Shoe of the Week: Ballettonet Chelsea Boot

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Ah, September equinox has come and gone.  And with it, it’s left us with cooler temperatures and good reason not to shave our legs (hint: pants).  With it, however, we’ve been left in a state of confusion when it comes to clothing ourselves.  We’re stuck debating whether something is hashtag too soon or just holding on to a feeling.  No one wants to be the girl wearing her winter coat on the first day of school, nor do we want to be the girl clinging to a croptop and a dream.

And this doesn’t just fall under the category of clothing.  One must take into account her footwear.  Sandals seem to be desperate and tall boots just appear a bit Pretty Woman as early as October 1st.

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What is the only alternative?  The perfect booties.  Namely, the Chelsea Boot by Ballettonet.  A simple, yet sophisticated flat bootie designed in collaboration with Jasmin Howell (you may know her as Friend In Fashion), this shoe can easily transition from day– with a perfectly distressed pair of denim trousers, to evening– with the most conscious of bodycon dresses.  Dressed up or dressed down, high shine or matte sophistication, this boot will impress if not not only for its design details but for the fact that it’s a limited edition piece- only 100 pairs made entirely in Italy by the Baccaro family in each style.

xo,

Grace

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Fall Trends: Velvet Underground

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Cuffing season is upon us.  And if you’re like me and haven’t found a suitable suitor to keep you warm on those chilly fall evenings, you’re going to need to resort to alternative sources of heat.  Yes, there’s cashmere and corduroy (which made a surprising comeback), but this fall’s front runner is another 90’s throwback: velvet.  And every “it” girl, model, or digital influencer has been seen sporting some form of the fabric- from crushed velvet body suits to the covetable Phillip Lim Kyoto boot.  Mostly seen in jewel tones, there’s a shape and silhouette for every body to incorporate into their fall wardrobes from velvet booties to slinky slip dresses.  Below are a few of my favorites.

xo,

Grace

 

velvet-boots-pantsClockwise: Maje Ruiza Velvet Slip Dress, Aqua Plunge Velvet Bodysuit, Free People Funkytown Velvet Skirt, Vince Velvet TeeIsa Tapia Hardy Velvet Ankle Booties, J Brand Skinny Velvet Jeans in Black, Joie Mehira Velvet Blazer

 

 

Raising Grace

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You know those mornings when you roll over onto your crisp, cold pillow with a slight smile on your face, ready to face the day and then you recall the terror from the night before like a bad dream?  Your blood runs cold and you recall the chaos you may have caused after two too many martinis.  Suddenly, you’re cursing that pleasant morning light pouring in through your window and wishing you could crawl back under the covers.  That is how I greeted this morning.

It all started innocently enough.  Meeting some friends downtown at Spotted Pig for some post work let loose, which turned into at conglomeration of crews at Employees Only, and then somehow, as it always does, ended up a twenty dollar cab ride home from Mr. Purple at 2am.

I feel a brief moment of relief and then the next wave of panic sets in.  Where is my phone?  This is two fold: do I even have my phone?  When I find it, what type of tomfoolery will I find?  I swing my legs out from under my duvet and onto the floor.  Crap!  My feet land directly on the platform heel of my RAYE Lois Heel that I wore the night before on my tour de dirty martini.

After recovering from the shoe related pang of pain, I spot my phone teetering precariously from my lucite coffee table.  I throw myself towards it like a quarterback attempting to save a rogue pass.  I type in my password and am pleased to find no new messages from anyone but my best friend, Phan.  Phew. No harm, no foul.  Just when I begin to release a sigh of relief, I receive an email alert. It’s my boss.  A glance at the email chain and I see that I had some interesting ideas about our latest project last night around midnight.

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No time for crafting up my detoxifying green juice, let alone my normal morning meditation.  A quick scrub of my face, slicked back ponytail, standard black shift dress, and slipping into my Kat Maconie Anna Heels, that have always brought me good luck. I grab my KREWE du optic St. Louis sunglasses as armor and march out onto the street ready to clean up my mess.

xo,

Grace

A Graceful Entrance

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I’d really had no intention of leaving the house last night.  I was perfectly propped on my couch with a fully charged iPhone, a season of Billions, and a bowl of ramen from my favorite spot down the block.  Then that fully charged iPhone I mentioned started to chirp incessantly, and while I ignored it at first, I saw it was my dear friend, Veronica, who is going through what some may refer to as a “rough patch.”  When I answered, it was hard to hear her, but I could make out, “get here now,” “fabulous people,” “front row,” and when she hung up, I received a follow up text with the address and a lot of punctuation.

I gave my ramen a last glance and knew that it was my civic duty as a good friend to go and meet her.  I wondered if my NSF Shane Pants were wearable and decided they would look quite Wang if I ditched my Euclid Sweatshirt for a croptop and stuck with the slouchy bottoms.  A pair of Schutz Rene Heels tied the look together and I smudged some Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick on in an attempt to make the look a polished form of disheveled.

Deep breath, glance in the mirror, and into my Uber, I went.

A scroll through Instagram: Gigi, Gigi, Kendall, Fashion Week, ice cream, donuts, more donuts, and then I had arrived at my destination.  As expected, it was another Fashion Week circus, bloggers, the photographers who love them, and a ton of frazzled PR aficionados running around trying to corral the crowd.  I managed to slip through the masses only being stopped  few times for a snap before essentially colliding with Veronica.  She handed me a pamphlet and I saw I was here to see Opening Ceremony.  I felt relieved knowing that scraping myself from the couch when I hadn’t wanted to wasn’t in vain.  Opening Ceremony was one of the most sought after shows to score a seat.

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The show was amazing, I was able to actually enjoy it from the front row (good work, Veronica), without the nuisance of forty cell phones blocking my view- but we all know the shows are really all about the after party and this was an after party that didn’t disappoint.  Models mingling with muses, artists chatting with suits.  It was the perfectly mismatched mix every fashion PR house hopes to assemble.  A couple of signature cocktails into the evening, I told V that I needed to make my way to the ladies room.  She was engrossed in a conversation with a beautiful man with face tattoos, so I’m not even sure if she heard me, but pointed in the direction I assumed was the restroom.  I made my way through the crowd and was just making eyes with one of the male models when I went sliding, spilled my drink, and nearly face planted on the table of grilled cheese and lobster.  Fortunately, some sort of angel caught me by the arm before I caught a truly humiliating fate.  I looked up to thank my guardian angel and immediately began to laugh as did she.

She said her name was Amanda and she complimented my shoes.  After procuring me a fresh beverage, she mentioned that i might want to put some protective stickies on the bottom of my shoes.  I said she was probably right and joked that I didn’t know how models did it.  She leaned in and informed me that the stylists for the show had used a product called Save Your Sole on all of the stilettos for this very reason. I remarked that stylists were genius and I’d certainly missed my calling.  A bit further into our conversation, Amanda revealed who the real genius was— Her.

She is the mastermind behind Save Your Sole and had been instrumental in this evening’s show.  How could such a laid back Australian babe be so nonchalant about her success?  That’s just the way she is and why we immediately bonded.  I told her about my current working situation and she told me she was looking for someone to help with spreading the good word about shoes.  We exchanged information, gave a quick hug,  and I made my way back to Veronica who was now in a serious relationship with face tattoo.  Rather than rain on her parade, I bid her adieu and found my way to the nearest exit.

And to think I’d almost stayed home.

xo,
Grace

With a little help from our friends. Meet Grace.

When we opened our office in New York City in 2014 following New York Fashion Week in September, we knew that the team at Save Your Sole was going to be busy in the city that never sleeps.

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Over those two years, we have been involved in every New York Fashion Week working with designers, stylists and dressers from Oscar de la Renta to Calvin Klein to Project Runway and Opening Ceremony. In our first NYFW, we worked with over 30 designers with our Sole Stickers to protect the shoes in the shows and keep the models on their feet.

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Karlie Kloss at Oscar De La Renta NYFW 2014

Our products are now available at Nordstrom, Manhattan Wardrobe Supplies and Amazon in the US from our fulfillment centre in New York. And our team has grown to keep up with the worldwide demand of our products (did you know we ship to over 40 countries?).

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So, please meet Grace. She will be taking over our blog and keeping you up to date on all things Save Your Sole. And also talking about a few of our favourite things each week.

Of course shoes will be a feature. Shops. Restaurants. Bars. Holiday locations. And all things New York.

Follow her journey as she walks her way through New York City.

In amazing shoes of course. Always protected by Save Your Sole.

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Save Your Sole + Opening Ceremony NYFW FW16 #pageantofthepeople

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Last night in New York we went backstage at New York Fashion Week to work with Opening Ceremony in their show ‘Pageant of the People’ featuring The Opening Ceremony Fall II & Winter 2016 Collection.

This is our sixth season working with the team and we love their shows. And of course their clothes. We used our Clear Sole Sticker & Black Sole Sticker for for this show to cut to the sole shape and put grip on the soles of the shoes to keep the models on their feet. And on the runway.

Humberto Leon & Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony said in our first season “Save Your Sole is perfect for our runway needs. This amazing product protects the soles and keeps them looking clean and new”. Love.

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This show featured black knee high boots and mules with red heels and our black sole stickers.  Backstage the team at Opening Ceremony applied over 60 Black Sole Stickers and Clear Sole Stickers to the shoes to provide instant grip and sole protection. Perfect.

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Our Sole Stickers were also used to make it easy for all of the celebrities featured in the pageant of the people to walk in their Opening Ceremony shoes including Rashida Jones, Natasha Lyonne and the incredible Whoopi Goldberg.

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We love being a part of this show every season and a sponsor for the event.

Other sponsors at #pageantofthepeople included FOSSIL, Tiger, Bumble and Bumble, Suntchi/, china glaze, Canada Goose, UBER, Dr.Jart+, Maybelline, Commando, DFM, coloredge, II Howard, FIJI Water, sweetgreen, Tacombi and of course Rock The Vote.

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Our Sole Stickers are available in Clear and Black right now

Online at saveyoursole.com

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Nordstrom , Ballettonet, Amazon & Manhattan Wardrobe Supplies