What I spent my birthday money on.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Shoe Porn
When I was still working as a web designer, I was using my office as a safehouse for all my shoes but when I quit to serve a 3 year stint at a slave house i.e university, I had to move the shoes back into my house and my mom made me swear not to buy another pair of shoes. Well I tried, mother. I tried hard for 5 months, ignoring shoe sales and got drunk on vanilla coke. Honestly it wasn’t difficult because all the shoes that piqued my interest busted my sad student allowance and everything else that was affordable wasn’t up to my standards - I’m talking about Rubi shoes here.
I HATEEEE RUBI SHOES. Their flats have the most unflattering cut I have ever seen on a $20 pair of shoes and they’re everywhere. I blame it on Rubi’s scheming habit of producing a single design in every color, finish and pattern known to man. It gets a bit blinding when you see a wall filled with flats made in multiple hues so I’m not surprised nobody seems to notice that Rubi flats were clearly inspired by bedroom slippers (I mean how else can you explain the icky cut?) Before anyone labels me a brand whore, I’ll have you know all my flats don’t go beyond the $30 mark (Nadz can attest to that, she goes shoe shopping with me all the time) It’s possible to get a pair of nice flats for under $30 but Rubi is not the place; it’s a haven for money making vultures who have little or no regard for shoe design.
Cold Hard Evidence 1: My new glitter flats from Australian label Zu! I noticed that a lot of flats here are incredibly expensive - a basic pair of flats can set you back $80. That’s just crazy, no way in heck am I going to spend that much on something I’d probably throw out in a year. Finally after a 5 month search for cheap but nice flats, I found these on sale at an outlet store for $30 - they were marked down from $70 (WTF $70!).
Cold Hard Evidence 2: Forest green flats from Zu! $20 and the last pair in my size WHUTTT UPPP! This goes to show you’d eventually find something you like if you go digging around long enough lol.
Tony Bianco is another Australian shoe label known for it’s high street fash shoes. They’re expensive though, a pair of shoes from my man Tony here can cost up to $300. But since I want to be as cheap ass as I can get with pretty shoes, the shoes were a no go for me until I found a Tony Bianco outlet store near my apartment WHOO! +1 for the shoe whores of the world! Can you believe I only discovered this store 5 months after I moved to Melbourne?…I need to get out more.
I got really excited in the store and picked out 3 pairs of heels I liked but I couldn’t make up my mind so I posted all of them on twitter and asked for everyone’s opinion (That was fun guys, I should do that more often lol) So that’s when I scored my fake Ron Ron Louboutins for $60! It’s a bit hard to capture its color in photos but it’s a stunning shimmery deep blue. It’s 4.5 inches tall with a 0.5 inch platform at the front.
I swear I only wanted to get one pair of heels. My mind was focused and my conscience was clear: I was going to get out of the store with ONE pair of shoes and I did. However unbeknownst to me, the shoe whore that lay dormant in me for months was slowly waking; I couldn’t stop thinking about another pair of heels and it was making my head hurt. Aaron came back home from his holiday the next day, checked my tweets and tore me apart on msn for not buying them erk. I consider myself very lucky to have 2 male BFFs who can be brutally honest with me and tell me straight in the face that I screwed up somewhere lol.
So say hello to my pretend JIL SANDERS! Urgh I think I love this slightly more than my fake Louboutins lol. I love the slighty narrowed chunky heel and it’s black which is always classsyyy.
Before I end this entry, allow me to humor you with my photography skillz and share 2 shots I took yesterday. It’s winter now so most of the trees in my area are standing silent and undisturbed in their nakedness. This particular tree I saw yesterday still had some flowers blooming which is a rare sight. I have no idea what tree this is and my momma didn’t send me here to study botany so let’s just call it a blossom tree ;D
Aah, my favourite shot! I took it just before dusk which explains the lovely warm tint you see at the top.
I have exactly 2 weeks left before a new semester starts holy crap. That’s a little unsettling but I can’t wait to get started on my new subjects. The faster this semester goes by, the faster I can fly back home! The holidays have been quite uneventful so far- I made gyozas last night because we had some leftover cabbage wilting slowly in our veggie basket and I was bored. I wanted to take photos but it was too dark to take any decent shots. Gyozas are really easy to make though: chopped up cabbage, minced chicken, prawns, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, a splash of soy and you’re on your way to goodness. I feel like making another batch to freeze just before school starts (yay for quickie lunches!) so I’ll put up the recipe sometime! ;D
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Tags: shoes: flats, shoes: heels
29 Responses to “What I spent my birthday money on.”
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Dejiki Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:14 pm“When I was still working as a web designer, I was using my office as a safehouse for all my shoes…”
LOL. I remember the PILES of boxes you had there!
Um, naturally I have nothing to talk about shoes except that you’re gonna look hot wearin’ them, honey. XD
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rinaz Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:30 pmOooohhh so pretty! The shoes AND the flowers!
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mynakedlunch Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:35 pmI looooooove both the heels! If you ever want to throw them out, I want them! :p Hahahaha
ilyana's reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:30 pmLOL I don’t think I’ll ever throw them out hun, unless they’re really uncomfortable. Anyway, if you’re the same size as me, I could loan them to you for events lol - I’m a size 8!
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Black is the New Black Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:48 pmlovely! I especially like the patent platforms and suede shoes
ilyana's reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:34 pmThank you! I really like the suede shoes too, they’re my faves so far
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aaron Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:52 pmNOW WHERE WOULD CHU BE WITHOUT ME IN YO LIFE HUH (well u’d prolly get more sleep for a start LOL) anyway wooo nice shoes bb (cept u know how i feel about green but let’s not go there) and those are two particularly stunning shots *____*
ilyana's reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:55 pmHEY HOMEBOI! It’s so rare to see you comment lol but I love it when you do so thank you <33
BB I could NEVER imagine a life without chu and I’m not about to start. Dude srsly what is up with you and green lol but THANKS BB! Imma make u proud and WERQ IT MOVE THEM SHOES CRAZY!Anddd thanks again! My back almost broke taking those shots because I was standing under the tree and shooting upwards <3 <3 <3
cheawen's reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 7:15 pmHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH!!!
*chokes halfway KOFF*
super funny the way you both talk!!!
*continues HAHAHAHAHH!!!*
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Catherine Says:
July 13th, 2010 at 3:34 pmHAWT!!!
Dude. I totally know what you mean. I’ve been looking for some nice flats I can walk in and I’m in the $90 price range. Which is just totally ridiculous. ;_;
ilyana's reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 4:12 pmThanks Cat <33
IKR! It’s crazy - is it really that hard to make flats anyway? I won’t mind paying that sort of money for a pair of great heels because surely heels are more complicated to make but there’s no reason to charge such extreme prices for a pair of flats!
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Lin Says:
July 14th, 2010 at 10:17 amhello! (:
this post really spoke to me, haha. cos i am looking for good affordable flats and i hate those found at rubi. i totally agree about the unflattering cut and all.
but congrats on finding all those beautiful flats (the shoe not the house (: ) i love forest green! and the glitter! to die for! im still searching for my perfect pair but im sure fate will bring us together, haha (:
ilyana's reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 4:17 pmHey Lin!
I like the flats from Far East Plaza…unfortunately I can’t tell you the exact shop because I usually get mine from various shops but you could check out the basement floor?
Thank you, they were a really lucky find! I just chanced upon them when I was exploring a new area in Melbourne I’ve never been to with a friend
I’m sure you’ll find yours - keep digging!Anddd thank you so much for commenting! See, it’s not that hard no? ;D
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AtelierGal Says:
July 14th, 2010 at 1:19 pmI feel less like a woman, not being interested in shoes
ilyana's reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 4:27 pmLol don’t worry about it! It def doesn’t make u any less of a woman!
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StoryBookDreamer Says:
July 15th, 2010 at 2:30 pmNice(;
My favorite is the glitterly flats. Awesome!<3
Haha, and beautiful pictures of the flowers. I would make a (semi wild) guess and call them “plum blossoms”. Or was it peach…? It was either something that started with a ‘p’ or something that’s purple. Haha
ilyana's reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 6:45 pmI love the glittery ones too, I haven’t worn them out yet tho - they’re too precious as of now. Maybe when school starts again.
LOL peach blossoms would be a cute name
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Blair Says:
July 15th, 2010 at 9:57 pmOoooh, you are indeed a shoe fiend!
OMG, such bargains! Keep up the good work! ;D –> terribly Asian of me, but we can never resist good bargains/finds yes?
ilyana's reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 6:44 pmYes I am! And I should really stop but I can’t help myself :/
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[z:six] Says:
July 15th, 2010 at 11:25 pmThe forest green is such a pretty shade!
I must admit I had been a Rubi fan, what with their cute gingham and stripes pattern that seemed oh too irresistible for me. I’ve since stopped heading there for shoe fix though, coz firstly, their soles suck, secondly, what’s with the cutting, and thirdly, they never seem to have a good pair in my size. And so, I’m just sticking to FEP for my flats
ilyana's reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 6:25 pmThank you Z!
Anyway ok I must admit I have bought flats from Rubi’s before and they just don’t last at all! FEP is def. the best place for flats, I miss it so much! ;_;
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iqa Says:
July 16th, 2010 at 11:14 pmheluu. ok im a stranger but i recently started reading your blog and im in love with it!
ilyana's reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 6:23 pmHi Iqa! Thank you so much for reading + commenting, I’m happy you like my entries! I checked out your blog too and I <3 it!
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tea noir » Blog Archive » Gyoza! Says:
July 17th, 2010 at 6:16 pm[...] into a boredom induced fit. It’s not that hard because once you’ve blown your money on 4 pairs of shoes in a span of 6 days, you don’t really have much of a choice, do you [...]
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Strawberry Cube Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 9:35 amOhmygod HEELS! <3 I want the shimmery blue ones so baaaaad. ‘cept maybe in a shimmery dark grey since I don’t really know what to pair with blue shoes, haha. XD;
All those shoes are really cute though!
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yishui Says:
August 8th, 2010 at 10:15 pmi loooove your pretend jil sanders, sooo lovely and I totally believed they were real JS when I read “Jil Sander” before the rest of the sentence (my mind tends to do that with fashion names :P)
Also, it’s WINTER?!!!!!! what? I thought it’s summer in Singapore… You do have awesome photography skills though
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borniilove Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 3:11 amI came across your blog on random surfing & Gosh! I got to admit I love the way you photograph your photos. They are so creative!
July 12th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Awww hi bb!! <3 <3 <3 Thank you for commenting, see I knew mentioning you in this entry would lead you here lol.
Those were good times man, remember I had at least 2 new boxes every month? Damn, I miss my salary lol.
Thank you
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