Charlotte Issyvoo Rocks the Schoolmarm Shoes

Shoes: Ingledew's; Tights: Reitmans; Skirt: Jella

I used to wear high heels -- a lot. Then my back gave out so severely, I'm now functionally disabled (though very slowly improving over the years) and I can't wear heels anymore. I hate that. 

I'm trying very hard to expand my fashion imagination to include flat footwear. I'm trying to think of flat footwear as fabulous. It's not always easy. But with these Italian shoes, it's not that difficult either.

This post and this outfit are all about the shoes. 
 

Jacket: Zoompy; Shirt: Reitmans; Clutch and earrings: vintage

I thought this outfit was all about the pleated skirt, but I was wrong.

It's all about the shoes. I just couldn't keep my eyes off them! I kept calling attention to them like a little girl with new... well, new shoes -- though, as a little girl, I always insisted on buckled mary-janes and eschewed lace-ups as too ordinary for extraordinary me.

Flat, lace-up shoes with a dress or skirt is a look straight from the 1930s. My grandmother, who was very tall and was married in 1936, thought herself quite classy in such an outfit right up until her death in 2000. She was right. 

Today, somehow, such a look has a bit of a schoolmarm quality to it, which works well, considering the fact that I teach college English. I am a schoolmarm and I often quite like a prim look. Beau thought a pose in front of a school would be just the thing. 

Hair clips: Stylize

The bun just goes with the look. I guess I should have worn my glasses too, eh? (Yes, I am Canadian and yes, I know how to wield an "eh" correctly.)

Bracelet: thrift; Belt: Kara Girl

I doubt, though, that the classic schoolmarm has... um... chests like this, or, if she does, she hides them well. Indeed, I do too when I'm teaching. All hail the demure little cardigan, hiding magnitudes beneath its fluffy innocence!

I'm not used to having a chest so please excuse me if I goggle at it from time to time. I was pretty flat-chested until my back got bad; I had to give up jogging so I gained weight and, what do you know, I grew a bosom! I'm rather enjoying having a bosom, I must admit.

I realize I lied when I said in a previous post that a little ruffle at the bottom of a blouse is the closest I'll ever get to a peplum. I already had this little oatmeal jacket stashed away, waiting for an occasion.

And this really is a peplum. There's no getting away from that fact. I'm still not sure if it works but the jacket matched my new shoes so well, that I really had no choice but let the shoes dictate my choice of jacket. I had no choice, I tell you!

Left gold and diamond ring: Birks; Right gold and diamond ring: Effy

Of course, the other big news is my new wave ring. I felt positively decadent wearing both of these rings at once and I think they look rather well against this red.

If you read the fashion magazines at all, you know that this orange tinged, tomato red has been all the rage for a while now, especially when combined with chunky, yellow gold pieces. This is why I seldom throw out my accessories; they always come back round again if I wait long enough. I dug up this old envelop clutch and these earrings and, presto, I'm a modern gal!

Originally, though, I got the earrings because they look like they're from the 40s (though I suspect they're actually from the 80s, which were strongly influenced by the 40s). They match the clutch perfectly and the little gold swirls go well with the new ring.

 

And anyone who knows me at all knows I'm all about the bling... or are the kids these days calling it "flash"? Luckily for me, I'm not a kid so I can call it whatever I want.

I do believe the whole ensemble worked. Finding this tomato red dumpster as a backdrop was just good luck. Beau and I both zeroed in on it as soon as we saw it.

But, really, this outfit was about the shoes. I mean, come on, just look at them! Crip fashion sometimes can rule.