On Flats.

AllyG: Dudes. Anna Wintour wore flats. She wore them in public. In public in the Hamptons. At a party. Where there were people.

Anna

The best part of Nymag.com’s article is the quote from Vogue staffer, Lauren Santo Domingo, “”I wonder if that means we can wear flats to the office now.”  A brief aside, but I love Lauren Santo Domingo. I adore her for her name first of all. Doesn’t it just roll off the tongue? Lauren – Santo-Domingo…

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Girl does casual well. This is a topic for another day, but can I just state for the record that I can hardly wait to wear my jeans and blazer outfit again? Sigh.

Right, back to flats. I’m all over flats these days because my feet would revolt if I brought them anywhere near heels. Anyone who knows me knows that this is devastating. As devastating as Season Two of Felicity when she cut her hair all off.

It still hurts to talk about it. Felicity might just be one of my favourite shows ever. For my vacation this summer (which starts in a week and a half…three weeks before mat leave) I think I am going to rent all the seasons of Felicity and watch them with a tub of peanut butter cookie dough ice cream.

I’m seriously getting off track here. Back to flats. Since Anna is rocking them (albeit a rather ugly pair if you ask me), I am proud to rock them as well. Shall we look at some of my fave flat wear for the season?

Oxfords

I love these oxford flats from Esquivel. Particulary the pink and brown. Adorable. Mind you, they don’t really go with my maternity muu muu dresses. Why is Debra Messing wearing a muu muu?

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Ballet flats are always a go-to. Repetto ballet flats in particular have that boom boom pow.

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repetto

I know we just talked about regular people becoming designers (L-A and I totally had our first fight over this issue. We’re working through the pain. The love is still strong), but I do wonder if I could buy a pair of plain white flats and splash some paint over them for the same effect. Non? Perhaps this is vacation item #2! I will try and post pictures for you! Maybe even make a contest out of it!

And I ain’t gonna lie to you. I am a sucker for Tory Burch flats. It might be because she dated Lance Armstrong and I have a slight hope that Lance may have come into contact with the shoes. All that aside, they are super cute and I picture them with a pair of rolled-up boyfriend jeans, white long sleeve t-shirt and scarf…topped off with…you guessed it…a blazer.

Tory Burch

I will wear an outfit like this again. I swear it.

LOVE

And finally, I feel that I need to tell L-A that I love her more than Nicole. I’m at a loss for words…tears are forming…you know what that means. Yes, I will show my love through the art of music.

You know how to ‘ppreciate me, L-A. I want you to know that you’re the only one for me. Ain’t no one gonna love me better.

Note: In crushing news, Leonardo D. is rumoured to be dating Ashley Roberts of the Pussycat Dolls. She was always my least favourite.

L-A: Sweet Jesus in a Bread Basket. What is Debra Messing wearing? That is not acceptable under any circumstances. Maybe if she were heavily pregnant, and I’m talking OctoMom/Kate Gosselin style pregnant, could I accept the wearing of a muumuu AND flip flops in public. If she is not, then I am shocked and appalled that she stepped out of the house dressed like that. I know you can afford a stylist Debra Messing! And if you can’t, your loved ones should be staging an intervention!  Where are the withering glares of Stacey and Clinton when you need them?

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There they are. Official FPQT Seal of Disapproval goes to Debra Messing.

But enough about muumuus. Let’s talk flats.

For those of you reading us on a regular basis, you are aware that I have some shoe issues. Namely, I try to wear pretty shoes, but they cause me pain and blisters within an hour of putting them on and I end up looking like I’ve just danced lead in Swan Lake every night for a week. And I cannot dance. Not even a little bit (we’ve discussed our ballet skills in the past). So as much as I love heels and have a collection of them, I end up in flats more often that not.  My go-to flats are almost always ballet flats. I love them. They have replaced Mary Janes as my favourite shoe (breaking up with Mary Janes was tough. I still have a soft spot for them). I’m iffy on the Tory Burch – pretty, but not all that and a bag of chips; the buckle is too status-y for me – but I love these simple Repetto ballet flats:

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Love. I would wear those in any colour, any day.  I would wear them all the time, except I actually do like to mix it up with my shoes from time to time. If only to justify my collection. The thing I wish for is to find nice ballet flats that are comfortable and that don’t cost a small fortune.  Hard to do.

I’m pretty stoked about the latest shoe trend of the menswear inspired shoes. Any trend that makes flats stylish, makes me and my feet happy. For starters, the brogues are killing me with awesome:

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Aren’t they fantastic? (from left to right: Steve Madden ‘Melin’, B Store ‘Lucy’,  and Topshop’s Kurtis)  I’d buy and wear each and every one of those. My only trouble right now is figuring out how to wear them. I fear integrating these lovelies into my wardrobe would not do them justice and may require some new clothes and possibly giving the husband an aneurysm (he’d rather I not be shopping for a new wardrobe right now). Whatever I do, I’m pretty sure I will not be going for this look that Whitney attempted:

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Nice try sweetie. Good in theory, but failed in execution. Maybe if the jeans were a little less baggy? Or if the t-shirt didn’t look like one she’s been wearing since grade seven? I don’t know. But if she’s making that outfit look frumpy, then you don’t even want to know what it’d be like on me.

I think that what I really need is to troll some Frenchy’s and Value Villages in search of some actual men’s brogues that are on sale. This might be my only way of convincing husband that I should buy new (to me) shoes. I know they’re out there. Fashion blogger Nadine LaRoche found a pair at the VV and posted about it on twitter recently and I am kind of jealous. I really need to be out hunting the second hand goods more often. Otherwise I just dream of buying shoes I can’t afford.

Next up on the trend of men’s/unisex inspired flats are the penny loafer. Now there is a shoe I can get behind:

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Penny loafers! I died for these kind of shoes in grade school. I was even geeky enough to put a penny in my loafers in grade four. Loved. Them. These Bass penny loafers are the shit. I am totally signing up for this trend and don’t even try to stop me.

Moving right along, a sort of dance (jazz dance? modern dance? I’m not sure. I told you I don’t dance) inspired shoe. It’s a wee bit like the brogue,  I think they just hang out in the same social circles:

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These Repetto Jackson shoes look like something I’ve seen on Gene Kelly or Fred Astair and they make me wish I could dance a little bit. Maybe they aren’t dance inspired. But they do make me want to quick softshoe or something. Maybe just some jazz hands.  Moving on. How about these gorgeous Louboutin oxfords:

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I don’t think I need to say anything more.

Or, for something a wee bit more feminine, but still in the same vein:

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These are from Topshop and are pretty damn cute as well.

For those of you who like this trend, but love your heels too much, fear not! Alexa Chung is working both angles:

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Oxfords with a heel and moccasins that are flats. Alexa’s making sure both are trendy. (ummm…riddle me this: how is Alexa Chung able to get away with that second outfit and not look like a crazy homeless lady? Because that is definitely what I would look like if I wore such an outfit).

And finally, a flat that I’m not convinced about, but am willing to consider are these Newbark shoes that I caught sight of on Style.com’s blog:

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They’re handmade in LA and apparently will be on sale on Net-a-Porter tomorrow.  They look crazy comfy, but they also look a bit too much like slippers for me. Maybe I just need to see them in action.
Anyway, while I don’t think Anna will be letting the Vogue staffers into the office in flats just because she wore a pair to a party in the Hamptons, that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t enjoy them. Because seriously, as fab as Anna is, we all know we’ll never dress like her. Ever. (unless maybe you’re holding a lucky 6/49 ticket in your hand. In which case, I wear size 10 shoes and I want to be your bestest friend ever. Kidding. Sort of.)

Jlamenco Duro Y Oscuro CD Release photo by Karla Hatt

Jlamenco Duro Y Oscuro CD Release at the Company House

The Old Memoir and the Controversy