The Shoe Girl's Blog: Ok, ONE More Post Before I Go to Bed...

5.25.2008

Ok, ONE More Post Before I Go to Bed...

'cause you know I'm not posting tomorrow. I'll be too busy pigging out on BBQ.

So I got a question from an anonymous blog reader about how many pairs of shoes I own. So I decided to answer in a post.

anonymous said...

Just curious, how many pairs of shoes do you own?

I'm sure your collection surpasses mine by millions lol!

Ok, so my answer is that I'm not sure. The last time I counted was over a year ago and I was at about 200. I've moved since then and have a few (6-7) large boxes filled with shoes with fates waiting to be determined. Do I keep them? Do I give them to those who could give them a better life? Those who would love and appreciate them more than I could?

I'm thinking of selling them. Most of them anyway. I have too many, if there is such a thing. That picture up top is of my old shoe closet in my condo, before I was married. It was 300 sq ft. of shoes. I was no Imelda Marcos, but it was amazing. Now, there's a lot less room and it's time to make some sacrifices.

Anyway, when I decide to put them up I'll let you all have first dibs. I'm an 8 1/2, sometimes 9. I've got some goodies. ;)

7 comments:

d said...: beautiful, simply beautiful! that's heaven in a well organized wall unit, sigh.; May 26, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Laura said...: Dammit you wear a bigger size than me!; May 26, 2008 at 8:15 PM
chrissie said...: You're my inspiration! I'd love to have that many shoes some day. I'm at less than a quarter of your collection...

But now you've gotten my hopes up! I vote selling, out of completely selfish reasons! :D; May 27, 2008 at 9:15 AM
savvygal said...: I am with you. I actually turned one wall into a shoe closet but I keep everything in the box for additional stacking storage. I try to take a picture of the shoes to place on the front of the box so I know what is what.... same for purse. Works out really well....; May 27, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Benjamin (Husband) said...: I swear we are going to have to build an addition just for the shoes. what are we gonna do when we have babies?!

you know on our first date my wife made sure to set her hooks in me by coincidentally having to switch shoes before we went out. anybody who knows me knows that i am a sucker for a girl in 4"+ heels.

you truly are my perfect match & the love of my life.; May 27, 2008 at 12:01 PM
christie walker said...: Seriously i love that we wear the same size ;) If you need any shoes taken off your hands (feet) I would be help to you. Seriously hit me up asap.; May 27, 2008 at 9:50 PM
jessica said...: ooooh. i call dibs too!; June 5, 2008 at 2:11 AM

Bio (blah blah blah...)

So, a little about me and why I think I can call myself The Shoe Girl.

My name is Celine and I grew up in Huntington Beach, California. I like to joke that I was born in high heels, and although that's obviously not true, I was born with the love of shoes in my blood.
My father, a former professional soccer player, came to the US from Morocco in the 70's. He started off as a shoe salesmen and had a natural talent for it. He worked his way up and eventually co-founded a company called French Follies. They made cute little espadrilles and ballet inspired shoes. From there he went on to Guess and Charles David footwear, where he eventually became President of the company and brought it to its height of popularity in the late 80's.

I was so lucky to grow up around shoes. I was the only girl in the 8th grade wearing the kick ass ankle boots Guess was famous for... and remember those Guess jellies?? Yep. I had those too. And at a whopping hundred bucks a pair, let's just say I made a lot of new friends when I came to school in those! That's the first time I felt the power of a hot shoe.

In the 90's, my dad left Charles David/Guess Footwear to pursue a new venture... Bebe Footwear! It was his first shoe license, and it was super successful. Soon after he started his own line with his namesake, Joey O. Since then his company has held the exclusive licenses for L.A.M.B. Footwear, Harajuku Lovers footwear, Charles Jourdan footwear, Laundry by Shelly Segal footwear, Antik Denim footwear, Playboy footwear, Zinc foowear, Hale Bob footwear, Badgley Mischka footwear, Mark and James by B.M. footwear, Betsey Johnson footwear, Betseyville footwear, Jill Stuart footwear, JLO Footwear, and True Religion Footwear. Awesome, right!? :) did I type "footwear" enough?

So... like I said, shoes are in my blood! I realized this at an early age, when I would go into my mom's closet and pull out her shoes and clear off my book shelves, fill them with shoes, and put a sign up that said "Shoe Show". I didn't really know what it meant, other than that was where my dad was always flying off to. Shoe shows. I wanted to be a part of it!
I went to design school in Milan, Italy when I was 20. My professors at Ars Sutoria taught me all about making shoes, including sketching, pattern making, leather tanning, and lots of technical shoe stuff. It was intense.

From shoe school to designer! After graduating from my shoe program I went back home and started working as the assistant to the designer of my dad's company, Titan Industries. At the time, we were only making bebe and Joey O Footwear, and were about to go after our second license, JLO Footwear. I was a part of that project and I loved it! It was so exciting putting what I had learned to use. I was off to China and working my butt off. I was the assistant to our head designer for a little over a year when I got offered the job of taking over as the designer for Playboy. It wasn't anything I had ever thought I would do, but it was a chance to be my own designer! No more assisting!!! I took it! Then, a few months after accepting the position as designer for Playboy, I was offered another line; Zinc footwear! I took it!!! I loved working with Zinc. The clothing was cute and the shoes were much more "my style". Later still, I was given the job as designer of JLO footwear.

I launched the debut collection (and every collection thereafter) for Harajuku Lovers in August 2008, and in May of 2009 I took over as designer of Betsey Johnson footwear until Steve Madden bought out the company in October of 2010.

Currently I'm designing for Bebe footwear and just launched my own line, Cece L'amour, which I am very excited about.

I love my job! I get to work with shoes every day. It's my job to look at shoes in magazines, online, in stores, and on the streets. It's a dream job honestly, and I feel lucky every day. My obsession is my job... So cool!

So anyway, here I am. Here's my blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it so far. It's been fun for me and I hope that shows. :)

5.25.2008

Ok, ONE More Post Before I Go to Bed...

7 comments:

My Life in Heels