Review: Insolia Inserts

Saving Feet

How women wear shoes that hurt them is beyond me, really. I actually like my feet a lot and take care of them, not only with pedicures, but by wearing the least amount of heel and always choosing the most comfortable shoes. Not glamorous, I know, but I do not want pain or deformed feet in my old age... and neither should you, I may add.

It's physics, really

Put your x-ray vision on your shoes in high heels and imagine the slope. The variables are:

1. Heel height related to shoe size. What may not be so high for a size 7UK (9US) may be sky-high for a 4.5UK (7US). Just think about the slope the heel creates.
2. Placement of the heel. The further back the heel seats, the worse, as your feet will be pitched forward and all the weight will fall on the balls of your feet. A correct placement of the heel, just in line with your gravity centre, will provide ankle stability. Good shoes usually
3. The form of the front part, if it lets your toes expand or not is also key (if your toes expand, there is more surface to stand on and viceversa).

So... why use them?

• Enhanced buttocks.
• Longer legs.
• Contracted gams.
• Looking taller.

Anthropologists will tell you that the whole change in your stance and the very way the muscles along your back, buttocks and legs change with heels is sexually attractive, plus all the cultural images around high heels. Feminists will tell you that over-the-top heels are a modern day version of bound feet for Western women perpetrated by themselves. Doctors, for their part, will tell you that the constant use of heels will eventually lead to back problems and all sorts of pain in your feet, and there are studies that prove it.
Fashion has gone crazy in this respect. I remember reading an article about young shoe designers, and that they all answered, as people in a trance, that the higher the heel, the better, like there was only that world view. I would say that is one kind of fundamentalism indeed.  If you need to be carried by your assistants to a runway show (like a well-known fashion editor had to a couple of years ago), there is something wrong going on.

And yet, we use them... let's do it in moderation and with some aid, then.

Map of Pressure by Caroline Grant. I think this is a correct representation of the kind of pressures going on on your feet when wearing flat, high-heeled, and high-heeled plus Insolia inserts shoes. They do not perform miracles, though, so if you can barely stand in a pair of shoes, these will not remedy that.

Insolia Inserts

Insolias (as I call them) are really effective and the best shoe "accessory" I have ever had, and I have tried many... They do shift your weight back to the heel and away from the balls of your feet by a cushion-like insert that provides arch support. The only caveat is "learning" to use them, but really worth the time for doing so, and you will probably want them in all your high-heel shoes once you have mastered the placement on the sole. My advice is to invest some time reading the instructions VERY carefully (they are short, but you still need not to speed-read them) and placing them correctly. You will know when you have done so because you will stop noticing they are there.
I found this review on Amazon really good and detailed. The reviewer says they do work if you place them right, but that the liner is really difficult to peel off (they have since added tabs to the plastic liner, though). Another reviewer, who is actually Brian Hughes, an engineer from the company, explains in another review why they work (and how) or not.

Insolia Insert Information According to Them by Caroline Grant. It is right, in my opinion.

There are no affiliated links in this post.

Spanx Review: High-Waisted Tight-End Tights

Spanx Ladies by Caroline Grant featuring Spanx tights in Black, Emerald Glow, Craisin and Bittersweet.

Description

These are completely opaque, medium thick tights (I would say around 50-60 DEN*). They mostly stay put just were they are supposed two: below the bust line. My personal technique is to pull them up slightly over that line so they slide slide a bit down and then place the bra on top, and they do stay there. I use my own underwear beneath them. As you keep using them, they tend to stretch and they tend to slide, so I have added bra straps to them.
They look good quality and they are. A pair of black ones will last you two autumn/winter seasons of continuous use, and even after that time they are more likely to peel (ever so slightly) than to run down, so there's no need to carry a spare with you (something I recommend in general). They are also very flattering, as they create a smooth, uninterrumpted line under your dress or skirt+blouse. I do not recommend them with trousers, though, they give you uni-bottom. They flatten stomach and thighs slightly, and they keep you warm in winter. What else can one ask from tights?
If you are wondering about going to the restroom with these, they have an opening between the legs that is easy to use, so you don't have to pull them down and then up every time you need to visit it. 

Sizing

Sizing goes from A to G, and I find them true to size. I'm a 5ft4"/1.62cm tall woman whose weight has oscillated between 58 and 68Kg/127 and 150 pounds. At my slimmest, I go with size A, and at my not-so-slim, with a size B, which is a bit long for me at the torso, but I manage perfectly.
You may find it hard to get in them the first two times and even sweat a bit doing so, but it's worth it.

Colour Range

It varies from the US to Europe. There are four basic colours: black, navy, brown and gray. In Europe you can also have green, purple and maroon. Specifically:

1. black: really black. Great.
2. bittersweet: not really coffee-coloured but more like dusty dark brown. OK.
3. charcoal: not at all, but a darkish brownish gray. A pity, I wanted charcoal.
4. nightcap navy: very deep navy. Satisfying.
5. emerald glow: not at all, rather a dark matte pine green going to spruce. Pretty nonetheless.
6. amethyst: a light plum colour. Pretty.
7. craisin: a darkish maroon. Pretty.

All the colours are wearable any season, not just when coloured tights are especially fashionable. They are matte and even a bit muted... perfectly grown up.


*DEN or "denier" express the thickness of the material: the lower the number, the finer the material. Sheer pantyhose would typically be 10 or 15 DEN, medium coverage 30 or 40 DEN, and thick ones would go over 70 DEN. Denier does NOT imply whether the pantyhose is opaque or shiny.

Nail and Lip Love: Tom Ford Collection

I don't know if you have noticed, but I have been featuring Tom Ford's lipsticks and nail lacquers for quite a while in my sets. It all started with one classic, Black Orchid, a true 1920s vamp colour, and a limited edition that also included a compact. The reviews are more like raves about this collection, and I have to agree. I'm quite simply in love with the shades, they are so rich that I actually feel like biting them, and with the packaging, that is sleek and elegant, something you wouldn't mind taking out of your handbag in public.

Tom Ford Lip and Nail Colour by Caroline Grant.

Costume Jewellery: Égotique

As usual, I'm in search of the unusual in accessories. I found a pair of their earrings in Polyvore and went looking for more, in case they also made interesting bracelets, necklaces and rings. Turns out the rings were not what I expected, but there was plenty of the rest.
Égotique is a new brand of jewellery (created in 2013, as far as I can see) created by two young women entrepreneurs: Clizia Monaca, and Martina Raspanti, which is perfect for the lover of geometric shapes. If you are, you are going to adore how they mix triangles, squares, and circles, creating tons of interesting combinations.
They use high-end acrylic resins, and lead-free brass that is subject to a variety plating and galvanizing baths (24kt gold and ruthenium, certified nickel free and hypoallergenic), to create a long lasting product. Their packaging is designed to be used daily, which is great, because storage of costume jewellery is always cumbersome.
In their words, they create for the woman who is " a woman who is confident, feminine, and aware". Well, a romantic she is not, but rather quite tough! I have created some sets featuring them, and will be adding more in the future, because I do like them!
See if it's your style.

Égotique by Caroline Grant.

COS: Love for H&M's light side

I was in Copenhagen on Saturday and went into COS and was very impressed by the design and the quality of the pieces. If I were 5ft8", slim and athletic, this would definitely be my style.
Behind COS is H&M, and let's say for now that COS is "H&M's light side": good tailoring as opposed to mostly bad one, mostly good materials as opposed to the tyranny of polyester. Unfortunately, they have very few shops in which you have a look at their garments, but if you live in a capital city, you may get lucky. For instance, there are only two shops in Sweden and two in Denmark, which is surprising, as every other ten shops in these countries seems to be an H&M, but there are four in Spain!
The items are not easy to work with on Polyvore, what with the hanger in there and its being pretty impossible to cut them with the editor, but I still loved some of the pieces I saw, so I have tried to make some sets anyway, belonging to the Urban Woman style. I'll add more sets to the collection as I create them.

COS Collection by Caroline Grant.

Strover: Great comfortable shoes

This is my favourite Spanish shoe brand after Hispanitas. They make, season after season, incredibly comfortable suede and leather shoes, with very stylish menswear details. Their Oxfords and Derbys are incredible, so every year I buy a few pairs.
The have recently made their website completely and I will be able to use their shoes in my sets, so that's good news for me!

Strover Shoes by Caroline Grant.I have made a selection of what I know are the best, most comfortable Strover models. Their website is in Spanish (www.strover.es), but that's what translate.google.com is for!

Chie Mihara - Shoe Designer

Philosophy

In Chie Mihara's own words, she doesn't sell shoes, she wants to transfer an emotion, and try to make her shoes "really fun, really feminine", so when women look at them they say "I have to have them". And she is right.
For her, comfort and design are married together, not 50%-50%, but 100%-100%, that is why she has borrowed many elements from menswear shoes (we know gentlemen notoriously refuse not being comfortable... why not women?), that's why her shoes offer anatomic support and the fitting process is so important for her.

Chie Mihara's Shoes by Caroline Grant. Her collection includes a lot of mid-heels which are, in her own words, a challenge to create. This is very true, especially when you consider what most designers have been doing for a decade now: insanely high heels, an obsession that has led a reknown fashion editor to be carried to a show by her bodyguards because she couldn't walk in her shoes. While I can very well celebrate the Cleopatra-esque lifestyle some women are enjoying nowadays. I do think 4-6" high-heeled shoes are really the easy way out for many designers, as there is no thought paid (or money invested) in fitting and construction for comfort.

After the break: inspiration and creative process, and some sets!!

Desigual: A Review

Pros and Cons

Cons:

1. Desigual's relation between price and quality is debatable: dresses and t-shirts in inexpensive cottons and cotton-poly blends,  handbags made of artificial materials, scarves made of polyester... In consequence, most of their garments don't look expensive. 
2. They sell so many units of each garment that you will see yourself coming and going in every major city of Europe. Their style is pretty much consistent, so next season's variation of, for example, your T-shirt, will still be very much like your own.
3. Their prints are usually huge, so they are not the best option for petite or average height people.
4. Sizes run small, so it may be better to go up a size when you order something.

Entra casi desnudo... by Caroline Grant. Although the materials in this coat are far from exceptional (Outer: 50% viscose, 50% polyester; Lining: 100% acetate), and the brand's name is embroidered on the back (across the shoulders), there is no denying the wow factor it provides. [Style: On the Go].

Desigual La Solista Coat / Dolce & Gabbana Denim Skirt / Plein Sud Jeanius Turtleneck Top / Pieces Totally Royal Leather Travel Handbag / Esska Yoga Shoes / Juliet & Company Retro Color Earrings / Estée Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Pure Red / NARS Nail Lacquer in Dovima.

Pros:

1. Desigual's designs are fun, and they certainly go well with a relaxed, bohemian style that enjoys original prints.
2. Some pieces are exceptional, like their coats (not coincidentally, one of their most expensive garments), which do look great. 

My advice

• Don't pay full price for a Desigual item, wait for a sale and get at least a 30% discount.
• Don't wear more than one of their items at the same time, and mix thoroughly with your own garments and accessories.

... Sal vestido by Caroline Grant. A bit of a colourful print with shiny accents makes a cheerful mid-season outfit for all Body types that like wearing skirts. A pair of dark blue or purple tights matching the hem of the skirt or the blue of the shoes is my recommendation to make the line of the leg the longest possible. [Colour combinations: Winter palette and Light Springs. Style: Urban Woman]

Desigual Babiche Skirt / Miss Sixty Hot Mari Denim Jacket / Witchery Rolled Cuff V-Neck Top / Burberry Blaze Metallic Python Handbag / WInches K Velvet Bootie Shoes / Wallis Purple Faceted Shapes Necklace / Tilo Ruffled Scarf / NARS Lipstick in Funny Face / NARS Nail Lacquer in Schiap.

The Desigual Brand

Desigual is one of those brands that are instantly recognizable and copied down the fashion chain ladder. This Spanish brand was created in Barcelona in the 1980s, a decade that meant freedom, democracy, and creativity without bounds for the first time in four decades for Spain (it was then when Pedro Almodóvar started directing his first movies). In the last five years Desigual has grown in leaps and bounds, so it is now an international company who is looking into expanding in the Asian market, that business "promised land", a huge market that explains the cordial relationship the West has with one of the last remaining communist dictatorships in the world.

Desigual... by Caroline Grant. Happy, fun colours for the spring and summer. The drop-waist dress is best suited for Body type Cs. [Colour combinations: The dress is light navy and suits all palettes except Warm Springs. The jacket is a very deep navy that is only OK for the Winter palette, Deep Autumns, Clear Springs and Cool Summers. Style: On the Go.]

Desigual Ostitu Dress / Highway Short Sleeve Denim Jacket / Zatchel Leather Handbag / Miz Mooz Viola Sandals / Lindex Fringe Scarf / Kate Spade Statement Earrings  / Yves Saint Laurent Lipstick in Rose Aphrodite / MAC Nail Lacquer in Snob.

Entra casi desnudo... Sal vestido

One of their most popular campaigns (the slogan means Enter half-naked... Leave fully dressed), was obviously adressed to the youngest. Who else would find amusing queueing for hours in their underwear so the first 100 could get a top and a bottom for free (the next 100, a 50% discount)? This marketing succesfully worked in Europe and was recently exported to the US.

The style: Desigual - No es lo mismo

Desigual's prints are instantly recognizable, a mixture of global influences with a definite bohemian vibe, both in their prints (oriental flowers, Indian paisleys), and constructions (Mandarin collars and jackets). Their garments are frequently composed of pieces, very much like patchwork quilts, repeating Desigual's first item: a jacket made of pieces from denim garments. The prints are often big scale, for instance, their collaboration with Cirque du soleil (which shows esthetic influences from Diaghilev's ballets russes) features giant heads of the artists.
The brand's logo  figures very often prominently on their garments, which seems pretty unnecessary, as most people will recognize Desigual designs anyway.

... No es lo mismo by Caroline Grant. [Colour combinations: Light Spring palette, Soft Summer palette. Style: On the Go.]

Desigual T-shirt / Chesca Ribbed Cardigan / Wallis Indigo Stud Wide Leg Jeans  / Orla Kiely Punched Wallflower Handbag / Söfft Gisella Sandals / Love Quotes Linen Scarf / Dannijo Jelani Earrings / Tom Ford Lipstick in Corail Légende / Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Corail Divin.

Accessories for the Rain (2): Galoshes

Return to the present

For most of us, galoshes were a thing of the past, images in films from the 19040s of women protecting their high-heeled shoes with rubber covers and their hairdos with scarves. Living in a country where it rains very often, they feel nothing short of an absolute necessity.  It must have to do with getting older, but you start questioning if some things, sometimes long gone, would not better be brought back, and why not by yourself? At some point you just not care about what others do, really.
Galoshes are very practical: if you buy good quality shoes and take care of them, why ruin your beloved pairs in the rain or the slush?
Give galoshes a try, I love mine.

Available in an array of colours, the City Slippers (for high-heels) have a sole decorated with a map of Tokyo, Paris, or London, and hole for the heel of your shoe. The point of your pumps is protected in any case, but in the case of the mid-cut slippers, the whole upper is protected too. [Images courtesy of Swims]

Swims galoshes

One thing can be said for Scandinavian design: it is always highly practical in nature, and almost universally top-notch quality, while at the same time, original and stylish.
Swims galoshes are a good example of it. They make three versions for women: low cut and mid-cut City Slippers, for high-heeled shoes (the first protect shoes with buckles, bows, or other details, the second protect booties), and ballerinas (to protect sneakers and flats). They are on the pricey side, but it is easy to get them at a discount (today I checked, and zalando.com was having a 50% sale on them), and they are surprisingly beautiful and fashionable for an item that is not very attractive in itself.

Designer collaborations: Missoni for Lindex

Missoni for Lindex by Caroline Grant.

The background

Lindex's collaboration with Missoni consisted on a search through the Italian brand's archive for patterns to produce. Three were finally chosen: Missoni's classic zig-zag (the one that makes the brand instantly recognizable), butterflies and flowers. The collection was launched in shops 25th September.

The result

The collaboration between Missoni and Lindex has been extremely successful. The items looked and felt good and, in contrast with other designer collaborations, which are usually done in cheap, low-quality materials but at expensive prices, this one featured non artificial materials (mainly viscose for the garments, and leather for the handbags) at really affordable prices. A pleasure to see and touch. My only caveat is that almost most colours were warm and muted, best suited for women (and children) in the Autumn and Spring palettes. That makes sense because most Swedes belong to those palettes, but leaves the rest of us to hunt around Century21st for Missoni items.
Four days into the launch there were almost no items to be found. One of the reasons can be, of course, that as usual people have bought massive amounts of the items to resell them afterwards, at considerably increased prices (a wrap dress from 600SEK to 800 or 900SEK, still a bargain for Missoni). In this case, you can find some items on www.blocket.se, Sweden's equivalent to eBay*.

* Type on a search engine "missoni for lindex" and "blocket". You will probably need to use a translator tool to navigate the site (eg.  http://translate.google.com/) as, of course, everything is in Swedish. Check the information provided against www.lindex.se, for sizes and measurements).

Hispanitas Autumn Winter 2012-2013

The Artisan of Dreams, Hispanitas AW 2012/13 by Caroline Grant.The collection features, as is traditional for this brand, great causal shoes, well made, comfortable and practical. The bags are beautiful.

Pros

1. The shoes and boots are indeed comfortable and well made, using supple leathers, good construction and craftmanship in different heel heights. At the same time, they are sturdy, thick soles with a good grip, but flexible.
2. Staples: their "laces" menswear shoes (Oxfords etc).
3. Righ on trend: loafers (moccasins), menswear shoes for women, some edgy pumps.

My advice

You cannot beat Spanish shoes in quality of leathers and careful, artisan constructions. Hispanitas prices are extremely competitive, especially when you compare them to other brands in the same quality.
Their webpage has been greatly improved (the blog is still uninteresting and almost empty, though), and also customer shopping experience. Have a look at their outlet, you may find great bargains there.


MORE?

• Hispanitas AW 2011-2012 Collection
• Hispanitas SS 2012 Glove Collection 
• Quirky Menswear. A style that loves these shoes.

Hispanitas SS 2012: Glove Collection review.

Pros

1. The shoes are indeed comfortable and well made, using supple leathers, dip-dyed (the blog says "tie-dyed", but that's not what he's doing...), with flexible constructions (i.e. "Glove") in different heel heights.
2. Staples: ballerinas, round toe pumps and sandals.
3. Some edgy, modern designs, but as far as I can see, only with 3"+ heel height, so partly, a con.

Cons

1. They always favour a round toe.
2. They have tried to use colours in this collection, but apparently only in their flat sandals, as I can see only red, blue (your standard navy variety), and uninteresting nudes.
3. Their flat sandals are full of girly details like butterflies and cutsey flowers. A big NO.
4. Their website is still a nightmare to navigate. Let them take a survey on their users and see for themselves.
5. What happened to their great handbag collection?

My suggestions for future collections:

1. Some pointed toe flats, please! They elongate the leg and are great for people with not so thin calves.
2. Edgy designs with lower heels, please!
3. Flat sandals are either old-ladyish (ie. the vamp is too high) or too girly (butterflies and cutsey flowers, a big NO). Give us some great strappy sandals with a bit of an edge!

These are my picks 2012's Hispanitas Glove collection.

Hispanitas AW 2011-2012

Meet Hispanitas

Hispanitas is a Spanish brand that specializes in leather shoes and handbags. It represents how good Spanish shoes can be. By the way, Camper, which perhaps you also know (if I remember correctly an newspaper article I read some years ago, one of their items, the "Pelotas" is extremely popular with some international celebrities), is also a Spanish brand.
Hispanitas uses durable, flexible leathers, making (generally) very comfortable shoes. They combine in their designs the trendy with their own style: from the menswear-inspired, with distressed leathers and cordovan (which is a leather colour, the name comes from the city of Córdoba, in Spain), to decidedly lady-who-lunches styles. Hispanitas has been increasing its international presence in the last two decades, and you can find its shoes now around Europe and the US.

Some models from Hispanitas AW 2011-2012 Collection, featuring menswear-inspired shoes. 

Their Webpage: A Review

As of 2012, Hispanitas' web page and online shop are a nightmare to navigate, I'm sorry to say. You have to be extremely determined to keep on browsing. If you decide to forgo this experience, which I would completely understand, the truth is that you can also find their models in many online shops. However, the selection is never, to my experience, as good as at their own's.