I’ve been enjoying getting to know my fellow shoe and fashion bloggers through these interviews. If you’d like to be featured, email me at shoe_smitten(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Today I’m thrilled to bring you an interview with Julie Fredrickson of Almost Heeled! This brilliant glamour girl also founded the popular fashion blog Coutorture.
After interviewing Julie, I was surprised to find that she and I have much in common. Julie says she is a “fashion geek”, and her blog was born out of an affinity for shoes – she wanted to share the shoes in her daily life. I started Shoe Smitten for a similar reason – to learn more about shoes and to celebrate the shoes with which I’m smitten.
Julie’s shoe wardrobe consists of versatile designer shoes, and although she only owns 15 pairs, they are “15 perfect pairs of shoes that can service any conceivable occasion from black tie to a live backyard concert.”
Keep on reading below the break to learn more about Julie and her blog, Almost Heeled.
How and when did you become interested in fashion?
I was never interested in fashion as a child. In fact quite the opposite. I spent my teenage years in jeans mucking out stalls at my barn. I was a horse girl and an outdoors(wo)man so I never gave much thought to what I wore. That attitude carried over when I went to college to study economics and political science. However, after a certain president won his reelection campaign I got so disgusted with politics and the economy I canceled my beloved subscription to The Economist. I replaced it with Vogue. It was really a natural progression from there as I rebelled from my extremely intellectual life. I started my first Almost blog Almost Girl in college as an outlet for that rebellion.
How would you describe your fashion/shopping expertise?
I used to be quite reticent to call what I did an expertise as I very much got my start as an amateur in this business. But I would say a few years down the road I have developed into a really top notch market editor. What that means to me is I spend a great deal of time researching the best products on the market at any given time. And I really do it from start to finish from the textile shows like Premier Vision on to seasonal sales conventions like Coterie. I am something of a fashion geek so it is very important for me to understand the entire spectrum of a market long before I ever get to the creative parts.
You and I sound very alike, in that we both had no formal training, only a passion for learning about fashion. Do you remember your first pair of heels?
Not a clue! I suppose you could call my riding boots a pair of feels. They were a pair of custom dressage boots from Beval Saddlery.
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Not as many as you would imagine. 3 pairs of Bernardo ballet flats, one Bernardo Blizzard boot, and two Bernardo Miami sandals. One pair of Gucci bamboo flats. One pair of Prada gold flats. One pair of navy suede Pedro Garcia boots. One pair of black Gucci stiletto knee high boots. One pair of Gucci platforms (cruise 2006). One pair of black satin Prada pumps. One pair of United Nude Porn Shoes. One pair of Jimmy Choo gold platform sandals. My gym shoes and a pair of black and gold Puma
high tops. Yeah, huh only 15 pairs. But 15 perfect pairs of shoes that can service any conceivable occasion from black tie to a live backyard concert.
But the shoes you do have are marvellous! What is your favorite pair of shoes that you own?
Gosh that is such a tossup. It should go to my Gucci knee high boots which I love and adore in a way I cannot even express and my Gucci platforms because I wear those two pairs the most. Though for sheer shock value love it has to go to the Choos.
Who is your favorite shoe designer, and why?
Bernard Rudofsky. Alas he is no longer with us but his vision of comfortable stylish footwear really revolutionized casual footwear in the 50s and 60s. He had some very progressive views on the body and dressing that came out not only in his academic writing but in his design work. I am something of an obsessive Bernardo fan now that the brand has been revived. I do a lot of walking and his flats keep me in business. But when I am in a warmer climate I literally wear nothing but his patented Miami thong.
I am also a fan of Bernardo. I own a pair of leopard flats from him that I just adore. What shoe trends are you loving/hating this season?
I am so over the gladiator. Why haven’t we moved on yet? Otherwise I am thrilled that flat foots are still going strong as it is a much more practical way to get about the city.
Favorite shoe store?
Weirdly I don’t shop for shoes that often. And when I do they tend to come from sample stores or straight from wholesale. I am probably a BAD person to ask this question.
Are you a heel, flat, or sneaker kind of girl?
Flats! No platform heels! Honestly it is a tough call. I walk a lot which makes me a devoted Bernardo flat person but when I go out at night I love my platform heels.
If you could design a new shoe, what would it look like? What would you call your collection?
There are so many more qualified people than me, I can’t even imagine. Though my love of basics has a real desire to see the perfect shoe line out there. One flat, one heel, one sandal, one boot all just in one easy buy it now Platonic ideal of shoe wardrobe. I feel like women would really resonate with that. Maybe call it all the shoes you will ever need?
When did you start your site, and why?
I started it sometime last year but I am really ramping it up now. I started it mostly to give myself an outlet for all the shoes I come across in my daily life.
A great reason to start a blog! So besides writing about fashion, what else do you enjoy?
Pilates, Star Trek, reading the Economist
Thank you, Julie! Visit Julie’s blog today at www.almostheeled.com.
Speaking of interviews…I was lucky enough to be interviewed on ChicGalleria.com! Would you go check it out? :)
