3 December, 2025

Random Recs: ‘Unplugging’, Soshiotsuki x Zara, Spud shoes, TURN Paris and more

Zara x Aaron Levine

A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ Unplug me. I’m never sure if these anti-digital ’trends’ are real or if I’m just seeing them in my echo chamber because I want them to be. Nevertheless, Vogue Business has intel to back up its claim that unplugging ‘has become luxury’s most valuable currency’, reporting that The Global Wellness Summit’s The Future of Wellness trend report named ‘analogue wellness’ as its top trend for 2025. It also reports that 67% of Americans long for the “pre-plugged-in” era, while 79% of US Gen Zs actively aspire to interact more in the physical world. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Beauty, Books, Brands, Business of fashion, Design, Designers, News, Online shopping, Retail concepts, Technology, Trends Aaron Levine, collabs, Glow Recipe, Loewe, Marie Marot, Nike, Nina Christen, Random Recs, shoes, Soshiotsuki, technology, The Row, trends, Turn, vintage, Zara

2 November, 2025

Shop the post: short skirt, flat shoe

Celine ss26

On the back of summer’s big shorts revival I’m anticipating an equally enthusiastic short skirt comeback. It chimes with the tennis-core vibe of the last two summers, as we got more comfortable with getting our legs out and teaming tennis-adjacent skirts with low profile Keds, Supergas, sneakerinas and jazz shoe silhouettes*. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Design, Designers, Fashion shows, Shopping, Trends Celine, Michael Rider, shoes, shopping, SS26, Toteme, trends

20 December, 2024

On my radar: opera pumps

Roy Halston and Andre Leon Talley in opera pumps

This photo of Roy Halston and Andre Leon Talley (above) appeared on my Pinterest and got me thinking about opera pumps.

WTF are opera pumps? Quite simply a Regency-era formal men’s slipper previously adorned with a buckle, now with a flat grosgrain bow (below). The opera pump is traditionally worn with black tie, accompanied by black sheer silk socks (and sock suspenders!). The classic variety popularised by the Edwardians is made from black patent leather, although since the 1950s highly polished calfskin has also been an option. How is an opera pump different to a ballet pump? To me, it has a slightly slimmer profile, a more solid heel, is cut higher on the vamp and finished with a grosgrain bow. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 1 Comment Design, Shopping, Trends Andre Leon Talley, Fran Lebowitz, Jalil Johnson, Ralph Lauren, Roy halston, shoes, shopping, trends

29 September, 2023

The wrong shoe

Gucci SS24 show

What’s the deal with fugly shoes? I thought they were a post-ironic anomaly, but no, the aesthetically displeasing Uggs, Crocs and Bottega-style Puddle boots are clearly sticking around.

Back in the day, a Margiela Tabi boot was seriously avant-garde and the perfect foil to your minimalist Lang/Demeulemeester/Sander little black suit. Now it’s a whole sub-franchise netting hefty sales for loyal retailers.

The #NewGucci SS24 show led by Sabato De Sarno garnered mixed reactions (more…)