News

Accessory Alert - Shoe Licks

In my last post I mentioned the gift shop at the Design Museum - they always have really trendy items (I wouldn't expect anything less of the Design Museum) and this time they didn't fail to impress. Shoe Licks - a brand new product on the horizon to keep your shoes bang on trend at a bargain price to.

The concept of Shoe Licks is to jazz up the ‘sole’ and ‘leaf’ part of a high heel, by using their range of stickers to apply to your heels. Their idea started from the orginal red bottoms Louboutin, which everyone is familiar with however, not so easy to attain. So with that in mind Shoe Licks Stickers are just what every woman has been crying out for, an on budget (they are only £2.99) trend that can have everyone wondering just where you have bought your shoes from. The stickers come in a variety of colours and one size fits all. It takes all of three steps to apply the stickers to your heels (there is a tutorial on their website if you prefer watching someone else do them first like I do) and for all the designers out there you can even turn your hand to designing your very own bespoke pair of stickers - of course this does come with its terms and conditions (check out the website for this if you are interested). You can buy the stickers from the Shoe Licks website or from the Design Museum and River Island.

So if you are looking for a way of revamping some of your tired looking shoes, or if you want to refrain from throwing out a much loved pair of heels, Shoe Licks stickers are just the ticket you are looking for!

How to Apply the stickers:

Price

£2.99 (5.99 for bespoke designs - check for minimum orders)

Stockists

Shoe Licks website, Design Museum and River Island 

Exhibition

Women. Fashion. Power.

Design Museum

'An unprecedented look at how princesses, models, CEOs, Dames and designers have used fashion to define and enhance their position in the world.'

Now it's no secret - I absolutely love the Design Museum, it takes me back to my school days when I used to go on day trips with my Art,  Design & Technology classes. I regularly visit their website, which has been improved in recent months making it much easier to scroll through (compared to the old layout they had) to check what exhibitions are being held. So naturally, as soon as I saw the Women Fashion Power Exhibition I couldn't resist another visit. 

The exhibition itself covered one floor, which made going through it super easy and concise (I managed to get through the whole exhibition in 90 minutes) Now the shoes - a small but rare collection from different eras. The fashion just as inspiring and  powerful as the shoes. The exhibition reflects how  taking pride in your clothing can be truly inspirational, especially in today's society where women are equally aspirational and ambitious as their male competitors and counterparts. Amongst some of the examples of power-dressers were Dame Zaha Hadid (an idol of mine simply for her innovation and ambition in a male dominated industry - and the designer of this very exhibition) Natalie Massenet (founder of Net-a-porter), Charlotte Olympia (a pair of her shoes are on my splurge shopping list) and of course who I imagine as the matriarch and a great influence in this exhibition - Dame Vivienne Westwood.

The highlight however for me - a Manolo Blahnik illustration that I have only seen in a shoe book. Now, Blahnik I have always admired because of his very imaginative and elaborate sketches and illustrations. I would like to hope that in the future (with lots of practice) my shoe illustrations could be just as full of character. Fortunately the museum allowed for pictures so I jumped at the opportunity at documenting the shoes. Some of them were real jems, with an air of sophistication from the 20’s/30’s and others from a modern age of which we are more familiar with now, the red bottoms - Louboutin. 

Manolo Blahnik Illustration

If you have a spare 90 minutes laying around and you are twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do take a visit, definitely worth your while for budding fashionistas and would suggest going with a girlfriend. Its location make its all the more easier with lots of cute coffee shops dotted around, including one within the museum its self called the Blueprint. Make sure you check out the gift shop to, there are some great nifty items that you can pick up all with a cool modern element to them.

Time

 90 Minutes

Price 

£11.25 per Adult 

Ticket includes entry to other exhibitions in the Museum. You can also buy the tickets online if you are super organised.

Curators

 Collin McDowell 

Donna Loveday