Altadama's are finally complete!

I have to admit though I've fallen head over heels for light peach Swarovski crystals, I'm so glad to see the back of this project... despite the fact I quite enjoyed doing it & I'm totally in love with the end result. To cut a long story short this should have been a simple straight forward job, however with one thing and another this project got totally dragged out. I loved working on the shoes as they were given a mind blowing transformation & the light peach crystals were very easy to work with. As they are a nude colour they are very on trend for the summer, however due to them being neutral they will compliment many outfits & see you through every season. The nude tone also lengthens the leg & my only complaint is that they're not in my size. They also make ideal wedding heels, which after the big day can be worn over & over again. They would look stunning with a pair of blue denim skinny jeans or ultra hot with a flowing dress. Needless to say I have decided to strass a pair for myself in this gorgeous crystal in the near future.
The shoes were originally patent leather in aubergine & were pretty scuffed in places. Firstly they were re-soled & re-heeled, then deep cleaned, followed by a paint job & then finally crystal strassed.
I can turn around a job like this in around 1 week, providing no other work is on.
The transformation that these have undertaken is proof that virtually any shoe can be given a makeover. I gear my service at different requirements.... Clients that want the latest Louboutin strass trends, though without the 2k plus price tag, clients wishing for a personal customised service (perhaps for a wedding) and finally for those that want to revamp a pair of old heels, that in some cases may appear un-wearable! In most cases I'm able to transform shoes that look like they are ready for the bin, into shoes similar to those with an rrp of £2000.00+ (Obviously these shoes would be of a designer branding to warrant spending the money on the strass service).

Latest project - Louboutin Altadama

One of my biggest Louboutin loves right now Is Lady Peep, so what better close second to be working on than the altadama! Similar to Louboutins lady peep peach strass I too have opted for peach Swarovski strass. These are looking totally amazing & I have around another 10 to 12 hours ahead of me before completion. The transformation from the start is mind blowing & I can't wait to upload the before & after pics. Once completed they will be added to my for sale section. Sad face for me!... I have fallen head over heels with everything about these shoes but unfortunately they're one whole size to small for me. They're a size 37 & if anyone has any questions or interest in them please feel free to drop me an email.

Ive just been referencing this on my google profile after stumbling upon the issue in a Louboutin feed. Whilst watching TV this morning I over heard a debate that is apparently in todays newspapers. I only caught the back end of it so I wasn't 100% sure what they were discussing, however I could figure it was with regards to people doing a DIY Louboutin style paint job on their everyday heels. The one section I need to complete on my blog is with regards to general information. One of the things I will be highlighting is that under no circumstances will I work on counterfeit items... People may think they're getting a bargain but for what they are the shoes certainly aren't worth the money. I have been fooled in the past and absolutely every last thing about counterfeit is just wrong! If you ever consider buying from my 'For sale' section you can rest assured that all items featured are guaranteed authentic. I'm also an active member of TPF so I aim to keep up to date with spotting these fraudsters new tricks! Anyway it may sound like I diverted slightly however my point is that I strongly disagree even with the painting of soles... After all Mr Louboutin managed to sue YSL regarding coloured soles so why should the general public feel its ok!? If people want the look save up for the real thing... Granted not everyone can afford it but imagine how you'd feel if you were the genius behind the legendary red soles. A lot of love, money & dedication has gone into building the empire into what it is today & there's already enough counterfeit companies out there damaging the industry, now theres going to be bodged paint jobs.. In my opinion it takes away from the luxury brand. I own a vast range of shoe brands & don't go running round painting all the soles red.. Those that do are blatantly trying to create a Louboutin style! This may be a little contoversial to post as my primary reason for my blog is my work, however Louboutin's are a massive part of what I do, not to mention one of my passions. Yes I work on a wide range of shoes but no one can take away my love for the 'official' red bottoms ;)

Louboutin Night Cage Zeppa

These rare Night Cage Zeppa's were used for someones big day! To start with they were professionally cleaned & re-soled.

The platform & heels were then painted.

Finally they were finished with a light Siam strass. By painting & strassing just the platforms & heels it has transformed these shoes from a quite casual style into a very formal yet vibrant & fun pair of heels, fit for anyones big day... with a red theme of course!

Swarovski Strass Louboutin Decolette





To date these have been my favourite commission. They started out as cream decolette's & though they were new unfortunately they'd picked up some colour transfer from being in storage. They were painted in a one off special mix effect paint & then finally strassed in clear swarovski. These were used in one of my advertising campaigns & have since been used for someones 'big day'. They make ideal wedding shoes & they can easily be worn after the big day all year round for any event or special occasion!



Swarovski Louboutin Strass



Me posing with my favourite creation to date! xx

Jimmy Choos

 These Jimmy Choo's provide a fantastic example of how shoes can be renovated. They were in fact brand new, however as they had been in storage & mainly due to the fact they are patent, they picked up some colour damage... as you can see upon the burgandy patent leather. Under no circumstances do I strass direct to patent leather as its non-porous surface means crystals do not adhere well, meaning crystal loss is highly likely. For this reason the colour damage wasnt an issue as the shoes required painting for strass regardless.

After several layers of black paint, lots of hours labour & thousands of crystals later..... You can see the end result is divine & a total transformation of the initial product.

Customised Gina Shoes

 

These Gina shoes took next to no time to strass as there was very little work involved... a job like this with just a thin strap & heel can be turned around in the same day. That being said this particular pair did in fact require a few days overall as the satin was also dyed from a light beige to black. It would not have worked to strass the strap that fastens around the ankle due to the high possibility of crystal loss... yes the glue is extremely strong, however with constant friction upon the strap, particularly where the straps cross would have increased the risk of crystal loss.

Signature Jimmy Choos with Jet strass

 

These Jimmy Choo signature heels were strassed upon the black suede. In my opinion this was just enough to help the shoes really stand out, plus it helped to give the dull suede a makeover! By strassing the gold I think it would have been too much & would have taken away from the shoes elegance.  These shoes are an example of how old or damaged heels can be renovated & bought back to life by the beauty of strass. When I first received these the metal work was dull & marked & the black suede had gone dull & picked up the odd scuff. With a professional deep clean & some TLC strass these shoes have regained there beauty... if not maybe a little more than they started with!

As with any suede I painted the areas prior to strassing in order to create a suitable surface for the crystals to adhere to without a dulling background.