Tuesday, September 20, 2011

HERE'S A FUCKING DRESS FOR YOU


Dear ESB,

I'm having some trouble finding the perfect wedding shoes.


Just to give you the vibe of my wedding style (the big day is Jan 14, 2012), let me show off my dress and the ring I'm hoping to surprise my future husby with!

As you can see, this dress (which will be a true white) needs some knock-out shoes to go with it. Both the ceremony and reception are going to be held in an art gallery in Santa Barbara and the current plan is color blocking for the bridesmaids.

Anyway, I've attached a photo of some booties that Mary Katrantzou and Christian Louboutin recently collaborated on.



I think they would be perfect for my wedding, but I'm positive they're light years out of my price range. They're captioned as "digital print booties" so I suppose that's my first clue as far as how to get that look, but I'm pretty sure that will be impractical in my case.

Ideally, I don't want to drop more than $50 on shoes, though I would probably succumb to a $100 pair if they were that perfect. Both my fiance and I are artists, so hand painting a pair of shoes wouldn't be a problem as far as "coloring them in," but in my limited research I've seen ugly dyeable shoes, canvas shoes (yuck), and warnings of acrylic paint chipping off anything you try and paint. I'm having a hard time imagining fabric paint turning out like anything but a 3rd grade t-shirt.

Please help!


*****

Any crafters out there with bright ideas??

That dress is SO GREAT, I'd hate for you to ruin the effect.

Audrey Marnay by Arthur Elgort for Vogue US March 1999

38 comments:

  1. Re: the shoes: decoupage and diluted white glue work well, depending on the type of look you're going for (and the type of paper/fabric you're starting out with).

    These shoes were basically made like that: http://offbeatbride.com/2010/04/decoupage-transformers-shoes

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  2. Yeah I would say mod podge http://www.plaidonline.com/mod-podge/brand/home.htm a pair of shoes with fabric http://www.etsy.com/listing/75270460/sale-1970s-vintage-fabric-the-funkiest?ref=mt. I don't know how durable they'd be but you could wear them the day of no problem. You'd have to shape the fabric over the shoe & trim as you go along. Also, get some black binding tape and studs to finish it up.

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  3. T.U.K. shoes are in your price range and printed onto leather/faux leather. Much different style. Irregular Choice shoes are out of your price range by a about $100 but they have some good options you could recreate.

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  4. I saw a bit on BurdaStyle where someone re-covered some wedges. Here's the link (and sorry it's not in the right format - I'm at work and can't browse for your how-to post! :-D): http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/fabric-covered-shoes-make-your-own

    Seems pretty simple, and you could really splurge on fabric, since you'd need <1 yd.

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  5. I found a cool tutorial on painting leather. I think that's your best bet.

    http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/blog/?p=544

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  6. GREAT DRESS! Better get some great shoes as well.
    I have no idea where but I will say a little shoe prayer for you.

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  7. I vote for decoupage, but the Jacquard fabric paints are also awesome and are super soft once dry (not like crusty acrylic craft paints). I've used them to paint on silk taffeta and silk organza and they were awesome on both. Poly satin will be no problem at all.

    http://www.dickblick.com/categories/fabricdecoration/

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  8. not a bootie, but the textile idea is right, at least in one of the ikat versions: http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/women/shoes/high-heels/85646619-kemler/57

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  9. Are you SURE you want to go this route? Your dress is so soft and lovely. It's like a whisper of a dress. Do you really want loud shoes? If so, good luck & rock on.

    Here's what I've found for you...

    These are similar but over-budget... and perhaps too cutesy? Not edgy enough?

    So... then you've got these wacky Jeffrey Campbells, here, here and here. All over-budget, obvs, but all kinda badass for your color-blocking, art gallery wedding.

    For the record, I wouldn't recommend DIY-ing your own wedding shoes, especially on your budget. Your materials alone will cost $50 or more, and what if you don't like the finished product? Then again, I'm not an artist, and YOU ARE. xo.

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  10. In high school I got some fake combat boots at Payless, sanded the "leather" down, and used acrylic paint on them. They didn't last forever, but they didn't flake off in one day. If you did something like that and then shellacked some Mod Podge on top of the paint, it could work.

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  11. i use liquitex acrylics on leather guitar straps and they stand the test of time. the paint adheres to the leather well, and is quite flexible to withstand dancing. run some tests an a pair of shoes you don't wear or thrift store variety if you're nervous about it...

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  12. These Nine West sandals are not as rocking as the ones you're eyeing, but I think they are cool and colorful.

    And I know J Crew is a big no-no here, but these gladiator sandals are darling and awesome.

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  13. Oh, the Nine West sandals I like for you are the TAUPE MULTI FABRIC.

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  14. What if you have something printed on vinyl, like those phone/computer skins and find a way to attach it to the shoe? A laptop skin, for example on a 17" computer is like $30, and about 10 or so for a cell phone skin (given the surface area of a shoe/boot to the back of a laptop you may need one or two per shoe).

    But you could test a cell phone skin out on an inexpensive pair of shoes to see if it will work. You could probably adhere it with a diluted adhesive, or just brushed on directly, or several other methods as you find fit.

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  15. DAMN IT HIT POST TOO SOON. But seriously, testing out different options until you find something that works could cost you about $200 (thrift/Etsy the shoes, of course for cost effectiveness), but in comparison to the MK Louboutins up there it' probably worth the extra dough.

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  16. What about this chick?
    http://www.figgieshoes.com/

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  17. It's really tough to make sub-$100 shoes look anything like Louboutins.

    Those are surely awesome shoes, but with that dress, you want to be careful that the shoes don't compete. Seems like too much color there could be distracting.

    I like the idea of something edgy but a little quieter. Like these or these or even these.

    In that price range, you may also want to consider Payless, which has a few interesting sub-$100 offerings. Like these Isabel Toledo's, these Lela Rose booties, or these Silvia Tcherassi booties.

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  18. @FineP when did Payless get all FIERCE??

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  19. @esb - Christian Siriano's doing, one assumes.

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  20. i think these are out of the price range but AAAAmazing http://www.figgieshoes.com/

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  21. I am pretty fearless about diy, but on this one I have to agree with Nicole and others. That dress is gorgeous and if you can't spend the money on shoes that are going to rise to the challenge, I would go with something more simple so that they won't look...well...cheap. My vote is with the Payless Lela Rose booties that Fine Persecution posted. Who knew payless had it in them?

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  22. @ESB what's wrong with the Figgie Shoes??

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  23. @maren, EVERYTHING.

    That is a hella hot dress, therefore it needs hella hot shoes.

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  24. Do you wear Ed Hardy? Yes? Then nm, figgie shoes are for you!

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  25. I love Irregular Choice. Once funds and feet comply, I will start a collection to rule them all.

    Lose the bow and these are fab.

    Cute and bright, but maybe not totally on-topic.

    While searching (and failing to find) lovely painted shoes I came across.. NARWHAL PUMPS.

    Hannah

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  26. WOW, these pumps are beyond!!!! Pure works of art!

    xox

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  27. what about something like this?

    http://www.etsy.com/people/taylorsays?ref=ls_profile

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  28. I have to say, you all found some rockin' shoes! Agree that the digital print booties would overpower that dress, although there's a lighter color on http://diyweddingplanning.blogspot.com
    also a link to a painting tutorial. I wouldn't try it for my wedding but it looks like fun. Would love to try it for a baby gift--baby shoes not mommy shoes! LOL.

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  29. I suggest investing in a great pair of shoes that you would want to wear on many special occasions.

    As is please consider these amazing Rachel Comey Colden Marbled Pumps for $162

    If not, these crazy sparkled Jeffery Campbell 5" t-strap for $98

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  30. oh my gracious who makes that dress?! where is it sold?! i LOVE it.

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  31. Wow, thanks a million to everyone. So glad I wrote in about this; there are some great leads here. Hopefully I can send in a picture a few months from now showing you all what I decided on! You definitely have me considering something tamer.

    Currently loving those Violetta Platform Ankle Boots for Payless. Who knew?!!

    I'm extra happy I got a positive f-word out of our lovely hostess.

    Cheers!

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  32. @Karissa hey lady, can you tell us where you got the dress?

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  33. @Fran, it was originally by Chanel and appeared in Vogue 1999. I'm having it made ($180 including shipping, WHAT!!?) by Jasmine's Bridal Shop. <3

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  34. @karissa, what a great deal!! please please please post pics after the wedding!

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  35. If you can find some light colored leather shoes, you can print out your design on iron on transfer paper and iron the design onto your shoes. While I haven't seen it done on shoes, this effect looks gorgeous on other leather items.

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