I'm surprised that when the heel is in the "down" position it isn't hidden. It looks like a ridiculous shoe with a heel that has been put in the down position.
Teh lame. Carry an extra pair if your party heels are too tall. Big bags are in.
Ridiculous, ridiculous shoe. For $300, buy two pairs of shoes, if you need one to be practical and one to be cute, and skip the two-tone Inspector Gadget homage.
I would be weary that the lock would give way at an inopportune moment. VERY weary.
And also, those shoes will look like ass as soon as Ms. Gadget scuffs the heels while they're in the low position, ensuring a nice leather scuff line across the back of the heel.
The lovely thing about heels is when the arch of the shoe perfectly matches the height of the heel. If it doesn't, you're in horrible pain, instantly. You can't fuck with heel height without ruining the arch support shape.
How stable can those shoes be in the "up" position?
If you're gonna spend $300, you might as well get Chie Miharas.
For $300, I'm going to Century 21 and getting Louboutins on sale.
For $300... hmm.. I'd probably end up with another pair of boots.
I would be weary after walking in those shoes. Very weary.
For $300, I'd end up with a good night at the blackjack tables. Shoes? Are they made of leprechaun skin?
We are assuming a case in which someone gave you $300 and told you you had to spend it on shoes.
The last time I spent $300, it was on my Russian Baths pass. I buy sweat with my hard-earned cash.
I for one love the shoes and despise the enemies of progress so evident in this thread. That kind of attitude isn't going to get us jet packs, people.
I'm with Tim. Go go gadget shoes!
Someone should combine these with Heelies.
For $300, I'd have like 10 pair of shoes...
For $300, I'd end up with a good night at the blackjack tables. Shoes? Are they made of leprechaun skin?
$300 for one night vs. $300 for shoes I'm going to walk in 20-25 minutes to and from work and wear at least a few times a week? Yeah, women are crazy.
$300 for one night vs. $300 for shoes I'm going to walk in 20-25 minutes to and from work and wear at least a few times a week? Yeah, women are crazy.
Both of those ideas sound bizarre, actually.
Don't magazines generally recommend products they get free / get advertisement from / have connections to, anyway?
As if you can get a decent shoe for $300.
And just think of how many books you can buy for $300 INSTEAD of ugly and badly designed shoes. That's it. I'm buying books and strapping them to my feet after I'm done reading them. War and Peace would make a mighty fine pair of pumps.
I seriously thought about inventing a pair of women's shoes with removeable heels, back in the 90's when I was a lawyer and all the women in my firm came to work in sneakers and switched to dress shoes in the office.
I concluded it wouldn't work because the angle of the wearer's foot to the ground would change when she switched the shoes from flats mode to heels mode, necessitating some kind of folding-lawn-chair ratcheting mechanism in the middle of the sole. I reasoned this would of course make the shoe clunky, ugly, and unfashionable, so I dropped the idea.
It now appears I was wrong.
I need an around-the-way shoe. That's the one for me.
2: Big bags are in.
I read this as: Big balls are in.
War and Peace would make a mighty fine pair of pumps.
OT: I heard that a new translation of W&P is coming out. I've been trying to make my way through the Garnett version without much success. I asked for it as a Christmas present, because I kept getting overdue fines.
Does anyone know whether the new one is any good?
22: You were right about it being clunky, ugly, and unfashionable.
Today's Ethicist column involved a case of a service losing three pairs of shoes that were together worth $2000. I wondered if they had saved that letter up specially for the "Gilded Age" theme of the magazine this week.
BG: Looks like the new one is by Pevear and Volokhonsky, who've gotten a lot of praise for their other translations from the Russian (and one hilariously bad review in the New Criterion for the translations of Gogol). I know nothing about this translation in particular but they've got a good rep.
Also, I have decided against a Nazimobile. Instead, I shall be driving this Japanese number, which still kicks a reasonable amount of ass at about 1/3 the price of the Audi TT. Plus, it's a hatchback, so it's practical and stuff.
26:
Garnett is not the best translator. All the juicy Russian witticisms are butchered, please don't judge the book based on Constance's badly outdated translation!!! There is a husband-wife team that specialize in Russian Lit. and they manage to do justice to Tolstoy and Dostoyevski, but I can't remember their names for the life of me. You'll know who I'm talking about, they are the only translators that work in a pair.
The husband-and-wife team Lucy's thinking of is P & V.
I've heard that Garnett's translation is not the best. That's why I was askign about the new one. Anna Karenina is one of my favorite books, and i did enjoy reading Garnett's translation in 1993 or so.
It seems like everyone reads Garnett first, it's not until you read a different translator that you realize that there was something lacking from Garnett's version.
36: Dear Lord, how I wish I were. I keep Ikons on my walls, I even gesticulate passionately, but alas, I am not Russian.
You could consider commenting as "луси".
31: It's like just like, it's just like, it's just like, a mini van!
Big balls are in cowtown.
I bought my most recent pair of boots at Cowtown. And thus the circle is complete!
I read the Rosemary Edmonds translation of War and Peace and liked it (which is slightly different than saying I liked the book, which is not to say that I didn't like the book). I don't know about its merits as a translation; I read it a couple years before I took any Russian (and am probably not in a position to evaluate translations anyway).
This guy prefers Edmonds' Anna Karenin* to P&V. I've actually heard that they're accurate but lacking in artistry.
46: Yeah. This law passed last year that every classroom had to display the U.S. Constitution and the flag, so I decided to chip in and amplify the message.
I forgot to explain the "*": Edmonds makes the odd choice of dropping the "a" in Karenina.
48: Wise choice. These colors don't run.
And apparently there's a Maude couple translation.
Statistics show that translating War and Peace either makes or breaks a marriage.
Happy couples' translation are all alike, though. The unhappy ones alternate chapters towards the end.
P&V's is the third new translation in the last couple of years.
Two of those guys don't give their wives co-author credits. Probably their marriage didn't survive.
How often are you folks buying shoes? I buy a new pair of Saucony sneakers once every two years, and while I'm at the mall, I pick up a copy of Dashboard Confessional's The Swiss Army Romance. God. 2000. What a year.
I buy shoes all the time. I've got an awesome collection of shoes. Mostly from Goodwill.
I need some new shoes, actually. I've been wearing the hell out of these. Plus they don't really fit.
We inherited about 20 very nice pairs of classic shoes from my aunt. They didn't fit any lady cousins so off to Goodwill they went.
One of my nieces owns dozens of pairs of shoes. Her mom buy her $2 pairs every time they happen to be in the Goodwill.
I buy sneakers about every 16 months, and "dress casual" shoes about every 16 months, and alternate between them (usually at random) until they wear out. I really liked these shoes but the soles started breaking in half after I had only worn them about two months. That was intensely annoying, especially since my mother was amazed that I had gotten such a good price on shoes from what she considered the most reliable but slightly overpriced company.
And I have two pairs of formal shoes and wear them about five times a year. I totally splurged and bought a pair at the consignment shop this summer even though my old ones are not and never will be worn out - because it seemed logical to have a pair with laces, and a pair without laces.
I do need some new shoes, come to think of it. I'm going on three years on my current pair. The sole's near worn through.
I also need new shoes, and I'm afraid that I'm just going to get the same kind again, which will make it three times in a row that I've bought these. I'm like, eighty.
What style are these three-time shoes?
I think you linked to them upthread.
I can't believe that this "Robert Dessaix" fellow actually had the nerve to say "Without going into the question of whether or not this famous opening sentence is in fact meaningless gobbledygook..."
Gobbledygook? You've got to be kidding me. And he's implying that Russian literature should be translated in such a fashion that it could stand spine-to-spine with "Confessions of a Shoppaholic" in the pop-fiction section! Imagine Bulgakov's Master and Marguerita written in American slang.
What style are these three-time shoes?
These. The minivan of shoes!
Hm, I didn't think I was actually above average in shoe-buying frequency among men.
When they look completely different from how they looked when I bought them, and the sole is either coming apart or wearing through, I replace them. This never takes more than two years.
луси persists in trying to turn the shoe thread into a Russian literature thread. I question her femininity.
Admirably practical! Intensely mainstream! Daringly well-cushioned!
I will soon have purchased three pairs of these shoes. They're great.
This reminds me that I need to get my other boots resoled.
Ogged spends $200 on shoes, everyone.
I have 4 pairs of cowboy boots I wear to work, generally rotating, although I'll wear the black calfskin if I have to go to court. The last pretty well. The brown bison skins are the softest, but I can't wear them with a blue suit.
Sneakers maybe every three years, and I keep the old ones around to wear in the water.
My son has started wearing my hockey skates, but he'll probably grow out of them in another six months. He takes up all the household interest in shoe buying.
Cryptic Ned, I am talking about my shoes. Re: 21
Is shoe-talk the one true comity?
Honkies.
My mother is going to stead me a pair of winter boots for my birthday, and I'm vacillating about whether I want sassy boots with little heels or whether I want big clomping boots. It's not like I'm going to be hiking in the woods in them, but I will probably do a bunch of schlepping through urban snowdrifts. It would also be very dumb if my only pair of winter boots turns out to be impractical should I ever get to go sledding. Mostly, however, I will want my boots to look cute and keep my feet dry. Any suggestions, O Mineshaft?
Intensely mainstream!
So true; I see other people wearing them all the damn time. Alas. It's like I'm not an individual or something.
If your shoes are honking, perhaps there's a quieter brand.
I don't think your boots will look cute if you're wearing them regularly and only plan to wear them outdoors (changing once indoors). They'll be surrounded by cars and fire hydrants and snow and slush and ugly stuff like that. You might as well get functional ones.
My inner cheapskate is telling me the same thing, Ned. But I yearn for cute boots, nonetheless.
I'll check back in tomorrow to see if anyone has suggested a best-of-both-worlds miracle-boot.
Functional and attractive - so many choices
I say get cute shoes you love, and rummage up an old crappy pair to go sledding. Shoes are meant to be enjoyed.
Луси! Ю гот сом сплейнин ту ду!
New York winters with sludge, ice, and salt will pwn the shit out of whatever you get.
Gobbledygook? You've got to be kidding me.
He's just being polite. The opening sentence is just plain, obviously, wrong.
I just saw Gonerill's link. Don't these just look perfect for courtroom wear?
New York winters with sludge, ice, and salt will pwn the shit out of whatever you get.
True. Leaving the NJ/NJ/CT world for Sunny State meant saying goodbye to ice storms and all that crap. And hello to skin cancer, of course, but you can't have everything.
You could have your mom get cute boots and then you could pick up a pair of cheap Wellies in Chinatown or at Kmart or something for slush or rain.
I just saw Gonerill's link. Don't these just look perfect for courtroom wear?
Ha, I own those in the short-length version.
93 to 85. And to these in specific.
Ogged spends $200 on shoes, everyone.
I spent the same on my current pair, and I don't regret a penny of it. The toe profile is a little severe, but the fit, she is perfect.
98: You know, I really was considering linking those. Awesome.
JM, perhaps your inner cheapskate could be satisfied by finding a deal on eBay. (This strategy can have its drawbacks, viz., your students never believing that the TAs need more money because your boots are nice.) eBay is wonderful.
JM, go to Century 21. Seriously, they have a huge collection of gorgeous boots right now for frighteningly cheap prices.
Is Century 21...a real estate company...that sells shoes?
I've read War and Peace twice, but I'm embarrassed to say I have no idea what translation it was.
Is Century 21...a real estate company...that sells shoes?
What the foreclosure wave hath wrought.
My sister read it over the summer. I don't know what translation, but it was either my mom's or my dad's old copy, so not one of the recent ones.
I think the only epic novels I have read in translation were "Crime and Punishment" and "The Charterhouse of Parma". I would recommend against the latter in any translation.
"The Charterhouse of Parma".
Yeah, I tried to read this a few years ago and second the disrecommendation.
104: It's a gigantic outlet store for designer clothes. It's the kind of place where you can find good shoes (like my Steve Madden boots) for $30, or you can get $1000 shoes for $500. Searching through the ladies' clothes is similarly fun. One item will be $8000, knocked down from $13,000, and another, like my new Ben Sherman sweater, will be $35, marked down from $125. That kind of thing. Great fun.
Don't know if these would be your style at all, JM, but I can't recommend them highly enough. I've stepped in puddles up to my ankles while wearing them and never gotten my feet wet.
These are the shoes I want now.
I read the first chapter of The Charterhouse of Parma without being annoyed. Where does it go wrong?
Blume, those second shoes are adorable.
111: The Frye boots you link to there might be what I need next myself. Thanks.
Once you figure out your size, you can go Cala-style and get your Fryes on eBay, parsimon. They've often got new to semi-new ones for around $100.
ugh, hideous.
shoes are the thing i wouldn't buy used. ew. plus you can't properly wash them.
i mostly buy shoes when i have money to, although sneakers at least every 6 months.
I don't like this trend of female shoes that have laces. although the ones linked are much better than most. maybe they'd look ok with trousers or something, but still.
Thanks for the heads-up! I'll throw all mine out immediately.
I don't like this trend of female shoes that have laces.
Is this a joke? You'd have to set a woman's shoes on fire for me to notice.
[Blume scribbling notes.] Throw out shoes with laces. Set shoes on fire.
On closer inspection, these aren't loafers.
Nothing against shoes, but I'm way too busy staring at T&A.
Speaking of trendy things, why is my hairdresser telling me to stop washing my hair? I have researched it somewhat, and it sounds reasonable for people with thin hair that needs more volume and natural oils. I have very thick, large, frizzy hair, which I don't even brush because it turns into a giant puffball. Does anyone know what the hell is going on and how I'm supposed to stop washing my hair? Do I just brush it wet in the shower? Do I avoid getting it wet? How am I supposed to use product, if I never wash it out?
This is stressing me out.
New York winters with sludge, ice, and salt will pwn the shit out of whatever you get.
I'm a little sad I didn't find out about these until I moved away from a wintry climate; I suspect they're one of the few boots that wouldn't get pwned by a Pennsylvania/NYC winter. I still love them, but they're overkill for Bay Area winters.
I don't know about those with really long hair, but I find that just rinsing my hair out and sort of scrubbing my scalp and toweling it off works ok for a few days, but after maybe four or five it needs to be washed. Of course, I like looking like I just got out of bed...
How am I supposed to use product, if I never wash it out?
The advice I've heard is to perhaps wash your hair with shampoo only every other day, rather than every day. You still get your hair wet and all, though. If your hairdresser is telling you to stop washing you hair altogether, then that's a little nutty. Or they're subtly suggesting that you should get dreds.
"Thanks for the heads-up! I'll throw all mine out immediately."
it usually takes a little more to get under someone's skin...
Just stop washing it altogether. Works great for hobos.
yeah, if i shower more than once a day, like if i work out in the evening or osmething, i don't use anything on it, just water-rinse.
Apparently there's a new movement toward no-shampoo-at-all. You just brush it. This is cute, and I've seen pictures of revitalized hair that was once lank and thin-looking, but Jesus Christ, I do not need any more volume. I have a volume problem. When I don't wash my hair, I look like a lion.
Apparently there's a new movement toward no-shampoo-at-all. You just brush it. This is cute greasy and smelly.
Those boots are hot, Blume. I do seem to have a thing for boots.
Apparently, most heads overproduce oils due to constant washing, so if you gradually wean yourself off shampoo, your head starts to respond by producing less oil.
God, I don't know. I think I might be too square to try it.
I have very little to lose in that arena these days.
It would probably increase the amount of risk in your life. So there's that.
How greasy and smelly does hair get after, say, two days, anyway? (Assuming your rinse, but don't shampoo.) Not even NY is so dirty that you couldn't get away with that.
my stylist recommends shampooing every three days. Frizzie hair is made frizzier by shampoo because it strips all the oils that would coat the strands naturally. I've started this (non)regimen of shampooring and it works wonders. Even though I still wet it everyday, it is shinier and healthier.
Hah! how's that for a commercial blurb? Only, I'm selling less shampoo, not more
137: I think that's about the interval I'll try. I went out on Saturday night without washing it, and it ended up looking pretty cute. Now that I got a serious haircut, I have fewer fears of appearing lionish.
And it does NOT smell after two days, geez....
not too greasy. kinda like you have shitty product in it.
most heads overproduce oils due to constant washing, so if you gradually wean yourself off shampoo, your head starts to respond by producing less oil.
I bet I could build up a hell of a resistance to E. coli if I stopped drinking clean water.
I don't wash my hair every day. It never looks best the day I wash it, but after two or three days I wash it again.
I brush my teeth with iocane toothpaste. It helps prevent land wars in Asia.
I wash my hair every day, and it looks fine.
Well, if you washed every three days your hair would look awesome.
Yeah, this is what happens when you don't wash your hair for two days.
It's not the html, it's your link. There should be something where those ellipses are.
Based off her html, I'm guessing she's trying to link this.
And this can happen if you don't wash your facial hair for two days.
re: 138 etc
Re: long/frizzy hair. When I had long hair [and it was pretty much most of the way to my waist at one time] if I washed it more than once a week or so, it turned into a dry, frizzy mess [I have pretty curly hair if I grow it out]. Washing once a week with a really good shampoo and then just rinsing it daily in hot water made a huge transformation. The hair was shiny, clean looking and not frizzy.
Blume, who is probably gone right now, did you once say that all Camper shoes have the same sole or fit or something so that once you know your size for one pair you can get others fit untested?
This thread is full of lies. That said, can you people recommend a shoe/boot suitable for walking 3 miles through boston weather on a daily basis? I've got a pair of boots up to the task, but they look like it. I want footwear that looks like I disdain personal labor, as it does not befit my station.
I like Merrell in hiking shoes and such. They also make some more casual looking stuff. Try a search on Cabelas and REI. No Cabelas very near Boston, but there's an REI out there.
My hairdresser also pushes the "every three days" philosophy but I'm not buying it. If I don't use conditioner, I can't get a brush through my hair. But if I use conditioner but not shampoo, my hair feels nasty greasy.
re: 162
I don't think there's much doubt that washing the hair every day is worse for the hair than washing less regularly. It's not a coincidence that everyone's hairdresser says that.
I could never brush my hair properly anyway [hair was too thick and curly] I had to use an afro comb or just gently separate the hair with my fingers and work out any tangles. Using a normal brush resulted in a Sideshow Bob style frizz.
Also, there are tangle-taming sprays marketed at parents, to use on their kids hair. Those work pretty well as an alternative to conditioner. No greasy buildup.
JM, when I was desperately searching for winter boots that were not ugly, I decided that the two relevant brands were La Canadienne and Aquatalia.
Alas, they're both pretty pricey. But I wore my Aquatalias through a southern Ontario winter, and they stayed cute. Maybe you can find a discounted last year's style or something....
Oh, also both brands are comfortable, even with heels. Which is, of course, a requirement.
123, 130: I've been washing my naturally curly hair once or twice a month for most of my life. 2 or 3 times a week I rinse it in the hottest water I can stand. My guess is that it would look great if I trimmed it carefully, but I don't do that either. When it happens to be well trimmed and when I shampooed it 3 or 4 days before, it still does looks great, but not on a regular basis.
Just one of the benefits of the relationship free life.
I convinced my sister (who used to be a hairdresser decades ago) to shampoo less, here hair got its gloss back though it remained uncontrollable (she has fro hair and natural dreads). There was a special problem with the hard water when she moved up here.
B, what are you doing up at this hour?
Being a dumbass, obviously. And you?
I have a very irregular sleep schedule. Not fun, though I can take naps in the daytime if I feel the need. Old people don't sleep well.
Yeah, a nap tomorrow is on my list as well. Obviously.
Boy, those verbal tics really kick in when you fuck with your sleep, don't they?
Evidence
http://www.mcgrattan.f2s.com/hairbro.jpg
Obviously!
The poor kid looks like he's saying "Help! I've been kinnapped by a hippie!"
Not a very good hair picture.. My kink is like ttaM's but I'm a smidgen more blond. B. has seen my actual seldom-washed hair.
Yeah, as everyone here has already said, the low or no shampoo scheme is not at all for people with thin, fine hair -- that would just make it lank. It's for making your curls defined and glossy instead of a frizzball.
Bear, everyone talking about not washing your hair is right. Dr. Oops has dark hair, but the same kind of wildly curly and huge yours is, and cutting the washing back to once a week keeps it controlled, shiny, and gorgeous. You should also be putting some kind of leave-in conditioner in it between times -- I think Infusium makes something that works reasonably.
Thanks, y'all. I will give it a shot. I am slightly afraid that if it gets too puffy I will look like I have a mullet. But that would kind of rock, too, I guess. High school reunion this weekend!
Cute toddler story: My 2.8 year old grandnephew was here over the weekend staying with his grandma. He's a nice kid but is starting to have occasional tantrums. My sister peeled him a banana for breakfast but he had wanted to peel it himself. He insisted on a new, unpeeled banana but my sister (showing unaccustomed firmness) told him he hd to eat the first one. He huffed vigorously and then stomped off on his tiny feet, protesting very loudly, into the bathroom and SLAMMED the door. We then heard the toilet flush several times. (We were cracking up already).
A minute or two later he came out and asked for another banana. My sister asked where the first one was and he said it was in his tummy. We looked in the bathroom and there was a peel but no banana.
This is the grandson of the sociopath. It's hilarious right now but my God! This kid isn't even three.
JM, go to Century 21.
I think this is the first step.
I also like the "get some plastic wellingtons for the really crap days" advice from Cala. B, I'd already discovered La Canadienne, but the Aquatalia brand is new to me, so thanks for it.
176: This should make your hair less, rather than more, puffy.
AWB, check out my wedding photos. I know whereof I speak when it comes to curly hair. Backing off the shampoo (every other day) at first will tame the frizzies, and it won't increase the volume. On the days you don't shampoo, just rinse your hair with a little conditioner. Some people manage to go without even wetting their hair on the non-washing days. I can't get that to work for me.
The first week or so that you do it your hair will be a little cranky, because your scalp has to readjust to not being stripped of oils. But I found after that first week, my hair was much better behaved.
159: Ben, I'm not the one to ask about Campers. I just got my first pair this summer, sandals, and the comments on their Zappos page complain about their inconsistent sizing. But if you're going for the oxford styles, I could imagine their sizes might be more regular.
Well you definitely said something like that about some brand of shoes, sometime!
I really wanted Campers to work for me. Hélas: too narrow.
29: the "Gilded Age" theme of the magazine this every week
180: Thanks, Cala! Your wedding hair was totally lovely.
I went without shampoo today and am relatively happy with it. Shampoo's for suckers!
did you once say that all Camper shoes have the same sole or fit or something so that once you know your size for one pair you can get others fit untested?
That sounds more like Birkenstocks, actually. My experience is that Campers run just a little snug compared to other shoes, so rounding up to the next American whole size--Camper doesn't make half sizes, anyway--then converting to the European size is pretty accurate. Depending on the shoe, I wear a 9.5-10.5 or a size 43 (10=43, roughly) Camper Pelota. I can't say if that works for their entire line (though I'd assume so), but I've purchased two pairs of the Pelotas online and they both fit pretty well.
(Looking, I see that some conversion tables say 10=44. I thought mine were 43s. More evidence of inconsistent sizing, maybe.)
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