156 The Alternative Maryjanes
10 February 2009- Last December saw me rummaging through my childhood collection of hair clips, thinking of how best to recycle and reuse them. Some I turned into brooches. Others, like this classy pair of bow hair ties, inspired me to be creative.
And this is where creativity brought me. I slipped each bow hair tie onto my feet. If you haven't guessed, I am going to fake some Mary Jane straps for my shoes :) The hair ties weren't thick enough, so underneath them, I wrapped some thicker scrap ribbons from Emilio Valentino around my feet.
It was quite a ridiculous sight. With my ribbon hair ties secured around my bare feet, I tiptoed out into the storeroom, crept past my inquisitive mother, fetched my plain, black high heel pumps, and ran back into my bedroom. There, safely out of sight, I put my shoes on and instantly transformed them into Mary Jane heels.
This February, my faux Mary Janes take me to school. The complementary outfit is a repeat ensemble from previously, minus the hosiery plus the DIY Mary Jane straps.
Grand, classy ruffles and ribbons on my Victorian blouse brought out the elegance of my shoe embellishments perfectly. Although undeniably the hair ties left deep impressions on my skin, they were none too painful, and style ruled hand in hand with comfort for all eight hours of walking, sitting, and climbing stairs today.
The following picture has its brightness and contrast adjusted beyond normal to better show the details on my ruffled, tie neck blouse:
Victorian ruffled blouse with puffy sleeves and tie neck - Osmose
grey pinstripe skirt last worn here - made by mum
dark red belt last worn here - OG
Q computer keyboard ring - customised by playground-love
black patent chunky pumps last worn here - Giovanna
ribbons, bow hair ties worn as Mary Jane straps of shoes - Emilio Valentino, made by mum
My temporary Mary Jane straps allow me to easily interchange between two different ways of wearing my shoes. Convertibility and versatility.. this is what budget fashion is all about.