Custom Chanel Knock-Off (The Follow-Up)

Hey ESB,

As promised, here are some photos from my wedding in January, for which I had a 1999 Chanel dress re-made for me. 

Sadly, it didn't turn out nearly as sexy as the original photo (psh, that's what you get for paying $150 for a dress that's probably worth thousands), but we had a fabulous day regardless. 

I did not end up wearing the "hooker shoes" that I bought, not because you shamed me, but it just wasn't very practical in the end. I wore a $3 pair of shoes my sister found at a thrift store, instead. Ha! If you haven't noticed, I'm a miserable cheapskate. 

Anyway, thanks to you and your horde of readers for advice and what not. :)

*****

I believe this is a combo lesson in "You get what you pay for" + "Who gives a shit about the dress anyway?"

p.s. I ♥ the $3 shoes.

(Photos by Peter Kappen Photography)

1999, who knew??

I thought you might enjoy a few more images from Arthur Elgort's 1999 Vogue shoot that inspired this bride.

Pointy-toed pumps are happening again right now.

Which leads me to wonder... Would these Zara booties be too much with the Chanel knockoff? Er, HOMAGE.

+

Not to beat a dead horse or anything.

Audrey Marnay photographed by Arthur Elgort + styled by Grace Coddington for Vogue USA, March 1999 via Dust Jacket Attic

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