Thank Heaven: A Memoire

My brief encounter with Leslie Caron and her dog Chi-Chi in Metro Étoile was one I won't forget. As a former shoe designer, I was captivated by her spectator shoes. Funny I called my version 'Fred Astair'.

A few nights later I was shooting the windows on rue Grenelle.

And discovered a shoe shop, Mme. Caron would adore.

Look - the perfect dancing shoes!

All these are from Laure Bassal - 3, rue Grenelle 75006

Elegant 20's style shoes still hand-made in France with a flapper edge that will never go out of style.

Since I got home I'm captivated by Mme. Caron's book, Thank Heaven: A Memoire. I can't put it down.

Tales of developing her craft, funny stories on the set will make you want to watch Caron's movies again. This morning's pick - Truffaut's The Man Who Loved Women.

Her intimate little stories of encounters and friendships are gripping tales - I wish this book wouldn't end...

You can watch Father Goose on Youtube by the way.

I'm awfully glad life is full of serendipitous surprises, especially in the Paris Metro.

Merci Leslie Caron!

CarolGillott.com

I'm delighted to announce, after 5 long days of labor, I have a new baby on board - Carol Gillott.com was born this week with the superb help of Mat Rosa. It's my chance to show you a few of the things I've done... Did I mention in passing that I painted chef's jackets. Merci Roger Verge. And I've been a party sketcher... Not a bad profession as professions go...

Inside Christian Louboutin

So I didn't actually go inside Christian Louboutin on 19 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 75001, I just browsed like crazy. He opened his shop in 1992, right at 19th century arcade, Galerie Vero-Dodat.
I didn't know Louboutin apprenticed backstage at the Follies Bergère as a teenager. "That’s where I learned that shoes are all about posture and proportion.”Early years Louboutin created shoes for YSL, Chanel, Maud Frizon... His instantly recognizable red soles were the result of grabbing a bottle of nail polish from a nearby assistant. “It didn’t take me long to learn from my customers that the red soles were very popular with men,” Christian Louboutin said laughing. His shoes are like works of art, like sculpture... As is everything inside his shop like this FAB chaise... Does Jennifer Lopez have the same wall of Louboutins at home?

Bear loved this crazy mural of a marauding bear...

At a shoe picnic...

Are these Louboutins in David la Chapelle's picture at Art-Paris?

Do you really need to wear anything else when you have on your Louboutins?
BONJOUR MY LOUBOUTINS!

Street Markets

Another chapter of "MY BRILLIANT CAREER". Did you see that Australian movie or read the book? On a shoe designing trip to Spain, I went to Morocco. I fell hard for the souks and bazaars and dreamed of doing a coffee table book. Always practical, I figured I’d do a European flea market guide 1st. My shoe company sent me to London, Paris, Rome so I piggy-backed on flea market research. First day in London's Bermondsey Market, I met darling Graham, a free-lance antique dealer. He became my new flea market assistant. What did I know of antiques? The illo above was for Mademoiselle magazine. I had no typewriter so I hand-printed everything —sheer hell for my editor.

Grossett & Dunlap saw the Mademoiselle article and asked me to turn it into a book. I went off to design shoes with Graham along to explain silver marks and dealer tips in the weekend flea markets.

Here's a spread from the Paris Puce section..

Next I approached Mademoiselle on the souks and bazaars idea. They were thrilled. A book contract followed from Grosset. I'd earned my street market creds. This time I was comped by tourist offices as a guest travelwriter in their countries - all expenses paid. I was comped in Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Isreal. In Iran I joined a group of travel agents to eat my fill of pistachios and caviar. Pas mal.

I had no "research assistant" for this project. Instead I used my imagination to come up with stories on the souks of Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Israel, Greece, Yugoslavia, Iran. I did have terrific help from Abrams book designer, Robert McKee (we met in an SVA graphic design class).
The book went to "blues" (the first publishing test run used for correcting errors etc.) But the Iran hostage crisis caused the Med book to be shelved. 

A US flea market guide was proposed next. First for Mademoiselle and then a 3rd book for Grosset. But problems surfaced. I don't drive. And it became all writing and little drawing.

Articles for Art News and others followed. Plus an illustrated column for a travel magazine. I accumulated a lot of antique junk in the process. But time to move on to another career.

To be cont.

Shoe Designer...

 I like to throw in the odd picture of shoes here and there in a post.

The Paris METRO is always a good place to steal shoe shots.

Or just window shopping late at night...

 

I spotted a decorative Indian pillow case and decided it would make a good espadrille.When the orders piled in, the problem was where to find more of the same mirrored Indian pillowcases.

and designed a "Fred Astair" group.

The shoe company had offices in Florence (a palazzo on the Arno) and Alicante, Spain, so it was a constant diet of pasta, paella and shoes. Tough choices.

I'm still keeping my eyes open for new shoe trends and details. I spotted this sign in a Marais shoe shop last trip for "BRONX" shoes.

 Paris feet, at the 2006 art show in the Jardins du Luxembourg.

Six months later I met someone at the tennis club who asked me if I'd like to design shoes in Europe. Soon I was attending shoe shows in London, Paris, Bologna, always keeping my eyes open for new trends and details. I found a vintage man's oxford in London I used as inspiration. Part of the job description was keeping your eyes open at all times for new trends and details. A friend heard of a design job on the Bowery, so I ran to Pratt, to took a one-week pattern making course. This shoe put me on the front of Footwear News. I found an Indian embroidered pillowcase with mirrors 

And I'm not just talking chocolate shoes by Jean-Paul Hevin either.