Sponsored Post: Blowfish Shoes Giveaway

It's been a while since I hosted a giveaway on the blog, but I'm happy to say that I've teamed up with Blowfish to bring one of you lucky ladies a free pair of shoes for spring. There are lots of cute styles in their shop and all you have to do is tell me your favorite! For extra entries follow Blowfish on facebook and twitter, but be sure to leave a separate comment so you'll get the credit for it.

Alright, that should do it. I'll draw a winner next Thursday. Good luck and happy shopping!

Jeffery Campbell Spring/Summer 2011 Lookbook

I know it seems like I've been in a bit of a shoe phase lately, more specifically wooden platforms, but I promise it's just this 70s project I've been working on the past few days. I don't know why I'm trying to defend it like it's a bad thing because I absolutely love everything about chunky wooden platforms!

Another thing that I love is old decrepit ghost towns in the middle of nowhere, which makes this Jeffery Campbell spring/summer 2011 lookbook all the more appealing to me. Not only are the shoes extra badass (is it me or does JC keep getting better and better and better?), but the locale and photographs are both absolutely stunning. I think my favorite photograph (and shoe!) is the floral boots in front of the church sermon schedule. Just brilliant!

There are so many more great photos in the lookbook too. This is only a handful out of 80 or so! To check out the rest, visit the Jeffery Campbell site and download the PDF. If you'd like to WIN a pair from the new lookbook, be sure to visit the Solestruck blog for entry rules.

Swedish Hasbeens: 70's Wedding

How authentically 70s are these shots from the latest Swedish Hasbeens campaign? I've spent the evening working on a project that pertains to the current 70s trend, so naturally, this set of photos was of particular interest to me! I think I'm most fascinated by the girl in the chocolate brown mini dress in the big family shot, and the groom in his unbelievable velvet blazer and over-sized bow tie. The shoes aren't so hard on the eyes either! I'm glad I waited on my first Swedish Hasbeens purchase when everyone else was getting them this past Spring, but I would eventually like to get a pair. They totally won me over with their story. . .

"Her name was Anita and she was the hottest mum in all of southern Sweden in the 1970’s. While smoking Camel she screamed at her kids until her curlers fell out and just looked fabulous in her white high-heeled clogs."

"One summer day in 2006 we found the shoes she wore (300 pairs of red, white and black beautiful clogs from the 70’s) in the basement of an old clog factory in the neighboring village and brought them to Stockholm. So for all these people that shared our love for Anita’s wooden shoes and for ourselves we started Swedish Hasbeens."

The Chungs: My Madewell Purchase

I know I already snuck these into a shoe shot with the Annie's in Central Park, but I wanted to give a proper introduction to my new go-to oxfords, 'the Chungs'. I was practically acting like a giddy third grader with a crush when I bought them, writing Madewell all over twitter like a little girl with a sharpie and a bathroom wall, but I'm pretty sure they were my most expensive purchase of all time so you can understand where the excitement was coming from.

I tried on the fringe clogs first and walked around the store for a bit and loved them, I absolutely did, but they just didn't seem so practical for my every day life. First off, I wear oxfords every single day. I wore one pair until each shoe had a large hole in the bottom, another until the sole started flapping, and yet another until the little weaves started peeling apart! I wear oxfords to the grave!

The second strike against the clogs was that they were heels and I just simply do not wear heels to class – which is pretty much the only place I get dressed for anyway. The final factor that I weighed out just before I made my final decision was the fact that clogs may not be "in" next season but oxfords are classic enough to be "in" until the end of time! I'll be getting these babies resoled for the next ten years.

Needless to say, I'm verrrry satisfied with my choice! I'm not sure if they're Alexa for Madewell since they're not under that section of the Madewell website, but they previewed with her lookbook earlier this year, so I appropriately titled them, the Chungs, as in "baby, have you the Chungs laying around anywhere today."

Etsy: Shoe Sale

I did it! I finally got all those shoes in the shop. I love listing shoes because they're easy to measure and easy to photograph. I plan on doing a post on The Etsy Register soon with some tips on how to get professional looking shoe photos for your Etsy needs without having a whole lot of money to buy the professional tools! I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I get that up.

I've got lots of love for so many of these shoes, and most of them are just going to the shop because they don't fit me. The pair of 70's wooden platforms with the white stitching were a gift from Little Ocean Annie, but I'm afraid those ended up being too small too! Oh, tiny feet.

I'm also throwing in a pair of Jake's Nikes if anyone knows a boy who's interested. I'm not listing them in my store, so just email me (starrcrow@live.com) if you are. They're a size 11, and I'm selling them for $25 (that includes shipping).

I had a little trouble with those "professional" photos on some shoes, mainly anything that had white in it. So it's obvious my tips aren't going to be groundbreaking, but I guess any little bit of advice helps with getting decent photos for your shops!