DIY summer sandals into winter booties

I realized today that imagination and frivolity are often the mother of invention.

Two weeks ago, this was my mantra: "I gotta' get some geta!" Geta are Japanese traditional footwear which look a bit like a hunk of wood with little foot-sized platforms stuck on top. Of course I didn't want REAL geta; anything high and flat would do. (Pao brilliantly calls this style of footwear flatforms.) And the next day, there they were at a retailer marked down to $20 from $120. They were mine, and I stowed them away for spring.

Meanwhile, I had been planning a DIY to make little bootie slipcovers for my summer shoes so I can wear them in the winter. Why buy new boots if I can winterize what I already have? But this DIY has been lingering on my To Do list for over a year now. 

Then today [Monday] it snowed. As I was bundling up to go out, lamenting my lack of excellence in winter bootwear and my DIY slackness, I had an epiphany: I already have booties! - the kind you slip over cleats for road biking in the winter. They are battered but why not at least try them? In a couple of minutes my problem was solved. The booties fit perfectly over my sandals and, presto!, new winter boots. Or shoots? - shoe/boots.

Felt-lined, wind-proof, and waterproof, these booties kept my tootsies nice and warm, and the elevation of the shoes kept my feet out of puddles. Made by Sugoi, the covers have little velcro tabs that fasten together on the bottom of your cleats, but in this case, the tabs were perfectly aligned to nest between the heel and the step of my sandals. The fabric has a slight stretch and there is a rear zip, edged with reflective material, to conform to the shape of your shoes, although you can see that the booties stick out at the toe from my cycling shoes - the shape reminds me of a freighter. And who doesn't want feet like freighters?

I think this look, as is, black with yellow bits, is cool/urban/post-modern ironic?, but now that I know this method works and my feet will in fact stay warm, I'll paint these booties, or at the very least use them as patterns to continue my original DIY project, now wonderfully revived. Some thigh-highs are definitely in order. While I'm at it, maybe I'll colour my boring pants as well.

Of course I'm linking these up with Bella's Shoe Shine. These are my new LOVE shoe/boot/things. They are not very glittery but they do put a spring (in this case, a clop sound, rather like a horse) in my step, plus, my previous post already had sparkly shoe action. I look forward to seeing what the rest of you are wearing. You never know when frivolity and imagination will strike.

FREAKISH YELLOW SKIRT

Pao at Project Minima has been having her way with the Freakish Yellow Skirt. She is doing a multiple-wear challenge, which is still in progress, but already there has been a Sewing Rebellion! This is just an update - a proper post will appear after The Artist has realized her Magical Vision. Check out her story as it unfolds.