I love shoes. And I love shopping. But put these two together and it often results in a heck of a lot of post shopping complaints, tired legs and a box of pain killers. Yes, I have been told to wear sensible shoes, but really… unless it is Sneaker Sunday I just don’t often go there.  I am adding to my collection of more flat-ish shoes, but nothing beats the wiggle inducing stiletto for me.  The problem is that you pay for it.

Yes.. these are my feet, in yet another pair of my impossibly beautiful and rather demanding shoes.

I’ve been trying all sorts of things to help my legs return to their normal selves after a big night out; foot spas, hot towel wraps, even lying with my feet up the wall at 3am after a particularly big night out. None of this has been working very well really, but I finally have a new solution!

You’ll remember last month as part of Relaxation August, OSIM sent me a special something to help take away the Hunchback of Notre Dame cramps in my shoulders? Well, they also had a solution for my other half that I just couldn’t resist – the uSqueeze Warm.

This arrived in a great big box on my front doorstep, (which has also proven to be a very handy children’s play thing) and promptly found a home in my living room.

First off I have to say how awesome is it that this model matches my living room furniture?! And given that my furniture is retro-tastic, what are the odds?  Anyway, this heavenly piece of kit is a deep red leather with a sort of pouch arrangement at the front to slide your aching feet and legs into. Like so…

Yes, I am in my pyjamas and rollers. This is a proper relaxation effort here.

It has a few simple selections which create a vibration, heat and the most intense massaging rollers you’ve ever felt!  Seriously, this is no fairy fingered machine, this is the business. The rollers actually roll and squeeze the entire tops and bottoms of your feet, while another set of rollers squeeze and roll the length of your calves.  It focuses on muscles and pressure points, so for me I have to start it off on the most gentle setting cause I’m a bit of a girl when it comes to my legs, (I can’t even handle waxing!) And the warm is oh so toasty and snug it is even better than having the puppies sit on my feet.

The inside bit where your legs go is a fabric cover that can come off for washing, and opens up with a zipper if you just want to put your feet in and not your whole legs. The whole unit can tilt to different angles depending on how you want to sit, what part of your legs you want to concentrate on, or even tilt all the way around to be a foot rest when it isn’t in use.

But warning – this could very well send you straight to sleep!

Total bliss….

Knowing how much I enjoyed this, and just how many of you are also shopaholic shoe fiends, OSIM has kindly offered to give a special exclusive 10% discount to all SKM readers yet again!

And do you know what else… after the uPapa hug was such a hit with you, they have offered one of these uSqueeze Warm machines to give away to you too! (Seriously, I’m amazed how much cool stuff I can share with you, it’s the best!)

So here is what you need to do:

GO – to the OSIM site and register your details to enter the draw

WRITE – me a comment with a link to a picture of your favourite shoes (they don’t have to actually belong to you, they can just be wish list shoes)

You have until Friday 1st October to register!

And while we’re talking about winning cool stuff,  CONGRATULATIONS to Bianca Gaetani who has her very own uPapa Hug turning up any day now!

I’m off to give my feet another big day as I hit the road for Sydney and the Rock n Roll and Alternative markets.  Tune in to my Twitter account to see pictures throughout the day of all the lovely ladies coming in for pinup perfect hair & makeup, as well as a look at some of the stalls and the cracking bands playing!

The lovely Violet Le Beaux and Valerie of Dweam, have recently been writing a series of Sunday posts called Sneaker Sunday.  The idea is that once a week we should give our feet the treat they so badly deserve and spend at least one of the seven days in sneakers.  Given that we three are known for wearing elaborate and often sky high heels, this seems like a most sensible plan, however, unless I’m on a treadmill or climbing a mountain, I don’t wear sneakers. Generally I wear ballet flats for running around the house, but these don’t offer much in the way of support and often leave my legs aching worse than when I wear heels. I was determined to find a suitably SKM style solution, so I went on a quest.

A quick street snap of Violet Le Beaux and I on Sneaker Sunday heading out for clay pot lunch. Yum!

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Before I hit the shops wallet in hand, I decided I needed a plan of attack. I needed a rough idea of the sort of shoe that would work with my vintage-y outfits, the level of quality and support they would need to have, the sort of activities I wanted to do in them and just how much I was prepared to spend.

Firstly, what was I going to be doing in these shoes? Well I figured that I needed something I could walk in for hours on weekend shopping excursions, something I could dance in (I’m told that learning Swing Dancing in heels is not usually the thing and I’m a bit of a freak like that), and something that still looked good while doing all this.  The trick about flat shoes and me is that while they may *feel* comfortable on, they also make me feel like I’m a three foot tall lump. So to pass the psych test, they would have to be pretty special.

I knew that looking in sports stores was out of the question so I decided to look somewhere totally unattainable first. My 1940′s Sear’s footwear catalogue! Yep, totally unachievable because they don’t even make them anymore. But, what this did do was give me a strong mental image of the sort of shoes I wanted, the silhouette, the colours, the support style. It also told me that in order to find anything remotely like this in stores I needed to resort to my previous summer sandal hunting technique and target stores that catered for a much older (read retirement home) market. Here’s where I went…

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I headed to the Kumfs store at Westfield Doncaster.  Kumfs are a New Zealand brand known for their comfort shoes and quality construction. They are also known for not being particularly high trend but more classic, so perfect really.

And here are the those that have won the title of my “sneakers”. The “Bromley” from Kumfs.

These are without a doubt, the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. They have amazing support and cushioning, good width, and a nice lower cut around the ankle which is more flattering on me.  A few of you who saw the photo of Violet and I on the weekend asked for details on the soles and their suitability for dancing.  For me these are perfect. They have no grip to speak of, but also aren’t as slippery as dancing on suede soles. It also means I don’t have to change shoes when I get to a dance as I do hate carrying shoes around.  They didn’t come cheap and from memory were about $240 AUD, but I am told they are currently on sale in store so there may be bargains to be had.  The thing that totally sold me on these though was that Kumfs has a 30 day,money back comfort guarantee! Who does that? Wear them for one month and if you don’t like them, they take them back and refund your money. The shoes also have a 12 month warranty, so spending good money on shoes I know I’ll wear for years to come seems like a very good investment to me.

While I was in store I was also on the hunt for another pair of shoes that could take the place of heels on days out where I have lots of walking to do, but still look good when I’m quite dressed up. And then I found them there too!  I came across these faux skin, wedge heels that have a distinctly 1940′s ‘cockroach stomper’ feel about them.  Once again these have a comfort factor of 100 and still look fantastic with my seamed stockings.

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Even though I have been wearing these with almost alarming regularity this last month, I don’t have a single outfit photo on file to show them to you in action!  (Must remedy that this week) they are called “Krista” and were also found in store at Westfield Doncaster.  Sadly, I haven’t found either of these models online to link you to, but it might be a case of calling your local store to see if they have them if you’re on the look out.

So there you go. Now each week I can participate in Sneaker Sunday, even if I don’t have a huge variety of ‘sneakers’ to showcase. Check out Violet Le Beaux and Dweam’s blog for more on Sneaker Sunday.

The other week I received my first pair of shoe clips.  I’ve tried my hand at (dodgy) DIY versions before as I loved the idea of these versatile accessories, but had never looked into finding some specifically built for the job. And let me tell you, this is a VERY exciting style moment! *Disclosure* – Yes, Emmersen sent me these as they thought I would love what they create and boy were they right!

Being a vintage collector I’ve seen my fair share of dress clips and fur clips, (not always still in matching pairs) but hadn’t seen anything new until I came across Emmersen. Exclusive and made by hand here in Australia, Emmersen is producing a stunning range of shoe clips along with matching gloves (yay!) and even limited edition pieces like their tulle bustle – also a brilliant style add on. So I spent quite a bit of time the other week browsing through the site trying to decide on two different styles of clips that best worked with my look and would be the most versatile.  The first of these you will have noticed in the previous outfit post – the stunning red AVA clips that I added to the back of my shoes.

Given that I was already plotting the myriad of ways I could wear these, the decision to choose the vintage diamonte ones ( On the Rocks – what a name!) was a foregone conclusion. I am imagining them on capes, collars, bags, hats, furs, hair slides…. and I’m sure I’ll come up with even more options as time goes on.

Anyway, when my little package arrived I was equally impressed by the beautiful boxed packaging. They’ve obviously thought about the type of women who will wear these and the best way to keep the pieces in tip top condition.  The box is a lovely heavy weight card with a matt laminate finish and a cello window so you can always see which pair you are looking for. The clips themselves are a quality french mechanism with tiny little barbs to stop them slipping or disappearing off your shoes.  I put my AVA clips through their paces on Thursday night and not once did I have to readjust or go looking for a rogue bow. The more I played with these the bigger fan I have become.

The Ava shoe clips that I wore on my black patent shoes in the last post. They are so lovely! The finish is satin and the backs are a super soft felt to that there is no danger of scratching and it also helps them grip a little better to the slippery patent leather.

The On The Rocks shoe clips in all their sparkly, swanky glory. I really, really love these but to be honest I’ll probably wear them more as dress clips or on hats as I want to see them all the time, and if I always wear them on my shoes I’ll likely trip for always looking at them!

I started experimenting with a few different ways of wearing these and decided to try them both out on one of my structured vintage bags, and the diamontes were just the thing to add night time glamour to my new vintage hat.

They clipped on very easily and didn’t damage, leave dints or holes in anything which is always a concern when you pin things in to vintage garments.  Here is a close up of how they work.

Each time I wear these differently in an outfit I’ll show you how I’ved used them and try and give you even more creative ideas, but this morning after pin curling my hair  and popping on the scarf to keep them warm, I had a brain wave.

Thanks to Emmersen I’m having my very own Aunty Mame moment!

I tried to put myself on a shopping ban, but who am I kidding?! With a new friend in town it is my duty to show her the lay of the land and suss out all the local op shops and my favorite vintage stores.  With a little bit of cash in our pockets and our eco-friendly carry bags, we set off to make a day of it and a number of gems have been found.

Lovely white woven and beaded handbag circa 1959-1960, made in Japan.

I adore the handle details on this one and it also fits a surprising amount of contents – even my small parasol! A brilliant find for $14 at my Salvo’s store.

I can’t believe you can still buy these! Little plastic rain bonnets that fit in your handbag and save the set from the elements. 3 for $1 at the same Salvo’s.  To be worn with red lipstick, dark glasses and a devil may care attitude.

I like to call these gloves Persian Blue as they remind me of the colour of the Persian kitten I once had.  A spur of the moment purchase at Circa Vintage Clothing as the perfectly matched the dress I was wearing even better than the short navy ones I came in with. Not at all possible to leave them behind.

This could quite possibly be my Holy Grail of patterns (we’ll know when I’ve made them). Also from the enviable collection at Circa Vintage Clothing.  I have loved coulottes for as long as I can remember but can never find a single pair that can hold a candle to the originals.  I had a pair I wore to death in the 1980′s, but even they weren’t as jazzy as these.  Now seeking a suitably fine wool tweed to sew these up.

It may be polyester, but it is also bloody fabulous! I simply COULD NOT go past this late 1960′s skirt suit.  Firstly the jacket called to me from the rack at Lost & Found Market in Smith Street, Fitzroy. But even though it was cute, it had no skirt so the impact just wasn’t the same.  I put it back on the rack and moved on.  Half and hour of browsing later and I uncovered it’s bottom half!  I will never understand why people seperate these things (unless it is to sell individually in the hope of making more money like these were), but I was so very glad that they could be put back together.  She has just come fresh out of the laundry and will be making a debut later this week. Sheild your eyes!

Last, but possibly most especially wonderful was this great find. A pair of ladies shoes from what appears to be the early 1960′s given the style and font used on the insole.  They are a perfect fit and only needed a little TLC to bring the leather back to life.  Finding vintage shoes in my size has never really worked for me, having only one other pair in my closet.  But these are just too cute as well as being practical and comfortable.

For $8, I think they have to win the title of Find of the Month!

I simply could resist the title, as cheesy as it is!  With the upcoming winter on everyone’s mind’s here, the Great Boot Hunt begins.  Every mag you pick up has list and list of what’s hot and what’s not in the world of boots, but none of these were really working for me.

I knew what I wanted but, like always, knew it would be a difficult find.  I spent ages trawling the various online boot sources, but nothing really got my full attention.  It wasn’t until I popped out to the local mall to come back with groceries that I spied these and had to try them on.

They were almost perfect and met all bar one of my criteria.  They are over the knee, but not too restrictive, and they have great (removable) buckle detail that gives them a slightly military feel.  They have a fantastic heel that is stable enough to spend the whole day in without drama, and they fit nicely around my calves.  I have a high instep so it is often difficult to find boots with the right style of opening that means I can actually get them on, and the side opening zip that comes right down to the instep works perfectly.  The only con for me on these is that they aren’t leather.  I would have been happy to pay much more for these if they were a top quality, leather pair of boots; but they looked so good I was prepared to forgive that shortcoming.

They are the amazing “Mali” boot by Novo.  I haven’t found them listed in their online store sadly, but it seems that they are available in the shop.  It may be that they are too big and costly to ship, but either way I’d always recommend trying on boots first.  They appeared on the LMFF runway last week too which you’ll see here.

I love their versatility to work with so many different looks and aesthetics, from cute to goth, I’ve been wearing these a lot!

Outfit Details

Dress: Red Berry(several years ago)

Chocolate opaques – Voodoo

Boots – “MALI” by Novo Shoes

Mint Pashmina – The House of Cashmere