Little Summer Blackies

Hmm, it seems I don't have much to do on Sundays - or, I am evading some things I ought to be doing. Anyways, here's one more pair of shoes presented.

These little black beauties are a mixture of canvas and leather. This means they do not give in at all, which in turn means that they are not too comfortable. However, they are very cute. The heel is of triangle form, adding a nice little detail to the design. The sandals are, again, by Bruno Magli, which explains their classical look - a look that can be combined with more or less anything and everything, especially all business style clothing. These shoes will always be in style, I believe.

Two pairs of whites

White is not an easy colour when it comes to shoes. It can often look tacky or tasteless, and for the most, it is only appropriate during summer time. Years ago, I always had a white garderobe for the summer which I loved, but at some point I gave that up for some reason. I guess I just got bored with that solution. Recently, I have thought I might revive the tradition, for it is quite classy in a way. Also, during the heat it is very comfortable.

However, even when I had my summer whites, I never actually had white shoes. Instead, I paired the whites with brown leather - some of the nicest sandals I ever had, actually (still miss them!). But now when I no longer wear the whites, I happen to own whole two pairs of white shoes, both of which I have been using frequently.

The first pair is from Pons Quintana and was purchased in Luxemburg few years back. They are very very comfortable, because they are hand-woven they adjust to the foot perfectly. The heel is not that high, maybe about 6 cm. They are tied to the feet with long leather cords, and it is up to the wearer if the cord is tight just around the ankle or up the leg. I use both ways depending on what I wear them with. I often pair these shoes with my red linen dress by Armand Ventilo bought during the same trip, or with a white embroidered linen skirt from Laura Ashley that is so sweet.

The other white pair was a gift, a souvenir, from a friend. She visited Pristina in Kosovo where one of her friends was working, and found these beauties in the local market place. She immediately gave me a call when she spotted them, asking me if I want her to bring them to me. Of course I wanted them, for a ridiculous price of 15 euros they were a true bargain, according to her description! And that they were - they are maybe a bit tasteless in a way, but I don't care! Men love them, and also women always notice these shoes :) I often wear them if I go out. The band that would go behind the ankle is too tight so I have placed it over the shoe - it is in fact an unnecessary addition to the shoe.

So these are my two pairs of whites - both quite usable in their own way, and both with some dear memories attached to them.

Estonian charm

I am currently at home, having been ill over a week now and slowly recovering from what seems like the worst case of flu I've had in a very long time. I feel dreadfully weak - with the slightest effort my heart starts to bounce heavily and I immediately feel very tired. I have little appetite, and cannot taste anything, which feels quite funny actually. I've tried the strongest tastes, but not even chili can make my tastebuds work - or at least not communicate any message to the gourmet part of my brain..or any part for that matter.

So, I have not much to do, being too weak for most things - I just sleep and watch some tv if I'm up - but now I decided I am strong enough to update my shoe blog just a little bit. I've been longing to photograph the blue silk shoes and also these beauties found in Estonia two years ago - for I absolutely adore them. They were a gift from my then boyfriend: when we were visiting the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, with another couple in the summer of 2004, my boyfriend told me that he would buy me anything I want! So I found these wonderful shoes in one of my favourite colours (as well as some other shoes, lingerie and a very nice bikini). Here I have pictured the shoes on the window sill over my lamb skin suede jacket in similar colour - I often do wear them together. These shoes have earned me a lot of compliments from other women, and whenever I wear them, my feet are almost burning from the envious looks they collect! So I really love them, and remember the generosity of their giver :)

The Estonian women are quite feminine and love beautiful clothes and especially high heels, much more than their Finnish counterparts - but for few exceptions, such as I. Shopping in Tallinn is great fun for I like the selections there more, and the prices are often more affordable than in Finland. What I also always buy in the old town is many bunches of flowers - they can endure the short trip back to Helsinki easily, and will give pleasure for at least a week or so for me and my cat, originally from Tallinn, who seems to love the scent of the flowers of her native country strikingly much. It is practically impossible to keep her nose away from the buds for a second!

Something blue...

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" is an old wedding tradition according to which the bride needs to wear all of the above to be lucky in the marriage, as well as in life in general. Being somewhat superstitious, I always thought that should I marry, I would abide to the rule. So, when I bought these blue silk shoes from Bruno Magli long ago, I thought I could use them for that 'something blue'. However, time has passed and I remain an old maid - and I thought, what a waste to keep such a lovely pair in the closet, so I started wearing them anyway :)

Till now, I have been able to match the pair with blue-and-white striped underwear, and here they lie over a silk dress in similar blue hue I found in the sales last summer, bought for a friend's wedding (but not worn, I chose something else the last minute). They also look quite nice with a pair of blue jeans. They have started to look a bit worn, so now they would qualify also for the 'something old' part (as would their wearer...)! In any case, I'm not too sure if they would do for such good bridal shoes anyway, since they tend to slip away and might not be too good to dance with.. :)

Butterfly sandals

I have indulged in another shoe purchase last week. I was only accompanying a colleague in a local supermarket where he wanted to find comfortable sandals to be worn at work. In the IT field where I work, most engineers tend to wear something from Birkenstock (or equivalent) for work. Needless to say, I don't - my choice is something a bit more feminine (then again, I'm not an engineer). In fact, I'd rather drop dead than be caught in something so hideous! Also, my feet are so used to heels that if I wear flats for longer periods, my knees will start to ache. So I was born to wear heels. Quod erat demonstrandum. ;D

Anyway, as I was standing by while my colleague was trying on his sandals, I got so bored that I wandered off towards the ladies' section. And lo' and behold! These pink&gold sandalettes with strass butterflies attached to the front were glittering in the shelf. Trying them on was hardly necessary - the mental decision to get them was more or less instantaenous. However, I stayed firm at first, wanting to visit some other stores that I knew of in order to see if this type of shoe could be found elsewhere, so that I could choose among a selection.

A quick rampage through the main stores in the city center soon proved that they were one of a kind, so I went back, tried them on once more to somehow justify the purchase, and headed to the counter.

They are quite lovely and can be worn cosily at home with lingerie. They might be perfect also for some special evenings during summer - for example, if going out to dine in some flashy restaurant or to a posh night club.

Miss Pinky

Today, even though it is Saturday, I had to travel to the airport for some work-related business. We, a colleague and I, went to collect one of our summer interns, arriving fresh from India - a young student first time outside the borders of his native country.

The day was hot by local standards, temperature rising up till 22 °C, so I wore my ivory linen suit by Episode (don't know if the label still exists) which always feels so adequate to fight the heat. Since I was travelling by car, I realised that for this mission, I would be able to use my fabric-coated Brazilian summer sandals that are otherwise so 'demanding' - they endure no rain, for example.

Meeting these youngsters (there will be four of them) has been such a pleasure: for them, this is all a big adventure, being so far away from home, somewhere as exotic and remote as Finland is for the most. It will be a pleasure to follow their enthusiasm and vigor while their stay in this Northern destination.

Practical, everyday shoes (sic)

May has finally arrived and the summer with it. The 1st of May celebrations are now behind us. The weather was exceptionally warm and sunny throughout the season holidays, at least in the Southern part of Finland, where I have been living all my life.

Along with the summer, the shopping for new summer shoes is also reaching its climax. All the shops seem filled with a multitude of choices in every colour and type to suit every taste. I too have been shoeshop-hopping frequently, trying on this and that, but it took only one glimpse at this very pair to set my mind on having them. For I had a definite need for them. The colour, light leathery brown, is perfect for my purposes, and matches with almost everything. The heel is somewhat high, but the shoes are quite steady and even longer distances are not impossible. They gave me just one blister when first worn; since then they've been behaving surprisingly well.

These shoes are Italian, by the label 'Gino Ventori' - and very affordable. Still, I had to wait for my paycheck on the last of April to be able to collect them! Thank God for the reserving policy ;) I plan to wear - and already have - these shoes on a daily basis. This was also the case yesterday, when I arrived at work at 9 am, left at 5:30 pm to meet a dear friend, visited a few bars and finally played billiard for an hour or two till way after midnight! At some point we learned that there had been a huge fire in the city center - some pyromaniac had burned down the old railroad warehouses doomed to be torn down starting in May. At first we wouldn't believe it, and thought it was some weird joke. However, it turned out to be true. The city center was filled with smoke, and thousands of people were witnessing what they referred to as reminiscent of the 'final day of doom' according to the local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. It was quite terrifying, since such havoc* is uncommon in our peaceful country.

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*(addition on July 27) In fact, the investigation so far shows no signs of such a pyromaniac; instead, it seems the whole incident was purely accidental! I truly hope that it was. However, another pyromania has taken place since then: the beautiful old church of Porvoo was set on fire on May 29 by some idiotic youngsters. Even if the roof was not original, the heart of an art historian is turned upside down by such stupidity.