I'm excited to bring you the first of my Irregular Choice Toy Story in-depth reviews. Right now, I'm travelling back from London, having attended the Carnaby Street VIP launch last night. Can't quite believe I'm writing that!! I wanted to blog about it beforehand, as I'm sure you'll realise it's a big deal for me (with my M.E.) to get out of the house, but I haven't had time. Hopefully in due course, I can share all the details. So, today we begin with the new character heel(s), in You Are A Toy!* ankle boots.
The right and left foot are different to one another, a quirk you'll either love or hate. My Dad thinks I'm wearing mismatched footwear that don't belong together and that someone else has the opposite pair! Both character heels are different, both uppers are different. There's two layers of frills around the cuff, the same on both boots and the silver glitter scalloped edging around the toe is the same, but that's where the identical features end.
The frills around the top are red and white diagonal stripes (present on the top of Buzz's wings) underneath cow print (from Woody's waistcoat). The strips down the centre back of the boot are switched; so red stripes to represent Buzz on Woody's boot and the cow print from Woody on the Buzz boot. I like that, for me it demonstrates a bit of cohesiveness and that they are a set, Dad!
The boot itself has the tiniest front. Straight out the box, I thought there was no way they'd fit. I got a size 5/38 and they look like a 3/36 to me! The toe is almost non-existent, they make your foot look tiny. The toe is almond shaped, upturned and like I said, the scalloped detail has become synonymous with IC and Disney styles. There's yellow fabric trim behind the silver, just peeking out. The glitter is pretty in the light, but not as dazzling as the black behind the applique letters on the uppers.
The lettering is in yellow, with "Woody" spelt out on the Woody boot and in purple with "Buzz" on the Buzz boot. The glitter has multi-coloured flecks throughout, but it was the first thing I noticed when I unwrapped them, they are super sparkly.
Both boots come with a full length inside zip and the main boot is really flexible, so despite my worries about them being too small and too tight, they fitted. On Woody the uppers are cow print on the front and the pink cactus pattern with Woody and Jessie riding on Bullseye on the back and going up the ankle.
On Buzz you get the galactic Buzz Lightyear material further up and a holographic silver across the foot. It can look a little dull in some lights, but when it does catch the light, there's a beautiful rainbow finish to it and it's very in-keeping with the space theme.
Now let's talk heels. Both are definite heels, not taking on a wedge form like other IC characters (bunnies, unicorn etc). Before anyone starts to question the price points in this collection, you really have to consider the amount of colours and materials used in each piece. As someone who studied fashion, I can tell you when it came to costing garments, all of that had to be taken into account. It's not necessarily using more product than a single colour or fabric, it's that's there's more steps involved for the machinist or worker(s) to pick up, put down, change colours and so on.
These heels are created by hand and I count 11 colours in Woody's outfit alone. The belt buckle isn't the same colour as the sheriff badge for example. There's no fine detail missed. The face is expertly done with his character just as it is on-screen. Look at the moulded string and ring on his back, just like the real cowboy Woody toy, that's adorable! I fully expected, or hoped, "Andy" would be incorporated into the soles of the shoes, which they are, but an unexpected surprise was that it would also grace the heel tips. Woody comes in a gloss finish, he's in-line with the shoe, though his nose is very small and pointy, sticking out ever so slightly, so just watch out for chipping that.
The Buzz heel is wider and chunkier than Woody, though still feels of a reasonable weight when compared to other character heels. He measures 8cm across the widest point, while Woody was 5cm. Obviously both heel heights are the same, coming in at around 4 1/2" with roughly a 3/4" concealed platform. Again he comes in a gloss finish and the detailing once more is impeccable. There's not the minutest feature omitted from what you see of him on-screen. 'Lights', 'buttons', patches and branding are all there, even his silly little chin curl! If I can also draw your attention to the tiny screws in his back, where on the real toy, the wings would pop out. The screws are even embroidered on the Falling With Style handbag we saw in the preview the other week. It's incredible, especially as it's on a part facing the sole and underfoot. This makes no difference to IC, no detail will be lost. The heel tip is purple and once again has Andy written on it. Despite Buzz being slightly wider, I haven't been aware when wearing them of keeping my feet apart (like with R2D2 for example). There's nothing protruding from the back of the shoe, but he does overspill width ways.
We're really treated when it comes to soles in this collection. Most of them are different between the styles and also between right and left foot.
Woody comes in the pink cactus print with Andy scrawled across the foot. I had to try and capture a close-up of Woody and Jessie, as it's so cute.
Buzz also matches his uppers, in the beautiful galactic print and that sole has Buzz written in purple letters. Both have a glossy finish.
Inside you'll find the sky wallpaper print from Andy's bedroom and it's that soft, slightly padded lining we've seen from the likes of Alice and Cinderella. The insole underfoot is cow print with "Disney Pixar" and "Toy Story" printed and "Irregular Choice" embroidered in gold.
If you're fond of patterns and prints, then you'll just love all that's going on in the uppers, soles and box. They really are stunning. What do you think?
They are utterly amazing!!! What superb detailing! I'm glad you did such an in depth analysis of them as it does help justify the cost and help you appreciate the imagination, craftsmanship abd genius designing skills!! I'm so so happy you had this exciting trip!!!x
ReplyDeleteYAY!~MIne are coming tomorrow! I can't wait!!!!
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