Hello, High Low ! ... and Slithery Toes

My Apologies to any visitors who wish to comment, especially anyone from Patti's Visible Monday: Our ISP is only semi-functional in much of the US at the time of this writing.  I can make your comments appear on my blog, but replies from me are not possible and while I can look at some of your blogs, my comments won't send.   It's complicated, or so my ISP wishes me to believe.  I'll stop by as usual the minute things return to normal.
Thanks for your patience!
(Now picture me pulling my hair out in fistfuls and screaming to no effect at my laptop ...)

I now return you to my normally scheduled nonsense ...


Recent reports from various sources have declared the high-low hem length DOA or nearly so. I'm seeing something different, and it's more an evolution than a demise.

I regularly prowl JCP when on the hunt for a particular item, and this time I was looking for a skirt of some kind to work with a turquoise peplum. And there it was, an adorable mirror print of tropical florals, and on a mannequin paired with the very same peplum that I sought to complement.

And although it's not shown on the photo above, you can see the slight and graceful dip in the back hem of the skirt below:

( ... and a closer look at the wonderful mirror print!)

I know a lot of elegantly mature women who have issues with 
very high-very low iterations.  But with this skirt, the Bisou Bisou brand seems to have a finger on our collective pulse, and have given us a little subtlety. Which is, of course, a defining quality of women who have lived long enough to be secure in our tastes.

The pattern is not particularly subtle, though. It's decidedly summery and tropical and bold. And the pattern mirrors itself to make a flattering print on a slim white skirt in a way that feels very modern. A big, bright pattern that flatters the bottom-half is not always easy to find, but I love the way it looks and it's a thrill for me when that happens.

So happy now!  The hunt is over and I'm purring.

Another Topic: Slithery Toes

Speaking of happiness and things summery, I've recently promised you my other favorite summer survival tip. So ... here it is: make yourself some cork shoe liners!

A discussion of sweaty feet is not a glamorous topic, I know. But half the problem with wearing any shoe (besides a flip-flop style sandal) in the summertime is that, as your foot perspires, it can slip deeper than usual into the toe-box of the shoe and make your ordinarily comfortable pumps or flats very painful to wear. Crunched and wet toes means blisters.  And when your food slides toward the toe, you can get blisters in the heel area because your shoe no longer fits properly! Worse yet (if it can get any worse) ... any strappy sandal can be especially painful when your toes slide into thin straps, which can start feeling like piano wire cutting into your delicate tootsies.  There are a lot of those skinny-toe-banded sandals are around this season, and if you think you can't wear them, read on.  I may have a solution for you.

My problem with this inelegant phenomenon began when we all abandoned pantyhose. Here in the High-Humitiy-Hell that is the southern United States, I found my feet slipping and sliding around because, as thin as pantyhose had been, they had helped absorb moisture and gave a little traction for the foot. While trying on some delicately strapped sandals at Dillard's department store, a very savvy saleswoman listened to me complain about the slithery foot phenomenon. She went to the stock room and brought me a pair of very thin cork insoles, just the size of the toe-box of a shoe. I put them in the shoes, and voilà, no more slithery foot.

I started trying every kind of anti-slip pad on the market. No one that I can find makes just an unpadded cork insole, or toe-sole, if you will.  The padded kind are often so thick that they affect the fit of the shoe. Dillard's just receives the cork insoles once in a while from their wholesale vendors. (If anyone knows where you can get them, let me know please!)

So I just went to the hobby store, got some *very thin cork and made some, using one of the too-thick pads as a pattern. The cork is absorbent and adds just enough grip to stop the foot from sliding forward. They usually last a few wearings, and can be rinsed and dried to reuse. I make a few dozen pairs at a time, and always have some handy. A side benefit is that you deposit less moisture into the shoe, and that can't help but prolong the life of your shoes, as well as cutting down on less-than-pleasant odors.

It may be that your delicate feet don't perspire. Well, just bless your little-ol' heart, as we say down here. But for the rest of us, I  recommend giving this a try!

*Important: do NOT use the cork with an adhesive backing. Terrible results.

I'm going over to the Lacy and Lovely Patti's Visible Monday .