shoe shopping spree!

Whoa! I bought 6 pairs of shoes all in 1 day while staying in Angeles in the Philippines. Angeles is just a couple hours north of Manila. We were staying with Jo's boyfriend's (Tim's) family. Each pair was under $25. I couldn't resist. I later bought 3 more pairs on our last day in Manila. Thank goodness we bought boxes to throw all our stuff into for the plane ride home. Manila was our last stop before returning to SF.

flippies!!

These are my 15cent flip-flops that I bought the first day we spent in Bangkok at the weekend market. Jo bought some too and wore hers all the time, all around town. I wore mine mostly to the beach, so here they are in Phuket, a large touristy island off the western coast of southern Thailand! Boy, do I miss being able to just slip on the flippies and head for the beach...

full moon party

Jo and I made it to the Full Moon Party on Feb 8th on the small island of Phangan in Thailand, after a harrowing overnight bus ride from Bangkok to Surat Thani. Every month on the full moon, there's a party on the entire Haad Rin beach on Phangan. It's mostly tourists, around 25,000 people, with DJs and discos and lots of dancing.

oxs sneakers

These are the most comfortable shoes I've ever bought! They're from a small hip shop in St. Germaine de Pres on the Paris left back. They're also the only pair of shoes I bought in Paris during a whole week stay there last October. I was really looking forward to shoe shopping in Paris, but I found that most of the shoes there were really pointy and strappy and generally girly. Not exactly my style. I'll have to look harder next time...

shirley manson christmas card

dennis gave me this christmas card, which he won at a christmas charity auction on ebay. i love shoes, i love shirley manson - angelfish & garbage lead singer, who i first saw perform before live at the jersey shore with ranjit. then in college, jo won tickets on the radio to see garbage in rochester - we got close to the stage and when she came toward us, we screamed 'shirley, you're king of our world'!

the original two shoes

these are my most cherished pair of shoes (costume national) and the inspiration for the original twoshooz website, along with the phrase 'my shoes go where i go' from my friend ramon. i bought these in SF shopping with hong and i've only worn them twice - once on a date and once to the mysimon christmas party. my feet were so sore from standing and dancing that i was leaning back on my heels all night for relief, and the heel was damaged. i had them fixed, but i wont wear them again since i couldn't bear to ruin them. one day when i have a custom shoe closet, designed like a mini-gallery, with spotlights on certain shoes, these will be on the highest pedestal. they are art. call me crazy...OR...call me a diva?

i took some inspiration for the categories of shoes on this blog from the book I am Diva! Every Woman's Guide to Outrageous Living by Elena Bates, Maureen O'Crean, Molly Thompson, Carilyn Vaile. This is an excerpt from the chapter Week 38 - The Spell of High Heels, p.203-4

“ All the categories of my shoes have a name, and they all have a specific job they do for me…

As a Diva, most of my shoe collection is made up of what I consider "sitters": shoes that were made basically only for a woman to sit and enjoy a leisurely time...sitters are the way-too-high-for-any-kind-of-movement shoes, but they make my legs look longer and sleeker and make me feel tall and bewitching….

My “strutters” are just below the sitters in heel length and can be danced in, although some discomfort may occur, and whenever I walk in them I feel the most sensual and feminine. I can’t help but sashay through the room when I wear them!

The cushioned but still cute and fashionable shoes with a low heel are my “shoppers”. They’re the ones best for a day at the mall. Next come the “sneakers,” which include athletic shoes and any other quiet shoes that make it easy to sneak up on people. And last are my “slippers” for home lounging, getting the mail and quick trips to the market…

…Do all the shoes in each category express a Diva in you?"

well, i sure hope so - now, if that's not a justification for an entire website based solely on shoes (get it? haha! ehem...) i don't know what is. cuz actually, it true - it's not about the way the shoes look, but the way they make you feel in them - taller, sleeker, bewitching, sensual, sporty, feminine.

long live the DIVA! and long live her SHOES!

de la tete aux pieds, la chaussure

i spent the summer of 97 in paris - one of the best summers of my life. i had friends, freedom, learned photography, discovered cuisine, found my independence while travelling the country and by the end blended in with my french and my confidence. i didn't discover my love of shoes that summer - i already had that long before! this poster was from an exhibit at les halles, where i went often to fnac for photography supplies.