Thursday, June 3, 2010

a love letter to... Christian Louboutin


One day, many years ago, a young assistant to a shoe-maker was painting her nails red while at work. The impact this act would have on the footwear industry would be massive - for that was the very act that inspired shoe maestro Christian Louboutin to paint the soles of his shoes red.

Louboutain, the 46-year-old footwear guru, has single-handedly changed the way women think about (and look at) the shoe. Whereas before he came along, it was all about what was on the outside, he literally flipped the shoe-world upside down and gave people reason to look underneath.

Ah yes, that red sole. It gives you a little peek of what's underneath, like letting a piece of lingerie slip out, the red sole of a Louboutin shoe gives any woman a thrill of showing off a sexy coquetteishness, without actually revealing anything.


The overemphasized arch of the classic Louboutin punp, another trademark of the Louboutin style, creates the illusion of a pointed toe, like that of a dancer, and is something that Louboutin refers to as "the most beautiful thing in the world" (Vanity Fair, May 2010).


It is no secret that Christian Louboutin has created the world's most recognizable shoe, but few people know the passion that he has put into his life's work, and it is doubtful that when he first applied a layer of red laquered paint to the sole of a shoe, he knew the passion he would inspire in hundreds of thousands of women around the world... including this one.

Now it will just be a matter of saving my pennies for the $700 dollars it will cost me to pick up a pair of basic black pumps. Sigh. One day.

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