Tuesday Shoe Day: My First Ever DIY Blog...Bootie Redo-Part I

The other night I was virtual shopping with a friend. She was perusing shoes and bags on her laptop, as was I, although we were in totally different houses and neighborhoods. We were emailing each other whenever we saw something we liked and I received this caption with one of her emails, "I don't know how you do this...look at gorgeous fashion all day, the only things I like are way over priced for me!" To which I replied, "Yes, welcome to my world, that's why I never go shopping anymore, because the really beautiful pieces are unattainable, so I'd rather just make do and play around with what I already have."

My friend is an artist and interior designer. When you attain that "eye," you notice every detail in both quality and style that sets the finer things in life apart. Unfortunately for those of us with that discerning eye, who aren't gazillionaires, it can be very frustrating.

But the upside to the whole saga is this: When you're creative you can make things. And let me tell you, the high from making your own fabulous designer pieces (residual glue gun glue aside) is better than you will ever get spending a gazillion dollars on anything. Well, maybe. I wouldn't know :)

Truly, I've always been a DIY-er. All designers and artists are you know. It's just that as I got older I would say things like, "Now I'm old enough to hire someone to do that for me."...or,  "I'll just buy something new."

I changed my mind.

Creativity is the soul food of youth.

So here, my friends, I present you with my very first DIY post. I hope you enjoy!

I really didn't copy any specific bootie but you can say I was inspired by something like this:

These grey suede booties from Baker (what ever happened to that store?) were several years old, but I had loved them.  The suede ruffles were dated and worn so I decided to cover them with fur trim to bring them up to date and add a little glam.

It all started with a trip to the local fabric store.

After trying many options, I chose some French greige fur trim and silvery velvet ribbon. (Note: The chains and the purple fur will definitely be used for something in the future..stay posted!)

Here's what I did:

Step 1: Trim the ruffles.
Step 2: Measure the trim for each strip and cut leaving a little extra.
Step 3: Glue the pieces on, overlapping the edges.
Step 4: Trim the trim.
Step 5: Figure out the size and placement of the bow, glue.
Step 6: Looking good...but something's still missing.

In the end I decided to go the Louboutin* route and paint the heel and platform with silver metallic nail polish** to lighten up the shoe a bit.

*Christian Louboutin, when designing his first shoes, decided to add a bit of glamour to the soles by painting the bottoms with red nailpolish...the rest is history. 

** Don't ask why I have silver metallic nailpolish in my house...I just buy things like that and never use them!

And here's the final result. I'm pretty happy that I added another season to the life of a pair of shoes headed for the trash bin. In Part II I will share another unique bootie redo.

And... if DIY is not for you?  Well, you can just buy something new. Shop away buy clicking on each item and scroll the selections by using the arrow at the right.

Victoria's Secret Boots · Rebecca Taylor Boots · Nine West Boots

Did you like this post? Let me know!