Monday, July 21, 2014

Vindication!

A month or so ago, I bought sneakers. I love these sneakers. I'm wearing them right now. They're not only the best-fitting shoes I've ever owned, ever, but they're super chic.

Or so I thought. Think. Everyone else, however, has been... less enthusiastic. After holding forth on their fabulousness to my nearest and dearest, I've heard a variety of frank assessments, all adding up to, they make me look like a badly-dressed teenager. And I was starting to think those around me had a point. (Not that this in any way stopped me wearing them.)

Well! I noticed some sneakers with a familiar silhouette on Pinterest. Pinned onto (into?) the shopping cart of one... Garance Doré. Yes, that Garance Doré. The one who dates The Sartorialist. And, as anyone who follows such things knows, Sart is way harsh about such matters.

Now I'm just waiting for a prominent fashion blogger with a discerning beau to endorse the unflattering-but-comfortable, possibly-tempura-splattered linen pants I recently got for $25 at J.Crew.

6 comments:

kei said...

Further vindication -- I thought I'd seen these somewhere, and you are spot on!

http://blushingambition.blogspot.com/

I don't think she wears the same type but they look a lot alike -- Eva Chen also wears black and white Nikes:

http://instagram.com/evachen212

I'd been debating more Birks, loafers for fall, or Nikes/New Balance sneakers. Now I'll have to add a specific style to this decision making process...wanty wanty!

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

Wow! I'd never seen the Blushing Ambition blogger before, but Eva Chen, that's definitely some more big-league vindication. Whichever practical considerations led me to skip the white-Adidas trend ended up, oddly enough, leading me to be ahead of the curve (or at the front end of it) on this one.

Heewon said...

Hi! This is such a great blog--I love what you've said about the whole "not being allowed to show that you've made any effort while looking perfect" concept, and I feel like the whole sneaker thing is a part of it. Being comfortable but not looking comfortable, in a way, still having to look uberchic at every moment with wearing "in" items, even with sneakers.

I live in NY where it seems like you live in/nearby from the couple posts I've read. Pretty much the only acceptable sneaker here these days seems to be those white Superga shoes, which seem like vans, just Italian so slightly cooler? Or maybe it's already outdated? I tried them a while back and found them to be heavy and clunky.

Also, I finally saw Scott Schuman scoping in Soho. He's really, really short. And seems to take himself really, really seriously. He had the facial expression/attitude of a war photographer heading into gunfire. The war of fashion, I suppose.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

Heewon,

First off, it's fantastic to get told this is a great blog and have that not be the start of a spam comment!

And yes, I do live near NY, but work/friends/family bring me back to my hometown quite often. And... I have the white Supergas! From a while ago - inspired, I think, by Emily Weiss's white Converse, the thinking being that because Converse are never that comfortable, those might be better. And... no. Yes, very "heavy and clunky."

"The war of fashion, I suppose." Ha! He does seem overserious, given his mission.

Heewon said...

Ah, Emily Weiss--I appreciated her recent Into the Gloss post about being "shiny" (this one: http://intothegloss.com/2014/06/emily-weiss-into-the-gloss-summer-2014/). She has good things to say.

What is Scott Schuman's mission anyway, I wonder?

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

Heewon,

Emily Weiss... That blog has inspired too many of my purchases, I think, and (to borrow Kei's term, as always) so many wanties. Not just makeup - not even primarily makeup. The aesthetic is just very convincing, or something.

Re: The Sartorialist, my feeling has long been that the photos are often great, but that practically every time the guy himself writes or says anything, it's painfully tone-deaf.