A Gallery of Shoes!!!

“I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot!”
Marilyn Monroe



LONDON - Tamara Drewe actress, Gemma Arterton was the envy of every girl, woman, shoe connoisseur last night as she oversaw the public launch of Selfridges' first ever shoe gallery and was given sole access to wander the cavernous trove of high-heeled treasures before the masses descended.



Created by renowned architect Jamie Fobert, shoe lovers can come visit, explore and indulge in the six unique shoe galleries, flanked by 11 beautiful boutiques featuring the world's most iconic shoe brands, and one hanging garden.

With 4,000 pairs of shoes on display at any one time, the new Selfridges shoe gallery houses in total a whopping 55,000 pairs from 150 brands, including 11 designer boutiques and stretches over 35,000 square feet. Every female's dream come true, the Selfridges’ new shoe hall is now officially open to the public!!

“I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty”
Imelda Marcos



To celebrate the public opening last night, a Balmain military jacket-clad Gemma Arterton oversaw a parade featuring the release of exploding shoe-printed balloons outside the store, while a plane flying a banner half the size of a football pitch above the store announced the shoe mecca OPEN.



Apartments dedicated to Prada, Fendi, Jimmy Choo and Coco Chanel are juxtaposed to the UGG chalet, designer rooms, Tod's Loft and an array of 150 high street brands, with River Island and All Saints both debuting specially created collections. To rest your soles, and credit card, the Aubaine restaurant is on hand opposite Gucci, to provide you with a place to eat and recuperate.

The perfect antidote to the end of London Fashion Week, I know where I'll be indulging in some retail therapy this weekend!!!



Explore for yourself - http://www.selfridges.com/en/StaticPage/SG-Explore/

Trawling the new shoe gallery this weekend? Why not also savour the catwalk-credentials of the Regent's Street festival on Sunday (26 September) with offers at surrounding stores and fashion shows in homage of LFW.

Closet Crisis

"You are not leaving the house dressed like that!"

How many of us can say we have heard this from our mother's lips at least once in our lives? I'm guessing most, if not all of us. However, what do you do when you no longer live under the confines of the parental roof and have to make important decisions on your own - like what to wear?



Throughout my working life I have come up against wardrobe restrictions - from the strictly 'black and white' protocol of a Joseph concession in Selfridges to the on-trend capsule wardrobe of working in publishing. Having struggled with my own fashion identity for years, finally settling into my 1980s-throwback ensembles of bodycon skirts, loud prints and leggings I have now arrived at a crossroads where I must disassociate my personal self from my work self.

Representing your company to not only the outside world but the seniority within, we are encumbered with the burdensome duty of maintaining a certain look for the majority of our lives.

It's difficult re-training ourselves to pick up garments in stores that we are not naturally drawn to. But now shopping must become a strategised plan as we navigate rails and online sites searching carefully for tops and skirts and dresses and shoes that will enable us to project the right impression.

Reeling from my latest 'wake-up call' to the fact that some of my style choices have not been well-received by my peers in the workplace, I realise that this situation reeks of the stand-offs I used to have with my mother when I wanted to wear something she didn't approve of. And it's forcing me to finally appreciate the method to her censorship of my fashion faux pas.

Ever my harshest critic, my mother has always bestowed upon me her most truthful opinions, advice and criticism. Not the type to shower unwarranted compliments I am by now used to her blunt honesty. Besides the fact that when she does pay me a compliment I know she means it. But without her acting as my stylistic compass, I'm afraid I am lost in a sea of bad wardrobe decisions that insist on coming back to haunt me time and time again.

So, if I am to follow the age-old adage that 'Mother knows best', I must gather the feedback that has been tactfully and, at times, unceremoniously thrust my way and use it to my advantage. Thankfully the fashion wheel of fortune has come back to rest on 1950s femininity, a la TV adland sensation Mad Men so finding modest, office-appropriate garb shouldn't be too tricky. I have already alighted upon a lovely knee-length black skirt for under £30 from River Island (www.riverisland.com) and a pair of black patent heels from Marks & Sparks for just £15 (www.marksandspencer.com). All I need now is to team it with a pretty blouse or shirt and my new look is complete!

I am sure that I will be faced by further closet crises in my future, either at work or for some other occasion where my personal taste doesn't quite fit the coutoure-criteria; I guess the best any of us can do is to imagine what our mothers might say before we step out of the house.