The Naturals: Kirabu and Kaylor by Jessica Bennett show too much craft can be just enough.Sometimes we just want to unplug. Working online day in, day out leaves us wanting something. Something like ... sunlight. Computers make us relive the paranoia of the '80s when the threat of world domination by aliens and computers was a thin disguise for those pesky Soviets. We spend an eternity in this phantom zone slaving away on the MCP and playing games with Joshua and dreaming of sweet revenge. Well, we agree that the only winning move is not to play, so let's take things offline for a minute and go native.
A favorite trend is what we, in this Luddite moment, are referring to as Offline Embellishments. These are the tribal stylings, wooden beads, craft-y DIY constructions and use of pre-Silicon Valley materials like wood, stone and metal for adornment. It's soothingly anti-mechanical and a delightful spectacle.
Not to mention a cinch to dress up.
Jessica Bennett leads the pack with two similar shoes, the Kirabu and the Kaylor. Unable to choose just one, we naturally chose both (our blog, our rules). These babies are a feast of over-embellishment. They don't read too much, they read plenty enough. They feel exuberant and fresh, light and maybe just a touch precious. In other words, perfect girlie shoes for spring.
Kirabu's deep blue denim looks great under a wideleg pant or even a cropped jean. The range of colors in the beading give you plenty to pick up in your accessories and outfit. And that peeptoe! So cute! We insist you pedi before wearing for optimum color possibilities. A four-inch stacked-wood heel is sculpted into a sweeping, narrow column that lends contrast to the fabric and beads, yet supports them by adding a touch of polish. Casual, but knowingly. Wear these to a street fest, Mardi Gras, a lecture on Mayan codices or a visit to the Smarties factory.
The Kaylor's beige upper and woven jute wedge sole just beg for a white summer dress with a floppy sunhat or anything to show off your legs and be happy about the warmer weather. The front is cotton webbing with a riot of embroidery topped with wooden beads. The slingback is made of nude leather. All of this perches vertiginously on a two-inch platform rising to a narrow four-inch heel. The embroidery - cobalt, magenta, ice blue - feels vaguely Hopi as though our kachina collection had been reshaped into shoes while we slept. These happy sandals feel close to the earth and far from the office.
We hope you understand our dilemma now. Two shoes, a brace of ways to celebrate the outdoors using the stuff you find outside, not indoors bound in the nutshell of infinite cyberspace.
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