Should I or Shouldn't I?

Damn you Nicola Finetti Axessory!!! I'm not getting anywhere with this fighting FSS business this week. I have avoided trying these shoes on since Friday when they arrived in my shop. Avoided it so hard I broke into a sweat on Saturday morning when I got to the store and saw then shining in the lights, calling my name, saying "Cat, we want to make you taller and sexier...come and try us...we're a perfect size 37...we'll totally update all your dresses...and we're much more comfortable than we look". Evil shoes.

And just now I had to put them on to photograph for my clients because they look much better on than off. Disaster.



I think this picture speaks a thousand words...How can I resist?

Any suggestions 'for' and 'against' would be appreciated ('for' suggestions will probably be appreciated more....)

Fight FSS!

I usually walk home from work in a feeble attempt to burn off my afternoon sweets. Strolling along Victoria St on Friday evening jabbering away to my best friend S-J on the phone, a sight so unfortunate and pained caught my eye and made me stop dead in my tracks. (Let it be known that S-J and I could continue conversing through snow storms, World Wars and Boxing Day sales, so it is indeed very rare to stop mid sentence).

Walking just ahead of me was a young, attractive, fabulously dressed female in her early twenties, clearly on her way to the newest, coolest place in town. But it was not her up-to-the-minute hair cut, or her perfect mix of accessories that caught my eye. Oddly, she appeared to be impersonating a robot or a zombie from Michael Jackson’s Thriller (before they break into dance). When I looked down, I expected to see her leg in a cast or in the mouth of a savage dog. But no, the reason for her impairment was an ailment that affects many women, young and old, of every size and shape: Fashionable Shoe Syndrome (FSS).

FSS is not fatal, but it can have lasting, crippling effects. It is not clinically contagious, but is most often found running rife through similarly minded women who spend time together, particularly on weekends or at hen’s nights. It is most prevalent in women in their late teens, twenties through to mid thirties, often petering out as women produce children or develop a taste for comfort. FSS is triggered by the countless fashion glossies at the newsagency (both local and International), websites such as Net-A-Porter, the Sex and the City Movie, Rosemount Fashion Week and Cosmopolitan Shoes in Double Bay. FSS was already beginning to cripple this poor girl and the night looked to have just begun. The trigger was particularly strong, even the savviest high-heelers know this pain: The much feared (and coveted) Chloe “strain” from SS08…Ouch!

I myself have had FSS from time to time, mostly developed over a lengthy period of exposure to particular strains that may otherwise not affect me if I was sitting down at dinner (instead of dancing and then walking home). I imagine most of you have experienced something similar at some point. However, I hesitate to expose myself to this ailment after having witnessed this poor girl’s painful and absurd gait. I am adamant that I would rather look short yet mobile, than so-right-now and physically impaired. Spare a moment to consider the ill effects…and fight FSS!!

Well, at least until Friday night…

The evil yet hot culprits...

Do these jeans make me look fat?

Apparently we’re all supposed to be loving faded jeans right now. They are all over magazines, shop windows, advertising campaigns, style blogs, the Sunday papers are telling us What’s Hot and they’re it…the super light faded jeans are absolutely everywhere it seems, except on our bottoms. Is it just me? In the last few days I could have missed a solar eclipse because I’ve been intently scanning your bottoms and I haven’t actually seen anyone wearing them apart from one teenager in Surry Hills (where else) who had somewhat haphazardly revived an old pair of 501’s.

Truth be told, I get a lot of girls in my store who are wonderfully proportionate, thin and gorgeous, and even these gifted types are having trouble with faded jeans. One pretty, tiny girl who wears a size 24 (yes that’s right folks…24 is her size, not age) tried on a pair of fabulous light coloured mid rise skinny jeans and thought she looked fat. She wasn’t saying it to be mean to me (I am rather ample compared to a 24…can’t complain though, I love my afternoon chocolate fix), or so that I would reassure her for hours on end about how amazing she looks. She really meant it.

That makes me think…what chance does a size 28 have? What about girls with thighs and jungle booty’s? Or girls with thick waists and pot bellies? What about if, like me, you happen to have unfortunately short legs? Must we all shun the faded jeans and pretend we never saw the What’s Hot page? And if so…how long before we’re ousted from fashion society?

Think about this…the little tiny girl looked HOT in the faded skinny’s. Not fat, not short, not weird or like a slave to fashion, she looked 100% amazing and could strut her stuff down the street in those fine looking jeans tomorrow if she wanted to, and turn plenty of heads. That’s what I thought. That’s what you would have thought too. But she looked in the mirror and saw herself look strangely different from what she usually looks like in her dark blue skinny’s. Just like everyone thought they looked weird and fat and all bottom when high waisted jeans came in last year…and just like everyone thought they looked all hips and fat thighs when skinny jeans came in a few years back. You can see the pattern right? Each time it takes me months and months to convince people they looked great, just different. So you see, the whole faded jeans thing is not about being skinny or fat, it’s about change.

Plus if you look fat I’ll tell you.

Don't fight the fade....

Who's-that-girl-hot, not hot-water-bottle-hot!!!

This is an a-typical newsletter from me about the goings-on in my little shop to all my girls. I though this might be a nice way to start my blog so you know what I do, but they won't be included in their entirety in this blogspot from now on. If you would like to receive the shop newsletter and info on what has newly arrived at Alfie's Friend Rolfe, then please email me to subscribe at alfiesfriendrolfe@bigpond.com

I'm having de ja vu...I'm pretty sure the last time I sat down to write an email about new arrivals it was freezing cold and raining...I guess it is still winter! In any case, at least this email is going to give us something to look forward to that's going to make us feel HOT. Not hot-water-bottle hot (which i wouldn't knock back right now), but head turning who's-that-girl hot.

White Suede has come through with a strong Spring collection again this year, we loved the combination of the exquisitely beautiful florals and plain silks with designer Jacqui Demkiw's ability to precision-cut a garment to fit every woman. White Suede jeans have become a staple in our store and a staple in every happy customers' wardrobe...the black high waisted skinny's have been a hit all throughout Winter and we've just introduced the new high waisted wide leg jean in indigo for Spring. Not too wide, not too high....just right....again! See some of our new arrivals below.

Now if only my legs would grow 20 or 30 cms then maybe I could wear the jeans. Maybe I'll just leave that up to you though, and stick to the beautiful dress instead.

Also just in are more winning pieces from my favourite brand ANT!PODIUM. With pretty much every single last piece gone from the last delivery, this drop will also run out the door I imagine. We have received a chambray shirt dress (so me...I'm sure you'll all agree, pictured left), and more pieces from the wonderful knitted story I told you about last time. Who knew that a combination of fine wool and cotton would feel so amazing. So far nobody who has touched it has been able to resist it. The BANDAGE CLUB TOP (pictured right) can be worn a few different ways (my favourite version is as a kimono sleeve top) and is available in Ivory as pictured, or in black.

And special mention goes to the SISTERHOOD DRESS which can be worn in at least 5 different ways: a one shouldered grecian style, strapless floaty number, with a large monk-style hood, or a voluminous cowl neck dress. Any way, its amazing and feels like heaven. Available in limited numbers in both Ivory and black, one size fits all, check it out below :

Yes! Its the same dress in both pictures. Amazing.

Well, I hope the rain doesn't mess with your hair the way it has mine. All I can say is thank you to whoever invented GHD irons, and that I hope to see you soon.

Cat :)