***Original Artical***
Fashion for Dummies: Daily News reporters test-drive weird fashions of the season
BY Amy Eisinger, Leah Chernikoff AND Nicole Carter
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
The fashion hybrid has never been so weird.
Designers have combined two totally different shoes - the peep-toe pump and the boot - and created a piece of fashion confusion."
Givenchy's $1,440 spike-heeled booties have got style junkies salivating. Proenza Schouler has made them, Beyoncé's worn Balmain's, and both Lindsay Lohan and Rihanna have teetered around in Alexander McQueen's zip-up version. The improbably popular peep boots have become so pervasive, next month's Vogue calls them "the perfect transitional shoe" (and also suggests "the must-do when it comes to this must-have: a great pedicure").
So, fine - they're meant for warmer weather. Why, then, are they in stores now? The Daily News set out to answer whether it's even possible to wear them in midwinter.
If the fashion police are working overtime to convince us they're wearable and chic, after all, the least we could do is try them out on the streets of the world's fashion capital.
I took the 5-inch-tall "Korset" boot ($104.97) from Steve Madden out in the cold. My tights were no help - the freezing morning air ripped right through and after a few steps, my toes had started turning blue.
Then came the stares. At the end of my block in Brooklyn, the construction workers did a double-take at the impractical shoes. Those snickers and scoffs were hardly the attention I expect Sarah Jessica Parker gets when she steps out wearing a pair.
I hit my first puddle on the next block and as you may have guessed, suede isn't exactly waterproof. Though I tried my best to avoid the big ones, in winter, there are wet spots at every turn. It took only one small misstep - and now my feet weren't just cold, but there was street water inching its way between my toes.
When I finally made it to the subway, I felt for my toes. The good news? They didn't hurt anymore. The bad news? They were completely numb.
But since high fashion has embraced the breezy boot, I soldiered on and got off the F train in SoHo, where I figured I'd fit right in.
The only problem: the nabe's cobblestone streets. After teetering slowly between the bricks and nearly tumbling face-first at a stoplight, I caught the attention of one passerby.
"You some kinda model?" he asked. I knew from his expression that it wasn't meant as a compliment.
"I just figured," he continued, "somebody would have to pay me to wear shoes like that."
Yikes-spikes!
Thanks to Rihanna's predilection for spiked shoulders, metal hardware as fashion has gone from punk to mainstream.
Celebs like Fergie and Adam Lambert have followed suit, spiking out their shoulders on the red carpet. Major fashion retailers have caught on, too - offering spike-heeled stilettos, prickly cuff bracelets and studded bags.
Next Tuesday, Topshop releases a spike-laden line by designer Ashish, which includes a cropped bomber jacket-style sweatshirt ($310) covered with 124 1-1/4-inch metal spikes clustered around the shoulders and elbows.
Now let's get real. I am not a fashion-forward 21-year-old Barbadian pop princess. I am neither edgy nor punk. So when I got my hands on the sweatshirt/weapon, I balked: The spikes were actually sharp and the thing weighed around 5 pounds. As I hoisted my purse over my shoulder, I scraped my fingers.
The worst part: Making the thing work in the context of my other clothes. Oh, I tried: dark lipstick, ripped jeans, high-heeled lace-up boots. But I looked completely ridiculous. Judging by the wary once-over looks I was getting from passersby, they thought I looked ridiculous - and scary.
Four-year-old David Reed, who sat next to me on a bench at the Bergen St. station, scooted away like I was a monster. As he clutched his mother's arm in fear, I told him to think of me as a dinosaur, and he gingerly reached out to touch the spikes on my elbow.
I got off on Wall St. to see if I could get a rise out of the suits. Jim Price, 46, who works in securities regulation and was in town on business from D.C., told me: "You could stab someone with those things."
"That jacket looks dangerous to me," said policeman Dimitrios Kalbouros, 28, from Middle Village, Queens, on patrol outside the Stock Exchange.
"I'm more of a peaceful guy - that's why I took this job," he explained.
"People are probably looking at you and wondering why you look like a porcupine," he added.
Indeed, I did feel more porcupine than pop princess.
Back on the train, I realized I had overlooked one major asset: The spikes serve as an excellent deterrent for sleeping passengers who try to use your shoulder as a pillow.
Great! Pants that make your butt look big
They're called harem pants.
Flashy, saggy and baggy, they prompted the name of a certain '90s rapper more than a few times on a night out on Smith St. in Brooklyn. And though they looked okay from the front, from the back, they gave what we'll gently call Diaper Butt.
Trendy retailers from H&M to Forever 21 offer versions of the slouchy trousers, which first appeared on the runways at Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Jill Stuart. I put on Topshop's sequined gray pair ($160) with a cropped jacket and heels. Sure, they look like pajamas. But I figured I should dress them up.
"Those are loud, lady," said a young man as I passed him on the subway platform. "You are rockin' those."
They're comfortable and easy to move in, seeing as they have enough fabric to make a circus tent. So I sashayed to my favorite bar and made my grand entrance to gasps and giggles.
"Do those come in other colors?" joked bartender Jeremy Swift, pouring me a cocktail. "I think you pull those off."
The bar stool proved to be a challenge, as the extra fabric snagged on the seat as I climbed up.
"I know someone with pants like that," piped up Kate Sims, a server at the bar. "But he's a man. And he's gay."
I took that as a compliment.
Outside the bar, a parked cab driver hailed me.
"Those are nice," he said.
But no matter the size of your rump, the low crotch line - fierce from the front - looks like Huggies from behind.
And just as the Hammer's pants had their 15 minutes of fame, so did these. Pants shouldn't be this loud, complicated or unflattering, even if they get attention.
I hung up my one-hit wonders for good and put on sweatpants.
