My love of scenic prints knows no bounds. I have a particularly soft spot for photo realistic prints, and as Spring is looming here in Australia, flowers are blooming and so is my wardrobe. The bright red poppies on this Chicwish skirt just sing out for warm weather and skipping through fields and falling asleep in the shade of your favorite tree. Naturally a conversation about poppies turns my mind to the Wizard of Oz and the closer I look, I realized I have an deconstructed, Dorothy-themed outfit, complete with ruby slippers and a hot air balloon brooch (I swear, sometimes these things happen without me even realizing it).
I‘ve often thought about that scene from Wizard of Oz, where they run through the field of poppies and fall into a drug-induced coma (I seriously don’t think that movie was for children). Like most of us, I always just chalked it up the Wicked Witch’s malevolence, but nowadays I wonder if that scene isn’t a cautionary tale to always pay attention to your surroundings. It’s so easy to get distracted by your destination you don’t pay attention to the journey – Dot and her crew had their eye on the Emerald City and ended up with one heck of a poppy hangover. But sometimes – just maybe – the hangover is worth it for a chance to stop and smell the flowers. Frolic in the garden. Cast a thoughtful eye around you and appreciate each step on the way to the end goal.
That we find a crystal or a poppy beautiful means that we are less alone, that we are more deeply inserted into existence than the course of a single life would lead us to believe.”
John Berger
Maybe I’m more like the Wicked Witch than I realize though, because I have been on one serious single-minded mission for years: Find me some ruby slippers. I was perpetually frustrated to discover that a cute pair of red glitter flats was restricted to infants and toddlers (or some ill-advised Halloween costumes). I realize that the market share for adult sparkly flats is proportionally small, but grown women need glitter too, darnit! Enter the answer to my prayers: Shoes of Prey. I’m not sure if you guys have stumbled on this one yet – A friend introduced me and I think I lost an entire evening having multiple shoe-gasms. You can design the shoes of your dreams! Forget endless searches, I knew exactly what I wanted and make them a reality with a few clicks.
Seriously. Check it out. Seriously. They are on the pricier side (which is the only thing stopping me from going crazy designing shoes), but when you consider they are handmade just for you out of seriously quality materials, it puts it into perspective. These puppies are made to last. Plus, my shoes came with a personalized note, heels and footbed inserts for cushion, and a polaroid to photo to tape on the outside of the box so I could find them easily amongst my shoe boxes. I realize I’m veering towards gushing, but I love stumbling on a brand that finally gets how I like to shop for shoes! This was my first design and shoe purchase from them, but it definitely won’t be my last. I have my eye on a pair of wedges next….
So, resplendent in the glitter flats that were finally mine, I clicked my heels twice and found myself in the park on the way home from work today – daylight is staying out to play a bit longer as the sun stretches her golden fingers into the evening. Though I usually pass her by on my way to somewhere apparently more important, today I stopped to twirl in the park and bask a bit in the journey.
Where are your journey’s taking you today?
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Jacket: Treasury Vintage (similar here, here here, & here)
Top: Bernie Dexter via Unique Vintage (similar here, here & here)
Skirt: Chicwish
Brooch: Modcloth (similar here & here)
Handbag: Vintage (similar here, here & here)
Shoes: Designed by me, made at Shoes of Prey
.
instagram // twitter // facebook // pinterest
