Moving to LA...

Please excuse my absence, I've been packing up my shoes and moving to LA!

I've lived in Orange County almost all of my life and I was ready for a change. I'm super excited for this new adventure but I don't have internet yet (barbaric, I know!) and my place is a mess. 

 (taking down the shoe room... an awful experience)

(my fancy moving van for my precious cargo) 

(My little sister Katie was my little moving helper)

(my shoes, waiting to be boxed up)

I'll be back to posting in a week or so. Just wanted you to know I haven't disappeared again ;)

XOXO

-Celine

The World Needs Sophia Webster

 I'm not going to totally get into why I stopped blogging for as long as I did, but I will say that the failure of my own line had something to do with it. I can't explain to you the feeling of getting your own shoe line, and being SO excited about it, only to have it taken away from you. It was devastating and to be honest, a little embarrassing.

 Those of you who followed my blog before know that I loved making girly fun shoes. Working with Betsey Johnson as her shoe designer was one of the best experiences of my life. It was a perfect fit! I got to make shoes with flowers and bows and over the top cuteness, and I was so happy doing that. Then working with Gwen Stefani and launching the Harajuku Lovers line was equally amazing. They were fun and young and totally playful.

 When I launched Cece L'amour it was during one of the hardest times of my life and I think that unfortunately, that showed in my design. I think I gathered momentum though, with the following seasons. I designed some really fun shoes that I truly loved, but maybe it was too late? Maybe it's the fault of bad timing? The shoe industry is changing a lot, and quickly. Launching a new line is always tough but it was especially tough a couple years ago. Whatever the reason, the line is currently "on hold" and it saddens me to think that there is a serious lack of fun girly shoes out there.

...But then the clouds part. Enter Sophia Webster.
I am obsessed with her fun and quirky over the top girly design esthetic! She's doing what I wish I could do. She's a 28 year old Brit who apprenticed under Nicolas Kirkwood for 2 years before launching her own line in 2012. I adore her shoes and I think it's a much needed change from a lot of the same old stuff out there.

Here are some of my favorites

I mean... SO cute, right?! I love them! And that cute little cluch!? Adorable. 

Unfortunately they're pretty expensive with shoes starting at about $195, but since she's still relatively unknown, you can find them on sale if you search online :) Plus, they're literally works of art and so unique that I think the price is justifiable. 

Maybe someday not too far away I'll be able to make girly, fun shoes at affordable prices again. If you're interested, Heels.com still has a few Cece L'amour styles, including my favorite wedges :) Amazon.com does as well. Check 'um out! I've linked the pages for you.

XOXO

Seeing WWDMAGIC In A Whole New Light

 So I've been in the shoe business for... well, ever really- and have attended TONS of shoe shows/ trade shows. I'm usually, however, on the vendor side. That's industry speak for 'I'm with the people slinging the product' (in my case, the shoes). This trip though, I was hired by WWD's Footwear News Magazine to go to the show and blog about my experience and about what I saw happening in and around the FN Platform show.

HOW FUN!

 When you're on the selling side you're working like a dog. You're meeting customer after customer selling them shoes, convincing them that your line is better then the countless other lines they've seen, and kissing lots of butts. Now I'm not a sales person so that's just my version of what happens. Don't quote me ;) It's exhausting and I think our sales team is awesome!

When you're someone like a buyer, or say- a blogger... that was me this trip... the tables are turned a bit. You're not someone who needs others to like their product- you're someone that others want to impress. Instead of being greeted at the booth entrance with a skeptical eye ("who's this vendor trying to spy on my goodies") YOU'RE the one they welcome with open arms. It's great!

"Come check out our product! We'd love it if you'd feature us... would you like a water? We have fun giveaways for bloggers!" 

Like I said- quite a difference.

 For the 3 days of FN Platform I got to walk the show with my "Official FN Platform Blogger" badge and check out all the booths from my new perspective and it was really a lot of fun! We did little blogger roundtables 2x a day where we discussed the different trends and shoes and shared our personal favorites. Tuesday was extra fun because Kristen Cavallari joined our roundtable and we all got to do a little Q & A with her about her shoe line. (A separate post about that coming up as soon as I get photos) She even gifted each of us with a pair from her line. 

On the last day I stopped by the BCBG Generation booth and they even had a blogger suite! They were doing nails and hair and had a candy bar and made us all our own personalized bracelets! SO cool!

 I saw lots of shoe brands that I didn't know about, as well as brands I'm very familiar with. I had a lot of fun and hope to be invited back to do it again. The other bloggers were great and I feel like I made some new friends :) 

 OMG speaking of friends! Did you guys see my Instagram!? On my way to Vegas I sat next to Gretchen of RHOC and we got stuck on the plane for a few hours before takeoff and she and I had a blast! She's exactly how I thought she'd be- so fun and sweet.

It's good to be home because as fun as it was, it was even more exhausting! It's been really cool getting back into the swing of things with the blog. It's been so long I almost forgot how to start a new post. But I'm trying!! And I'm still working on that 7 month revamp ;)

XOX

FN Platform Bloggers

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