Namas te Jewels

Archive for December, 2011

I love pumps and sling backs. I don’t know why, perhaps because they go with my 9-5 business fashion as well as with my “after 5″ fun fashion. I love dressing up a pair of jeans with pumps.

It’s finally Fall gals, and the designers are starting to show their offerings. There are a lot of fabulous high end designer shoes to choose from and some are absolutely to-die-for!

Prada is offering a fantastic bronze pump for fall. This pump has a 3 inch heel and a perforated leather on the toe cap and the back of the shoe. The vamp and body of the shoe are actually covered with bronze paillettes (sequins) that mimic a lovely snake skin design. It’s gorgeous, and so in demand that some stores are limiting the number you can order!!

Brian Atwood is offering a lovely d’orsay pump in black and white leopard skin. It has a peek-a-boo toe with an adorable bow….meow! I’m not sure if I like that one best, or the Dolce & Gabbana leopard print hair-calf and leather sling back. It has a leather toe cap that is adorned with gold toned studs.

Christian Louboutin is offering platform pumps in a leopard print
or brown or black suede.

Perhaps the shoe of my dreams is the new Dior leather pump.It has a 3 1/2 inch heel to start. It’s offered in what I call a winter white. It has a bow at the toe and is covered with fabulous leather weaving details. The heel is horn and is embellished with the famous Dior “D”. Dior also is offering a leather shoe they call “Rebel” that has a zipper on either side of the heel. It has a buckle logo across the toe and rivet details.

I can’t not mention my favorite shoe designer, Manolo Blahnik. He is also working with hair-calf offering it in several different styles, from a open toed pump with a blush (light pink) and brown/tan leopard print to “wow-em” unmistakable tan/black leopard print pump with a keyhole vamp with a bow. This has a lovely 1/2 inch heel. Of course his classics include his ever popular halter and crisscross designs in alligator.

Go ahead Gals, fulfill all your shoe dreams!

A Well Known Fact

There is no better feeling than when you are wearing a comfortable shoe. Comfortable shoes allow us to enjoy the day’s activities pain free. Wearing shoes that fit properly can also prevent potential health problems from occurring.

When To Buy

Most shoes can last an average of three to twelve months. As you begin to wear out a shoe, you begin to notice a difference in comfort. Worn out shoes can cause back pain, sore knee joints, or aching feet. The time to replace your shoes is when the cushion has broken down or the motion control has been lost.

Which Shoes To Buy?

Everyone’s foot is different. The best shoe for you is the one that gives you the proper fit, support, cushioning, and flexibility.
Choose a well-cushioned stability shoe that compensates for any irregularities in your foot or your stride.

Some Common Foot Irregularities

High Arched Feet

A high arched foot does not roll inward very much at all. There is a highly curved arch along the inside of the foot. Also, the toes appear to be in a clawed position. Highly arched feet are very rigid and are unable to absorb shock when making contact with the ground. The reason for this is that the foot is not able to roll inward when the foot makes contact with the ground. This lack of pronation can cause heel, knee, shin, and back problems. Inserting special pads in the shoes, which compensate for this condition, treats highly arched feet. The pads allow the feet to absorb shock more easily. People with high arched feet, should try to stay away from stability or motion control shoes, which reduce foot mobility.

Flat Feet

The term “Flat Feet” refers to people who have a low arch, or no arch at all. Sometimes they are said to have “fallen arches”. Most people’s feet have a space on the inner side when the bottom of the foot comes in contact with the ground. This is called the arch. The height of the arch varies in size from one person to another. Flat Feet are generally a hereditary condition. The best shoe for this condition would be a motion control or stability shoe with a firm midsole.

Over or Under Pronation.

Over pronation is the excessive inward rolling motion of the foot. This inward motion is considered unhealthy because it can cause a great deal of strain on the back, ankles, knees, and lower legs. Over pronation can cause shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and IT band syndrome. Under pronation occurs when the outside of the foot takes the brunt of the shock when coming in contact with the ground. This condition can cause problems with the ligaments in your feet and ankles. Stability shoes feature either a dual density midsole or a roll bar to help combat pronation problems.

Some Helpful Shoe Buying Tips

· Shop late in the day. Feet tend to swell as the day goes on. Shoes purchased in the morning will feel tight during by afternoon.

· Shop for shoes with your health and comfort in mind. Your foot size changes every year. Always measure your foot first. This should give you a general range when considering different styles of shoes. Choose shoes that are shaped like your foot.

· Check to see how the sole feels on the bottom of your foot. It should have a soft and supportive cushion. People with high arches generally need more support.

· Stand up and take a quick walk to get a feel for the shoe. Your feet shouldn’t slide around inside and there should be little bit of room beyond the largest toe. But no more than 1/2 inch.

Remember: You should never have to “break in” a tight shoe.

Over the centuries clocks have been used as a status symbol by those who wear them. Their precision, elegance and convenience are just some of the attributes that clocks and watches represent. Often they are bought purely for their aesthetic looks. and at other times they are bought because of their technical attributes like being precise to the last second or even millisecond. This is what makes clocks and watches so collectible and in some cases they can command high sums of money.

Whether you collect the new high precision watches or ones that come from a past era, the fact is that over the years this hobby has become a high turnover business. And collecting watches is in a lot of circles regarded as a wise form of investing.

At the start of the last century the clocks that were available for men or women were firstly pocket clocks, and then clocks that held by a pendant attached to the lining of jackets or corsets. The advent of war, industrialization, and the development of the sport activities, brought over new trends which extended to not only the way we dressed, but also how we carried our clocks.

It is said that it was a nanny who invented wrist watches at around the end of the 19th century, who fixed a clock around her wrist by using a silk band. The first watches to be made were in fact smaller models of pocket clocks that were fitted with a leather strap. Once this product hit the market newer designs started to be produced based around this same concept.

It was Louis Cartier who first made the kind of watches we see today when he created a watch for a flying pioneer hero by the name Santos Dumont. By 1911 this same type of watch was on general sale. That same type of watch became the blueprint of what wrist watches look like to this day.

Soon after the design of wrist “clocks” began to diversify away from the classical round shape that had been in vogue up until that time. From the Cartier classical wrist watch other makes of watch started to emerge which were characterized by their shape. Movado is the perfect example of these new designs when it came out with the “Polyplan” shaped watch. Then came the famously and cryptically called “clock reference n. 1593″ by Patek Philippe which was a rectangular shaped watch.

From 1913 onwards more and more watches started to be developed in all shapes and styles. From the “gondola” watch of Patek Phillipe to Louis Cartiers’ “Tank”; named thus because it was inspired by the shape of English armored cars of the time. These are watches which are very much sought after. There were other numerous watch makers like Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin who along with Patek Philippe and Cartier came out with many other designs which added other features to the watches like lunar phases, month and day most of which are found in modern watches now.

Of course we could not mention wrist watches without mentioning the most famous of them all: the Rolex watch. In the 1920s Rolex debuted in the world of wrist watches with the elegant Rolex Prince and its revolutionary “dual time” feature made famous for having the “seconds sector” larger than that of the minutes. At the same time Jaeger Le Coultre produced an even more advanced piece called the “Reverse”, also very revolutionary in that it could be turn 180 degrees within its case, thus protecting the crystal and dial. It became incredibly popular and was only prevented from achieving even greater success by the recession of the 1930s and the advent of world war 2.

These early watches of the 1910s to 1930s are what define all the makes of watches that we see and wear today. This short article has only scratched the surface of what is a very vast subject which has many more watch makers with diverse and revolutionary designs. However it is makers like Rolex, Cartier, Jaeger Le Coultre and the others mentioned that are amongst the most valuable and collectible, and should you ever be so lucky to get one then make sure you hang on to it – preferably to your wrist.