ShoeSense

Craft envy

Don't you sometimes have a blogger you wish you could emulate? Like, you wish you had her talent, for example? Or her life? Or some other skill that she in fact dedicates her life/blog/evening commute to?

I have a long list of bloggers I admire, but in the fashion world I think few people turn me greener with envy than Erin at A dress a day. Why?

First of all, the woman can write, 'kay? Check out her Secret Lives of Dresses series, which I know she'll turn into a book some day, once I get my ass in gear and come up with the requisite counterpart series, Secret Lives of Shoes. Or something.

Second, but most importantly, I am absolutely envious of her nonchalance in talking about the objects of her affection (dresses). You see, Erin makes dresses. To judge by her blog, she produces at least a dress a week. She comments on patterns and says, hey, I think I'm going to do this in green/checker/stardust, only a little bit shorter/longer/puffier, with a pocket/flower/gizmo just above the left side/thigh/elbow. She picks materials and breezily mentions that hey, this is going to be this dress, or that dress, and I'm going to get a-sowing this weekend. Her quest for beauty is not restricted to lusting, admiring, browsing, or even purchasing: no, she MAKES that which she loves.

You can begin to understand now, right, that for someone like me, who loves shoes as much as Erin loves dresses, this can begin to get a little frustrating. Because I NEVER have the option of MAKING my own shoes.

Not that I wasn't curious about it. But you know, and I know, that unless I change my career plans drastically, shoe-making is simply not an option. One doesn't simply take shoe-making as a hobby; a sewing machine, patterns, and scissors will simply not suffice.

Is this why shoes are such objects of lust, above all others, for women (yes, more than dresses)? (See the related Coutorture poll about fashion fetishes: 67% of respondents so far answered "shoes"!).

No matter what, I do fantasize sometimes I had Erin's relative freedom in custom-making the objects of my desire. Ah, one can dream, can't one? I'd have a resplendent line-up of pretty, colorful, supremely comfortable and durable shoes that could brighten just about every day of the week.

I'll go dream about that some more...

posted by Cristina Hanganu-Bresch @ 7:26 AM