Obligatory Sneaker Post

Retro is Back (it never really left):

Marc by Marc Jacobs (MbyMJ) has long since been one of my favorite designer collections, and Spring line looks remarkably... familiar. Our parents have been telling us, practically since infancy, that fashion always repeats itself. While this is frequently just an argument used to justify their hoarding tendencies, it's pretty true. This spring, MbyMJ is bringing back classic Keds(r) style sneaker, and giving the pattern an equally retro twist.

As much as I love the design, and I do, I'd really rather not pay the retail price of those. Instead, I would go to K-Mart and pick up a pair of their white Ked-knockoffs, head over to Michael's for some fabric paint, and design your own. K-Mart shoes cost a fraction of the cost, so even though they may not be as well made or "designer," they're just as good if not better. Let your imagination come alive as you paint whatever you like on them. You put just as much creativity into putting your outfit together, why not make it even more special by designing your own sneakers... Not to mention the possibility that your Chucks are seriously in need of replacing. Mine certainly are.

Expect an update on those diy sneakers. I really will do that :)

Obama-Rama Continues:

Jeez. I was aware of Obamania, but I had no idea that it reached this level. Let's forget for a moment that this is a president, and ask the question that everyone should be thinking: why on earth would you want someone else's face on your shoe? Michael Jordan's famous silhouette, I can sort of understand. It's his trademark, and it's not a picture of his face. I don't think I'd even mind just having the Obama logo on the sneaker, provided it was tastefully done.

I don't really understand the Obama obsession that took hold of everyone. He's just another president, not to be drooled over like a kid over an ice cream cone. What really ruins his chances at 8 years in office is all that "HOPE" for "CHANGE" that he inspired. Where are his loyal followers now? About to vote a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate. But that's another rant entirely.

I know everyone is smart enough to never buy this, much less wear it. But I thought I should post it anyway, just for kicks. ...not that you could get your kicks if you did (for some, inexplicable reason) decide to wear them. get it? lame joke, I know.

Seeing as how this is the obligatory sneaker post, I felt the need to mention my longest lasting pair of sneakers. My green Chucks have been with me for almost 7 years, and they're just about to completely fall apart. The strange thing is, with Chucks (and Doc Martens but more on those in the future), the more beat up they get, the cooler they look. It's the traveling pants syndrome, if you ask me. Each hole and scuff has its own story, but whether you actually remember which story belongs to which hole is another story. But I can remember going just about everywhere in those shoes: adventures in Holloywood, high school, college, work, etc.

But it seems like Chucks are so fashionable these days, that Converse feels justified in hiking prices. It's not necessarily a big deal if you have a decent income, but when you're 401k-less, paying $50 for a pair of sneakers seems a bit ridiculous. At least they have the options of customizing on their website--you'll love what you pay for.

So as I cherish my last days with my shoes, I hope you'll take the time to appreciate yours.

See you Friday,

ChilombiLite

Back for Good

After realizing that I could never find regular times to write fresh blog posts, after realizing that I am horrible with deadlines, after realizing that I hated blogging, I deleted this blog. And yet, here I am again, giving a fresh look at those few old posts from last year. Now that January is here again, I've decided to try again. Even though future posts may not be regular, even though they may not be as long, I hope that they will be as interesting or perhaps even more interesting than before.

That being said, I'm going to try to at least make short posts on Tuesdays and Fridays! Long posts every two weeks on Saturdays!

There have been some changes to the blog:

• I changed my "display name" to ChilombiLite in order to reflect the changes to my pen name. I'm the only ChilombiLite on the internet, so if you happen to see me on another site, do say hello. I also have a livejournal where I post all of my personal blog entries. Here's the link in case you want to take a look: ChilombiLite: Swimming in a sea of confusing allusion, illusions, and delusions


• The name of the blog has also changed from "May They Take You Somewhere" to "Make Them Look" mainly because it just sounds better and it's shorter
  

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.

ChilombiLite

Internet Finds

Behold, my latest shoe buy over at ebay. I find myself ever more impressed by what you can buy nowadays on the internet. Recently I bought a pair of sandals and had them delivered to my parent's house in time for my mom's birthday. In that same week, I bought my father's birthday present and also had it shipped to their house. Honestly, although I'm late to the ebay bandwagon party, I am definitely making up for lost time. In the past month that I've been a member, I've won and lost more auctions than I can count. What do I have to show for all of these hours I've wasted scrolling through lists of products? Clothes, presents, and finally a pair of cute flats that I will treasure.

Making an ebay account may have been one of the best decisions I've ever made, but I have to warn all readers that creating your own account (if you haven't already) may lead to an addiction. However bad my addiction may be at this point (I check hourly), I have absolutely no intention of letting up. Especially now that I've bid on a pair of beautiful red pumps. If I win them, I'll be sure to post a picture on here.

For those of you who already have an ebay account, but refuse to buy used apparel, I urge you to reconsider. The worst defect I've found with the clothes I've bought have been a few water stains from being in storage, but they are all fixable. Needless to say, you really have to be careful when you buy stuff off the internet. Make sure you know your measurements, first of all, as you want the clothing you buy to actually fit. Next, make sure you take a closer look at the shipping costs! It's such a disappointment finding a product that you really want, but then seeing that the price doubles once you add shipping costs.

My apologies for these extremely spread out posts. Once summer gets here, and school lets out, I plan on setting up a schedule for my posts. I plan on having a set time to find some collections to review, write the actual review, and have some time to edit.

Until next time.

Patricia Ellis was born on May 20th.

Check out those beautiful shoes:

Harlequin

"Harlequin" by Cesare Paciotti

At first glance, this number is a little hard to take in, but I have to say that it has grown on me. I started examining this and trying to find out exactly why I didn't like this shoe... when I realized: all of the reasons I don't like it, are the very reasons that I do like it. The color patchwork, for example, is strangely asymmetric and at first it kind of bothered me. But then, after a closer look at the rest of the shoe, I started paying more attention to its quirky attributes like the platform. The "double" aspect is mirrored not only in the platform, but in the heel as well. There is a marked separation from each "double's" layer. With the platform, it's a sole-like material, and with the heel, the separation is marked by the color pattern.
This shoe definitely takes time to grow on you, but it's one of those shoes that becomes one of your favorites once it does. The "Harlequin" is best paired with a vibrant personality and lots of confidence. But good luck purchasing it... "Harlequin" retails at $800!

Aldo's latest collections disgust me...

Honestly, normally Aldo is my highest priority when it comes to looking for great shoes. They are usually hip, comfortable, and affordable. Well, as affordable as quality shoes get. But this season has been a flop as far as style goes. I think the new direction that Aldo is headed is Tacky-ville. Their latest releases remind me of the years when my aunt used to by t

heir shoes in hopes of looking younger... All she achieved was making herself look ridiculous. But, you know, as they say, fashion repeats itself... And this year Aldo's serving some Tacky with a side dish of Whore-y.

Let's take a look at some individuals.

The Mahomly:

Goodness. What can I say about the Mahomly? These little ankle boots may seem like a good purchase, but let's just take a closer look at these suckers. The first thing that really catches my eye are the abundant amount of buckles they have. Three buckles for one ankle boot? Normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but they are just so wide! For one thing, the boot itself is made so that it slouches, but the belts create this weird juxtaposition. With three on such a small space, instead of slouching like it should, the idea you get is that they slouch excessively. The buckles completely negate the original appeal of the slouch by splitting the foot into four pieces. Then the original slouch is pushed into folds, which make the foot look larger! Now, I don't know about you, but I NEVER actually WANT my foot to look fat. It's just not appealing!

The Mahomly's shape itself originates from a sort or wrap-around boot that was popular a couple of seasons ago. If you look closely at the toe, you'll see where the "fold" part comes together where that little poof of woolly lining shows itself. I personally love the wrap-around, and if it weren't for the excessive buckles, I'd probably love the boot... too bad it's the Mahomly and not the original style.

One more thing that's problematic is that it makes a woman's foot look sort of... clown-like. It's really the round toe's fault; the toe is the widest point of the shoe, even wider than the heel, which bears an aching similarity to clown shoes. Sigh. At least it's not as horrifying as our next offender...

The Pattengale:

Oh. Dear. God. What was I saying about straps and buckles? This absolutely horrid piece of footwear takes the prize for most disgusting pair of shoes this season. I haven't even seen every pair of shoes this season, but I'm SURE that this is by far the worst. I can't even fathom what the designer was thinking. Fortunately, there are words to describe my horror and nausea.

Let's start with the silver shiny heel and toe, shall we? Umm... what? SHINY heels and toes? Maybe those -ahem- interesting aspects would be acceptable in a club situation, but the fact that these are so strapped with leather (pun intended), completely negates the glam factor.

And now, dear readers, the straps. As much as I want to cuss about these atrocious crimes against humanity, I won't because my hope is that younger readers will be able to appreciate and read these posts without their parents banning them from this site. This is a safe space... UNLESS YOU'RE THAT NASTY PAIR OF SHOES RIGHT THERE *POINTS TO PATTENGALES* Exactly how many straps does it take before you are no longer considered a strappy sandal? I think that's what the designers were trying to find out. They're really pushing the envelope on that... Let's not forget that these straps are also made out of the finest leathers, shall we? Well, what a waste of beautiful leather. It saddens me deeply knowing that those shoes will become the property of someone. With those thick, opaque leather straps, the glamour that it might have had is now gone. Each of those criscrossing straps is just one more reason to never wear them. My friends, the point of sandals are to accentuate the lovely curves of the foot. And believe me, the foot (if used and groomed properly) can be very beautiful. Problem that arises: what color do you paint your toenails? Black is too emo of a color and should be used sparingly; silver is extremely tasteless and should never be used; and a french manicure is far TOO tasteful to deserve such horrible treatment as to be paired with a heel like the Pattengale.

I can't continue with any individual shoe. I'm far too horrified by the Pattengale to begin my search for a tasteful shoe from Aldo. Not that I saw any in my original search for a part shoe. A new horrifying trend that Aldo is trying to push on us is animal print. Let me just say a few things about animal print:

1. It should be used sparingly.
   
2. It is best paired with dark blue skinny jeans.
3. The girl wearing it should be extremely comfortable with herself. Comfortable enough that she will drag her girlfriends out to the center of the dance floor.
4. Wild everything should be accompanied with animal print.
5. Animal print is a state of being, not a style. You're in the mood for animal print; it's not like wanting to wear your regular stilettos. Animal print requires planning and preparation.
6. Bright red nail polish and lipstick go best with this... Especially if your print of choice is leopard.

Tip of the post: Pick a pair of shoes that you know you can walk in. Breaking in those fabulous new heels during a night out is not so much fun. Trust me, I've been there. We all have.

Celebrity birthdays: Alicia Keys. Great music, decent shoes.

Introductions

Shoes. While Wall Street may have invented the need for shoes in women's (and men's) lives a long time ago, we can't deny that they have become essential in our everyday existence as fashionable beings. After all, what are the first things a woman notices about another woman when she walks into a room? Her shoes. Don't even try to deny it. We all give the look-down and when we set our eyes on those pair of heels/sneakers or what have you, there's no question that we make judgments.

Men, if you're wearing Crocs, you can bet that we (women) are going to disregard you as potential boyfriends or one night stands. Crocs tell us that you're too lazy to fix yourself up to come to this particular party, and if you won't even dress up for that, how can we trust you to dress up for future occasions? Most of us, if not all, are looking for someone who can dress themselves. Meaning we don't want to babysit you.

Women, I shouldn't have to go into explaining why we make the judgments we do based on your footwear...

Whatever walk of life you come from, wherever you go, shoes are there to help you make statements. Hopefully all of you will come to love this blog for what it is: a commentary on the latest, the greatest, the classiest, and the must-haves of all shoe-dom.