Well Shod, Well Imformed

MARGIELA'S SPANISH MELEE

The Despotic Queen is busier than a cat burying shit, or if you live in Sydney, busier than a Coogee Bay Hotel dessert chef serving faecal flavoured gelato, so today’s a quickie.

67.9% of you agreed with Imelda that I need a pair of SS09 Loewe sling backs with the gold toecaps. Thanks for voting xxx

I’m in two minds about this weeks Should Imelda Buy?  - Why? - Last week Miss Glitzy alerted Imelda to the dirty backroom shenanigans at the House of Margiela. It would seem fashion’s Greta Garbo has taken inspiration (bottom image) from Imelda’s man-o-mystery, independent footwear designer Vicente Rey (top image).

Not so keen to roll over and take one for the team, the Spaniard has filed legal action against both Margiela and Roger Vivier. Hmmmm…where do ones loyalties lay?

In other footwear news, Imelda’s favourite Dane, the uber talented and ‘Balmain-bound’ Camilla Skovgaard gave me a heads up about Alice Olins’s footwear feature in this weekend’s The Times magazine which stars all of my beloved British Cobblers (Kirkwood, Sanderson, Kelsey and Skovgaard). Talking exclusively to the Despotic Queen, Camilla said of the photoshoot “I scrubbed up in what I call 'office gear' but it's so NOT me. I’ve been perplexed by the compliments I’ve been receiving. I’m more like a Rick Owens cave-women, lol” Congratulations to all my loves, Mummy Imelda’s ever so proud - even if I have been saying the exact same thing for the past 12 months.xxx

QUIT LOAFING ABOUT AND GET IMELDA A BEER!

Tomorrow when I wake up and realize that 8 of the 27 shoes I’ve featured in today’s post are flats I’ll be seething! (For the record Imelda doesn’t ‘do’ or ‘advocate’ flats) Last night while watching Shirley Maclain’s Oscar deserving performance in the ‘Battle for Mary-Kay’ Yum Yum and I shared a stubby of beer and a bowl of cabana. We got a little tipsy so I allowed Yum Yum to kick off her 12cm house heels. A quick occupational glance at her trotters and I noticed they were covered in thick ropy veins and her one-size fits all pumps had caused permanent scaring.

I passed her the bowl of cabana and started thinking about penny loafer styling. Psychologically, humans are deeply comforted by knowing that their trotters feel protected. Think about all the times you’ve felt secure and then think about what shoes you were wearing. Chances are it was something snug fitting and granny-esque, like a loafer!

Aside from D&G’s brilliant take on the Patrick Cox Wannabe, it seems a number of other designers have taken inspiration from Nana’s wardrobe. This season it’s loafer-pallooza. I found penny loafers, tassel fronted penny loafers, loafer inspired pumps, kiltie fringed loafers and the list goes on….As for Yum Yum, she’ll just have to make do with the newspaper I stuffed into the toe of her pumps.

Tune in tomorrow, Imelda has some good news and some news that ALL bloggers need to be aware of.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

Jonathon Kelsey’s star has been strapped to the side of a scud missile and aimed straight at planet Louboutin (according to the UK press) and it’s a metaphor Imelda’s happy to use after the heavenness of his AW08 collections.

What wasn’t to love about a range of shoes inspired by the dark and twisted mind of Tim Burton…Edwina Scissor Heels, anyone!! His intelligent use of fabrics and trims plus the debut of his signature conical heel meant both the celebs and plebs lined up to soak in the metallic glow of his supernova.

With an enviable CV that should cause mass panic on planet Loubution - he’s worked for Jimmy Choo, Gina and Cacharel oh and Giles Deacon used Jonathon’s shoes for his SS08 collection. Imelda says “prepare the evacuation pods”.

For the SS08 collection, Jonathon continues to explore contrasting fabrications using snake, suede and metallic leathers. To complement his soft neutral colour palette, gold accents have been incorporated, instantly sweeping away the dark Tim Burton references of AW08. The turkish toe platform returns for summer and is joined by the sling back, peep toe, closed back sandal (Imelda’s Shoe of the Week) and yes there are flats...but you know Imelda’s thoughts on that subject!

I’ve ordered my metallic gold booties and packed my bags for a one-way trip to planet Kelsey, who’s joining me?

CLICK HERE to view the full collection at SAKS.