Since I have what would be considered an extensive shoe collection, I am asked often if I have a favorite pair. I have about a dozen very special pairs, but one pair is always on the top of my list. Alexander McQueen!
These are booties I was never supposed to own. I saw them first at South Coast Plaza, and if you know anything about South Coast Plaza, deep in the OC, nothing there is cheap.
I honestly kept thinking about them, because to this day they are still one of the most spectacular pair of shoes I have ever seen. Blue suede, white leather and red patent – what’s not to love? So on a whim I went to the haute couture section of Zappos (this is before Amazon owned them) and low and behold there they were these amazing Alexander McQueen boots for half the price. Now they were still ridiculously expensive, but now half as ridiculous, oh the temptation. Zappos used to let you purchase shoes and then you had one year to return them, yes one year, as long as they were unworn, of course. So I pulled out my visa and charged them like a good consumer. I planned to return them after I tried them on. The problem was I loved them; they were and are still spectacular 12 years later. I kept meaning to return them, but never did. Then several years later Alexander McQueen, sadly like many geniuses took his life. He was only 40 years old. My crazy expensive shoes are really now museum worthy. I have only worn them a few times; I never wanted them to look worn. I never travel with them; I have a rule never travel with things you can’t replace. Soon I will put them in a curio case and display them like art.
If you are unfamiliar with Alexander McQueen
He was a British fashion designer and couturier. He worked as the chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 then founded his own namesake lapel after that, Alexander McQueen. His achievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the year awards in 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003, as well as the CFDA’s International Designer of the Year award in 2003.
Alexander McQueen was so inventive and creative his genius was made into a special exhibit one year after his death at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York. I was lucky enough to visit this spectacular homage to his genius. Here’s a link if you would like to see or know more about Alexander McQueen. http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/about/
RIP Alexander McQueen I still love these boots. Thank you.
Laura