Senso Shoes S/S12

Senso's vibrant and colourful range of shoes, and in particular wedges, has again been brought to my attention thanks to a helpful little email from Solestruck. They picked eight lucky bloggers from around the world to show off the new Summer/ Spring range for 2012 and see just how they styled them. A few of the names were familiar to me, such as Vintage Virgin and Mode Junkie but the international and Non-English speaking websites were also a delight to look over. It will be a while till I'm in the need for colourful wedges and sandal platforms with the imminent approach of Winter in my neck of the woods, but I always welcome sights of fun and energy-filled photographs. Each of the ladies did a wonderful job and gave me a little more inspiration to push myself towards becoming picked for the chance to style my own photographs and work harder on my own blog.

What I love about this project is that from the same collection there was such variety amongst the tones of the photographs- from the washed out to the vignettes and stark colours. Little Black List was one of my favourite entries for the collaboration opportunity- the combination of statement block heel wedges and a vintage bicycle seems dysfunctional but so much fun. Primary colours dominated the frame from foreground to background and I love the girly lifting of the leg. While I've never seen someone try and ride a bike while wearing heels of any sort, it almost makes me wish that I had, were it not for the fact there's a dangerous breach of common sense as far as safety as occurred. In an ideal world, people would be graceful and coordinated and have no need for helmets but we live in the real world where accidents happen and posing for the camera will have to do.

 

One of the more distinct designs among the range include Senso's fantastic block heel wedges, showcasing the wooden soles of these bad boys wrapped in pink straps of sheer delight, but what more closely resembles some sort of rubber. While some may be tricked into thinking of entrapment and confining, all I see is the two materials weaving in and out of each other and the elements of designed balanced perfectly together. It's a little strange that I don't feel the pink is strangling the material, but there's something just so wonderful and creative about the heels I can't pinpoint a negative notion about them. On another note, nothing fails to excite me more than a design I haven't yet seen before and that is unique and one of a kind. For that reason I love a blend between vintage and high end fashion labels that achieve runway success with a blend of obscurity but when I find something within my own price range that I adore, that sends a shiver up my spine.

What I like about the shape of wedges is how they force your legs to conform to a certain shape in order to hold yourself up-while the shoes seem sort of ditzy and cute the taught muscles in the legs create this wonderful contrast between something feminine worn by a strong woman. As well as a killer pair of wedges shown here, the skirt is so sweet and the structure of soft pleats is alluring too as well as the stark contrast of colours. Camera flashes I find, can be horribly unpredictable and make skin tones uneven- but maybe that's just all a fantasy that lives in my head or rather it's a nightmare.

It seems almost a crime to leave such a lovely pair of shoes feeling so lonely on an asphalt road- if it were up to me I'd be sure to put them to good use and would relish the challenge of wearing them appropriately. I have a Rodarte X Target leopard dress with tags waiting in my closet and I think with the careful application of some bindis for my forehead and some chain crown headbands and body harnesses, I think I could nicely be an Amazon warrior... If not there's always my Jelly Beans sandals in pink with lacey socks and a prison rosary I could wear with the dress. Senso shoes look nice, but I don't think I'll be getting myself a pair anytime soon- my Jeffrey Campbell Emma Lita Boots will be coming in the mail sometime next week!

Leopard print can be either be just the right amount of daring or a total disaster which causes me to wince with pain- now if someone were to initially pitch to me the combination of fluorescent green and leopard print together, I dare say I'd be cautious at best. I see now that some of the best things in life dance dangerously on that borderline between daringly courageous and tacky. I absolutely love the imagination of these Senso wedges with bright green lace and detail along the wedge- tribal patterns re birthed in modern, Western colour schemes are a cheap thrill I love to spy on when online shopping. The Senso website is no exception to that either- the last time I checked, their banner head was an African American girl with short fuzzy hair in white and bright blue. Needless to say, the sight was one that blew my mind at the time.

Cali Vintage wore a silk printed cat dress from Leah Goren, whom you can find on Etsy. Just an interesting aside to note, the designer also makes chic scarves named Picasso featuring white cats on a pink and navy scarf and screen prints of bears and fungi. The combination of silhouette cats heads and a vintage leopard jacket makes me ache for my own order from Leah Goren to come to life, as well as seek out warm coats to protect myself from another bitter Winter chill. The choice of black and white editing with a palm tree in the background seems like an odd choice, but I like the shy and lonely atmosphere of it all. It reminds me of melancholic Red Hot Chilli Peppers tunes such as 'Under the Bridge' and 'Scar Tissue'.

 

With my continual stalking of Cambridge Satchel Company satchels on eBay in their many wonderful colours, fluorescent shades have been hard to ignore within the last few months of fashion blogging. If the Agnes Senso shoes from the S/S12 range are anything like their bright and colourful counterparts of carry-ons, then they could look well with even the most neutral of outfits. It would be wonderful to see some companion images of models styled in outfits wearing the shoes and more than just the side profile, but with my reliance on Asos for clothes at the moment I am getting spoilt for choice as far as images and motion is concerned. After all, it's not often many shoe stores will dare to photograph their product on models; not when the customer has yet to try on the shoe and really develop a taste and feel for both colour and design of the piece.

 

It may surprise you to know that despite an obvious affinity for grey ad muter colours, I also have a soft spot for sparkly pink pieces. Spying these beauties on the Senso website easily made them my favourite shoes of the entire collection and are also conspiratorially named after one of my favourite British models. Agnes may not be the same as Agynes Deyn, but the two are closely related to create vivid pictures of peroxide blond hair and ghostly graceful thin-limbs. The wedges themselves are the perfect party shoe and sure to get anyone's attention on the dance floor; a matching outfit isn't necessary either. In fact for pieces as special as this, I think wearing them with a variety of clothes is a wonderful idea to promote creative growth and imagination as far as getting dressed is concerned. The sparkly rainbow sheen of pink colours reminds me a lot of a certain shade of Sally Hansen nail stickers I bought in America for a long holiday in sunny California; I must have Coachella envy on the brain at the moment (who honestly doesn't?).

 

Digital prints and  printed patterns on silk have been on my mind on and off again for a while- it's not often I take to a pair of sandals in such a way but I think the unusual way in which they wrap around the foot and the security of cloth in footwear is enough to coax me into bearing my skin. Simple black riding pants from American Apparel or faux leather skin-tight pants and a comfy jumper would be my ideal way to wear these shoes. Too bad I'm missing out on the blogging opportunity to show off my own style with Solestruck in collaboration with Senso. It is possible that with more and more outfit posts I will at last gain firm notoriety amongst the fashion online community here in my own country. Till then, I have nothing but praise for the hard work of all six of the wonderful and lucky girls that they do on their websites.

 

It's still too cold to even contemplate wearing such a chic pair of sandals in my neck of the woods, but I've become fond of wearing hand-made socks in an amazing variety of colours as well as textured tights. Straw-like rope round around the heels of sandal wedges hasn't always been a trend I've easily identified with, but there's something about the combination of cool colours and the thick knots of material that really appeal to me. I love the exploration of the one theme continually throughout this Summer/ Spring collection for Senso- an element of warmer weather is clearly visible but there are versatile shoes that can be worn day or night and will still look great.

 

I certainly loved the amount of variation on these wedge sandals; wedges I find offer a lot more stability when having to traipse up and down in the city or markets or maybe even festivals. I've been on a recent shopping rampage, I've bought two pairs of shoes within the last two weeks to the tune of $150 in total, but it may be a while before I get my hands on anything from Senso. At the rate I'm going, I'll be behind on the newest shoe releases by some few months and left to try and set my own trends. While that seems to have worked in my favour throughout high school, I have yet to contribute any worthwhile trend to campus life. Maybe sporting seasonal pieces from another region will gain notoriety amongst those commuters on my trains and bus lines.

 

Paint-splattered vintage designs have had the character of youth and exuberance about them, but never have I seen them be worn with a chic trend aura about them until now. The angular cut of the heel and slope of the wedge, as well as the thick straps of suede and patterned material adds a little flavour to what would be an otherwise boring shoe. Purple is one of my favourite colours and having a small taste of what Senso are capable of when working with the colour has got my yearning for my variety and more shades. While outrageous and nose-bleed inducing heels are always fun to play with and enjoy to wear, for events where I'm not so confident of my own stride and don't need the extra height, I think this sweet little heels are a nice compromise.

 

Art was never my best subject (despite my love for illustrations and colour), but I can appreciate the clashing colour combinations and vivid contrast that adorn the thick straps of this pair of heels. When worn with a dress in the style of cubism and eye-catching hair, you could easily outdo any other girl at a fashion event, this year's Melbourne fashion week was trumped by a girl with half pink and blue hair and a Deadly Ponies Mr Lure. If I had a spare hundred dollars floating around that is not intended for my future travel fund I'd love to get my hands on either pair of paint splattered heels. The thick, chunky heel has such a sculptural shape about it- for someone who doesn't often wear heels it's a relief to see something functional as well as artistic and creative to wear on one's feet.

 

It's been a while since I 've even considered tie -dye to be an appealing texture and printed pattern in fashion- but at the same time I've been utterly obsessed with wooden heels and platform boots as of late. A fondness of most things Japanese (excluding the culinary) has lead me to adore kimonos, obi, kokeshi dolls and traditional sandals. This is the perfect marriage of those two loves: my adolescent admiration of tie-dye and the dream-like assurance of seeing clouds in an aeroplane. As an unconscious habit I tend to avoid blue when I can; every single school uniform I have ever worn has been one shade of blue or another. However, I can't say that I have any blue shoes in my wardrobe and that Senso would be a lovely way to break this particular colour drought. They'd certainly be a challenge to wear with any outfit, but I think as I practice the art of layering exuberantly I could comfortably rise to any challenge represented in the form of clothing or accessories.

Congratulations and thank you to Senso and their six chosen bloggers for showing off such a wonderful variety of shoes and every participants own individual style. I love discovering more muses to follow and enrich my own experience when it comes to clothing and fashion and this tidy little email from Solestruck gave me the motivation to finally write about the Summer/ Spring releases for 2012. Their websites have given me a little more inspiration towards the layout of blogs and something to consider as far as updating my own layout and scheme is concerned. I ended up following AlicePoint as well as Little Black List and the last few images are of the banners sent out to the Solestruck subscription list.

The imaginative use of props as well as derelict places as backdrop for their posts has me itching to try and catch up on my own proposed outfits and self-timer photo taking. Hopefully the break from University will mark a change in me to finally see some bands I've admired for years, catch up on my tributes to outfits and blogging and become a little more regular as far as posts are concerned, You can be sure to see more suggested blogs to follow by others and reasons why I admire them as well.

Calla Fall 2012

Calla, the fashion label created by designer Calla Haynes was full of mesmerising prints and colour when it made its splash on to the New York fashion scene, showcasing the Fall 2012 collection on February 10th. The whole collection was a feast for the eyes which featured digital prints of magnified and blown-up images marble in pink and purple strewn across classically designed pieces with body-conscious silhouettes. It's hard to believe that the Fall 2012 collection is the second of Calla considering there is maturity about the way the collection was presented and also a strong presence for fashion identity and referring back to the inspiration of the collection. The Fall 2012 collection from Calla takes inspiration from an imaginary woman who works as an interior designer which led to the key prints of the collection originating from wood grain and granite digitally altered and magnified which results in fantastically imaginative prints. As of late I have been utterly obsessed with digital prints and wonderful eccentric colours so I was immediately drawn to the towards the Calla collection like a bookworm to an ancient library.

Calla seems to have refined her tailoring techniques and for the Fall collection created a dense tweed with French house Malhia Kent which has given rise to some stunning patterned coats and matching bottoms. It's the ability to create warm and comfortable clothing in preparation for chillier weather without having compromised the core principles and aesthetic designs of the collection that has me most impressed. Some Autumn/ Winter collections focus on the design of their pieces and fail to deliver something that is pleasing to look at, but the Calla collection is absolutely brimming with eye-popping prints that will warm up even the most critical hearts of fashion bloggers.

Always the sucker for amazing and eccentric printed pants and matching jackets, it's ensembles like this that make me passionate to write about and shamelessly promote up and coming fashion labels. The flecks of black on a white background remind me so much of a finely sprinkled coat of a harlequin Great Dane and it's this process of digitally printing patterns on to clothes that makes me so thankful to be young in the twenty-first century. It gives me great pleasure and joy in watching all these developments with the printing and materials in the fashion world. The striking black and white printed coats and their matching pants and shorts are cleverly contrasted with different shades of blue from the collar and cuffs of the blouse underneath as well as the sweet rounded toe ballet shoes of the Calla collection. I suppose it's that sweetness that earned this young brand the title of "the Lindsey Wixson of up-and-coming designer brands: Cute as a button and sweet as pie, but check out that body."

Geometric patterns and clever chic designs have never been combined with as much artistic flair as they have for this Calla collection. This coat is something special when worn with the coloured and marble patterned dress in purple and the look of thick black lines is only heightened by the bangs of the model- something I hope was a conscious decision in order to bring out the best of this coat. The print is something more rare and eccentric than houndstooth but still uses the classic contrast of white and black, this clever coat in dense tweed is just another wardrobe staple you'll be clamouring to own in Winter and something that may even become your new best friend to make a fashionable statement.

Boldly structured pieces are largely reserved for Haute Couture fashion shows, so it's only natural that Ready-to-Wear combines the best of relaxed and casual design but with spectacular patterns and colours. Take this relaxed button shirt dress with gathered waist as a classic example of the playful nature of contemporary designers taking advantage of photographic prints. The dress shown above is a predominant peach colour, originally taken from digitally altered granite with flecks of blue strewn across it but the theatrical nature of the dress is really brought out with a good pair of matching tights. Such a small aspect of the presentation for this entire collection is the hosiery worn with each dress and the different moods they create from changing the overall look of the dress. I have a feeling that eclectic fashion bloggers that love to layer up in an eccentric fashion will adore the Calla 2012 Fall collection.

Classic silhouette design as well as a imaginative print all of its own making; it's dresses like this that warm my heart and make me glad the fashion industry is as competitive as it is diverse. I'm most comfortable in dresses of this structure with a relaxed sleeves and a cinched waist; they can be easily accommodate an evening coat and look amazing when dressed up with suitable evening accessories. I haven't yet tried to track down any prices for the dresses but I already know I won't be in the market for an evening dress for a while, not while there's a travel opportunity on the horizon. It's a shame really, there's many promising designs and wild dresses I would love to metaphorically sink my teeth into.

As more and more designers crop up on the New York fashion scene it's no wonder some of the frock designs are evolving and becoming more edgy. I have high praise for the sharp lines of this dress as well as the two speckled patterns used; the bodice and unusual tulip skirt have a sweeter and more light-hearted pink and blue tinge amongst the effect of tie-dye black bursts but the grey sleeves and high neck firmly emphasise this dress is a part of an Autumn/ Winter collection. The dress above has the vague structure of a ballerina's dress but also elements of a dark and chequered past as well as mystery evoked by the dishevelled look of the model. Perhaps it's a little too daring for someone as meek as myself to wear but I must admit that I do like the theatrics of the parted tulip skirt, the black insert in between as well as the two different lengths of hemline for this darling dress.

As of late I have been trawling through the department store racks for good duffel coats and coats for the Winter season but there hasn't been anything as wonderfully stylish as this Calla coat in dark blue. The different shades created by the speckled effect is something that I automatically respond to since that's partly why I want to colour a part of my hair a wild colour- the shadow and light bouncing off it makes it interesting. Fortunately this lovely coat already includes many different shades in the blue spectrum for someone to admire and when worn with simple grey tights I think the overall effect is quite powerful. Maybe since I'm in the market to add a little more blue to my wardrobe I should be scanning Net-a-Porter for any interesting developments...