What size is your foot in centimeters Char?

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    6. Thank you, been a long-time fan and yes I mostly blog IC!

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  9. You are so right on about the Flowers Can't Talk! That is it exactly! I made the severe and fatal mistake of sizing up on these and also you hit the nail on the head, "your heel doesn't feel very contained" Exactly!!!! So I am sitting here at 6:45 am obsessing about this and sitting with my big left foot in the shoe and I have stuck a heel pad on top of a heel pad and then another heel pad along the outside inside part of the shoe on top of the seam because it was rubbing on my foot. I am so obsessed about this that I will go back to the store as soon as it opens (probably not, will probably just try to get some sleep) (having had probs sleeping due to fibro flare ups in the past week from the stress of the shoes and other stress). At any rate, I can't bear to part with the shoes. And I wish I would have read more carefully the first time about the heels, because that is exactly what I have discovered when I started to try to problem solve and pad these things. Now I am going to look like Minnie Mouse because these shoes stick out far from where the tops of my feet come out of them just like Minnie's big fat "bricks" of shoes. But I don't care, I am damned if I am not going to have some Flowers Can't Talk shoes. At this point you may have realized I am more of an Alice maniac than an IC maniac. I love IC, but given the price I can take them or leave them except for a few styles and (if I was rich I'd buy them all). But like everything Alice, I must must must must have it.

    IC should really hire you to preview their shoes and write on them. Your analysis of the shoes and how they fit is spot on. I think I can calm down enough now to get some rest, since all the padding is seeming to do the trick (those heel pads work well to stick on around the whole perimeter). I wish the store was open right now, so I could just get some. Walmart is open right now, but they wrongfully accused me of shoplifting and locked me in a room and would never apologize or anything, so I refuse to shop there. Too bad, because they are convenient. I am such an avid shopper, that if I won't shop somewhere, you know they've really wronged me, because I am pissed at IC for this whole emotional fiasco they have caused me and lots of people, but I probably will buy from them again, once I have some more money and have paid this huge splurge off. Anyway, thanks for your spot on shoe fit analysis.

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    1. Such a pity. I guessed with sizing as I too can't try them on and have to order online. I doubt I could've truly 'sized down' because they length feels normal for me, it's just the big, shallow heel. I'm in the wheelchair whenever I go out anyway, so slipping off my heel won't be a problem, but it will for others.

      Like I said above, I'd love to do that and that's why I began The Shoe Girl Diaries blog, so I could help out with sizing. Of course it only works on shoes I've tried myself and I can't afford to try them all! I'm so appreciative when people are thankful for the info anyway x

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    2. Well, IC should ship to you beforehand to review and they should put the reviews on the page of each shoe in a green dot that says sizing review right next to the pink dot that says size guide. Then a person could just click on the size review and get the whole scoop for each particular shoe or click and go straight to your blog to read about all of them.
      My friend Toni G. is a Hollywood makeup artist and she is in the Actors Union or whatever they call it, and they always send her all the films for free to preview and vote on as an academy member, for the Oscars. So IC should do the same thing for you here. At least give you a discount. (I had friends at Betsey Johnson/ Betsey Johnson boutiques RIP :( //// and my friends got a 50% discount at the store, and I worked at Macy's and got a 20% and so maybe they could give you whatever discount they give the other store employees as they should totally employ you as a reviewer.) I am going to write them again and ask that they do that, because it sure would help me out. They have just about driven me crazy with this and I'm crazy enough already without having to be made more crazy over not getting the right size shoes.

      You are a good promoter of the brand and you do a good job taking nice photos that are arranged nicely with pretty fabrics and cute toys and dolls and you have been exactly right about your comments on all the shoes, so they really should hire you to do preview reviews to help shoppers out. or at least give you a discount on the shoes.

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    3. That would be very helpful for a lot of people I'm sure. Thank you, that's much appreciated. I do put a lot of time and effort into these posts, so it's nice to know it's aesthetically pleasing, but also helpful for others.

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  10. I love the Alice heel, she's so cute and they really did her justice.

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  11. ebay has Flowers Cant Talk size 38 US7 (UK 5) and 36 US 5 (UK 3.5) ebay item number
    272159561385

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Wowee your comments cheer me up!

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