Taking the Japanese Pattern Challenge, More Ditching + My New Boots!

Let's start with the boots, shall we?

As an American, I am very vulnerable to the phrase "40% off."  And the word "Nordstroms."  Add "Free Shipping" and I am helpless.

Things I Don't Get, Vol. 10: Contemporary High Heel Shoes

Jessica Simpson channeling Fredericks of Hollywood, for sale at Lord & Taylor

Readers, are high heel shoes flattering to women or have we just been brainwashed to believe this?  Nobody's forcing women to buy high heels but clearly they do in huge numbers, arguably more today than ever before.  Fashion magazines as well as many fashion bloggers (and quite a few sewing bloggers) seem obsessed with them.

A Case of the "Now Whats?"

Friends, has this ever happened to you?  You finish a big project, you're a little spent, and you have no idea what's next.  Not to mention it's Diwali, the Indian "Festival of Lights" -- always a distraction when your sister-in-law is from Mumbai.

Cheap Fashion and the Canvas Sneaker

Readers, thank you for all the thought-provoking comments you left on my recent post about the book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion.

I came face to face with the cheap fashion dilemma last Sunday, when I decided to treat myself to a new pair of canvas sneakers before my vacation.  I didn't want anything fancy, just a pair of canvas slip-ons -- Vans or something similar.  So I walked up along 34th Street, where there are tons of athletic shoe stores, as well as north of 34th on 8th Avenue.  The selection is tremendous -- practically every style from (nearly) every era is available, it seems.

New Shoes and Old Movies

Friends, the cliffhanger is over -- my second-hand Allen Edmonds shoes arrived yesterday afternoon and I love them.

Shoes

Readers, for men, there are three kinds of shoes: black, brown, and sneakers.  That's it.  Please don't argue or ask What about desert boots?  Just trust me.  Men don't care about shoes.