For a mag hag like me, anything that has editorial content and some nice pics is a goer. I hoard the COS, Matches and Harvey Nichols Edit magazines as if they’re collectors editions of Vogue and can’t wait for b Store’s new b Magazine to launch during LFW. Since the latest My-Wardrobe Style Guide arrived two weeks ago it hasn’t left my desk. Not only is it packed with a breakdown of the new-season buys but there are pages of style advice from fashion editors and mini Q&As with emerging designers. Oh and a brilliant ‘how I’d wear it’ feature by the always-inspiring Katie from What Katie Wore.
Interestingly, My-Wardrobe’s Saran Curran revealed to me that she often has to justify the cost of producing the Style Guide to her investors as they don’t always see its benefit. Yet for an online store to produce a printed publication makes perfect business sense to me as it serves as a tangiable reminder of the brand as well as offering genuine shopping advice – and no small amount of encouragement.
“When we look at the next generation of clients – even when I look at my own teenaged sons – we can see that we need to sell our merchandise online to introduce them to our brand and get them into our stores, where we can develop a personal relationship with them.” Wise words from Larry Rosen, CEO and chairman of Canada’s Harry Rosen Inc.
When I was working in India on the launch of a new magazine, Salvatore Ferragamo was one of the international brands that kept pinging up on my radar – their spring-summer shoes were breathtaking and Ferragamo is quite big in India. On my return I proceeded to forget about them, until today. While on my round of appointments calling in for a forthcoming shoot, I came across these purple patent hotties and once home I (naturally) tried them on. Heaven! They have a slightly curved cone heel and a demi platform, yet don’t come under the ‘statement shoe’ umbrella because somehow they retain all their elegance and wearability, maybe because the uppers and ankle straps make them quite delicate. Ferragamo’s Vara bow pumps are already in the thick of a revival, with the baby sister version Varina (the flat one) now a cult hit with New York Gossip Girl wannabes and Japanese O-nee-kei girls alike.
My interest piqued, I decided to have a pootle and see what Ebay has to offer. Sadly, the beauties I’d lusted after on a weekly basis while in India were nowhere to be seen (but you can see a few here), however there were lots of affordable Varas including these AAAA ones (Ferragamos are known for being ultra-comfortable, due to their varied width fittings and going up to a more generous-than-average UK size 9), plus some sweet lace-ups from the quaintly-named Grecia’s Graciously Used Shoes. Of course, back in the day, Salvatore Ferragamo was as hot a name as Louboutin is now, after all he did invent the wedge… And in the ’30s and ’40s when the war made it difficult to obtain leather for shoes, he stitched together corks from wine bottles to make cork wedges. An eco early-adopter – who knew! This year is the 80th anniversary of Ferragamo and it’s all change at the house. Cristina Ortiz has taken up the baton as head designer following Graeme Black’s departure so I’m keeping a close eye on proceedings. In the meantime, I’m also keeping a close eye on these lovelies. All in the name of research you understand.
