A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about The Magnifying Glass (TMG), an awesome new platform for South African bloggers. I had the privilege of being a contributing blogger, with my travel post “Petit Paris”, and then a photo I’d taken in their “Daily Image”.

When TMG asked me to do a fashion post, more specifically a shoe post, I was thrilled. I love shoes. I’ve spent free time designing my dream shoe closet. My mom says I may have a “problem” haha! So now you know why I was so happy to write this. I’ve posted it here, and I hope you like it too.

Why We Love Christian Louboutins

When Jennifer Lopez stepped onto the red carpet at the 2011 Grammy Awards, I was in awe. She looked incredibly beautiful, and her body was flawless in that dangerously short Emilio Pucci dress, but it was her shoes I couldn’t take my eyes off. Oh my word, those shoes! She wore a gorgeous pair of super high, spiked Christian Louboutins. Two years later, I still drool at the thought of those red soled beauties.

Most women will admit to being a little – what’s the word I’m looking for – ah yes, obsessed. Most of us will admit to being a little shoe obsessed, especially when it comes to high heels. We’re either buying them, or lusting after them in glossy magazines and online shops. And around that time when our budgets don’t allow for a shoe purchase, you may even find us in the shop, gently caressing a pair we’ve spotted and fallen in love with, whispering “I shall return for you… my precious!”

Yes, we feel about a beautiful pair of heels the way men do about fast cars or power tools. And a pair of Christian Louboutins is on just about every woman’s wish list. Celebrities such as Blake Lively have been rumoured to buy 40 or more pairs at a time! What is it though, that makes them so popular, and where did it all begin?

Christian Louboutin began sketching shoes as a teenager. He once visited a museum where he saw a sign from Africa which stated that women wearing sharp stilettos were not allowed to enter a building so as not to damage the wood flooring. When he began designing shoes, Louboutin said “I wanted to defy that. I wanted to create something that broke rules and made women feel confident and empowered.” Thank you, sir. This is why we love you.

He opened his Paris store in 1991, and his first customer was Monaco’s Princess Caroline. A fashion journalist published the princess’s compliments about the shoes, and you know what they say about word of mouth.

In more recent times, television shows like Gossip Girl, have made the brand even more popular. The stars of those shows wear stunning pairs almost every episode, while we watch from the comfort of our couches, coveting each pair.

I’d wondered in the past, if there was any significance to the red soles. Louboutin explains, “The shiny red colour of the sole has no function other than to identify to the public that they are mine. I selected the colour because it is engaging, flirtatious, memorable, and the colour of passion.” Well you know what, that’s enough for me.

Here’s what the man himself had to say regarding why women love shoes, especially his, so deeply – “There is an element of seduction in shoes that doesn’t exist for men. A woman can be sexy, charming, witty, or shy with her shoes. That is why women are happy to wear painful shoes.”

I don’t own a pair of Christian Louboutins, and I don’t see myself acquiring a pair in the foreseeable future, but I will continue to admire from afar, and photo-shop my face onto JLo’s body whenever I see a photo of her wearing a pair I must have. After all, they say if you visualise something, you’re halfway there right? 🙂

Original post: http://www.themagnifyingglass.co.za/bloggers/love-christian-louboutins/
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