At Heel

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Blouse: Embody

Skirt: Portmans

Belt: Glassons

Shoes: Chie Mihara

You remember how I said a couple of posts ago that I don’t buy shoes online? Well, there’s a few notable exceptions, and Chie Mihara is one of them.

Years ago, a friend introduced me to this wonderful Spanish brand… she owned the most darling pair of Mary-Janes, and when she told me a bit about the brand (Chie’s training in Orthopaedics, her knowledge of foot anatomy, and her determination that you didn’t have to suffer to wear nice shoes) I was intrigued.

Luckily, my local shoe shop stocked Chie Mihara at that point, and even luckier they had a pair of amazing shoes, on sale, in my size. I bought them almost immediately, and I’ve never looked back.

Less luckily, I work in publishing (which automatically means I don’t make a lot of money) and, even on sale, I sank more into that one pair of shoes than I’ve ever paid before or since.

Good shoes are an investment, I get that, and I’ve more than got my money’s worth out of the shoes I bought that day. But still, I don’t earn enough to sink that kind of capital into SHOES, and it was probably silly to have done so in the first place.

Because then I was hooked.

I now own five pairs of Chie Miharas, but I haven’t had to rob any banks. My secret is… eBay.

I know, I know, second-hand-shoes, ewwwww. But seriously, most of them are virtually unworn, some come in their boxes even, with their little heel replacement caps intact and everything.

And because Chie Miharas are one of those brands not many people know about (not like Jimmy Choo, or Louboutin), you can often snaffle a pair up on eBay for a steal.

These, for instance, were just $74 plus shipping from the UK.

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The contrast green strap and bright red heel cap are very on-trend colour-blocking, but the style’s a classic retro mary-jane that will no doubt still be in vogue even after the shoes have crumbled into dust.

The wide footbed, soft leather, and sturdy heel all combine to make a shoe that was instantly comfortable.

And yeah, they’re “second hand”, but I prefer to think of it as “already broken in for me”.

p.s. Gratuitous shot of my earrings, because I bought them in Tokyo, and I love ’em.

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Emerald City

Blouse: Embody Clothing

Skirt: Asos

Belt: Portmans

Shoes: Chie Mihara

Bracelet: Phillipa (no longer active)

Dress: Clips: Vintage

Petticoat: Domino Dollhouse

Are you sick of this skirt yet? I’m not! I’m loving wearing it; with and without the big bouffy petticoat underneath.

A few days ago I teamed it with a gorgeous new bottle green top from Embody Clothing, which is almost the exact same green as my much loved Veronika Maine jacket.

I cinched in the waist with an elasticised belt that I bought from Portmans AGES ago, and have barely worn because it turns out I don’t wear wide elasticised waist belts as well as I thought I did. In this context it helps give me that true 50’s hourglass shape, though usually it cuts me in half in a most unflattering way.

For a little bit of true vintage I added my gorgeous antique dress clips to give the blouse’s scooped neckline more of a square/sweetheart style. It wasn’t until I got home that evening that I realised – horrors! – that I’d lost one of the two clips. It’s very sad. I can wear the remaining one solo, but the brooch attachment is useless now, and I’d been looking forward to wearing the two during cardigan season 🙁

Fortunately they didn’t cost me a fortune, but I went back to the antique dealer that I bought them from and they don’t have anything half as nice. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled on Etsy/Ebay for another set.