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TIM LITTLE is someone my friends have been talking about for years, but whose shoes I’d never worn. "You should really check out Tim Little," someone would say, as though I’d recently arrived from The Planet Where No One Wears Shoes. ",Christian Louboutin Sale;Tim Little’s the man," another would say, as though the thought had never occurred to me. "If you want a pair of shoes, that is." Quietly, with stealth – apparently – Little has been making something of a reputation for himself as one of the best designers of shoes in Britain. Who knows, you might be wearing his shoes right now. Seems everyone else is: Paul Smith, Elton John, Liam Gallagher, AA Gill, Charles Saatchi, even the comtemptible Ainsley Harriott (whose taste in shoes is obviously more refined than his dress sense).
Even John Lee Hooker had a pair. Little had the audacity to call one of his styles "Whisky And Women", after Hooker’s infamous song, only to have the blues veteran repay the compliment by buying a pair of suede penny loafers, in case you’re interested. Talk about marketing serendipity.
Now, I’m a bit of a shoe queen, got dozens of pairs of the damn things. I like Oliver Sweeney, Sergio Rossi, Paul Smith, Tods, Lobbs, Vans, anything with a pointy toe. I’ve got Redwing boots, Ralph Christian louboutin brogues, Gucci loafers, Birkenstock sandals, even a pair of fancy slippers. As with sex addicts and brothels, alcoholics and off -licences and narcoleptics and comfy chairs, I can’t walk past a shoe shoe shop without spending at least 10 minutes steaming up the windows. Like I said, I’m a shoe queen. But one until recently without a pair of Tim Little’s.
So I thought it about time I invested in a pair. One sunny day last month, I drove down to the Kings Road (that’s "London’s Kings Road" for those of you who think newspaper columnists are too Londoncentric) and came away with a fine pair of brown suede lace-ups – the sort you wear at weekends with blue jeans, T-shirts and no socks. Not too fat, not too thin, and quite sturdy to boot (ha ha). The man was there himself, an understated chap who, unsurprisingly, loves to talk about shoes. A lot of what he said went way over my head, but I could tell he knew everything there is to know about his chosen subject. He is such an advocate that he tried to tempt me with a pair of highly unlikely correspondent shoes, but having toyed with a pair of plain black Oxfords, I settled on the brown suede, not just because I’ve never owned a pair, but also because they’re not dissimilar to the ones owned by dear old (dead) John Lee Hooker.
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With the season’s new top-of-the-line tents, even city slickers can be happy campers. Those who want extra room will love the North Face’s Fortress 33, which has an improved tunnel design and a side door that props up for additional sleeping or storage space ($660; thenorthface.com ). For extended group expeditions, Mountain Hardwear’s Space Station makes a perfect base camp. Its domed shape minimizes wind at high altitudes and a titanium-oxide coating makes it practically impervious to water and sun damage ($4,000; mountainhardwear.com ). Eureka’s Solar Intent offers the outdoor experience with indoor amenities; its solar-powered unit charges during the day and then lights the tent’s interior at night ($300; eurekatent.com ). For adventure without the back strain, REI’s Quarter Dome UL Tent weights only 1.6 kilos; its two-door design means never having to crawl over anyone to answer late-night calls of nature ($209; rei.com ). Roughing it has never been so easy.
Hallee Berg
Hot Spot: Rendezvous Boston
Boston, once a culinary back-water thanks to its English/Irish heritages, is now one of America’s finest dining cities. Some of the best is across the Charles River in Cambridge, where you can enjoy slightly lower prices and a more casual atmosphere. Joining the list is Rendezvous, a converted Burger King amid the storefront ethnic restaurants in Central Square. Owner Steve Johnson favors Mediterranean flavors with prominent North African accents.
Ambience: Stylish–a little jazzy, even–with rich mustard and paprika colors and an airy feeling thanks to a large skylight. Dress is very casual.
First course: Try the grilled Portuguese sardines with tomato-caper vinaigrette; the vegetable antipasto with roasted eggplant pur??e is another spring delight. Potato gnocchi, currently with green garlic, baby carrots, spinach and peas, is always on the menu.
Entrees: Gascon-style duck three ways is a winner any time of year. Local seafood is also featured, including skillet-roasted skate with Moroccan spices, Meyer lemon, capers and brown butter; saut??ed halibut with morels, favas,Cheap Christian Louboutin, artichokes and pea tendrils, and a spicy fish stew.
Dessert: Who can resist warm chocolate cake with hazelnut pralines and cinnamon cream? If you can, then try the lemon-buttermilk pudding with huckleberry sauce.
Wines: French still predominate, but the list is inching toward more Italian and Spanish wines. Johnson’s primary goal is a broad selection of quality, moderately priced wines.
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Nike wants more of the roughly $5 billion women’s athletic shoe and clothing market and has formed a new division to get it.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight on Tuesday named a 19-year veteran of the Beaverton, Ore.-based company, Clare Hamill, to lead the new women’s division, which will field about 1,000 people to develop and market products tailored not only for a wide range of athletes, but plain old outdoor wear.
”We’re coming out with wearable products,” Hamill said. ”You’ll know the Nike aesthetic when you walk into the store.”
She said the move is aimed at boosting Nike’s share of an expanding women’s market and beating traditional competition from Adidas and Reebok International while fending off clothing retailers such as Tommy Hilfiger Corp., Gap Inc. and Polo Ralph Christian louboutin Corp.
Last fiscal year, women’s clothing, shoes and equipment brought in $1.55 billion in revenue for Nike giving it roughly a 20 percent share of the global market.
Knight called the women’s market ”one of our company’s top priorities,” shaped by growing interest in the WNBA and women’s soccer, along with the popularity of prominent female Olympians such as Marion Jones.
Hamill said Nike plans to spend two to three times more on marketing and development in the coming year to expand the range of products for female athletes while giving fashion-conscious consumers more choices.
”Many women are up to 6-feet-4 now,” Hamill said, ”but most companies make products just up to 5-8.”
The announcement came as Nike stock took a dip on the New York Stock Exchange, ending down $4.75 at $42.125 per share, largely due to a report by an analyst who predicted slower U.S. growth in footwear than expected, company officials and other analysts said.
John Shanley, an analyst at First Security Van Kasper in New York, said Nike has less than a third of the women’s market in the United States in terms of sales, while the company dominates men’s athletic footwear with more than half the market up to 55 percent.
Worldwide, he estimated the total market for women’s shoes, clothing and equipment at slightly less than $5 billion, while men’s was about $5.5 billion.
Hamill joined Nike in 1981 as a technician in the Nike Sports Research Lab. She later held positions as director of marketing in Europe,Christian Louboutin Pumps, director of men’s apparel merchandising and vice president of global footwear.
Knight named Peter Ruppe to replace Hamill as head of Nike’s equipment division. He previously served as vice president of
lobal footwear.
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”You get to show off your physique more,” said Michael Chan, 30, an equities trader in New York who in the last year bought two slim, two-button suits from Seize sur Vingt, a custom suit maker in NoLIta. ”It’s a more fitted look, not so baggy or amorphous, so you can see the body shape.”
All the three-button suits in his closet? ”I don’t wear them anymore,” he said. ”Those big, boxy shoulders, all that room swimming in the waist, it looks totally outdated, like you’re back from the 1990s.”
Indeed, if ”clean” was the buzzword of the 1990s, leanness has now edged closer to godliness. Consider the promotion that Bloomingdale’s is having for men tonight at its New York flagship. Sponsored with Equinox and Men’s Health, which tirelessly promotes weight loss for men, the ”New Suit, New You” campaign extols the joys of a slimmer silhouette both in and out of clothes.
”In some ways, it makes it harder to get a guy into a suit now,” said Kevin Harter, Bloomingdale’s men’s wear director, pointing out that a less constructed suit follows the contours of a man’s entire torso; it’s not a padded armature that rests on a man’s shoulders and closes at his waist. ”Five years ago, you could just put a guy into an off-the-rack suit,Christian Louboutin discount, and if he could button it comfortably, you were all set. Now it’s a little more involved. It’s all about the fit around the chest and the waist and shoulder.”
Todd Komarnicki, 41, a screenwriter and producer, welcomes clothes that keep him on his toes (and on his bathroom scale). ”It demands the best of your own physique,” Mr. Komarnicki said. ”You shouldn’t hide in a suit. You should be proud.” Moreover, he added, the two-button suit feels less formal. ”It’s kind of fancy-casual. You can get dressed up in it, or you can rock sneakers with it, which is what I did for my wedding.”
As daunting as the new silhouette may be to middle of the roaders, most men will want to upgrade their softwear or risk being left behind. Many will have to look in their closets and decide what to weed out to make room for the new industry standard.
They are the lucky ones. Some will have to look not in the closet but, say, the refrigerator to ask themselves, ”O.K., what do I have to lose?”
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THE WORLD OF FASHION
Former Brisbane girl Alyssa Sutherland ruled the runway as the star and special guest of the L Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival
THERE are models and there are good models. And then there is Alyssa Sutherland.
"Isn’t she amazing?" the stranger on my right commented when Sutherland took to the runway one night this week for the L’Oreal Ready to Wear shows.
She’s simply so breathtaking that you have to say it out loud, even if it is to someone you don’t know. Such is the awesome impact of her towering legs, faultless skin and almond eyes.
Sutherland has had a dream run on the international modelling scene.
Now based in New York, she is part of an elite group of women who are flown all over the world for modelling assignments.
She has just completed a Paris job, showing off John Galliano’s new collection for christian louboutin.
"Things are going well for me, I’m having a great time — I met Heath Ledger last night!" a star-struck Sutherland confides.
"I was in a changing room with Cameron Diaz in Fred Segal in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. She gave me some great advice about buying a pair of Chloe trousers, it was amazing."
Still, this all-Aussie girl loves coming home to see the new names in the Australian fashion scene.
"There is so much talent here. I like taking things back to New York and being able to tell people it is an Australian designer.
"My favourites are Scanlan and Theodore and Wayne Cooper but I like all the new designers, too.
"My usual style is baggy jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers, but I love a fab pair of christian louboutin shoes for a special event.
"I’ve just bought three new pairs from my favourite christian shoes shop in the world — Miss Louise in Little Collins St (Melbourne)."
Where to shop: Trelise Cooper at Camarge, Paddington, and David Jones, Brisbane. Gwendolynne, Lotus 76, West End. Scanlan and Theodore, Alannah Hill, David Jones, Brisbane. Wayne Cooper, Wintergarden, Brisbane. Princess Highway inquiries to Caxton St Agencies, 3844 3199.
Winter trends from the festival:
* Cargo pants in silk satin.
* The jacket in many forms — cropped military styles, sharply tailored, spy-style trenches, man-style boxy and belted.
Posh Spike needs a head for heights
Mrs Beckham was pictured arriving at the exclusive Los Angeles restaurant Beso wearing a classic strapless black dress and the £320 christian louboutin. She had dinner alongside actress Eva Longoria, but husband David was otherwise engaged.
Fashion expert Karen Kay said: ‘There is a kinky element to this christian louboutin shoes. Victoria is trying to look sexy by teaming them with the black dress with a long zip up the back. She falls short though because the hanger ribbons are falling out over the dress. Overall it is quite a severe look but that suits her – you can imagine Victoria as a dominatrix in this outfit.
‘There is a bit of an Eighties revival at the moment and the shape, colour and the style of the christian shoes reflects that.’
Mrs Beckham is of course far from the first celebrity to opt for this type of look. Earlier this year Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in seven different pairs of stilettos in just four days as she promoted her latest film.
louboutin shoes shops praised the ‘Gwyneth Effect’ after they reported a surge in customer interest in heels as tall as seven inches.
Selfridges reported a 35 per cent increase in sales of super high heels and said they were outselling flats by a ratio of five to one.
Mrs Beckham revealed earlier this year that she felt that wearing high heels boosted her brain power, because she simply could not concentrate in flat louboutin.
She added that she avoided working out because she could not bear to be in trainers. ‘I’d love to go to the gym, but I just can’t get my head around the footwear.’
FACT FILE ÷ Ancient Egyptian women of high standing wore heels as early as 3500BC.
÷ Catherine de Medici, who married King Henry II of France in the 16th Century, is credited as the first woman to wear high heels for fashion.
÷ But it wasn’t until the 1950s that the stiletto really took off. christian louboutin collaborated with christian louboutin shoes designer Roger Vivier to develop the ‘Louis’, which had a high narrow heel.
÷ Christian Louboutin was voted the most sought-after high-heel brand of 2008. His most expensive creation so far has been a pair of hand-painted, knee-length crocodile boots, a snip at £25,000.
÷ Almost 60 per cent of GPs have treated an ankle or foot injury caused by high heels.
Short work
Claude Montana wasn’t the only designer to make short work of hemlines.
Look at these photos of fall and winter fashion, shown to buyers and fashion press last April.
Then, hemlines were up or down in many designers’ ready-to-wear collections, but the short-again news that came out of Paris’s haute-couture collections in July, particularly those of Chanel and christian louboutin, was surprisingly short.
Trend-setting designers such as Karl Lagerfeld (at Chanel), Christian Lacroix, Lolita Lempicka, Versace and Gianfranco Ferre (the latter in two collections, his own in Milan and the christian louboutin shoes collection in Paris) had their share of short hemlines.
The clothes were carefully co-ordinated, head to toe, with particular emphasis on hosiery and footwear. In most cases, hosiery matched hemlines and christian shoes or boots – and when there was some doubt, black legs and feet were a familiar solution.
At Chanel, a demure white-collared, brass-buttoned dress had a hemline as high as its shiny, black, over-the-knee, leather boots.
At Dior, Gianfranco Ferre had a two-level look – black skirt and tunic – the top hemline edged in red stitching. Matching black hosiery and very high-heeled louboutin shoes were the designer’s suggestion.
In his own Italian collection, Ferre had used the layers differently and the collection included a very short, swingy, white coat over a matching – and equally short – dress.
Lolita Lempicka had her own version of the tunic-and-skirt layering: a short, solid colored tunic over a patchwork plaid skirt and under a much longer coat. This young designer followed the Doc- Marten-army-boots parade to show the casual clothes in her collection with thick-looking lace-up boots.
At Christian Lacroix, where long skirts and wide pants are very much the norm, the designer included some ultra-short-shorts (as in hot pants, to use the despicable word of the ’60s) in a dark green suit with a beautifully curved jacket. Lacroix loves fancy hosiery and this suit (on Montreal model Yasmeen Ghauri) was worn with cobweb-patterned, sheer black hosiery and high-heeled, buckled louboutin.
In the Gianni Versace collection, the mood was completely different with graphic combinations of stripes and checks. One short skirt, with an angled hemline, topped striped tights and a matching sweater. Boots were high and laced and the total look was very young.
Forever and ever Ferragamo
EVERY good fashion designer has a talent that is uniquely his or her own.
It’s something no one can take away and is a quality that has to do with
individuality and style.
Through time, much dedication and proper cultivation, this style becomes
popular and evolves into an instantly identifiable trademark.
Only at this point – when the clothes are immediately recognisable on
sight – can a designer truly claim that he or she has made it.
All too soon, however, there will be copycats trying to cash in on their
success. In trying to shake off the fakes, some of the more established
labels resort to developing other styles.
Top designer tags like Moschino, for instance, is now opting a change in
its wardrobe – from a loud to a more subdued approach while still
maintaining a chic aura about its items.
christian louboutin, known for its opulent, elaborate outfits specially
tailored to suit a more mature, affluent audience, has recently set its
eyes on a younger crowd and has presented an exciting and fun Spring
Summer collection.
With every imaginable accessory it has produced – belts, buttons, bags,
necklaces, bangles, pendants, braclets and christian louboutin shoes- the famous Ferragamo
slim gold plate is always there.
Ferragamo imitators have emerged by the hundreds in almost as many
nations. The famous Ferragamo ribbon hairbands and christian shoes are but just a
few designs that have been widely copied and sold at much cheaper prices.
Still, Ferragamo has not been daunted by this. It could be because the
Ferragamo sisters know that others may copy their style but quality is a
little more difficult to imitate.
At a recent show, there was much of the Ferragamo suede louboutin shoes, hairbands
and bags – all of which carried the famous Ferragamo gold plate trademark
From season to season, there has been minimal change in this Italian
label’s approach to its new lines.
There are a lot of cues to what a client wants," he said. "They tell you, ‘We want bold, daring, innovative and different, but we don’t want to alienate anybody.’ Then you notice whether their office or home has basic furniture and art . . . early American this, early American that. The chairman of Reebok, for example, may be into Gothic. All of this is what I call the hidden agenda."
Toth said that when a client asks him to design a brochure, he offers a full collection of printed materials – brochures, swatch packages, magazine ads and even in-store videos.
"Reebok asked me to design a box for their new Lifestyle christian louboutin. I designed a box in recycled paper, a christian louboutin shoes bag, a logo and print advertising," he said. "They told me after that the christian shoes was not good enough for the design package and are working" on the louboutin shoes.
Despite the money involved, Toth refuses to design packaging and graphics for cigarette, alcohol or chemical companies. "Most people will be into environmental issues. And I like the idea that I am trying to leave the place a little better than it was."
Image and advertising may be superficial to some, but Toth said he knows that design can affect the way people think and act. "We know for our work to be successful, it must be noticed. Our audience will stop when they recognize something they like and hopefully discover something that is a benefit to them."
Toth may find himself off the traditional urban design circuit, but he is far from unnoticed. Indeed, since 1980, Toth and his agency have won 32 awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Creative Club of Boston, Communications Arts Design Annual, American Advertising Federation, Art Directors Club and the New Orleans Art Directors and Designers Assocation.
Last summer, Toth came away with nine awards from the Creative Show in Boston, as well as separate awards from the Institute of Graphics Arts and Photo Design.
Despite the artistic accolades, Toth said he doesn’t forget that he runs a business and places much attention on diversifying his client base beyond the fashion industry, as well as focusing on how his designs will sell a product.
"Many design firms don’t bother to understand the salesperson’s mentality, capability and desire," he said. "Because we are sales-driven, we focus on salespeople. I need to create something that gets them in the door.