Holy Loeffler Randall, Batman!

Steph emailed me a while back asking for shoe help, and I didn't even bother posting the question. Because HELLO, LOEFFLER RANDALL

That's pretty much what I tell anyone who asks for shoe help.

(Sadly, those little gold wedges are no longer available, but I'm thinking this blocky blush pump is the new go-to wedding shoe.)


Photo by Kim J Martin. Check out more from this lovely, woodsy wedding--and lots more shots of the shoooooes--over here

my imaginary uniform

$575 is too rich for my blood, but I'm clicking through every fucking day waiting for this sucker to go on sale.

Related: These platform booties are KILLING ME. Loeffler Randall is have a huge sale -- 20% off everything until October 28 -- but now that I'm un(der)employed again my shoe budg is pretty much nil.

Wait. WHAT? WHEN DID THESE HAPPEN?

This morning I was sick of wedges.

I am no longer sick of wedges.



THIS IS WHY LOEFFLER RANDALL IS THE OFFICIAL SHOE OF ESB, YOU GUYS.

(Thank you for reminding me when I forget.)

Black nubuck/Mirrored leather or Black dot haircalf/Taupe watersnake

Seeking: Big Ol Size 11's to go with this dress

Dear ESB, 

I feel like I keep searching and continually come up empty in my quest for the right shoes for my wedding, so I'm hoping you and your readers can help get me on track! This is my dress [pictured above] and I'm wearing gold jewelry, so I'm thinking of wearing a gold or cream colored sandal at my wedding in October. 

Sounds simple, right?  There are a couple of things that have made it more difficult to find the right one. 

>>I really want a shoe with a low-ish heel - and preferably a wedge - since I'm crazy clumsy and therefore terrible in heels. This rules out a lot of options. 

>>Finding the right tone of gold - I don't want anything too shiny, but more of a matte or distressed look - or the right shade of cream - one that works with the dress - has been hard. 

>>Finally, the kicker is that I've got enormous feet.  I wear a size 11, and it's crazy hard to find good shoes in that size anyway, let alone something so specific.  

Help!  I'm sure there are resources I'm not looking at that would be good to investigate. I'd love to spend no more than $200 on these guys.

Thanks!

*****

DUDE THESE ARE ON SALE FOR $150

AND THEY COME IN ELEVEN

Have I not told you all to just check Loeffler Randall before you pester me with shoe questions??

Loeffler Randall + ESB!!

Remember what I said about Loeffler Randall being the official shoe of East Side Bride?

BOOM.


They've asked me to co-curate + co-judge this Pinterest contest (running May 21-May 28).

Here are the rules:

Step one: Follow @LoefflerRandall on Pinterest.

Step two: Repin the "Pin to Win" entry photo [pictured above] and at least one Loeffler Randall product photo from our lr // hitched board.

Step three: Add a comment to your product photo telling us how you would wear your pick at a wedding. (Your upcoming wedding, your imaginary wedding, your best friend's wedding... Any wedding!) Make sure each photo is tagged #HitchedInLR & #LoefflerRandall.

**UPDATE: The winners have been announced here and here. **

p.s. Just so you know, I'm not willy-nilly recommending Loeffler Randall without sampling the wares. I bought these furry gladiators last month and they are KICK ASS.

PhD Panic

Dear ESB,

Ummm, so... I’m having a bit of wardrobe crisis.

In ten days time I have the most important exam of my life so far. Obviously, as opposed to working, I’m busy stressing about clothes.

I am about to take the transfer (upgrade) exam from MPhil to PhD. The exam is a viva voce, although not as long or scary, as the one at the end of PhD. It's an hour and a half long in front of a panel of 5 academics.

I don't know what to wear and I know it shouldn't matter but it really, really does. The problem is I'm studying at art college (this one), in the fashion department. My tutors wear Comme des Garçons and Margiela, my co-students wear their own creations and I have been writing in my pajamas for the last three weeks

My style up until recently was sort of tangled vintage. The thing is I'm 32, I want to be taken seriously and I'm not sure 30s tea dresses and laddered tights cut it anymore? I don’t want to look like a manic pixie dream girl; I want to look competent and strong. I'm just not quite sure how to do it.

So could someone find me the perfect PhD exam outfit? Dress or skirt and top with awesome shoes would be wonderful. I'm a UK 10, blonde, pale and extremely curvy (big ass and big tits). I need to be able to purchase online (and preferably in the UK).

Demanding, I know….

Bit in love with these shoes, btw……

Budget: About £300? I am profligate as well as unproductive

*****

go minimalist

a black dress (zara again)

and killer shoes, obvs

if you want snakeskin
i vastly prefer this pair
note: get your hair cut!

Feel Like (More) Shoe Shopping?

Hello!

First of all: thank you. I've been reading ESB since I got engaged, and you helped me develop my wedding planning philosophy: As long as people have a place to sit and I end up married, I do not care.

So now I need some shoes. I've been scouring the webs for days, and I've found some options, but nothing I feel really thrilled about. I wish I had a picture of the dress to share, but I'm having it custom made based on a dream I had. It's above the knee white light-weight cotton with three quarter sleeves, and a sort of henley/scoop neckline. It won't actually look anything like this but it's got a similar sort of attitude... I guess. I will also be wearing a flower crown. I know that flower crowns aren't cool anymore, and I do not give one fuck. I like flowers, and crowns, and wood nymphs, so that's what I'm wearing.

My initial plan was to wear something in a neutral leather with a wooden or cork heel. That way everything would stay soft, natural, and romantic. I have this pair of Swedish Hasbeens, which would be perfect, except mine are a little scuffed and my mother thinks old shoes are inappropriate for a wedding. Whatever.

So then this bride convinced me that cobalt shoes are the only way to go, and I love these, but I'm worried that bright blue shoes might clash with my whole wood nymph thing. Or is it just right? The LR's are a little expensive; I'd like to keep the shoes under 200, so I'm also considering these as a low cost alternative.

So anyway, I'd love some advice from you and all your wonderful readers. Some final specs: I'm barely 5'1 if I round up, so I will need some sort of heel. We'll be on grass, so wedges or thicker heels are ideal. As I said, I'd like to try to keep it under 200, though I can stretch a liiiitttle. It's a backyard barbecue wedding, so nothing super fancypants. Oh, and I wear a 5, 5.5, or 6 depending on the brand.

Thank you!!!!

*****

Yah, I'm not feeling the blue for a wood nymph.

Neutral leather recommends, you guys??



(Pls let me know if you know who took the photo.)

Is it possible to revoke a wedding invitation?

Dear ESB,

I just found your blog and have been reading it for hours. You are amazing. I wish I'd looked for wedding advice before the wedding was already half planned but hindsight is 20/20.

So I realized pretty quickly while reading that I have broken one of your golden rules. We invited some people to our wedding that we really don't want to be there. Most of them politely declined, some did not RSVP at all, but one couple with a newborn baby (who will be about 1 year old by the wedding date) excitedly accepted our invite. Back story is that we know this couple through a group of mutual friends that we used to hang out with more in the past before they all started having babies. To be honest we have never really liked them much but they were always involved in parties/events/other weddings of our mutual friends so when we were drafting our guest list we included them, not really thinking it through. We've never even really hung out with them on a one-on-one basis. I think we just got overzealous with our invitations. We also figured that since they would have a fairly new baby (their first) that they wouldn't want to attend because the wedding is out of town, they don't own a car, and live a pretty budget lifestyle so we didn't imagine them springing for a hotel room and bus tickets or a rental car and all that.

So until today we hadn't really thought much more about it other than to comment every once in awhile that we wish we hadn't invited them because they are tedious to talk to and we are worried they won't get along well with our real friends. This morning one of our mutual friends told us she was surprised to discover recently that she had been de-friended on facebook by the female half of this couple. We laughed at the weirdness of this. Since the baby they have been pretty aloof and not really interested in hanging out with any baby-free friends of theirs. Nothing weird had happened, she just one day noticed this woman had stopped showing up in her feed. There had been no falling out, she just randomly dropped her. I jokingly said, wouldn't it be weird if she de-friended my fiance and I too, even though she is planning on coming to our wedding. We all agreed there is no way she would do that. I just had a look on facebook when I got home and discovered both my fiance and I have been de-friended too. WTF?

I know facebook friendship is a terrible indicator of actual friendship. I'm not a particularly avid facebook user at all which is why I never noticed she defriended me at the time. Honestly I kind of hate everything about facebook. BUT, I'm actually super weirded out that she would de-friend us in a virtual sense but still plan on coming to our wedding. Part of me sees this as an opportunity to somehow un-invite them, or at least check in with them to see if they are still planning on coming since they seem to not be interested in maintaining a virtual friendship with us anymore. But I can't decide which I'd rather avoid more, a confrontation with them now, or having them actually attend and take up 3 seats at our wedding (er... wait... does a 1 year old get a whole seat?) What do you think? If I did talk to them about it do you have any advice on what I should say?

Should I just shut up and concentrate on more important things like what shoes and accessories I am going to wear with this dress? I'm thinking these or these. I'm quite tall so not into wearing heels higher than 2". Plus the wedding is outdoors so flats or wedges would work best. I kind of want the shoes to be a statement so am unsure if the LF ones are enough. I can't really spend more than $350. Would love to know what you think about all of this. Also please (duh) avoid using my name if you post this lest my non-friends discover I am gossiping about them on the internet like a total asshole.

Love your blog and will continue reading your entire back catalog now...

*****

I know I rant about how you should never invite anyone you don't want to hang out with. And I mean it. 

BUT. The truth is, you will be so deliriously happy running around in that RAD DRESS (which, you should totally get the LF wedges, nobody will see them anyway) that you won't even notice these two duds and their dud baby.

It's not worth the bad karma to uninvite them.

these puppies are ON SALE!

Get em Get em

(Thanks, Ms K!)

Might as well declare Loeffler Randall the official shoe of ESB.

shooz.

I'm pinning my favorite reader suggestions over here.

Just fyiz.

accessory help, plz!

Dear ESB,

Yesterday I went into Saks on a whim, pretending to be the kind of person who actually shops, tried on two dresses just for fun, fell madly in love with the second dress, and bought it. I didn't think my wedding dress would have this effect, but I keep thinking of it and grinning uncontrollably. (I went on to get caught in a torrential downpour with the dress, safely in a garment bag, and then later that night try it on for my friend in the bathroom of a bar.)

But now I have no idea what to wear with it. My go-to jewelry pieces are cuff bracelets and big earrings, although big earrings are probably too much with these sparkly shoulders? I think I like this, but it's far more than I can afford.

I'm thinking nude pumps, but maybe that's really boring?

Basically, I have no effing clue and could use the infinite wisdom of esb and her evil club of mean hipster brides (aka the best club on the internet).

xo,
clueless

*****

You've got good taste, lady. This one almost killed me. Every cheaper version of the Aurélie Bidermann cuff just looks.... Cheap.

How bout a little something by Arielle de Pinto?

Brass Cross Hatch Bracelet ($335) or Multi-Tress Gold Bracelet ($410)

Or am I still way out of the ballpark??

And then of course these Rose Lizard-Embossed Loeffler Randalls.

What do I wear on my Mexican honeymoon?

Aug 2

ESB - 

My fiance and I are planning to abscond to SF for a private ceremony at City Hall before heading south of the border to honeymoon in Mexico this October. We're staying here and absolutely can not wait. I know this sounds like a petty worry in the world of wedding planning hardship, but I'm not getting anywhere on my own, and google is no help. 

The thing is - I want to look and feel completely fabulous on my honeymoon. I want to look in my closet and every once in a while come across something that brings me back to the feel and smells and sounds of the days we spend together there. I want our future kids to see photos and think, damn Mom and Dad were sort of hot. 

I have done the backpacking thing. I have owned my fair share of Chacos and utilitarian bags. But my hostel days are over and I want to - at least for a week - feel more like an international woman of mystery than a seasoned 'off the beaten path' traveler.

My problem is that I can't seem to find designers or retailers that capture this feel and I don't know how to look for them. Can you or your readers point me toward a place or two that will give this flip flop wearing non-profit gal a little Mexican bond girl style? 

A million thanks,
Channeling my Inner Salma Hayek

*****

Sept 21

I AM SUCH A DICK.

Is it too late???

*****

Sept 21

No! We don't leave until next month and I still haven't gotten anywhere!

*****

Sept 23

K, what size are you? Aaaaaaaaand are you busty?

*****

Sept 23

Fairly medium all around, size 8 in most bottoms, 6 on top, not particularly busty, definitely bigger hips/legs with somewhat smaller top half. 

*****

OMG BEST. You get to wear all the sexy halter-y things that I can't.

Pictured above: Velvet Robbyn Dress ($65 down from $130) at Shopbop, Undrest Brazilian String Bikini from Madewell ($140 down from $200), Tucker Silk Kaftan ($138 down from $345) at Saks,* Valentine Peep-Toe Wedges from Loeffler Randall ($150 down from $375, also avail at Saks)
______________________________

*EVERYBODY NEEDS A KAFTAN.

I LOVE THESE

And I don't even like polka dots.

Well done, Nicole.



Loeffler Randall is the new Sigerson Morrison, no? (This article kinda broke my heart.)

Dots Dot Dots

Dear ESB,

Marrying a lovely lovely man in 3 months. Have a dress but nothing else. (I know, I know. I despise bhldn. But the dress is so pretty!) We're having a small brunch wedding, so pretty casual and possibly an outdoor venue. Any shoe and/or accessory advice?

I've never been terribly comfortable in heels, so I'm thinking a beautiful pair of ballet flats or sandals would do (I'm also short and curvy, so trying to keep me from looking shorter and curvier is a priority), easy to wear but still special for the day. 

Also, my fiance gave me an AMAZING engagement ring (an oversized copper disc with an asymmetrically-placed silver disc inside), and I'd like to be able to keep it as the focus of my jewelry.

Oh, and our general palette for the wedding is bright pink, yellow, and orange (read: citrus). We're pretty non-traditional, and want to keep things light and fun!

Thanks!
Shoeless but Shiny

*****

Dot earrings, obv.

And then…. Would you consider a slight heel?

There is no ballet flat on earth that will make you look less short.

Colorado Wedding Guest Attire: THE VOTE!

I pored over your contest entries last night (PORED), and it wasn't too hard to narrow it down. My basic criteria were: a) Do I like the dress? and then b) Do those shoes go with the dress?

Here are the five ensembles I'm recommending for our Colorado wedding guest, four out of five of which feature BOOTIES. 

What can I say? I'm not a big fan of espadrilles.

from Emily (pictured above): Michael Angel Sleeveless Peplum Dress, Zara Leather Jacket, Charles Albert Obsidian Arrowhead Ring + Rachel Comey Ankle Boots

from beeprint: Antik Batik Mini Dress for some sparkle and falltime colors, Veda Avery Leather Jacket, kh:W earrings because they are subtle but badass + Rachel Comey Tux Boots because they are amazing.

from marisa, the i might get mauled by a bear (or hit on by an elk) but i will look damn good doing it outfit: Acne Moreau Crepe Dress, Matthew Williamson Mongolian Vest + Boutique 9 Wedges.

from Abbey: Burning Torch Ikat Dress, Leslie Shershow Antler Necklace + Rachel Comey Huron Boots

from buttercup133: Funktional Tunnel Dress, A Peace Treaty Yaluc Earrings, Club Monaco Adele Parachute Parka, Geometrical Illusion Printed Leather Pouch + Loeffler Randall Ollie Open Toe Booties

Cast your vote quickly! I'm shutting her down when we hit 500.

Note: As usual, I included no chalk/blush/white dresses, even though a startling number of you suggested them. If it's a color the bride might wear (especially at a casual wedding) it is not appropriate for a guest, mkay?

Dear ESB: Since you're on a shoe kick...

Since you're obviously enjoying this spring's amazing shoes, I was wondering if you have an opinion (I'm guessing yes) about what kind of shoe to wear with this Dolce and Gabbana sun dress that I will be wearing to my wedding at my mother's apartment, and then two days later at a larger party for friends and family.

I've been eyeing the Emerson Fry Pharaoh heels but not sure about the chunkiness. I can do the shopping myself, just curious what you think about shape and color. 

I've been reading you forever, trust your judge more or less without question :)

xo

*****

Oh because that sounds fun. I tell you what SHAPE AND COLOR and you go shopping??

How do I know until I see it????????

Chunky = good
Rose = too matchy-matchy. I'd maybe go with something nude.

OH BUT WHEN I SHOP FOR NUDE/CHUNKY LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND:

Roanne Mignon Sandal by Loeffler Randall

Hey Loeffler Randall,

We don't want BRIDAL SHOES. We much prefer the regular variety.

Thx.

Love,
Me