Skip to main content

Shoes Day Tuesday - Katie 1's Love Letter to Chanel Ballet Flats

Confession: Katie 1 currently owns 6 pairs of Chanel ballet flats and her collection continues to grow (she even has an eBay alert for new ones in her size). It's a problem that we've discussed before and with some frequency on this here blog. Although we're not sure we've ever discussed why Katie 1 loves these iconic flats so much, that is until today where we're going to discuss just that. 

There's an amazing shoe store located approximately 2 towns over from the tiny town where Katie 1 grew up. This shoe store is small, family run, and carries a variety of factory seconds, factory overstocks, and the occasional pair of very gently used shoes. Long story short, it's a goldmine for finding designer shoes at a fraction of the cost (think Cole Haan's for $30, Ferragamo's for $40, etc.). While Katie 1 regularly scores fantastic deals there when she's at home, her coup de gras at this particular shoe store was her first pair of Chanel ballet flats. She was in college and they were hidden on the bottom shelf. Gently used for $29.99 in a perfectly metallic but not too sparkly silver. They were perfect and she immediately scooped them up and thus her designer shoe obsession was born. Throughout her remaining college and early law school years these shoes were a frequent companion on her adventures as the silver is a cool neutral and they could be dressed up or down. Whenever she needed to feel put together she reached for these shoes. She still does and up until recently it was beginning to show so Katie 1 had to send them to the shoe hospital for some TLC. Now they're back and look brand new. In fact, we discussed their trip to the shoe hospital HERE and you can see the recently refurbished shoes below!


We realize that the paragraph above is a lot of rambling about a single pair of shoes, but that background is important as we discuss how Katie 1 grew her collection of Chanel flats. Knowing how much she loved the silver flats, on a trip to New York with her mom during her second year of law school, Katie 1 was in the shoe section of Saks and happened to try on her now second favorite pair of Chanel flats. It was love at first sight as soon as she tried on these classic black leather flats with a patent leather cap toe. Much like the silver flats, the black flats quickly became Katie 1's go to shoe because they pair with literally everything. They're appropriate for work and play and once they are broken in they can be worn all day because they're so darn comfortable. Like seriously comfortable.  Which also makes them the perfect travel shoe as evidenced below.


Chanel ballets flats are the perfect shoe for all of Katie 1's adventures because they're seasonless and just so classic. In fact, the style has been around since the 1950's so clearly they have serious staying power (which Katie 1 definitely uses to justify the $700+ price tag). Katie 1 is at a loss to think of literally any other shoe that makes her feel so classic, stylish, and pulled together. So she keeps buying the damn things. While her silver pair and her black pair are her favorites, Katie 1 has expanded her collection to include a black and gold pair, a yellow patent leather pair, the iconic black and tan pair, and a deep red and cream eel-skin pair that are quickly becoming her favorite pair of shoes. Even with recent price increases (the cost for a basic pair has increased from around $500 to just over $700 in the past 10 years), Katie 1 is sure that her collection will continue to grow. And now you know where all of her money goes. #worthit 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Workout Wednesday: Let's Discuss that NYT Article

By know we've all read (or read about) that New York Times  opinion piece shaming women for wearing anything other than sweatpants to the gym. We're not going to link to it here because we don't want to send additional traffic to the website; however, THIS article from Jezebel  sums the article up quite nicely (make sure to check out the comments, they're gold). In short, the author of the opinion piece wears sweatpants to the gym, doesn't see anyone else wearing them and then proceeds to shame women for (1) wanting to look nice in their workout clothing; and (2) wearing anything other than baggy sweats to the gym. The article also cultivates the very thing that the author claims the proliferation of the yoga pants culture seems to cultivate: it shames women for dressing how they want, when they want.  The overarching theme of women shaming aside (because we don't have the time to go into that), most of the points that the author makes in the article are jus...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mad for Plaid: An entire post dedicated to Black Watch Tartan

Confession: Katie 1 has a slight obsession w/ Black Watch Tartan. Why? First, because it’s a combination of her favorite colors.  Second, the Duchess of Cambridge.  Third, it has a pretty cool history which makes it even more fun to wear.  It’s fairly common knowledge that Black Watch tartan is named for the 43rd Royal Regiment, commonly known as the Black Watch.  Did you know that Black Watch tartan actually pre-dates the formation of the 43rd Royal Regiment?  In fact, one of the theories behind why the 43rd is called the Black Watch is because of the very dark appearance of their uniform tartan (which we now know as Black Watch tartan).  So how deep does Katie 1’s obsession go?  She could wear a different item of Black Watch tartan every day for more than a week obsessed.  Want proof? Here’s a list of all of the Black Watch items in her wardrobe. Blazer Work Dress Casual Dress Side Zip Ankle Pants Front Zip Ankle Pants Trousers Ski...
3 comments
Read more

Back to Basics: The Sheath Dress

We're back with the second post in our series of basic pieces that working women should have in their wardrobes. If you missed our first, go back and check it out . The goal is to show you those items we come back to time and time again and show you a few ways to wear them so you 1) get some mileage out of the pieces and 2) you don't look (or feel) as though you're wearing the same thing every day. The capsule wardrobe. Be honest- how many times have you pinned it? (Katie 1 would like you to know she's has NEVER pinned it. She has no desire whatsoever to create a capsule wardrobe thankyouverymuch.) Whether it's for vacation or every day, we search for those elusive few pieces that we can mix-and-match in a million different ways to create an entire month's worth of outfits with just seven pieces! We here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog have no mastered the capsule wardrobe. We, just like you, wake up in the morning with a closet packed full of stuff and ...
Post a Comment
Read more