Charlotte Olympia: Birthday Shoes

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I started a birthday custom a few years back of buying myself a pair of designer shoes. A bit indulgent, gifting yourself something, but I suppose that was the point.  I guess because I buy Irregular Choice all year round, it didn't feel out of the ordinary to do that, but this felt a little special. Last year, I bought Vivienne Westwood boots. Well actually, I bought myself 2 pairs of shoes, but sadly these Moschino Couture heels were too big, so I'm selling those. I'd lusted after something in that traffic cone and floral print for so long, so it was really disappointing, though the boots softened the blow.

SS15 Melissa Shoes

I held back on posting this last year. As much as I love to see previews, when Christmas is coming up, the last thing on my mind is summery clothes, sandals and swimwear. Actually that last one is never on my mind. I might just have had my period every. single. week during school swimming! Anyway one thing, I can get my head around now is new season shoes, Melissa ones in fact.

Tips: Low Energy Beauty Routine

I've been wanting to write this post for some time, considering how much my beauty regime has changed this year, but to be truthful I wasn't sure if it was of any interest to you. I've had to learn and deal with a lot of changes in my appearance over the past few months and of course that's had a knock-on effect to my confidence.  So I decided any pro-self-esteem post was worth writing if it helps anyone else out there. For a little background and to hopefully clear up those "the shoe girl diaries illness" or "what illness does pink haired princess have" searches that are leading to my blog, I have M.E. I know I still haven't finished my (When Life Sucks) posts about my illness and how it came about, but it's not forgotten I promise. I've been ill for over 12 years now and finally got to a point where I was able to get dressed up and 'look' ok, even when I wasn't feeling that great. This year though, my iron dipped to really low levels (i.e. pretty much non existent) and it took a while to diagnose and treat, during which my health nosedived and I've still not recovered. I've been unable to get dressed, do my hair, wear any makeup and have only left the house (since mid-January) for hospital/doctor appointments. Obviously that in itself is a massive blow mentally, socially and physically (and that's putting it lightly) and in comparison a "beauty routine" seems rather trivial, but self esteem and confidence can affect your mood and that in turn can lead to even more issues, so it's something that shouldn't be ignored.  

How To Wear: Bags

So I'm supposed to be looking at shoes on the Sarenza site, but I notice a bag in the sale that I like, then spy another pretty bag and another....! We all know about my shoe obsession, but one that comes and goes is my bag obsession. Over the years I've gone through phases of buying handbags non-stop, then not liking any of the 'trends' and therefore buying none. Lately though, all I see is pretty bags!  You'll recall my Irregular Choice unicorn and cat bags. My first 'mid week must haves' contained guess what? Two cute bags! However I keep finding more I want to share, so I've put together some of my favourites in this post and also how I'd style them.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

I haven't deserted you for a second time-I've been super busy preparing several posts, including a reflective The Shoe Girl Diaries, seeing as I haven't been getting dressed and posting outfits very regularly. I've been unwell, so it's nice to remember that I can actually look presentable on occasion and have some awesome dresses and shoes buried in the depths of my bedroom! I'm also working on a brand new feature for Pink Haired Princess, which is both exciting and scary (and the latter is making me nervous, hence why I haven't revealed all yet), I will do it this week. Anyway back to this post and it's shoe-mazing! Filled with my purchases over the past few months. I don't buy nearly as many shoes as I used to, because I don't have room and I need to wait until my shoe-room is complete to see what I have and what needs to go. I tried to talk myself out of every single one of these purchases, as I knew I'd get in trouble if I got caught accepting a shoe looking delivery (!), however I'm a shoe addict and there are some bargains you just can't miss.  The "it's a Christmas present, you can't see" phrase works a treat all through November/December! 
In no particular order; we'll start with these Vivienne Westwood Anglomania & Melissa 'Lady Dragon' slingbacks. Can you believe that even though I've collected these since the beginning, I've never owned the 'bow' style? It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I've missed out on them, so I was pretty determined to grab a pair this time round. My favourite were the nude with bright pink and Cocosa had a great sale in November where I got them for a steal (£42 if I remember correctly).
The pink bow is super bright as you can see, which is a nice contrast against the nude and I love the shape of the it and it's size. I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of these when the warmer weather arrives.
Then in December, I got the metallic lip Lady Dragon, in the Daniel Footwear sale. Some of you will remember my link/message on Facebook to go and grab a pair, as this particular colourway were reduced to a fantastic £39.99. Honestly, just as my purchase went through online, a postcard arrived through the letterbox with an extra 10% off the sale! Typical! They were kind enough to refund the discount, which was just lovely. Note to postie-arrive quicker with important shoe information!
I was a little unsure about whether the dusky blue worked with the metallic red (the lips are the same on all colours), but they aren't as blue as I expected. I'd say, dove grey. I really need to work out how many pairs of 'jellies' I own now and how many different trims I have managed to collect! Lips, bow, heart, stamp, globe, cherries...pom poms, skull-bow...think that's it!
Right before Christmas, I noticed the Rag Doll velvet cat platforms I'd wanted from Office had been reduced further in the sale. From £60 to £27. I really wanted the similar fruit pair last summer and I was on a no-buy at the time and watched them sell out and didn't want to do it again with this style. So I bought them. A couple of days after Christmas they reduced them to £20. Now had I not bought them, I'm pretty sure my size would've gone, but typically, they were still there. Oh and when they reduced them to £13? Yep, still there, dammit! I suppose £27 was a good deal anyway.
Another pair I jumped in feet first with, were these Sophia Webster 'Party Like Pollock'. I have wanted them since the moment they launched and have pawed and pined after them for months and months! I told myself I'd buy them once they went into the sale and I did just that with 50% off direct from the Sophia Webster site. I knew there was a possibility they'd be reduced further (especially as they were on Net-a-Porter and their sale hadn't started yet), but I wasn't willing to risk it. Of course they eventually were and I could've saved £76 (and my size was still available) but 'you win some, you lose some' right? I'm drooling over everything Sophia designs, so that extra money could've gone towards another pair (it's been my daily routine to scope out sales and drool over her shoes), I'm so sad I missed out on the Dixie Doodle which featured a 'pencil' t-bar and the main shoe looks like lined paper, they are insane! Plus I was just about to purchase the Amber (plaid) court last week after saving up for them and they sold out while we lost our internet connection for a day. Boo hoo : ( Anyway, PLP are more of a summer shoe, but I was desperate to wear them, so did so last month with thick black tights.
I find all Sophia Webster shoes run small and very narrow. Or at least every pair I've tried have. I got these in a half size up and they are still quite narrow in the toe. The paint brush down the side is genius and I like the paint splattered heel and contrast perspex toe.
I spied these 'Lola' metallic courts in the Selfridges sale when I was saving for the Amber courts. I made a decision to go for these first and as we now know I missed out on the other pair, but these were also the last pair, so I might have missed them too. They remind me of Jem/Jerrica shoes! They have hearts and polka dots and I love the girly metallic turquoise and the cute stitched heart on the sole.
I'm just not sure they fit in with my wardrobe and style and that I'll wear them enough. I love them to look at, but am on the fence about their wearability for me. They were a great bargain and I kinda want to 'collect' as many SW shoes as I can afford, but is that enough to keep them? Should I return them, what do you think?
Ok, just two more pairs to go! My a/w 13' Irregular Choice wishlist filled up fast. I really wanted these pastel coloured glitter platforms and luckily they popped into the sale and after doing a wee battle in my head of 'will I/won't I?' I bought them! My size had sold out, so I went for a size up and they aren't too roomy, which is good. They are called Toffee Splatter and are a little unusual for winter considering the colours and the fact they are sandals. I think they'd probably look awesome with thick black tights, but the glitter is very rough, so you'd have to be prepared for them getting snagged and ruined.
The strap can be quite difficult to fasten as it's covered in big chunks of glitter and is very thick, although I suspect major fall-out once you've buckled them a few times (which should help). I love the cutesy bunny on the heel and they are so chunky they make your legs look super skinny! I do have some willpower and although I really wanted the turquoise Tinky Binky couI didn't buy them.  Then sulked after they sold out!  I'm telling myself, I can't get everything I want!  Before that, I'd bought Marble Moose (another wishlist item) from Letsbuyshoes. I got these in my normal size. I spent a ridiculous amount of time weighing up the colour options. I'm sure the white were my least favourite at the start, but in the end I went with them. You perhaps can't see the mouth on the platform as well, but I thought they'd be the most versatile. I also ordered Pixie Dust with them, but they sold out. I like them even more than Marble Moose or Toffee Splatter, so I'm hoping to order the other colourway at some point (and will cry if they sell out).
So that is it, what do you think?  I had some good sales this weekend on eBay, so have enough pennies for the unicorn heels Irregular Choice are releasing this week.  I'm rather anxious I miss them, so I'm praying nobody interrupts me and my internet doesn't go off!  Like I said, there's lots more posts to come, they just take time to prepare and I promise the new feature will be completed this week and then there's no going back!