Three months ago, I pinned these Keds shoes by Kate Spade. Last week, I rejoiced when I realized they were finally available. I immediately picked up a pair of the pink pointy-toed sneakers for myself, even though it is a little ridiculous that they were $85, based (as far as I can tell) solely on the fact that they have the Kate Spade name attached.
I pulled out my old stack of red binders today. I joked and told Brandon that it was my physical Pinterest account. Each was filled with pages torn from the stacks of magazines that I used to have free access to, and time to read on a regular basis. These binders were made before Pinterest, yes, but also before I started blogging at all. I dated each, and they span from 2001-2004. That’s a lot of magazine reading and clipping.
Two binders in, I found it. The reason I pulled those binders out of my once-neat closet. The image I wanted to share with you.
It was in a separate binder — the one not labeled and sorted by date, but rather housing a collection of my very favorites. I never did much care for that bitty purse in that photo, and the turtleneck isn’t my thing. But those shoes? I still think about them.
The photo was from Mademoiselle, circa 2001, and the shoes are credited to Michael Kors, $148. There was no way I could afford those as an independent bookstore employee in my early twenties, making barely more than minimum wage. But I could slice those magazine pages with a razor like a pro, and archive them in little plastic sheets! I’m telling you — physical Pinterest.
I saved the entire spread, and I’d still like to dress like this (mostly). To live in a house like this (definitely). Looking at it again, I wonder if, subconsciously, it made such an impression on me then that I would later choose “lovely” as part of my blog name. I see that my dear pink and brown are in there, too.
The red stripe on those shoes with their perfect heel. The full printed skirt. Charm bracelets. Pencil skirts. Those bangs. That one fashion spread so neatly encapsulated and informed my style at the time, and still does. There are items in my closet that I have had forever and still wear regularly, and had I the wherewithal to buy them at the time, those pointed sneakers would be among them. They were more expensive than I think they ought to have been, but I have the means to buy them now, and so I did.
Maybe you’ll be the one pinning these images now. Or maybe you can’t stand them. I know that it’s silly to write about buying a pair of shoes like it’s the fulfillment of a dream, but dammit, it took more than 10 years to get them. And they’re pink and everything.
DWJ
March 13, 2013 at 11:52 amI used to do this too, I was a magazine junkie. I love when you find something you spotted years before. So cool!
CT
March 13, 2013 at 12:04 pmThat magazine spread you saved is amazing! Great timeless looks. An item on my (very long) to-do list is to scan in a lot of my “physical pinterest” — it will be nice to look through those old clippings I saved and see if they still represent my style today. Thanks for sharing! Cheers – CT
Kristina
March 13, 2013 at 12:12 pmJeez, they’re already sold out. That’s kind of ridiculous.
maja
March 13, 2013 at 12:12 pmI have a similar story– I had an ad pinned on my board above my desk from a European textile company circa 1999 which had a really striking mix of modern textiles. In 2005, I ended up founding my own textile like of (what?) mix and match modern tea towels. A couple of years back, long after I had forgotten about the ad I came across the ad and wondered about the connection!
Bethany
March 13, 2013 at 12:15 pmNope, not silly at all! And I’m an avid pinner, but I still do tear magazine pages out and save images that inspire. It’s fun to see how certain aspects of our style change but some things remain the same. Rock your shoes and enjoy them.
Katy @ All Sorts of Pretty
March 13, 2013 at 12:47 pmLOVE this post!! I’m so happy you found your shoes and were able to go back in an actual physical archive to find where you first fell in love with them. I think you might be on to something with bingers full of magazine clippings. As the world gets more and more digital, I think it’s nice to go back old school sometimes.
Mandy @ This Girl's Life
March 13, 2013 at 12:52 pmOh I had the same binders full of magazine clippings! I think I still have my wedding one actually. :Oh the good old days… :) I love how you finally have something you’ve wanted for so long. Good for you!
Katie
March 13, 2013 at 12:52 pmWay to go!
Gina
March 13, 2013 at 12:54 pmI too used to do this! I love your style and will be pinning some of these photos. Love her hair.
Beth
March 13, 2013 at 1:11 pmI have old binders full of magazine clippings too. I used to flip through them but now they just sit on the shelf. Pinterest is totally my new inspiration saver too. I love love love Keds too. They’re my all time favorite sneakers.
Chelsea C.
March 13, 2013 at 1:24 pmI love so many things about this post! And I love that you had Pinterest before Pinterest was a thing. I used to tear out pages of mags, too — but mine are in an accordion file, with tabs like “Decorate,” “Wish List,” and “Hair.”
Congrats on your pink, pointy-toed shoes. xo
Jen @ RamblingRenovators
March 13, 2013 at 1:30 pmI love it when life comes full circle! Cross that one off the list. Who knows, you might have a house like in that spread someday too ;)
Heather B
March 13, 2013 at 2:11 pmThey are pink and pointy-toed AND kate spade!!!! How could you NOT get them? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
darby
March 13, 2013 at 2:18 pmSo happy you got your shoes!! I did that years ago with a green Marc Jacobs coat. I would literally dream about it and finally got it. It’s still one of my favorite things. I’m now dreaming about the perfect black handbag I saw in a fashion spread ages and ages ago, I know it’s out there waiting for me to find it one day!
Christine Gibson
March 13, 2013 at 2:35 pmthis made me happy :)
Catherine
March 13, 2013 at 3:36 pmThat’s not silly at all! True style is timeless. Congrats on your shoes! (I really like her hairstyle.)
my little apartment
March 13, 2013 at 4:03 pmaw, I loved reading this!! it all felt very sweet, like you’d found an old journal from when you were young and writing about what you wanted to be when you grew up :)
Amanda @ the giraffe life
March 13, 2013 at 5:02 pmI feel ya . . I picked out the car I wanted to be my first new carpurchase 6 years ago . . and it was so cool to finally make that wish come true this year.
Kristina
March 13, 2013 at 6:31 pmI used to have a physical Pinterest too, but mine was stored in a filing cabinet – not as great for flipping through and revisiting. Super jealous that you picked up those shoes, they’re so adorable!!
Kristina
Kristina does the Internets
EvY
March 13, 2013 at 6:45 pmMagazines are the greatest aren’t they? Why can’t we have it all? Printed magazines, digital magazines, decorating blogs, pinterest? Each helps the other media grow and adapt and inspires the other. Why are magazines dying? LIVE! LIVE!
I’m glad you got your shoes.
Sarah F.
March 13, 2013 at 7:09 pmI had physical pinterest in plastic sleeves too! I had a fashion/hair binder, a workout and healthy eating binder, recipes, and a wedding binder separated into sections too. I just got rid of them because we’re moving and I can’t bear to bring more stuff I don’t use any more, but I sat down and flipped through every last page as I tossed them. Definitely made me sad and nostalgic. I kept a few prized pages, but now I’m realying on digital clutter on Pinterest instead.
I think it’s a bit romantic and magical that you had that early inspiration and now so much of it has come true, in one way or another.
Paige
March 13, 2013 at 8:06 pmI still do the physical Pinterest when time allows. Something about the “physical” in my hands. Love this post!
Christina W.
March 13, 2013 at 9:17 pmWhen I got divorced, I accidentally left my binders behind, and when I called about them I was told they had been tossed. I mourn those binders every day. :(
Wendy @ New Moms Talk
March 13, 2013 at 10:04 pmLove it!
The night that a group of us cut apart magazines to make a “vision board” a friend of mine asked me if I wanted children. I said yes, but didn’t have a boyfriend or husband at the time.
On my vision board I found “Paging Mr. Right” and things related to being a Mom and children. 3 months later I met “Mr. Right” and 13 months later our daughter was born.
Magazines are the best!
Nicole O
March 13, 2013 at 10:15 pmI love this post. That’s all I wanted to say.
Well, and that it made me smile because I can totally relate to everything that you said.
Thanks for the pre-bedtime smile :)
Henna
March 14, 2013 at 12:46 amha YES! Another one guilty of having a physical Pinterest! It’s funny, sometimes I run across images on Pinterest which spark my memory and I know EXACTLY which magazine and spread they were from…sometimes from fashion magazine back when I was 19, 20 years old! Before baby I LOVED magazines. I don’t find so much time for physical magazine flipping anymore…but there’s always time for Pinterest! ;)
Jaime
March 14, 2013 at 1:42 amAkkkkk! Another one with binders of magazine clippings! I too did this! I have binders and binders! I still have some of them! I still keep random prized clippings and other goodies and tape them to my closet door. I covered most of the closet sliding door with plain wrapping paper and then now I just put fun things on it (movie and concert tickets, hotel keys, makeup tips, pretty pictures, fun quotes!), it is my current real like Pinterest!
While Pinterest may have cured my magazine hoarding addiction, I now have now have new hoarding issues. Oh well, pin on my friends!
Erin
March 14, 2013 at 6:46 amThis may be my favorite post ever!
Kimberly
March 14, 2013 at 7:12 amI too think this is my favorite post. I still have my binder of clippings from over the years some dating back to the early ’80’s!
Talk about timeless, I tried to weed out ones I thought were dated but found I still loved all of them! Mostly hair and fashion ideas but still great for today. Thanks again for the great post it lured me out of my lurking status!
Jessie {My Mod Style}
March 14, 2013 at 8:55 amI actually saw this post in my Facebook news feed this morning and laughed out loud. I think you have earned the shoes. I love the polka dot ones myself. Every once in awhile I find something that is expensive that makes my heart skip a beat. I love that you have a binder of magazine pages. I do also and I made mine around the same time period as you. Before blogging was big and I still bought decorating magazines! I still have it sitting in my office. :)
Gretchen
March 14, 2013 at 9:01 amThis post is why I love reading your blog! Your style is wonderful and you are so open and share it with your readers. Love it!
Heather P.
March 14, 2013 at 9:41 amI totally have a red binder like that too! Never thought of it as being my own tangible Pinterest, but now that I think about it…you’re totally right!
I miss Mademoiselle magazine…that was my s**t back in high school and college!
Lena
March 14, 2013 at 1:12 pmCan you post or Instaa photo of yourself wearing these shoes? My first thought is that the pointy ness of them is weird, but it is also oddly appealing. I’d be curious to see how you wear them.
Meg
March 14, 2013 at 3:32 pmAmazing: I have those exact same pages saved in a folder somewhere!!!
meligrosa
March 14, 2013 at 4:14 pmI still do that! well on a smaller moleskine method. Especially LOVE that you kept these, I mean look at the wrinkly textures.. Love it! thanks for sharing Nicole<3
Teri (A Beautiful Little Life)
March 14, 2013 at 4:28 pmForget the shoes – I love the hair! I’m taking these pics with me to my stylist. I, too, have binders full of torn out pages that I have saved through the years. I’ve always been a very “visual” person!
Teri
Julia at Home on 129 Acres
March 14, 2013 at 10:32 pmLove those last black patent shoes with the red strap. Also, your “dammit” made me smile. Way to wait for those shoes!
Katja
March 14, 2013 at 11:50 pmToo funny! I have old morgue files going back to the 60’s and the same thing sometimes happens to me. I have a crazy good memory when it comes to my clippings:).
I do love those pointy toe sneakers!
Christen
March 15, 2013 at 3:58 pmSaw your note about free access to magazines. Check out if your local public library has a subscription to Zinio. I’m with you, haven’t had room in the budget for magazine subscriptions for a few years, but thanks to my local public library, I can read all my favorites online through Zinio.
Robin
March 15, 2013 at 9:19 pmI just want to say that I wholeheartedly “like” this post! I have boxes and boxes of “favorite” magazine clippings, I just want to get them in order as you have. Cheers, darling, to the fulfilling of a dream
xoxo!
Honor Roll | Making it Lovely
March 22, 2013 at 1:56 pm[…] those Kate Spade pointy-toed sneakers I wrote about are available […]
shoesday // keds vs. cons
April 2, 2013 at 9:02 am[…] Nicole’s cute post about the power of fulfilling your dreams. Like buying a pair of pink pointy-toed […]
Steve S.
April 17, 2013 at 4:50 pmWhile living in Monterrey, Mexico a lot of the women over there would prefer the pointy ended sneakers to regular ones because they would not only find them more feminine but also more “flattering”. This was between 2004 to 2007 so I am not sure whether this was a cultural thing or another fashion wave. Still, I have to admit that combined with some curve fitting capris, it did make them look fine with a capital F.
Nicole L
April 8, 2014 at 6:16 amOh physical pinterest! Most of my old clippings went with our last move, but I still have a small folder squirreled away.
Love those shoes! Funny, I saw an “original” pair of pointy toes at our local museum recently. All the cool girls in the 50s were wearing them!