Kicked To The Curb

Last month I posted about my obsession with a certain pair of Givenchy boots that are a “no-fly zone” because they are too high and thus won’t fly, let alone walk. The sky-high price also means they have become the provenance of only the very the rich and/or famous.

Which brings me to a Ms. Kim Kardashian.

In my inbox sat an email from Jslow, subject line: “And now I don’t want them, Givenchy boot kill.” The content was this photo of Kim wearing “the boots,” clearly Kanye’s doing as he continues play Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle.

It’s amazing that seeing someone (friend, foe, celebrity) wearing something (shoes, jacket, whatever), can instantly transform it from something we love or hate into something we hate or love. In this case, seeing her wear them ruined them for us.

A few weeks back when Miley Cyrus bleached her hair and chopped it short (I think she looks great), she tweeted photos of herself in the Philadelphia Dr. Martens store, prompting heated posts on the Dr. Martens’ Facebook page about how she was making them “uncool.” Can Miley become cool by channeling Agyness Dehn? If she feels cool on the inside, does it matter?

Image is everything. No matter who we are, we want to feel pretty and smart and capable and confident and cool and lovable. Clothing, like it or not, is something we ALL wear that projects an image, our image, onto the world. It also has the power to control and impact our brains into feeling different ways about ourselves. No wonder getting dressed each day is such a pain in the ass.

Speaking of asses. While Kim may have ruined these fashion forward Givenchy boots for me and Jslow, she probably helped sell hundreds of pairs to reality TV fans who would have never been exposed to them before, and guarenteed they will be knocked-off by Forever 21 and H&M. I think it’s more of this latter point, that a pair of boots that felt special and chic and “discovered” was also “discovered” by someone mainstream and therefore not special anymore. So it’s on to the next special pair of boots. I have my sights on a pair. Stay tuned.