J Brand

The Naag editor-in-chief gives us her thoughts on which shoes to pair with some of her favorite Skinny Legs and Bell Bottoms for Fall…

Fiona not only gives amazing advice on what fashionable footwear to pair with our favorite J Brand styles, but we also love her sources of inspiration and style tips!

Petite J Brand fans take note – she has special words of wisdom just for you.

“I like to think my shoe obsession is because I’m a Pisces but if I’m being honest it’s probably simply because I am a living, breathing female with a heartbeat. I’ve been wearing bell bottoms since the 90s and it’s always bothered me to see people wearing them too short so I decided to show you how I wear them and maybe you will like it.

I only recently started wearing the ankle-length skinny and I am loving their seamless chameleon-like quality of going from simple French chic to late night New York just by changing shoes.

Maria

There’s nothing quite like a 30” inseam. This length is perfect for me as a shorty (I’m 5’4”). Here we are looking at a gorgeously smooth coated denim, with a perfect high waist, in a deep black. Now, let’s add those three things together and what do we get? An updated, hipper version of Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, duh! My current favorite ballet flats are these newsprint ones from Pretty Ballerinas, and when you pair them with the downtown cool of the Maria jean, well, let’s just say I’ve kind of been wearing this combo non stop since temperatures got cool enough to wear long pants. It’s super ladylike with an edge.

811 Mid-Rise Skinny Leg

I first got these in red earlier this year and what I like about them is the wash. It’s over-dyed so you can’t really tell they’re jeans which means with this Dynamite navy shade you can totally wear them to work or in my case, when I want to look semi-profesh. Here I put them with Burberry Fall 2011 wedges. It’s like these guys were fated to meet. Both are glamorous with a sporty edge, and both are the most comfortable things you can possibly imagine. Also another reason they work well with the wedge is because they are short enough to show some ankle, and that is necessary to avoid looking clunky as all get out.

Love Story

So here’s the story with the Love Story. When I discovered this jean, I discovered heaven on earth. With an ultra wide waistband to give my fleshy hips some pull-in, then the 35” inseam. When you’re a titchbot like myself, you can fool people into thinking you’re tall as a supermodel by wearing a bell bottom that falls directly to half an inch above the ground. I love me a wedge but in this case, a platform is best because a flare will sit far better over a platform than a wedge. People who work a bell bottom too short really should be taken in front of a tribunal and told the brutal truth. It looks awful to have massive bells swinging wildly around your ankles. That’s just not how the universe intended it. Another tip – check the weather before you leave – those suckers get soaked in the rain, and wet ankles can ruin an otherwise fabulous evening.

Petite Love Story

It was like an imaginary prayer was answered when the Petite Love Story was introduced. This means we can now wear them with a more wearable heel during the day for long periods of time. In this case I paired them with Joie suede ankle boots. A modest heel, but it matters. This is kind of my homage to Milla Jovovich in Dazed & Confused. I’m pretty sure she wore hers at what I would consider too short but whatever, I wear them LONG!

Petite Love Story (Again)

Aaaaand another way to wear the Petite Love Story ! You may have heard this week that The Stone Roses are reforming? You know, only the most important British band of the past 30 years or so? Well, as a Stone Roses fans in the 90s, I wore a flare with a Converse or an Adidas Stan Smith trainer. This usually was accompanied by a parka jacket or an Adidas zip-up and some teeny-tiny ‘ringer’ T-shirt. So Brit pop and sooooo impractical – when your hem drags on the ground it obvs wears out super fast, so take a word of advice from someone who’s lived the 90s – make sure they stop half an inch above the ground. But like we said, they have to be worn as long as possible for the authentic Britpop vibe.”

-Fiona Byrne

Images by Kate Stephenson

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