Shoe Story: India J. Jackson The Beauty Editrix

Hey lovas, welcome back. Hope you had a wonderful and joyous holiday. From The Bottom Up's 5th installment of Shoe Story features none other than Beauty Editrix India Jewel Jackson aka Ms. Jackson if you're nasty! India is a force to be reckoned with in the publishing business. Currently, Ms. Jackson is the Managing Editor of Branded Content for Hearst Magazines Digital Media overseeing Marieclaire.com, Elle.com, Harpers and Cosmos .coms, and prior to that she busted her chops at Glam.com as its Beauty Editor and has freelanced for the likes of ESSENCE Magazine, Glamour.com, Cosmopolitan and more. India is your modern day Renaissance Woman, that means, not only is she a writer, she DJ's and saunters around the globe constantly - just this month alone she's hit a minimum of 4 countries!

Where does she find the time? And more importantly, how did she find the time for me to come and peruse her closet for this feature? Well we're friends and have been for years, don't be jealous. On my quest through her closet, because it was quite an adventure, I stumbled upon everything from Rick Owens to Zara to Alaia to Chanel and more! I had instant shoe envy, shoe lust and shoe desire. Not to mention, she has some of the smallest feet in America so that made it even worse. I stomped around her apartment screaming "Why are your feet so small?!" 

On my journey through the shoe woods I found so many 'stomp and shout' worthy selections I had no idea what to do with myself, but because I'm so good to the people, get your own peek into her closet after you indulge in this delicious interview...

Put your ideal outfit together, where do you start and what are you wearing/what is it composed of?

Ummm I think my ideal outfit has a lot to do with how I wake up feeling. Most days I'm pretty lazy so I think its down to a base black outfit that includes black leather pants, a black t-shirt and if I'm feeling fancy heels and red lipstick. If I'm not feeling it flats or sneakers and lip gloss.

Name your top 5 fav shoe designers?

Ooooo I love Christian Louboutin. I just think that he really designs shoes to fit a woman's foot. So everything feels really comfortable even when they are painful they are not as painful as other designers. I like Givenchy shoes and I like Giuseppe Zanotti and I actually like Zara shoes - I know people really don’t like Zara shoes - but I think they do a great job of staying on trend and being affordable and I like Isabel Marant.

Whose shoe closet would you love to raid?

Ooooo there is a Fashion Blogger called Style Is My Thing. {Me: oh my GAWD her fucking shoe collection is bananas!} I've gone through her entire catalogue on her Instagram and her blog and she has done a post of her shoe closet and its sickening. Its my favorite place on earth and I wanna go in there. I also love Up Close and Stylish. {Me: I follow her on IG too. Is she a real person or is she capturing photos of others?}  Well she doesn’t like to say who she is, but I found out who she is. She's a socialite wife of a man who owns a hamburger chain in Sweden and they live in Miami and she has loads of shoes. I find it more interesting and find more inspiration in real people these days than celebrities. 

Define your style in three words?

Dressed In All Black Like The Omen {we both erupt into volcanic style laughter}

 If your shoes could talk, what would they say?

Pick me, pick me. I tend to find a favorite pair and run them in the ground. Then I get bored with them and I put them aside. And I pick something else up.

So you’re a shoe, what’s your style?

Super High. Super Skanky. Super Look At Me. Any particular color? Black {stated with conviction}

If there were a law passed that prohibited women from wearing heels, what would you do?

Go straight to jail. {Me: burst into the hardest laugh ever. So glad I put this in for you! I changed the interview around specifically for you.} I think that high heels are the extra cherry on top. Its like lipstick. Its like curling your bangs instead of wearing a ponytail. Its like throwing on a gaudy pair of earrings with a white t-shirt. It just does something extra to an outfit.

If you were stranded on an island, what three things must be with you?

Lip balm, Febreze {what seems like the longest pause in life} and a back up tube of lip balm.

Flash round....

Vamp or Red? Red

Chanel or Celine? Chanel

Land or Sea? Sea

Now ladies and gents, get into this collection....

Lets burn it up in here! Giuseppe Zanotti and Christian Louboutin.

The Great Gatsby featuring, Christian, Chanel and Christian. 

Get me my coffee or I'm gonna be blue. 

Bow-tie me up. These babies deserved a close up. 

I got these heels in my cup.

Pretty hurts. Tiaras, Sephora, and Seduction.

No 5.

Chanel, Chanel, is everywhere. 

J is for Jewel.

Don't Alaia to me. 

Mule time. Christian Louboutin.

Can you pass the collection plate please. Eyes. Nails. Lips. Shoes. And Jewels. 

Up close and personal. Shimmer and sparkles abound. 

YSL Monroe.

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All smiles and dimples. 

Life is full of beauty...and gold.

Oh mon dieu! I need a Alaia rest. 

Bust, Booze and Shoes. 

Stud Muffin. Zara.

Tie me up and hold me down. Tony Bianco.

Ms. Editrix and her trusted Loubies.

Shoeality TV. Christian, Chanel and Balenciaga. 

Live Your Dream!

Attention! Rick Owens, Miu Miu, Alaia and Alexander Wang.

Good girls. Zara mules and Skanky shoes.

Enjoy The Simple Things In Life...and Chanel...Definitely enjoy Chanel.

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Look back at it. 

Ladies, to have a closet like this, all I can tell you is to shop. Shop again and shop some more! Get started at Saks.com, Bergdorfgoodman.com, Yoox.com, Farfetch.com, and  Barneys.com.

If you can't keep up with Ms. Jackson in the shoe department, then follow her on Instagram @indiajeweljax.

P.S. They're all having yummy post-holiday sales so get your shoe game poppin for 2015!

 

 

Shoe Story: Dani-DK

Hey lovas, I know you've all been waiting with baited breathe for the next installment of Shoe Stories, but the wait is over! Kicking-off fall with a 'stomp and shout' worthy collection of chaussures, is Danielle K. Stewart now Mrs. Jackson of personal style and shopping site Dani-DK. Danielle, affectionately called Dani or DK by her closest friends, gained her style chops living and studying abroad in London, working as Executive Assistant to none other than Queen Bey, spearheading fashion marketing campaigns at WWD, leading marketing plans and initiatives for Rachel Roy and now serving as an integral member on the marketing team at Marc Fisher - Sigerson Morrison anyone? And that doesn't even scratch the surface!

Describing herself as a "Big haired, shoe lover," Danielle began profiling her love of style and shoes four years ago. She is a tomboy at heart who has the tom-lady-chic {yes I just made that up, so i'll be looking for my credit} look down pat.

Her ever flowing shoe collection is versatile, functional (for the well-heeled) and classy. There were so many yummy options to choose from I thought I was in shoe-heaven. I'm talking Casadei to Louboutin to Manolo to Nike, this shoe maven has it all. I sat down with Ms. DK to talk shoes and deserted islands and here is what I discovered....

When putting your outfits together, where do you start?

From The Bottom Up! It's very apropos to your website, but I start with the shoe. It's the most important piece of the outfit, the item people's eyes gravitate towards and usually the most expensive item you're wearing - at least for me its always the most expensive item I'm wearing. 

Name your top five fav shoe designers?

Oooooo that's tough. I would have to say Isabel Marant - I'm working on owning a pair - Manolo Blahnik, Nicholas Kirkwood, YSL {that's 4 right - continues with hmmm} and maybeee Nike. I have to pay homage to my tomboy roots. 

Whose shoe closet would you love to raid?

{starts with another Ooooooooo) Kim Kardashian. She's slaying every day. Every. Single. Damn. Day.

Define your style in three words?

Effortless, colorful and unique.

If your shoes could talk, what would they say?

Why do you wear us for such long periods of time. {laughter erupts}

So you're a shoe, what's your style?

Nothing less than 4 inches, inclusive of sneakers, and they would have to be unique in design with lots of color. 

What do your shoes mean to you?

My shoes mean a variety of things to me.  They are a source of creativity, strength, and confidence.  

Creativity - It's purchasing a shoe that isn't the conventional color or height or structure and feeling secure in not only my choice but, in that the opinions of others don't matter - good bad of indifferent.  

Strength - Despite what your pediatrist says about heel height, an undeniable benefit is that it gives you great posture - no slouching here just strut with your shoulders back and head held high.   

Confidence - I'm an undeniable tall girl at 5'11" and with even the shortest heels on I'm at least 6'.  Heels give me confidence even when I'm towering over an entire crowd. It's more than "hey look at me," it's about I don't give a SH*T, I'm going to kill it and walk around without a care.

If you were stranded on an island, what three things must be with you?

DK: Am I supposed to be practical? Me: No. OK so if I'm not being practical, my entire shoe collection has to be with me - all of them. I would bring blister block bandaids and I guess water to keep me hydrated. {more laughter at "I guess water"}

FLASH ROUND

Lipstick or Mascara? Mascara

Clutch or Shoulder Bag? Shoulder Bag

Beyonce or Rihanna? Emphatically states Uhhh the Queen Bey and after a long pause...noooo wait! Oohhhhh this a tough one. So here we go, for perfect hair and fan action EVERYDAY we'll go with Queen Bey. For versatility in style and uniqueness, as I believe I have, I'll have to go with Rih Rih. 

Here's a peek inside her closet...which had so many great options I've complied an image gallery AND posted some individual shots for your shoe pleasure. Jouir....

Guess who's coming to dinner? Rachel, Proenza, Sigerson, Manolo, Loeffler and Chloe dahling.

Peep this high-octane gallery - click the images. Trust me this collection is simply to die for!  

Some brands featured: Proenza Schouler, Sam Edelman, Casadei, Chloe, Manolo Blahnik, Rachel Roy, BCBG Generation, Nike, Miu MiuSigerson Morrison and more. 

Click on brand names to find shoes you'll love by these awesome designers.

Happy Shoepping. 

Ragtime fly. Sigerson Morrison Heeled Saddle Shoe.

Own these: Sigerson Morrison Gisa2 $475

Drunk in love. Rachel Roy and Chloe.

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Pardon My Swag...YSL and Christian Louboutin. 

Ladies, you know where to find YSL's and Loubs! Get ta shopping.

Here's a hint: Bergdorf Goodman 

Mule over. Sigerson Morrison Mules and Rachel Roy Satchel.

Want 'em? Get 'em? Sigerson Morrison Mules Verity $425

Life is indeed BEAUTIFUL.

To keep up with Danielle, tune in to her personal style and shopping site Dani-DK.