Christian Louboutin's red Dillian flower pumps

Christian Louboutin has been using these large ruffles on lots of his shoes recently, but I think these red 'Dillian' pumps are my favourites so far. These

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Nicole Richie to launch footwear range

From our fashion blog, Catwalk Queen... First accessories, then maternity wear and now shoes...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Special Saturday Edition

Not only is today's entry on a Saturday tie, it has two ties! I took my son Pierce to his friend's bar mitzvah today, and we both wore ties. I wore the one on the left, a black Format tie of luxurious crinkled silk with woven red and gold pattern. Pierce, making his modeling debut on the tie blog (pause for applause), wore the tie on the right, a Save the Children tie called "Schwiggles," designed by Shantai, age 8. Does he look just like me, or what?

We each were handed a program and prayer book for the ceremony. Pierce was a bit befuddled by the book, not knowing that it starts at the "back" and goes in the opposite direction of a standard English book. As he sat there struggling with it, I whispered to him "Manga style," and he got it instantly. A piece of knowledge of one foreign culture helped him grasp another one in no time; I couldn't have planned a better demonstration of the importance of knowledge and understanding.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Dune Double Platform Metal Heel Court Shoes

There's something inherently sexy about these shoes

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Pink suede effect trim shoes from Next

Here's another pair

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[Source: Shoewawa]

French Connection's 'Juliet' rope detail peep-toe platforms

There is a little bit of nautical style in everyone... at least that's what I convince myself...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Clifford Possum

Desert Designs is best known for reproducing the works of Australian Aboriginal artists Jimmy Pike and Doris Gingingara on neckties, but I have turned up a third one. Today's tie features a design by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (c.1932-2002), one of the founders of the modern Aboriginal art movement. Susan Allan provides some background on his introduction to painting in an obituary on the World Socialist Web Site:

In the late 1950s he was employed, along with his older brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri and other Aborigines, to assist in the construction of Papunya settlement. This was the last Aboriginal settlement built under the Menzies Liberal government�s racist assimilation policy. According to the government, Aborigines were not ready to live as �white Australians� and had to be re-educated. This meant removing them from tribal lands and herding them into settlements.

In 1971, Geoffrey Bardon, a young teacher, arrived at Papunya. Bardon, who later described the settlement as �an unsewered, undrained, garbage-strewn death camp in all but name,� won the respect of the older men and encouraged them to paint their ancestral stories. In contrast to Namatjira�s realistic watercolours, Bardon supplied them acrylic paint and discouraged references to Western images. This approach help give birth to the unique Papunya Tula style, which is an abstract representation of tribal myths and legends that is derived from traditional ceremonial designs.

Tjapaltjarri's art gained enormous popularity and he was ultimately awarded the Order of Australia.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Eros

Nope, nothing smutty: Eros is the maker of the tie, as proclaimed on the very classy label, which also tells us "London Paris New York." This is a vintage tie of 100% wool, and at four and half inches wide it's a lot of wool, and it is heavy. Leslie named their superwide tie the Bellywarmer; Eros should have named this line the Millstone. I got it in the same ebay lot as my birthday tie; that must have been one groovy guy who owned both of them. There was a third one, too, and maybe I will remember which one it was.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

House of Holland's cut out heels with zip from Browns

I must be having a cut-out shoe day, because this is the second pair I have posted about today...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Easter bunny 'rabbit' shoes by Irregular Choice

My first reaction to seeing these limited edition shoes by Irregular Choice was not to the cute, easter bunny motifs on the toes, but something more along the lines of 'ooh! Scalloped edging!' as it's a detail I'm particularly fond of in footwear.

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Graphic

I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather on Monday (60 degrees, 50 higher than last week) to wear my first tie 0f 2008. A tie that looks like a graph (or several graphs) is about as graphic as you can get, wouldn't you say? This bold silk tie with rectangular jacquard weave is of unknown provenance, but is probably 30 to 40 years old and has seen a lot of use. It even appears to have been bitten at least once.

While my tie wearing, and thus tie blogging, has tapered off considerably over the last year, Mike Segers at Knot a Blog continues apace. This month will see his five hundredth blogged tie, so be sure not to miss that! In fact, I recommend you review ties number 1 through 499 in preparation for the big 5-0-0.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Bright orange court shoes from River Island

Have you given in to the 80s revival yet? I'm still managing to resist (quite easily, actually!) but if you think you'd

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Topshop's 'Luxie' metal chain sandals

How do you feel about chains?

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Oscar de la Renta cut-out lace shoe boots

Going down the Givenchy lace route, Oscar de la Renta jazz up their cut-out shoe boots with this feminine fabric to really give them the va-va-voom factor. The cut-out only adds to this feminine vibe, with a striking triangle...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Is it loud enough for you?

I said, is it loud enough for you?! This narrow tie of intensely-colored barkcloth comes from Virgin Island Ties, probably of 1960s vintage. I wore it in honor of the Dalai Lama speaking at Cornell today. Well, actually, I did wear the tie today, and the Dalai Lama did speak at Cornell today, but the two events are unrelated. However, the tie is just as colorful as the Wheel of Life sand mandala that the Namgyal monks constructed at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum in honor of the Dalai Lama's arrival.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

New Melissa and Vivienne Westwood sandals for Spring

The love affair between Melissa and Dame Viv is clearly far from over as these brazen bronze three-strap sandals have appeared on our radar just in time for spring.

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Miss Selfridge cream metallic heels

I can't say that I've ever been a big fan of white or cream shoes, but these I do quite like...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Mid-Century Modern

With our so-called "Mid-Century Modern" home, gradually getting filled with Mid-Century Modern furniture and decor, it is only appropriate that I have some Mid-Century Modern ties as well. I don't think this one dates back that far, but the design fits comfortably with other textiles of that era. The label says "Nino Orsini," but this tie is obviously a home-made job, with the fabric behind the tip finished using the "scrunch it all up and then iron it flat" method. But who cares about the back of a tie?

And now I must be off to Syracuse to see the Chicago Afrobeat Project at Funk'n'Waffles!

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Goodbye from Amber...

I can hardly believe it myself, but it's been almost two years now since I took over as editor of Shoewawa. It's been an amazing two

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Catching up

I've finally run out of steam. Here's the tie I wore on May 20, by Modules of Japan, one of the best of the art deco revival labels. There might be one more photo on the camera.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Contrast purple snakeskin tie front heels from ASOS

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of snakeskin, but that hasn't stopped me from taking a shine to these contrasting tie heels from ASOS...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Products for your happy enjoyment

From a few feet away this looks like a tie with an abstract woven pattern in rather bright colors, but if you look closer you will see that the little red rectangles actually say "Toshiba," and every other diagonal band contains a repeating line drawing of a different Toshiba product. They've even labeled each one: starting at the top and working down, we have cinema T.V., battery, car radio, cordless [telephone], "fst" [flat screen television], cell phone, and VCR. Corporate ties are usually very dull, so I applaud Toshiba for commissioning one (from Vinuchi) that's so lively and distinctive, if not actually attractive.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Happy Birthday to Me

Another year, another birthday, yippee! As of today I am twice the legal drinking age, which means from here on out I will have been drinking legally for most of my life. So I will use this milestone to list some of my favorite beers: Unibroue Belgian-style ales, especially Trois Pistoles (which I drank with my birthday dinner); Weyerbacher Quad; Pork Slap Pale Ale and Snapperhead IPA from Butternuts Beer and Ale; Ommegang Abbey Ale; and Ithaca Beer Company's Double IPA. Some favorites from our trip to England in August are Inniss & Gunn Oak Aged Beer, Badger Golden Champion, Robinson's Old Tom Ale, and Sharp's Chalky's Bite. I recommend seeking them out from your local beverage emporium and enjoying them in moderation, preferably while wearing a big, bold vintage tie like this one, "made in England for Bloomingdale's" with the thickest lining fabric ever made, I do believe.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Kimono my house

It finally warmed up here in Ithaca, so I tried my hand at tie-wearing again. My tie for Monday, March 31, is a patchwork tie of vintage kimono silks by T. Carney, made in Korea. The dark band next to the bottom has a very fine batik-style resist print on it; the triangle on the right side (my left), as well as the band just under the knot, are particularly lustrous, in a nubby weave that is sheer joy to look at and touch. The whole tie is quite tactile, for that matter. I wouldn't mind wearing full garments made from silk like this.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Missoni Impossible

Though this tie is from Biella, I could almost swear I've seen the same pattern on a Missoni tie. I inadvertently robbed it of its color impact by wearing it with a shirt that matched the dominant color; if I had it to do over again I would wear it with an off-white, or ecru, or eggshell, or pale yellow shirt. But I don't, I've worn it once and that's that. C'est la vie.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Peek-a-boo

Here's a favorite theme of mine: a design underneath, in this case stripes in shades from white to orange to brown, covered with another pattern (plain brown here) that is then peeled away strategically to create yet another pattern. Well, not really peeled away, it's all woven of a piece, but that's the effect. The different stripes and layers have contrasting weave patterns as well, adding one more design dimension. This is a vintage German offering from Juka's Spitzenklasse line, made of "Dralon, 100% Polyacril." It will outlast us all.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Givenchy's gold leather cowboy boots

I'm sure the very idea of gold leather cowboy boots - and shiny gold at that - will have some of you

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Corduroy weather

Ah, it has cooled off enough to break out the corduroys, which for me marks the official start of autumn. Today's tie is from my favorite line of polyester neckties, Christian Dior Monsieur (previous entries here). The ribbons in the pleasantly busy pattern are disturbingly sinuous (as in, like sinews), and the flesh and blood color scheme doesn't help matters. If I keep my mouth shut maybe no one will notice.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

MCM (and I don't mean 1900)

I had so much fun wearing a tie last week, I decided to do it again this week. What this narrow Pierre Cardin tie lacks in color it makes up for in discipline: its grid of eccentrically-nested hexagons in dark gray on light gray (with some blue ones thrown in for an austere kind of flair) is decidedly Mid-Century Modern. The pattern would be perfect for a brushed-aluminum screen between my dining room and sunken living room. If Dwell magazine ever does a feature on my house, I will have to wear this tie for the photo shoot. And maybe clean up a little.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Spring?

I won't fool myself into thinking spring is here at last despite today's lovely 50+ degrees; this is upstate New York, so we will almost certainly get more snow before spring truly arrives (and probably late at that). But that doesn't mean that I can't pretend for a day and wear a vintage polyester tie of pastel honeycombs filled with "crayon vomit!"

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Jimmy Pike

It's perfect tie weather now, around 60 degrees (F) for my walk to work. Today I dipped into my stash of Australian Desert Designs ties for this Jimmy Pike design on the coveted "crab weave" silk.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

One last tie for 2007

Yesterday was the office holiday luncheon; readers of this blog will not be surprised by the pants in the picture at right, because they know that that's when I perform my annual Wearing of the Bright Red Levi's Cords. The accompanying tie is the last of my polyester Christian Dior Monsieurs with the CD logo in an oval near the bottom. That particular line is hard to match in terms of imaginative patterns and vibrant color combinations. Not impossible, though, so when it warms up (April? May?) I'll return with another batch of ties. Maybe. Happy holidays and best wishes for 2008! I'll leave you with a new take on a classic Christmas song from my music blog:

04 - Do You Hear What I Hear from http://burlveneer.vox.com/

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Sale Watch: Faith's 'Celinda' brogues

If you have worn your old brogues to death then cheer up!

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[Source: Shoewawa]

River Island blue cutout sandals

I have been on the look-out lately for some eye-catching coloured heels. And I think I might have found exactly what I'm looking for...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Spring has sprung

Ithaca residents were assured today that spring is finally here, because I wore my rainbow-striped shirt with a rainbow-spattered tie. (The fact that snow is forecast for the weekend in spite of my sartorial proclamation is concerning; have my neckties lost their magickal qualities through neglect?) While most of my "crayon vomit" ties are roughly 35 years old and made of polyester, this is a silk tie by "A. Taghi" of more recent vintage. The only thing I can think of to say about it is, "Whoa."

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Designer Profile: Yohji Yamamoto

• Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto graduated from Bunka Fashion college in 1969 and first showed in Paris in 1981


• Yamamoto is known for creating avant-garde, androgynous menswear and womenswear with oversized silhouettes, often concealing the wearer?s form with black drapery.


• Yamamoto is the only Japanese fashion designer to have been awarded the French Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres.


• One of the first high-end designers to foray into sportswear, Yamamoto launched Y-3 with Adidas in 2003.

Elsewhere

• Men's collections on Style.com


• Women's collections on Style.com

Media

Yohji Yamamoto Women's Spring 2007

Yohji Yamamoto Women's Fall 2008

Yohji Yamamoto Men's Fall 2008

Click here for our complete profile of Yohji Yamamoto.

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[Source: Jargol Blog]

Kors by Michael Kors 'Talulah' sandals

Tucked in amongst the corals, nudes and fluorescents this season, there's also a smattering of green

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Purple zip gladiator sandals from Dorothy Perkins

I'm really into the purple used in these shiny gladiator sandals from Dorothy Perkins...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Havaianas take on the world in new spring '09 campaign

Those brilliant inventions out of Brazil known as Havaianas (trust me I'm Aussie, they're a Godsend) are taking on the world - literally...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Sunny California

Attending a conference in Anaheim this week (the Higher Education Users Group Alliance 09) inspired me to deploy another necktie. I thought this bright beauty by Ernex of London would be suitably Californian, so I wore it on Monday, making me the Most Overdressed guy there (vendors excluded). My plans for a second day of necktie madness were scuttled due to a stained dress shirt, but at least I got one tie blogged.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Oasis 'Jodie' strappy sandals

As we look towards some hopefully warmer days, eye-catching sandals like this pair from Oasis are on my shopping list...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Omelle's 'Artist' futuristic sandals

It was only three weeks ago that I first told you about shoe label, Omelle, and its new e-commerce website...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Still pampered

It's been almost a month since I last wore a tie, and a year and a half since I wore one of my treasured Pamper Him ties from Chicago. This is the third one to appear on the blog, which leaves me with three yet to be blogged, I believe. That could take another couple years, at this rate. Pamper Him seems to have vanished, as have most of the fabrics from Exotic Silks from which they made their ties (but this one is still there). Only the ties remain, and darn few of those, I suspect.

Fortunately I have popped back onto the blog in time to learn about Catherine Gutsche's upcoming show at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario. Faithful readers (both of you) will recognize Catherine as the artist who turned my wedding tie into a painting, which now hangs in its place of honor over our marital bed. The show runs May 14 through August 2 (2008, in case you're reading this in the future), with an opening reception on Saturday, May 24. If you're in the area, go see!

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Rupert Sanderson's 'Decor' satin slingbacks

At a time when each new day seems to bring a new bow-fronted shoe to my attention, it's nice to see one that's just that little bit

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[Source: Shoewawa]

First look at the Shoe Lounge at Topshop USA

[Photo: Kyle Ericksen/WWD]

To our dear US readers - it is *almost* time to rejoice! For the highly-awaited Topshop USA flagship store in New York is about to open its doors...

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[Source: Shoewawa]

Jimmy Pike

Monday's tie was another Jimmy Pike creation from Desert Designs of Australia.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Another Halloween

There is no way I could top last year's Halloween tie (there's no topping a Pucci), so I didn't try to. This year, as usual, I went with Halloween colors rather than Halloween content. This Oleg Cassini tie started out wide, I think, and at some point was surgically altered to create a more modest silhouette. The design is wonderfully 70s: clouds, colored with silver-to-burnt-orange (and back to white) gradient stripes. (I can visualize it enlarged to wall size and placed on a white background to accent a dining room or den, with shag carpet in shades of orange and brown.) And the fabric? Polyester, of course, as indestructible as clouds are ephemeral.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]

Still here

After a long winter of turtlenecks and sweaters, and a long overdue trip to the cleaners to get my dress shirts washed and pressed, the temperature climbed into comfortable tie-wearing weather today (between 30 and 60 degrees F). Time to tackle that huge backlog of unworn neckties! Or one of them, at least. Today's tie is from Tachi Taylor, if the dodgily-applied label is to be believed, and features a woven Miro-inspired pattern.

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[Source: Burl Veneer's Tie Blog]