Killer Heels: Art and Shoes Collide at the Brooklyn Museum

The perfect shoes are a pair of art and today and I got to see Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe at the Brooklyn Museum,

Here is the museum's take on the exhibit:

When you first get into the area of the exhibit, the first thing you notice is a large sign saying Killer Heels. Perhaps it is because the exhibit ends March 1, but I also noticed a large crowd today.

When entering, you are greeted by a short film. Unfortunately, given the large crowd it was hard to watch as the security guard kept telling people not to block the entrance.

The next hallway of the exhibit traces trends and inspiration from the being of heels hundreds of years ago to today. It is amazing how Rococo style and Louis the IV heels have gone in and out of fashion many times.

From there, the exhibit goes into many architectural shoes, which may be hard to walk in, but are gorgeous to view. Some shoes even challenge traditional thinking of what a shoe is.  Here are a few of my favorites:

From afar, these look like classic t-straps, but the front of the t is actually a woman in an evening gown.

Cinderella's Glass Slipper Re-imagined

Prince Charming with Cinderella's glass slipper in Walt Disney World's Main Street Electrical Parade

Next month, Disney's live action Cinderella movie his theaters. As you probably know, I can't think of that story without thinking of the glass slippers.

Now, Disney has asked designers to re-imagine those famous shoes for modern princesses (or adults who still harbor princess dreams). Sketches from the 9 designers have been released and the real shoes will be available in stores in early March. For those of us in the U.S., the shoes will be available from Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and Beverly Hills, according to the press release.

First, check out the movie trailer to see how the live action movie presents the glass slippers:

The glass slippers from the movie seem pretty traditional with butterfly decals on the toes. They were produced by crystal company, Swarovski.

However, the 9 designers selected for the re-imagination went much more modern, with booties and cage heels.

And like the sign that decorates my desk says, these shoes could change your life.

Here are the designs:

Alexandre Birman

Charlotte Olympia

Katy Perry wore shoes with 12,600 Swarovski crystals for the Super Bowl Halftime show

If you were performing in front of thousands of people and on millions of TV sets, what shoes would you wear?

According to People Style Watch, Katy Perry wore Custom LaDuca booties adorned with 12,600 Swarovski crystals when she performed for the Super Bowl's Half Time.

As you see in the above screen shots, the pop star wore the same shoes from start to end of the performance. Also check out the photos Moschino designer, Jeremy Scott shared on Instagram, embedded below. 

If you're looking to draw attention to you feet, what better way than with blinged-out shoes?

Prabal Gurung for Target: Nice Design; Sometimes Poor Execution Part 2

Three looks for the Prabal Gurung for Target collaboration.

Prabal Gurung brought fun patterns, bright colors and feminine shapes to Target. Yesterday, I reviewed the shoes in the collection, finding that the designs were nice but sometimes the construction was poor.

I was able to buy items from the collection both online and in my local store.

I tried more of the clothing than shoes, so I decided that since this collection contained both, I would review clothing for the first time on this blog. Moreover, the clothes are designed to go with the shoes, as the looks above show.

I purchased  this long sleeve tee in Nolita print ($19.99) to add a fun pop of color to my outfits.

I also purchased the long sleeve t-shirt in Floral Crush print ($19.99).

The two items of clothing I purchased were the long sleeve t-shirts in the two fun prints ($19.99). The Nolita print is bright uneven vertical stripes. The Floral Crush pattern has bright flowers that fade out to white. 

The materials were soft, but not sheer. The sizing runs large.

I thought the shirts would add a pop of color under black at work or dress up jeans. The floral print will also look cute with shorts as the weather warms up. At $19.99, I was happy to buy both.

I was less excited about the rest of the collection. Below are the items I tried on.

Prabal Gurung for Target: Nice Design; Sometimes Poor Execution Part 1

Prabal Gurung brought his patterned clothing and fun femininity to Target. The designer is known for dressing both Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. 

The Target collaboration includes shoes, clothing and accessories. After trying on both shoes and clothes, I found that the items well-designed and that they came at a nice discount (the most expensive shoes were $39.99, while most clothing ranged from $19.99 to $49.99). However, the execution varied, sizing was not standard and materials used were sometimes poor.

The line outside Target in Manhattan the morning the collection came out.

Shoppers quickly grab items from Prabal Gurung for Target's collection. Images from Racked.

Neverthless, the collection drew large crowds and some items quickly sold out online. Not wanting to sleep out, I shopped online. If you spend over $50 shipping is free, and you can return items to the store. Also, if you keep checking, items become available after previously being sold out. I finally made it to my local store this weekend, and found that they still had some clothes and shoes, including items that were sold out online. A store associate said the items will likely go on clearance soon.

Lets discuss the shoes first.

The Prabal Gurung for Target shoe collection included pointy-toed flats in solid colors and a colorful pattern. Picture from Elle.

Is High Style Worth Low Prices? The Drawbacks of Designer Discount Lines at Stores Like Target, H&M

A clip from CNBC's Luxury Boom explaining why you won't find Manolo Blahnik shoes at H&M.

Crowds lined up today to get their hands on Marni’s collection for H&M. Within an hour, some racks and even mannequins were empty, according to The LA Times.

Marni is the latest in a long line of designers in the past few years to make lines for a fraction of their regular prices for stores like Target and H&M. The trend is considered by many to have started with Isaac Mizrahi’s line for Target. Since then, designers such as Versace, Jason Wu, Missoni and more have made collections. Shoe designers, such as Dolce Vita and Miss Trish of Capri have also made collections.

Crowds for Marni at H&M 

Yet, some designer brands, notably Manolo Blahnik will not be showing up on mass retailer shelves any time soon.