HEAD OVER HEELS FOR SHOE CLUBS

The concept isn't a new one but we're used to seeing it with books or wine. It seems the model has taken a fascinating turn with women's Shoe of the Month clubs hotting it up in the USA.

They all work the same way. You start by responding to a short survey, which purportedly allows the club's style maestros to identify your likes and style. Then, at the beginning of each month, you are presented with a selection of shoes designed to your taste from which to pick in your inbox. Choose a pair and they are sent post-haste with free shipping (only in the US). If nothing takes your fancy you are given a small window at the start of each month to decline to participate that month.

From the bargain-basement, no-frills eShoeClub (which offers a remarkable two pairs for $29.95) to the Kim Kardashian co-founded Shoedazzle and the other equally as large Just Fabulous (offering one pair a month for $39.95) to Sole Society Inc. (offering shoes at $49.95 a month) to the highest price tag of the Rachel Bilson backed ShoeMint (coming in at a much higher price point of $79.98).

All of these clubs make similar claims to being on-trend and fashion-forward and all create custom shoes, not shoes you can buy in stores. Most have some kind of celebrity endorsement and claim to have professional style consultants that match designs to the taste of their customers.

The advantage to the online store is obvious, a locked-in database and projected sales. And this market isn't a puny one, according to the Los Angeles Times, Just Fabulous has four million members and Sole Society half a million. Shoedazzle, co founded by reality TV heavyweight Kim Kardashian, has $60 million in investors. JustFabulous projects sales of 2.5 to 3 million pair next year. That's a whole lot of shoes!

While I applaud the merits of shoe clubs I do like to touch feel and experience the thrill of the chase so I'm not sure it's for me. Call me old fashioned.


@traceygillinder would like to apologize for cheating on Shoe Addict readers. Forgive me? Then check out the new Brisbane Times Plus One Column!

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DION BOASTS 3,000 PAIRS OF SHOES

Say what you will about Celine Dion but I have to tip my trilby to the woman, who has confessed she owns about 3,000 pairs of shoes.

The 43-year-old singer has told the Daily Telegraph she is obsessed with footwear and has admitted to being unable to resist adding to her collection, but she doesn't feel guilty because it's her only real vice.

“If you have, let's say, 600 pairs of shoes, you're considered a freak? I have about 3,000 pairs. Look, some people do drugs, and I buy shoes,” the Daily Telegraph quoted her as saying.

The ever glamorous singer is not gloating too freely though and says she feels very lucky to be able to buy expensive shoes and other luxuries and admits the spending power she now has and the lavish Florida estate she lives at with her husband Rene Angelil and their children - 10-year-old son Rene-Charles and 13-month-old twins Eddy and Nelson – is very different to the house she was raised in.

"My fans bought me my house. They bought my records … I'm very fortunate, and people have bought my albums year after year, and they come to see the shows, and it's expensive, and they still come," she added.

This is precisely why I don't count my shoes. Bless her.


(Image Credit: wmagazine.com)

@traceygillinder would like to apologize for cheating on Shoe Addict readers. Forgive me? Then check out the new Brisbane Times Plus One Column!

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IT'S A WRAP - BABES GET SPANISH

This knees-up has earned its place as the most celebrated end-of-year corporate event and the 2011 installment did not disappoint, with several hundred members of Brisbane’s premier networking organisation Babes in Business hosting clients and colleagues at a stylish long Spanish lunch.

Want more? Go to Brisbane Time's Plus One for the full piece and social pics.

@traceygillinder would like to apologize for cheating on Shoe Addict readers. Forgive me? Then check out the new Brisbane Times Plus One Column!

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PEARLS, POLO & VEUVE CLICQUOT

Brisbane Time's Plus One social blogger Tracey Gillinder sips Champagne and stiletto-stomps divots at Brisbane's most elegant polo party the Paspaley Polo in the City.

For the full social skinny on the day go to Brisbane Times Plus One.

Here are a few extra fun shots of the day's frivolity. Loving the Clicquot gumboots. Love!


@traceygillinder would like to apologize for cheating on Shoe Addict readers. Forgive me? Then check out the new Brisbane Times Plus One Column!

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Follow Tracey on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/traceygillinder
or read Tracey's columns @ http://www.babesinbusiness.com

CHOO CRUISE 2012

In the illustrious words of Rachel Zoe... I die.

Behold, the Jimmy Choo Cruise Collection 2012.





















@traceygillinder would like to apologize for cheating on Shoe Addict readers. Forgive me? Then check out the new Brisbane Times Plus One Column!

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ICONIC CHOO PUTS BEST STEM FORWARD

"I wanted to create a modern capsule collection inspired by memorable styles from our history that represented milestone moments for the brand and embody the DNA of our house style.

These modern interpretations of classic designs represent the iconic glamour of Jimmy Choo today." Tamara Mellon, OBE Founder and Chief Creative Officer

To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the iconic Jimmy Choo brand, the luxury label has released a coffee table book entitled, JIMMY CHOO XV and launched a fabulous capsule collection titled 'Icons'.

The book is available for early release exclusively in Jimmy Choo stores worldwide as of the 26th October 2011 with a deluxe edition featuring a snakeskin print embossed slipcase (of course) and will be in good bookstores worldwide from February 2012.

With a foreword by fashion journalist Colin McDowell and introduction by Tamara Mellon, JIMMY CHOO XV chronicles the 15 most significant shoes from the company’s archives through captivating imagery shot by photographers such as Mario Testino and Terry Richardson, editorial from the world’s top fashion magazines, paparazzi shots from the red carpet, design studio sketches and behind the scenes photography.

The company will donate one hundred percent of its revenues from the sale of the book to the Jimmy Choo Foundation, a charitable trust.

If procuring part of the collection for your feet will break the bank right now, consider ordering the book in the interim. Love!

Take a sneak peek behind the scenes of the Icons photo shoot:




Want more? Go to Jimmy Choo.


@traceygillinder would like to apologize for cheating on Shoe Addict readers. Forgive me? Then check out the new Brisbane Times Plus One Column!

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BURBERRY'S 'TWEETWALK' S/S 2012

Over 1,500 guests converged on London's Hyde Park for the Burberry Prorsum Spring Summer 2012 show last week including; Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Sienna Miller and Sir Ben Kingsley.

If you still haven't received the memo telling you Burberry's fresh young look is hotter than hell right now, then they'll happily come to you via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and You Tube.

In a fashion first, Burberry partnered with Twitter to create a live 'Tweetwalk' show premiering the Spring Summer 2012 collection with instant backstage Twitpics of each model live, before they hit the runway.

Burberry just reinvented PR fashion forward. Now back to the shoes...

Love!

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GUCCI MUESO OPENS IN FLORENCE

Piazza Signoria in Florence, Italy, is one of my favourite places in the world and now it has another fabulous draw card, the Gucci Museo.

In celebration of the luxury brand's 90th Anniversary, the fashion House opened the Gucci Mueso inside the medieval Palazzo della Mercanzia. (Watch the making of Gucci Mueso below).

Starlets, A-List Florentines and fashionistas turned out in droves for Wednesday night's opening. Spied strutting the red carpet were Camille Belle, Frida Giannini, Charlotte Casiraghi , and Abby Cornish.

The museum houses an exhibit from the rich history of the Gucci archives as well as a contemporary art installation by the Pinault Foundation.

The first floor plays host to installations such as: flora world, handbags, evening, precious, and contemporary art space. The second floor is logomania, lifestyle, and sport and the ground floor sees a Gucci icon store, bookshop, café, and gift shop.

Patrizio di Marco, Gucci's President and CEO, said, "We have decided to give life to something very dynamic and engaging. Visitors to the GUCCI MUSEO will not have the impression of a nostalgic celebration, instead our aim has been to create a destination experience where people can appreciate and enjoy our history, but at the same time understand how innovative and alive Gucci is today. The GUCCI MUSEO is also a tribute to our hometown," according to a Fibre2Fashion article.

Gucci is a luxury institution and one of the most renowned fashion houses in Italy, with Guccio Gucci opening his first leather goods and small luggage store in 1921. The son of an Italian merchant, Guccio Gucci wanted to blend the inspirations he acquired from both London, while working at the Savory Hotel, and from life in Italy, utilizing the classic sensibility of Italian craftsmanship.

Makes sense to me. Molto bella.

For more on the Gucci Museo click here.

(Pictures from bottom: Aldo Gucci in front of the original Florence store, Top; inside the exhibit.)

See the making of the Gucci Mueso...




Love!

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NEW SEASON KILLER HEELS

The pin heel. Loved and coveted but oh so deadly.

At 12cm this isn't the tallest heel we've seen in recent seasons but it is as 'killer' as they come.

With thanks to Christian Louboutin, Versace and Zanotti for their latest collections of pin-heeled leather pumps. Worn with everything from skinny jeans to floor length gowns these offerings will bring instant sophistication.

Warning: Wear at your own risk.

Love!


From Bottom Left (anticlockwise): Christian Louboutin Big Dorcet 120 suede pumps, Versace Pin-heeled nappa leather ankle boots, Christian Louboutin Big Stack 120 leather pumps, Giuseppe Zanotti Crystal-embellished satin ankle boots.

All available at Net-A-Porter

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VERSACE WOMEN'S SPRING SUMMER 2012

Missed Versace's super high take on the perspex platform? We welcome them back in Versace's 2012 Spring Summer Collection.



For 2012 Spring Summer season, the Versace Siren arrives in the city in the middle of the hot, hot summer, bringing with her a new beat...

Watch the fashion show from yesterday in Milan.

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TREND ALERT - TAKE A HIKE

The hottest trend to come out of Fall Winter 2011-12? The sky-high hikers boot.

A pretty damn stylish 24 hour footwear solution. Loving these spins (from bottom): Alaia - lace-up calf hair platform boots, Chloé - leather platform ankle boots and Dolce & Gabbana - plaid and leather utility style boots.

All available @ Net-A-Porter.

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RACHEL ZOE BANANAS FOR SHOES

She's successfully conquered celebrity styling and reality TV, now Rachel Zoe is taking on what some might say is a predictable (but fabulous) new role - fashion designer.

On Monday (12th) she presented her Spring Summer 2011-12 collection during New York Fashion Week and is moving at her usual 100km per hour pace on her footwear and accessories venture.

Labeling her Super-Mum doesn't even begin to do her justice, with season four of her hit reality show 'The Rachel Zoe Project' about to hit US screens and motherly duties with her six-month-old son Skyler, this is a woman with serious time management skills.

Zoe's collection with LF USA debuted with a bang, already taken on in majors like Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman.

'Not everyone wants to tower on a 7-inch heel like me,' admitted Zoe to WWD. 'There's something in the collection for everybody. I want everybody to find their shoe.'

Bless her.


(Image Credit: rachelzoe.com)

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BRISBANE TIMES - PLUS ONE - GOES LIVE

Want a little more sass?

Introducing Fairfax's BrisbaneTimes.com.au new social sass, Plus One.

Running the gamut from glitterati to grunge, Plus One invites you along to the top events, revelries and celebrations in Brisbane. It’s social coverage with a twist.

This is your insider's guide to Brisbane's best openings, events and parties.

Go there. Stat!

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STEPHANE KELIAN S/S 2011-12 COLLECTION

Stephane Kelian is known for his design expertise and craftsmanship. Touches of hand-made finishes and plaited leather define Kelian as the 'sculptor shoemaker.'

The Spring Summer 2011-12 collection is edgy and fresh but elegantly designed.

Loving the Anita, available in black and beige. Available at Cosmopolitan Shoes.

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