N-N-N-N-Nineties

Take That were reunited with Robbie, Whitney Houston is touring again, even INXS are back in the charts thanks to some slick sampling on the brilliant Professor Green's 'I Need You Tonight', and Snow's 'Informer' can be heard blasting from the trendiest hairdressers and bars (but this time the kids actually think it's cool). While 80's trends still linger, the 90's revival is now in full swing my friends, but how far should you take it this time round if you've already been there, done that and got the scrunchie?

Marc Jacobs' classic 90's grunge looks are always an easy winner - plaid mixed with military and a trusty pair of doc martens (try the 50th anniversary ltd edition 8 hole boots with pebble finish in the original black or cherry red colourways - £110) or luxed up with some tough looking heels - think Givenchy's ruched black leather wedge sandals (£925),Alexander Wang's peep toe 'Frejal' army boots (£470), or Alexander McQueen khaki canvas fold over boots (£650) - for cheaper high street versions try Urban Outfitters, Kurt Geiger and Aldo. Accessorise with a well scotchguarded slouchy leather handbag - a Jerome Dreyfuss messenger is PERFECT - add can of Batiste, then you're set for the festival season. Just make sure your combats are the skinny versions that Zara and Miss Selfridge are doing so well at the moment unless you want to look like one of All Saints.

Trickier to pull off is bodycon but if you want to unleash your inner En Vogue leave the spendy Herve Leger bandage dresses to Cheryl Cole and grab one of these TopShop versions for a fraction of the price. Similarly, pay a visit to American Apparel for all your body con and other 80s/90s wardrobe needs - you can always spunk the difference on a pair of the ultimate Louboutin's - black patent Pigalles (£375) - to complete the look.

Hammer Pants aka Hareem Trousers are all over the shop(s) and even if you remember the originals, don't think that this is a look - uh - you can't touch (sorry...). As a general rule, just go for more muted shades, structured fabrics and steer clear of anything shiny unless they're cropped, worn with heels and you've got the legs and confidence to carry it off, after all, no one wants their memory lane mutton moment ending up tagged on Facebook. These Picasso trousers, £120 from Reiss, are a more grown up way to work this trend and, as you'd expect, TopShop is all over this one with plenty of versions to choose from, whilst this £90 French Connection Hareem jumpsuit is a chic alternative.

The fashion mag fav trends for double denim and fringing (not necessarily together) doesn't have to mean looking like Tiffany or one of Wilson Phillips. For a nod to fringing try one of these great handbags or the Minnetonka Tramper Tassle ankle boots (£80 from Office) which look at lot better on. Check out how double denim was done at William Rast for a grown up approach - if you're wearing a denim jacket with jeans that are the same shade, do it up and break the monotony with a hint of t-shirt/shirt poking out in the middle or, if you're wearing a fitted denim shirt, throw a contrasting blazer over it. For a more relaxed feel, wear a pale denim overshirt as a jacket (like this oversized one from Whistles, £75) over eg. a breton top with skinnys/jeggings in a darker shade of denim or wear with a denim playsuit like this acid wash one from TopShop (£35). Check out Primark for some super cute, cheapo pale denim bow hair accessories too.

Also on a denim tip, I've been eyeing up Dexy's style cropped dungarees in Uniqlo recently (£29.99) and secretly I'm also a little bit in love with these stars and stripes denim cut offs from Top Shop (£32) that are reminiscent of quiff-era Vanilla Ice, or something Dannii Minogue would have worn for a Smash Hits story about her breaking America, back when she had a round face. While we're looking back, top of my reminisce wish list would be for Naf Naf to release an archive collection featuring their fab cotton jumpsuits with the mulitcoloured jigsaw/dice patterns on (anyone got a pic??). I was never a fan of their puffa jackets and suede varsity style bombers but the blogosphere tells me a lot of you are so if anyone at Naf Naf is listening... In the meantime, I found this brilliant US company, Stewart & Strauss, where you can design your own varsity/baseball jackets - they ship internationally and have a sale on until Sunday 9th May. I wonder if they could make me look as cool as Salt n Pepa...

I fear a line must be drawn before we start getting into the realms of reversible duvet jumpers, baggy and britpop. So, let's hold the bandanas, the tie dye hoodies and the Wallabees, but if anyone knows where I can get my hot little hands on a pair of these Travel Fox high tops that Neneh Cherry and the model girl who mimed for Black Box used to wear, PLEASE get in touch...!

Pump It - De-IY Shoes

16 year old American blogger Blair Fowler aka otherjuicystar07 from Charlotte, NC, caused an internet shoe frenzy on Monday by posting this video on her YouTube channel about an Australian site, ShoesofPrey. The shoe boutique, which allows users to create their own shoes from a range of customisable templates, including heels, ballet flats, wedges and gladiator sandals, had sent Blair a free pair of their shoes as part of a PR campaign to promote the brand via select blogs. Blair then posted the short video which encouraged other YouTubers to design their own shoes and post videos of the results. As a result, Blair's video got in excess of 450,000 views with ShoesofPrey, a relative newcomer to the eCommerce market having been set up in October 2009, receiving over 200,000 visits in one day alone. Not many of these hits translated into sales as Blair's teen market is probably still waiting for their parents' permission to spend up to £180 on a pair of shoes, however, it did generate a massive amount of awareness for the company, once again demonstrating the power of social media in brand marketing. I was tempted to have a go myself and it really is a fun little site, kind of like a grown up Fashion Wheel for shoes. The prices are pretty reasonable (£115 for ballet flats, £150 for 1.5-3.5 inch heels and £180 for heels up to 4.5 inches) and there's a great selection of styles, heel heights and widths, colourways and fabrics to choose from- including calfskin, python, fishskin, silk and patent leather with vegan leather to follow later this year. The site can cater for special width requirements and you can even send in a photo of your feet to help make sure your shoes fit perfectly, however, if they don't, as long as you send them back within 30 days in an unworn condition, then you can get a full refund, including the postage (£15 for worldwide on all orders) - you just have to pay to send them back again. These would make a great present for the girl who has everything and, handily enough, gift certificates are available.

If you like the idea of designing your own footwear but are looking for something a bit more urban, in addition to the NikeID studio and MiAdidas where you can book in or go online to design your own trainers, try comparatively new kids on the shoe block, the Kings of Neon. These guys will produce anything from one off's to short runs (great for new bands, sports teams and clubs, promo events and stag do's) onto plimsolls (plain or with a rubber toe cap), Vans Authentics or Chukkas or Converse Oxs or High Tops. Prices run from around £29.99 to £64.99 for adult one offs and gift vouchers are also available. The site was ranked as one of FHM's top 100 places to shop online and you can get designing for kids, mens and women's shoes at their new site http://www.solecreator.com/.

Trainer Spotting

A long time ago I found that, despite my love of high heels, my flat feet and dodgy knees weren't as keen so I turned to trainers. I'm not talking about the ugly, practical kind you wear to the gym, I mean the quickstrike, tier 0, limited edition, prized finds you scour the world, or at least eBay, for then wear like a badge of honour.

Adi Dassler is my homeboy, Jeremy Scott my wingman and I worship at the altar of the goddess Nike. It's a whole other world... I'm not a collector -my kicks are strictly to be worn and appreciated - but for anyone who's thinking of getting involved, these sites are a great start: Hypebeast, Sneaker Freaker, Kicks On Fire, High Snobiety, and oki-ni.

Whilst big fashion labels' sportswear has been incredibly successful, their own trainer lines have often been the stuff of sockless eurotrash nightmares (Prada's much copied mens hybrid trainer-shoes being a notable exception) but no more. Now everyone's at it, they're putting the effort in and they're even making it luxe.

Collaborating with one of the sportswear titans is a surefire way to grab yourself some market share and create buzz shoes that sell out almost before they drop but some of the international fashion houses are bypassing these well established megacorps and going DIY.

Check out Christian Louboutin (who's rumoured to be dropping a shoe collaboration with hip hop producer Swizz Beats later this year) for gorgeous 'Louis' studded hi tops in white and black (pictured right) which come with the signature red sole; Dior Homme, Raf Simons and Givenchy indulge in some light bondage for S/S 2010 while Viktor & Rolf and Maison Martin Margiela keep it clean with almost clinical minimalism.

Louis Vuitton has also put together its' own more wearable range of kicks for s/s 20010 inspired by the Kanye West x Louis Vuitton 2009 designs, some of which looked a lot like a spendy, luxury version of his Nike Air Yeezys.

For the ladies, Jimmy Choo has announced its first ever trainer range which launches in spring 2010. View the collection here and join the wait list by emailing: trainers@jimmychoo.com. They're pretty sexy and the star eyelet detailing is a nice touch but at £325-£395 although these will be better for your feet - and your back - than their trademark 10cm stillies, clearly your bank balance may not escape so lightly.

Elsewhere, fashion giants like Gucci and Lanvin have been teaming up with smaller, more street smart brands before putting trainers out eponymously. The Lanvin x Acne ranges are simple and fresh, while the Mark Ronson x Gucci sneaker range, which scored a success in 2009 with its' colourful, preppy shoes, continues with more muted 'English' designs (which aren't immediately obviously trainers) for 2010 (these are London exclusives scheduled to arrive instore in April).

The sports big boys are still fighting their fashion corner despite of this 'influxe' of competition; Nike's recent collaboration with Beatrix Ong (pictured right) made the Harvey Nichols' 4th floor Hub sneaker wall. adidas' 2010 fashion offerings come from animal lover Stella McCartney whose relaxed, easy to wear sports shoes are all vegan [insert your own Heather Mills quip here], there's the quirky, limited releases for the german label's Originals line from Rihanna's favourite, Jeremy Scott , and the Y-3 range by avant garde Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. Puma's Creative Director, the influential fashion designer Hussein Chalayan has another 'urban mobility' range out for 2010 in addition to Puma's premium Black Label and further collaborations with other cutting edge designers inc. Alexander McQueen and Yasuhiro Mihara. Reebok also warrants a mention having recently secured a deal with Emporio Armani to produce their EA7 athletic line.

While the sports brand collaborations carry much more reasonable price tags than their high fashion counterparts, they are also, generally, more widely available - you're paying for the exclusivity as well as the premium quality and the name. So, whether you decide to kick it old school with the sports brands or nu skool with the fashion pretenders, whatever you do, remember to scotchguard.

Pics - top to bottom - part of my adidas collection (S/S 10 Jeremy Scott x adidas JS Wings shown), part of boyf's Nike collection, Louboutin 'Louis's, Jimmy Choo Tokyo's, Beatrix Ong custom Blazers for Nike.

Shoe Fly!

Last month I went to visit my BFF in North Carolina and I got a chance to do some shopping and found some great heels and shoes for spring! Check the Shoes section at iKonic on Etsy.











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Justine
iKonic Vintage