If I was a shoe hound, Kobi Levi would be my favorite designer

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not fashionista. I sit at a computer all day, usually in my pajamas. So fashionable clothes and shoes aren’t high on my priority list.

But sometimes I come across something that makes me wish I was a little more … er … image conscious? Because these are some barking (and meowing) cool shoes:

Miao shoes by Kobi Levi

At first glance, I thought they were dog-themed, but they’re actually cat-themed. And don’t you love the little paw prints on the soles?

Often when photos like this float around the internet, the designer or artist is forgotten about. So I found his blog and wanted to share it with you. The shoes are designed by Kobi Levi, and his blog shows some other great designs. Some are naughty( the XXX series) but are all super clever, including:

“Enjoy God/Coke” inspired fashion (if you can call it that)

Matthew Paul Turner, over at Jesus Needs New PR, posted a picture that made me look twice: a runway model sporting a  spandex mini-dress with a Coke knock-off “Enjoy God” message.

Ironic, isn’t it? Skimpy mini dress, Christian knock off on the trademarked slogan? Turner had the picture under the tongue-in-cheek headline, “Proof that Christians influence culture!”

The dress is by from designer Jeremy Scott’s Fall 2011 collection, which is clothing, I guess, in the sense that the outfits are made from some sort of material and people are wearing them on their bodies. Here’s another selection from the collection:

Scott told Style.com writer Matthew Schneier that fashion “shouldn’t be a church that you pray to”. Which, of course, makes the dresses completely hilarious, because they shove our noses right into our own stinking pile of Jesus junk commerce.

We wanted people wearing t-shirts with the Christian-inspired slogans we ripped off from popular products, like this one from Christian t Shirts Planet:

 Well, here you go, the message “Enjoy God”, on the runway for all the world to see. Doesn’t seem so holy anymore, does it?

Grace Coddington, my fashion idol

OK, so the headline is a little misleading. I’m not a fashionista, so technically I don’t actually have a fashion idol. But after watching the documentary “The September Issue”, it’s the only way I can describe Vogue creative director Grace Coddington.

(Totally aside: before I watched this film, I watched “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia”. Quite a contrast, I must say.)

The documentary, directed by R.J. Cutler, takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes peek at making of the September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine. While editor Anna Wintour was supposed to be the main focus, it was creative director Grace Coddington who stole the show. Not that Wintour isn’t interesting; had the filmmakers wanted, they could have explored her in depth and had an intriguing film. (Her daughter’s thoughts on her mother’s career were surprising, for example.)

But Grace Coddington was the warm fuzzy in this flick. She’s smart, personable, chatty, feisty, and much more interesting to watch than Wintour, at least in this documentary.

That’s not why I love her, though.

Anna Wintour (left) with Grace Coddington (right)

Have you seen her hair!?

When I first saw her, my thought was, “Gee, they let her get away with letting her gray roots  peek through? Has someone suggested a less frizzy coif?” That’s because, without a flat iron and regular appointments at the salon, I’d have the same hair. And thanks to the fashion industry, I’ve been brainwashed to believe that not having perfect hair is a beauty disaster.

And yet, there Grace Coddington is, hobnobbing with the fashion industry’s most respected designers and photographers and insiders, hair all afriz. I wanted to cry, I was so happy.

Even more, she looks her age. Well, not her actual age; she’s almost 70. But she doesn’t look nipped and tucked and Botoxed. She looks like a woman who has lived and enjoyed life.

Not only that, in the documentary she wears frumpy shoes. She wears a lot of black dresses that I suspect hide the soft body of an older woman. While she’s a creative genius, she also doesn’t seem to feel the need to put on airs or  play to the industry images of perfection.

Yay for Grace Coddington!

At 46, I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few years frustrated with the aging process. Extra pounds refusing to budge. Hair that, as it gets grayer and grayer, is more difficult to color and style. Feet that just aren’t happy in heels. Eyeballs in need of bifocals.

My image of what I should look like, much as I hate to admit it, is influenced by the media. Magazines, TV, movies, etc. And I’m a woman who knows that those images are fake, that magazine covers are airbrushed and edited. But still, as I see other women my age who don’t seem to have wrinkles or fat or glasses or gray hair, I get more and me unhappy with the way I look.

After watching “The September Issue” I have a different outlook. Grace Coddington isn’t respected in the industry because of the way she looks. She’s intelligent. She’s creative. People see what’s inside of her, past her frizzy hair and simple wardrobe.

And for that, I thank her.

You can check out “The September Issue” on Netflix.