Miss Meghan, Fashion Advice

April 30, 2003

MARC JACOBS SHOES

so who has been thinking about the marc jacobs shoes all week? throughout all her meetings, on the subway and out at dinner? the pink shoes always wafting somewhere in the distance, representing the perfect life, one that is orderly and classic and tasteful and, well, pink. i know you all have been thinking about it haven't you? oh no wait. that's just me.

April 26, 2003

MICHELLE PERRY

also, michele perry's boutique on 51st. LOVE the pink bunting. LOVE the girly draped fabric. It feels like a big pink pillow. Who wouldn't want to buy shoes in that wonderful and warm and welcoming atmosphere? right on, michele.

PETER MACMILLAN

talked to another esteemed musician in my life, peter macmillan, out in seattle. (no, detroit is NOT the new seattle for those of you who read the interview story on the white stripes. no, no, no. but that is another genre of debate isnt it) anyway we were expressing our discontent and feeling of disenfranchisement at the state of the usa gone seemingly awry these days, whilst the demcrats continue to say. . . nothing. and of course, pete being pete, suggested social revolution rather than political. which i think could be a very good idea. the only thing that might be difficult is getting those people who have bought hummers to cruise around manhattan, into returning them selling them, or better yet, donating them to a worthy cause. a gentle PR campaign might work. perhaps showing them dick cheney's face on an iraqi oil well or pics of the "collateral damage" we inflicted. hm. have to think further on this one. social. think social like a fun party, NOT like a politicalism.

everyone needs to stop right now.

just stop what you are doing and go directly to marc jacobs. we will all meet there in an hour after we empty our savings and we will arrive cash in hand to buy every single pair of shoes in that store. we will buy the soft baby blush pink 2 inch heels with the exquisite little white piping in a lace silhouette shape across the toe. we will buy both the fuschia and the chartreuse flats with the pointed toes and the gently curved leather soles that virtually blend into the upper. we will buy the black wedge sandals. and we will be happy.

April 21, 2003

music brings the bourgeoisie and the rebel.

great cover of that tune friday night at tribeca rock club by jj appleton. rockin' musician poised to be big time. he did his encore as a speeded up country meets indie rock version of madonna's anthem and it got everyone super jazzed.

in other music news: nina simone died today. very sad. her sugar in my bowl song found itself working it's way into a few of my writings.raspy sexy voice. and the white stripes played here in nyc this past weekend. now i am from detroit and i never heard them play, but from all descriptions of their performances and a few snippets of listening to their music, i am still puzzled as to what that's all about. never me mind. it's good detroit is getting it's little rock on in the big old world. was at good world friday night to get my dance on. so what everyone was 21? i still had fun shakin my groove thing to the likes of sean paul and 50 cent. in da club is THE summer anthem i am convinced. just gimme the light . . .

does anyone else want to learn those fierce jamaican dance moves in the latest sean paul video, where they're all in the basement and those girls are tapping their hands on their shoulders, and springing up and down on the ground and just shaking like those are the moves of the century. work!

i ventured out into the world of commerce

for the first time in a long time, and at the behest of my friend ann marie who is a shopper extraordinaire, came home with quite a few nice new purchases. (yes it is confirmed, the old navy bootcut jean is an actual steal at $30 and fits like a dream. can you say, "oh goodness, i'm in a size smaller than usual!" don't know if that's a marketing ploy but it is highly effective. they give you one cute butt and that dash o'lycra just sucks it ALL in. highly recommended for a pair of tooling around jeans.)

anyhoo, it was quite nice to be outside in the thick of things, lots of hustle bustle on broadway, sunshine, quite a change from the dreary winter. i popped into tootsi AGAIN, the new gigantic one on lafayette, just to check and make sure i wasn't missing anything, and was again aghast. WHAT has happened to that store. i saw one semi-cute pair of sandals at some obnoxious price point. it was disturbing to say the least. even the miu miu styles they picked were so uninspired. i am so sad but it has now been thoroughly confirmed, tootsi is off my buying radar for spring/summer. i continue to hunt down other venues with a heaviness of heart.

April 18, 2003

madonna may not be world affairs or shoes

but she's from my hometown and hey, she dated one of my cousins, so i'm going to write about her anyway. i think the woman is a magnificent icon, personally, and she's got that michigan work ethic i admire as well.

i do wonder why the times tries to pick apart her self-promotion tactics. hmmm, strong sucessful woman syndrome again? since i'm a lady myself, i'm going to weigh in. i think it's time for madonna to lay down the noise of her endless reinventions and do something totally stripped down. she seemed most real and accessible on her music tour when she was honestly just trying to get her guitar playing right, sitting on the edge of a stage, concentrating. i think the next CD should be stripped down guitar licks and lyrics a la ryan adams and lucinda williams. i think madonna should spend the next few years leanring how to master the guitar and then do a small, cabaret type concert tour--super exclusive and small and plain and classic. like madonna unplugged, but more. and i think she should be very soft-spoken and quiet and tell funny stories inbetween her songs, a la colin hay. don't know why i think so, i just think so. maybe it's because i think we should all stop listening to the external and start listening to the internal a little bit more. ahhhh, how philosophical i am on this good friday!

and madonna IS kind of a world affair, isn't she?

April 15, 2003

a few shoe tips learned

from my invaluable henhouse conversations with the ladies, for those who are mourning the demise of tootsi's buying this season: bergdorf's--4th floor and 6th floor mid-season sales, and sacco--a new discovery of mine--many a cute pair of well-constructed shoes under $200. could it be the new tootsi? we shall see.

April 12, 2003

by special request

from my two most loyal readers, z and dan, i must mention the colorful sash i wore to the U-M-Penn State football game this past Fall. now even though this has nothing to do with shoes or world events, perhaps we could construe it to be a, well, REGIONAL event. homecoming weekend in ann arbor is that significant. 106,000 football fans sit inside a very large stadium, after drinking plenty of belevedere vodka drinks in the blue lot and when Michigan wins, everyone goes crazy. it's very, midwestern and fun. not to mention all the fun people who came in from all over the land so we could do this all together and pretend we were 19 again.

so, over in wolverine country, i found myself in capri-length denim pants, my oxblood faux-cowboy boot from tootsi, a michigan t-shirt and the colorful sash mentioned above. now the colorful sash, i felt, added a certain needed flair to the outfit because it had that indispensable stripe of gold--one of the wolverine colors. never mind that it was a silk vintage piece from sixties with olive and drab stripes as well. i thought it looked quite dashing and apparently so did z and dan. i think it may have also contributed to the wolverine victory over penn state.

April 11, 2003

i have one word for spring:

tretorns.

April 10, 2003

obessed with sandals.

finding myself browsing the infinite varieties of jack rogers online, reminiscing about michigan summers of ralph lauren, pastel tretorns, laura ashley sailor dresses, my very first bikini -- a lovely pastel thing debuted on the beach on spring break in hilton head.

i am thinking it's all about color this season. color bodes optimism in many ways and i think we are so overly geared and over the top receptive to spring this year on so many levels, both metaphorical and physical, that we'll see a lot of bright poppy reds, cool greens, cobalt blues. and sandals sandals sandals. i am going crazy for sandals. i am thinking the aqua-lime combination. or fuschia-white? hmmm. subliminally trying to bring spring fever into the world by shopping for sandals. i think this is a very effective strategy.

April 7, 2003

and shoes

yes it's been confirmed by my fellow fashion friend and designer, meg, that tootsi is not living up to it's wonderful standards of stocking tons of costume and dries at under the $300 mark. always our nyc shoe hideout, we used to be able to go, stock up quickly and be done for the season, of course with a quick check back july 1 at the sale where we'd swoop back in for a few more pairs of sandals. well, i am now officially on the hunt for a new shoe standard. i will say i saw some cute styles at searle? of all places, but breadth and depth of selection was not as big as tootsi used to be. will keep you updated.

yes that is actually snow falling steadily here in new york

as i mentioned before, the winter here has been filled with snow and anxiety and this wonderful little extension of winter is acting as a sensory reminder that i don't think any of us are happy to see. TRYing to feel the coziness of it all, but am really feeling like getting on jet blue to miami right now.

April 2, 2003

ON MARTHA STEWART

so even though martha stewart's board expressed their displeasure by reducing her bonus (of course it didn't really matter in light of the $2.5 million she gets paid by the company so they can use her home for photo shoots every year) i have to say, the woman still wows me with her marketing and merchnadising savvy. everytime i pass kmart on astor place, i just have to have a quick look at the gardening department (though i have no garden anywhere in my tenement apartment) and go have a peek upstairs to see what she is giving in the home section. and even though the people who unpack her inventory on the floor inevitably mess up her product placement, that good old martha savvy still shines through. the pleasing light mint and buttery yellow colors, the elegant shapes of her tableware, the super cheap 200 thread count all cotton sheets (shh! that's a secret!). you can just sigh and pretend for a moment you too, are in westport connecticut and your home is perfectly neat and shabby chic. don't we just love aspirational merchandising? there is nothing moe pleasing than opening my cupboards to coordinated martha yellow flower shelf lining and soft yellow dishes. antique style water glasses and of course, my martha marigold walls!