This Week's Most Wanted

Diego Gonzalez Cremer custom riding boots, casadelasbotas.com, price on request

A Shoe Lover's Dream

Customization has become the norm for everything from laptops and cellphones to bespoke clothing, to the point which all of these services are readily available online, but there is one area which so far has remained untouched: the made-to-order shoe. Even though the cult of the "it bag" has given way to the "it shoe", somehow neither Manolo or Christian have taken custom shoes to the next level by offering an online custom shoe service. After all, custom suits can be ordered online from Hong Kong, so why not a pair of fashionable heels? Now the website Shoes of Prey has made this quick and easy, offering a service that allows you to design your own pair of custom shoes and have them shipped to your door.

The interface for building your shoe is easy to use and fun. You can select the style of shoe first, such as ballet flat, bootie, gladiator or peeptoe pump then select materials and colors. As you go through the process, you can choose from approximately 75 different kinds of leather ranging from snakeskin to patent leather, in a variety of different colors. In fact, there are so many choices, it's difficult to decide on just one style or color.

A finished pair of customized shoes

  If you're curious as to how close the actual shoe will look to your design and more information on how the design process works, check out this first-hand account from Beverly. 

Shoe Art by Timrobot

All shoes and photographs by Tim Wolff

Spat On: How to Make that Old Shoe Look New Again

Spats are leather or cloth coverings that can be strapped onto the upper part of a shoe and a clever way to give a plain pair of shoes a makeover. This nifty accessory can be found in almost every shape, color and fabric on Etsy, and some seller's even take custom orders. Below is a list of my faves all from Etsy.

Ivory Leather Flower Spats by joiacouture


Turquoise Leather Viviana Cut Out Spats by Ashes and Empires


Royal Blue Leather Spat from Leather Made Nice


Lisette Herringbone Spats with Brass Studs & Scallop
detail by Ashes and Empire


Gizelle Herringbone Spats with Leather Ruffles
& Buttons by Ashes and Empires

Luxe Laptops by Douglas Little

From elle.com

High-tech meets high-fashion in a new collaboration between Dell and D.L. & Co. creative director Douglas Little. The designer has created a limited-edition line of opulent Adamo laptop skins, which evoke various “Tales of Technology”—working with Bergdorf Goodman’s senior director of visual presentation, David Hoey, to enhance each computer’s concept with a dazzling display in the store’s famed Fifth Avenue windows. Little spoke with us about the project.

Ultimate Temptation

“This one’s obviously based on Eve, the apple, and the snake,” says Little about the biblically inspired Swarovski serpent. “Michael Schmidt, a costume designer who does Cher, Madonna, and Grace Jones, collaborated with me on this.”

Reshaping Technology

“This is caiman crocodile skin, which we pieced together,” says Little. “We just used its shape to make the corsetry. It’s all hand-stitched and embellished with black-diamond Swarovski crystals.”

Divine Design

“This laptop is about chemical symbolism and the idea of the beginning and the ending; it’s about creation,” says Little. “I wanted to use a primitive concept that had a lot of historical research as the basis but also that felt like a lush brooch and very relevant to what’s currently happening in fashion.” Its accompanying window includes a trio of hoop-skirted mannequins styled after Russian nesting dolls.

The Princess and the PC

“The story of the Princess and the Pea is that the princess is the only one who can feel the pea underneath her mattresses, so this speaks to the idea that this is the slimmest laptop available,” Little reveals about this laser-etched mother-of-pearl design.

Enter to win one of the limited edition Adamo's here

Photos: Dell

Ndeur's Tricked out vintage shoes

"Beaux amis"
From I-pods to credit cards and cars to M&Ms, nearly anything can be customized and Canadian graphic artist Matthieu Ndeur is applying his creative talent to customizing vintage shoes, hand-painting them with his fun, bright street-inspired designs. Simply e-mail the measurements of your foot and the design you would like and soon will have your own chic wearable art. 25 year old Ndeur's designs are also featured in murals, and designs on sneakers and t-shirts.

Get your very own one-of-a-kind pair at Etsy.com (now on sale for $180)


All photos courtesy of ndeur.com & etsy.com

"I love you this much"


"O My"

For more photos and info about Matthieu Ndeur's work http://www.ndeur.com/ or

http://www.myspace.com/ndeurr


"VIP room"