Saturday walk in Casper 'pumps' awareness of victims

You might not want to wear your $9,950 Louis Vuitton Merry-go-round alligator pumps. And you might save your Christian Louboutin mandarin red python pumps with signature red soles that set you back $1,295. You absolutely might not want to loan them to your husband, brother, or male other.

But whether you wear sneakers or spikes, organizers of Saturday’s “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event just want men — and women and kids — to go and have fun.

Frank Baird created Walk a Mile in Her Shoes in 2001. What started as a small group of men daring to totter around a park is now a worldwide movement with thousands of people raising money for local rape crisis centers; domestic violence shelters; and other sexualized violence education, prevention and remediation programs. In 2007, Baird formed Venture Humanity, Inc., a nonprofit that develops peace, violence prevention and community projects. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is a Venture Humanity project.

Casper’s walk will take place on the last day of national Victim Rights Week.

“All of the different offices in victim services got together, and we wanted to do a walk this year,” said Alana Ham of the Casper Police Department Victim Services. “We found this one and registered for it.”

The walk is trademarked as the “international men’s march to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence.”

Liefde voor stiletto's maakt voetoperaties populair

Bij heel wat vrouwen gaat de liefde voor hoge hakken erg ver. Zo ver zelfs dat ze bereid zijn om ervoor onder het mes te gaan. Steeds meer vrouwen laten namelijk een voetoperatie uitvoeren, die de helse pijn bij het dragen van torenhoge hakken moet verzachten.

Bij de 'voetcorrecties' worden opvullende kussentjes in de tenen, hielen en bal (net onder de tenen) van je voeten gespoten.

Loub jobs
De voetoperaties worden ook wel omschreven als 'Loub jobs', naar de bekende schoenenontwerper Christian Louboutin. Hij zei vorige week nog dat pijn een 'noodzakelijk kwaad' is bij het dragen van hakken.

Dat zou met de voetoperaties dus verleden tijd zijn, maar helaas niet voorgoed. Het verzachten van de pijn, waardoor je de killer heels uren langer zou kunnen dragen, blijft slechts zes maanden duren. Daarna moet de operatie, die zo'n 465 euro kost, opnieuw uitgevoerd worden.

Plastische chirurgen schrijven het succes van de hoge hakken, en dus de operaties, toe aan de stilettoverslaafde celebs. Denk maar aan Gwyneth Paltrow, Cheryl Cole, Katy Perry en natuurlijk Victoria Beckham. "Vrouwen zien Posh rondlopen in torenhoge stiletto's en willen die look koste wat het kost nabootsen", zegt een woordvoerster van cosmetisch bedrijf Transform.

Mad about the boys

London Fashion Week has long been revered for its broad spectrum of up-and-coming and established designers and now the capital’s menswear fashion week looks set for similar success as a host of major fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Tom Ford have agreed to stage events on its schedule.

At London’s first ever “men’s only” fashion week, which kicks off on the 14th June with an event hosted by Prince Charles, iconic British brands Dunhill, Hackett, Pringle of Scotland and Belstaff are among a host of labels who will unveil their spring/summer collections for next year. A host of homegrown design talents, including Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Richard Nicoll whose shows are among the hottest tickets at the womenswear round of shows, will also enjoy a place on the menswear schedule while retailers Topman and Mr Porter will stage events.

At the four day fashion spectacle to which the British Fashion Council hope to attract press and buyers from across the globe, there will be some fifty shows and presentations. The decision to stage a menswear focused fashion week was announced by the British Fashion Council in January who recognised the menswear industry as one of key growth in London.

Last year global menswear sales increased by an estimated nine per cent to 21.4 billion compared with 18.7 billion in 2010. “London Collections: Men” is the result of a concerted effort to further boost Britain’s menswear industry – a sector which has long played second fiddle to the traditionally more glamorous womenswear industry. While Milan and Paris both unveil their menswear collections at menswear only fashion weeks, the capital’s menswear designers have until now, had their sho
ws shoe-horned into the final day of the womenswear schedule.

Michelle Williams, Olivia Wilde, Emma Watson and Florence Welch have a stylish weekend

If you weren't part of the amazing crew running up a sweat for the Virgin London Marathon this weekend, you were probably either watching from the sidelines or watcing from your sofa in your pjs sipping a cup of tea. Either way, we can bet you weren't frocked up to the nines like this bunch.

Michelle Williams attended the Take This Waltz premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC yesterday. The star opted for a gorge Giambattista Valli patchwork dress and Christian Louboutin heels. In choosing nude heels, Michelle wisely kept the focus on her lovely yellow, Pink and silver frock. We're also taken with her unusual blonde 'do. With platinum blonde sides and a slightly more honey-coloured top, Williams does blonde differently for 2012.

 Olivia Wilde also went for yellow, looking gorge in lacy Prada. We love the colour clash of her orange-y red Aperlei heels, brilliantly named Spocky heels.

Brit cutie Emma Watson brought an edgier feel with her Miu Miu leather jacket. We like the peplum detail on this tough number, great way to incorporate a tricky trend. Watson teamed her biker with a sweet printed skirt, peep toe heels and a Pink bag, all Miu Miu.

Florence Welch looked fab in emerald green at the Ceremonials Tour after party for her band, Florence and the Machine in Las Vegas. The gorgeous hue worked beautifully against her pale complexion and red locks.

Landwerlen Leather has become well weathered over 4 generations

He was barely old enough for school. Just 6 years old.

Yet, Leo Landwerlen skipped into his grandfather's leather shop and went to work.

He swept floors. He stocked shelves. He ran errands, making deliveries to the hundreds of shoe cobblers that made their livelihood in the city.

Seventy years later, Landwerlen still walks into the same shop at 365 S. Illinois St., Landwerlen Leather Co., a wholesale and retail business catering to the shoe repair industry.

Not a whole lot has changed in this place where the smell of tanned leather hides mixes with the mustiness of a century-old building. Where the worn, wooden floors creak and the click of a typewriter still creates invoices.

And then again, everything has changed.

People don't repair shoes anymore. They throw them away. Fewer than 20 shoe repair shops exist in the area.

Landwerlen now is the only shoe repair wholesaler in the state, one of just 40 nationwide.

But this isn't a story of a vanishing business down on its luck. This is one of survival. One of strength and perseverance that only comes with a family-owned shop that dates back to 1908 and claims four generations.

"We've survived by being honest with people and giving them the best quality for the best price," said Leo Landwerlen, whose grandfather, Louis, founded the company that has supplied countless pairs of laces, dyes, polish, insoles and leather to shoe repair shops across the country.

"We have old-fashioned values and old-fashioned service and that wins," said Dee Landwerlen, Leo's wife. "I guess you could say we're old-school."

We definitely can say that.

It was the 1880s when Louis Landwerlen came from the countryside to look for work in the big city. He was just 18. He found it, shaking salt from cowhides at the old Taylor Co. leather shop Downtown.

By 1908, he had opened his own shop in the same building it operates in today.

Instead of shoes, however, Louis Landwerlen founded the company to make wide leather belts that ran on machinery. He quickly started dabbling in other leather trades and supplying to shoe cobblers.

This was the true golden era of shoe repair -- just before and during World War II. Times were hard, and leather and rubber were strictly rationed. People needed their single pair of shoes to last.

At the time, there were 75,000 shoe repair shops nationwide. Today, there are fewer than 7,000, said Mitch Lebovic, with the Shoe Service Institute of America.

"The shoe industry today is challenged by inexpensive shoes," he said. "What Landwerlen does, it's increasingly rare these days."

The company will be honored this summer at the institute's annual meeting for being in business more than 100 years.

Lebovic himself, whose business is in Maryland, has ties to the Landwerlens. It was Robert Landwerlen, Leo's cousin, who hired him to work for the shoe institute in 1987.

Robert and two other family members gave up their ownership of the company to Leo in 1983. Around then, Dee, a school teacher, came in to work full time.

Today, the business has technically been passed on to their two boys, Eric and Mike.

But both Leo and Dee still come to the shop almost every day. Eric is the working partner who joins them, along with just one other full-time employee.

Dee teases that Eric "wasn't interested in higher learning."

"I'm happy here," Eric said. "It's the only job I've ever had."

But with a family business comes a lot of ribbing and the requirement to be completely frank with one another and move on.

Like the little spat about the invoices last week. Eric still writes his by hand. Dee likes hers to "look neat," so she does them on a typewriter.

Wicked Opportunity

Barely 26 years old at the time, Elardo hopped on a plane to Warsaw, Poland. Speaking no Polish, she opened a retail store in 1991 that sold American-made athletic shoes, paving the way for American sportswear companies into the Eastern Bloc.

By the time Elardo sold her Warsaw-based company AmerSport in 2008, it was notching $30 million in annual sales distributing athletic footwear for Converse, Nike and other popular U.S. brands throughout seven central and eastern European countries with about 200 employees.

“You can’t take no for an answer,” Elardo says when pressed for the key to her success.

After she sold her company, Elardo retired to Cape Coral to be near her aging parents. But she hasn’t given up her entrepreneurial zeal; she’s launched Cape Spirits, spending $2 million to build a distillery that will initially make rum called Wicked Dolphin.

Elardo recently reflected on her success, sharing some of the lessons learned:

FILM SCHOOL: Elardo started working at age 18 in the account-transfer department of Merrill Lynch to pay for film school in Manhattan. “I paid for school myself,” she says. After discovering there was no money in the film business, she sold advertising for television and radio. “I love sales,” she says.

SPOUSE SUPPORT: Elardo met her husband, Robert Elardo, while she was working for a radio station in Long Island. He owned and managed sporting-good stores in the area and was supportive of her Polish adventure, helping with contacts in the athletic business. “Bob and I invested everything we had and mortgaged our house six times,” she chuckles. “If you’re going to be successful, you need the support of your spouse. You can’t have anything negative.”

SPEAK BUSINESS: Elardo says the language barrier didn’t hold her back from doing business in Poland. When she arrived in Warsaw and tried to negotiate a lease, the building owner couldn’t speak English. Speaking no Polish, Elardo ran out in the street in front of the building waiving a $10 bill, promising the money to anyone who could translate for a couple hours. A young lady stepped up and helped her negotiate.

FIRST MOVER: Elardo benefited from being the first American to set up shop in Warsaw for American athletic footwear. “Nobody knew how to run a business over there,” she says. What’s more, when she established her business in 1991, Western comforts hadn’t yet arrived. “Not a lot of people wanted to be over there,” she says. But success came immediately. Her first day in business, she sold out of 1,200 pairs of shoes and had to close the store for three weeks while waiting for the next shipment.  Elardo sold 30,000 pairs of athletic shoes the first year. After a few years, when a U.S. shoe-manufacturing executive discovered she was ordering 16,000 pairs of shoes annually, he asked her: “What are you doing with the shoes?”

SACRIFICE: Because doing business in Poland in the early 1990s was considered risky (the country was still communist), there were no banks or investors to help finance Elardo’s venture. “We slept in a barn for a year; we didn’t have any money,” she says.

FINDING GOOD PEOPLE: More than 1,000 people showed up for 10 jobs when Elardo started the first athletic-shoe shop in Poland. More than experience or qualifications, Elardo looks for “hard workers who do more than asked.” She says her instincts tell her more than any resume. “I pick people who have honor,” Elardo says. “All you have is your name.” An 18-year-old she hired that day is now the president of another company of which she’s a part owner. “He was holding a mop on opening day,” she recalls. “He really wanted it.”
HONESTY: Especially in the early days of transition from communist rule, business in Poland was cash-on-delivery. “We were honest and we were strong,” Elardo says. “Our word was our bond and we would be in business the next day.”

DON’T BE TOO TRUSTING: Initially, Elardo had to get a local partner involved in the business because Poland did not allow foreigners to own businesses. Elardo hired an accounting firm to screen candidates and settled on an engineer. “It was finding someone who wouldn’t steal from me,” she says. They split in 1998 once the Polish government gave permission for foreigners to own businesses there outright.

INSIDE OUT: Know the business inside and out. Consider every angle from a different perspective: customers, investors and suppliers. “You need to know how to pack the boxes,” Elardo says.

GOOD NEGOTIATOR: Elardo says one of her advantages is that she’s a good negotiator. “Never say no,” she counsels. And, she adds: “You can’t take no for an answer.” Both sides have to view the deal as best for themselves.

PLAY DUMB: Sometimes it pays to play dumb. When shady mafia characters came knocking, Elardo played the dumb American, pretending she didn’t understand what they wanted. After some shouting and banging of fists, the shakedown artists would leave frustrated because they couldn’t communicate.

AFRAID TO FLY: Elardo confides that she’s afraid of flying even though she’s traveled on some of the most rickety planes in the sky. She once flew on a Ukrainian Airlines plane where the flight attendant had to secure the door with a rope. At one airport, a farm tractor towing a broken-down bus transported passengers from the plane to the terminal building. Russian planes were the scariest because of the liberal use of duct tape on the equipment. “I never worried about Polish planes,” she says. She ran her business commuting between New York to Warsaw every three weeks.

NOT YOURS: “I never think of my company as my own,” Elardo says. While you might take personal risk as an entrepreneur, consider the risk of your decisions for employees and the company. “You’re just one cog in the whole thing.”

TOO BIG: Elardo’s Polish company was at a crossroads in 2008. Her suppliers wanted her to expand into Russia with 20 new offices, but that would have required a big investment in a country she considered too risky. While she could have quadrupled her business, Elardo says she was leery of growing too big and sold the business to a competitor instead. “Throwing a bunch of people at a business doesn’t make it good,” she says. She’s seen other businesses stumble because of unmanageable growth. “They got so big they lost control,” she says. “You need to know when to fold.”

Shoe therapy has real benefits - study

Shoes are more than just laces and leather - for some women they may have therapeutic qualities, a new study suggests.

Research led by University of Canterbury PhD student Jessica Boyce has found that women who feel more insecure after exposure to "body ideals'' own more attractiveness-conferring accessories such as shoes and handbags, but not trousers.

"What the research suggests is that shoes and handbags are more appealing to insecure women because they increase physical attractiveness without drawing attention to one's figure. Trousers, on the other hand, tend to draw attention and that is why they are shunned by this group of women,'' she said.

"Some women may see shoe advertisements in stores, negatively compare themselves to the models and consequently purchase a pair of shoes. Given the increasing size of the average woman and the decreasing size of models, threats to appearance are likely becoming more frequent.''

Ms Boyce said the average number of pairs of shoes owned by women who participated in the study was between 17 and 18, while a few women owned up to 70 pairs.

The study involved 286 students from the University of Canterbury and 922 students at the University of Alberta, Canada.

The results of the study would probably have been different if they hadn't used only students.

Ms Boyce said she was a handbag and shoe lover, but not on the same scale of Filipina politician Imelda Marcos (1000 handbags and 3000 pairs of shoes) or Sex in the City's Carrie Bradshaw.

Worldwide the female shoe industry is enormous. In the United States alone, 886 million pairs were sold in 2008 compared with 144 million dresses, skirts, trousers, cotton shirts and blouses combined.

Angela Cleary took her shoe fanaticism to a new level and got a job at an inner-Auckland shoe store.

She estimates she owns more than 100 pairs of shoes and has spent some $8000 on her collection.

"I just really love shoes,'' she said.

One pair of shoes in particular were her favourite item.

"They're like these blue and white suede wedges and they're just like this most gorgeous cobalt blue, like this (Angela strokes a nearby pair of blue sneakers adoringly).

"They're amazing.''

She agreed with the research that some women's love of shoes stemmed from idealised images of women in the media.

"The women that are pictured in the media are like the perfect woman, and how many women would fall into that category? That's not necessarily attainable but shoes and handbags are. They can make you go from feeling bluh about how you look to feeling fabulous. That's why I buy so many shoes because I love the way I feel when I'm all dressed up.''

Shoe enthusiast Ayla Surtees has precisely 86 pairs in her collection.

"I just like how you can have all different shoes for all different outfits. I love my heels mostly, especially out-there high-heels, ones which are seven inches high and things like that.''

She was convinced of the benefits of "retail therapy''.

Hall's Shoes to close

Hall's Shoes in Aledo, a family owned shoe store, is going out of business after serving Mercer County, Warren County and the surrounding area for over 120 years. Owners Jerry and Janice Hall have announced their retirement after Jerry has been in the family business for over 50 years.

Hall's Shoes Store has been continually operated by the same family since 1892 and is believed to be the only shoe store in the State of Illinois that has done so for that length of time.

At the age of 12 years old, Will Hall, left London, England and arrived in the United States when he then came directly to Mercer County. In that very year, 1892 he established a shoe business that became one of the most prosperous in the county. In 1926 he was joined in the business by his son and daughter, Hays and Edith Hall. After Will died in 1936, Hays and Edith continued operating the store. .In 1958 Hays' sons Jerry and Bill, became partners with their father. Hays eased into his retirement at that time. In 1986, Jerry and Bill expanded the business by purchasing a shoe store in Monmouth. In 1996, Bill retired and Jerry and Janice assumed ownership of both stores. After 14 years of operation, the Monmouth store was closed and the store in Aledo expanded inventory to served customers from several surrounding counties.

It is with gratitude and appreciation of the past and present associates, our loyal customers and friends who have allowed us to remain in business for the 120 years. This has been a wonderful community to do business and we sincerely hope for its continued success.

This was not an easy decision to make and we have had many mixed emotions over doing so. We wanted to celebrate Hall's Shoes 120th Anniversary, and we are proud to say it was an honor to celebrate this with customers, family and friends over the past few weeks.

As we close the door to Hall's Shoe Store and begin a new chapter in our life, we hope that someone would see the opportunity to provide quality footwear and customer service that Hall's Shoes has provided.

Handbags, shoes and Sex in the City

Women who are more threatened by idealised images of females in media tend to own more shoes and handbags, but not trousers, according to research being led by University of Canterbury PhD student, Jessica Boyce.

Studies of 922 female students at the University of Alberta, Canada, and 286 students from the University of Canterbury came up with two main findings:

Women who feel more insecure after exposure to media body ideals own more attractiveness-conferring accessories such as shoes and handbags, but not trousers

Women who are, in general, insecure, own fewer accessories

"What the research suggests is that shoes and handbags are more appealing to insecure women because they increase physical attractiveness without drawing attention to one's figure. Trousers, on the other hand, tend to draw attention and that is why they are shunned by this group of women," Jessica said.

"Those who are insecure irrespective of media body ideals tend not to accessorise, perhaps because this would draw attention to themselves, something they do not want. We suspect that they want to dress anonymously, whereas those who are insecure because of the media like buying shoes to affirm their attractiveness, either because the shoes are particularly attractive themselves or perhaps because, as with high-heeled shoes, they increase height and apparent slenderness," said Jessica, a self confessed handbag and shoe lover, but not in the same scale of Imelda Marcos or Sex in the City's Carrie Bradshaw.

Worldwide the female shoe industry is enormous. In the United States alone, 886 million pairs were sold in 2008 compared with 144 million trousers, dresses, skirts, cotton shirts and blouses combined.

"If you look more closely into the findings, it could be that advertising campaigns unknowingly or knowingly capitalise on this struggle with insecurity about appearance," Jessica said.

"Some women may see shoe advertisements in stores, negatively compare themselves to the models and consequently purchase a pair of shoes. Given the increasing size of the average woman and the decreasing size of models, threats to appearance are likely becoming more frequent."

Jessica's thesis for her PhD in health psychology, studies the media's effect on female body image and dieting. This particular study examining the media, body image and accessories is one small part of the thesis. She hopes to finish her thesis by the end of the year and begin a postdoctoral research fellowship focusing upon body image and women's dieting behaviours.

Middle Kingdom's anti-gravity act

It's officially OK now to recognize that China urgently needs economic reforms. Premier Wen Jiabao said so. So did Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who is likely to take over from Wen when the Communist Party can sort out its power squabbles.

Every other economist has taken up the cause. Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, noted in Beijing last month that "Re-engineering of the growth model is being advocated at the highest levels of government, and this is highly desirable."

The buzzwords are "rebalancing the economy". A quick glance at the structure of China's economy shows the problem. Consumption has fallen to 35 percent of gross domestic product, almost unprecedentedly low by world standards. India, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand have consumption of 55 to 60 percent of GDP and the U.S. has 65 to 70 percent. China's fixed investment is 46 percent of GDP, between 10 and 20 percent higher than Japan and South Korea at similar stages of their economic development.

Officially the new course has been set and supertanker China is changing direction smoothly and capably under its Communist captains. Zhu Min, deputy managing director of the IMF, reiterated in Hong Kong that China's GDP depends too much on investment, which is "not sustainable", but he added confidently that "China's heading for a soft landing."

With the remarkable rapid shrinking of China's current account surplus, from 10.1 percent of GDP in 2007 to 5.1 percent in 2010 and to 2.7 percent last year, some Chinese economists have already declared victory. With rising wages and growing retail sales of consumer goods, there is little need to worry, according to the optimists.

Skeptics point out that rebalancing will not be so easy, and the domestic economy is still dangerously out of kilter. Adrian Mowat, J.P. Morgan Chase's chief Asian and emerging-market strategist, declared: "If you look at the Chinese data, you should stop debating about a hard landing. China is in a hard landing. Car sales are down, cement production is down, steel production is down, construction stocks are down. It's not a debate any more, it's a fact."

Satyajit Das, who has worked in financial markets for 30 years, declares that China's recovery from the global financial crisis was a result of "Botox economics." He claims that, "Using the advantages of a centrally controlled, command economy, Beijing boosted output through government spending and directed bank lending to maintain growth."

Since 2008, Das notes, almost all of China's growth has come from "government influenced expenditure." China's headline growth of 8 to 10 percent a year has been driven by new lending averaging between 30 and 40 percent of GDP. Up to 25 percent of these loans may prove to be nonperforming, amounting to losses of between 6 and 10 percent of GDP.

Professor Michael Pettis of Peking University makes an important point in his China Financial Markets newsletter, arguing that the promises of the Chinese leadership to bring changes are too often taken as fact: "Too many analysts overemphasize the intentions of the Chinese leadership when projecting China's future. If Beijing announces that it plans to accomplish a certain goal — raise the consumption share of GDP, or double the length of railroad track — analysts quickly incorporate that goal into their projections even when it isn't at all clear how Beijing will do it."

He adds that the same caution should be applied to the statements of political leaders everywhere, when they talk about debts.

Pettis has a very useful analysis of why China must rebalance its economy and, more important, how this can be accomplished. The key issue is that "China must stop transferring income from households to the state and must reverse those transfers. As Chinese household income and wealth become a greater share of the overall economy, so will Chinese consumption." Pettis lists Beijing's five options for change.

Christine Lagarde's battle to bag new funding

Davos, the Swiss ski resort that every year plays host to the world's rich and powerful, is rarely the scene of much levity.

Global politics and economic theory don't lend themselves easily to punchlines. But in January this year, Christine Lagarde managed to inject a little light relief into proceedings at the World Economic Forum.

Holding up her Louis Vuitton handbag, the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) turned to her fellow power brokers in one session and said: "I am here, with my little bag, to collect a bit of money."

The joke broke the ice and the room rippled with laughter. But, beneath the disarming charm, Lagarde was deadly serious. For months now, the IMF has been trying to coerce its 187 members into committing as much as $600bn (pounds 378bn) more to the fund to build what she described at the Brookings Institute in Washington last week as a "global firewall" to defeat once and for all the European sovereign debt crisis.

Ever since "the Greek problem" flared up again in July last year, the talk from Brussels to London to Beijing has been about "big bazookas" and "giant firewalls" - a vast bail-out fund available to rescue any struggling nation from bankruptcy.

If the bazooka worked, the thinking goes, it would restore market confidence without actually paying out a penny. As Vitor Constancio, the European Central Bank's (ECB) vice-president, put it: "My definition of a firewall is that it isn't necessarily used. It is a safety net."

The pressure has been on the 17-member eurozone to build its own bazooka, but Lagarde has quietly been canvassing for an increase in the IMF's own resources. Behind her thinking has been the fact that the eurozone simply does not have the resources to bail out Italy, its third-largest economy, without help. Furthermore, a crisis in Italy, or indeed Spain, would threaten the global economy all over again. A "safety net" would allay such fears.

It has been a baptism of fire for Lagarde, France's former finance minister who was appointed after the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn stepped down in the wake of rape allegations. Just nine months into the job, she has the unenviable task of trying to build a co-ordinated global strategy on the shifting tectonic plates of domestic politics.

At the IMF's key spring meetings in Washington this week, she faces her first real test. If Lagarde can strike a big deal on resources, she will be garlanded with praise. If she can't, the jury will remain out. Either way, the pressure is now on.

Until recently, talk of IMF funding has been hampered by the eurozone members' failure to show the "colour of their money", as George Osborne demanded in Davos. Last month, though, a eurozone bazooka was agreed in principle - to increase the size of the rescue fund by about euros 300bn (pounds 247bn) to euros 800bn.

Coming on the back of the ECB's euros 1?trillion emergency funding line for the banks, Europe could finally argue that it had played its card.

Limping to the podium at Brookings last week, after surgery on her knee, Lagarde said the time had come "to increase our resources" at the IMF, following the eurozone's efforts.

"I am hopeful that, during the spring meetings, we will make progress on this issue," she added, a statement that some believe has left her something of a hostage to fortune.

Osborne, who is close to Lagarde, having been one of the first to push for her IMF nomination, is thought to be prepared to commit the UK to another funding round of about pounds 10bn. China and Japan have also hinted at their support, but there are big obstacles - not least the US.

Timothy Geithner, the US Treasury Secretary, is not convinced that the euro group has added enough boom to its own bazooka, and independent analysis suggests he has a point. As the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) has noted, the eurozone's new bazooka leaves a "safety buffer" of just euros 300bn after taking into consideration the existing programmes for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

That hardly looks like the "mother of all firewalls" called for by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the respected Paris-based think tank.

CEPS added: "It seems clear that [the firewall] would not be able to provide substantial support for Spain and Italy."

Tellingly, all the US Treasury could muster in response to the eurozone agreement was the weak recognition that it "reinforces a trajectory of positive efforts to strengthen confidence in the euro area". UK sources said that, privately, the US was bitterly disappointed and adamant that no further US taxpayer money would be put at risk of more euro bail-outs.

Normally, US opposition would be enough to kill any plan to increase resources. But Lagarde has other ideas. She hopes to corral the rest of the major non-eurozone players - the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, China and India - into a joint agreement. But she has already begun managing down expectations.

Our world is flat

Cinderella would have never got her Prince Charming had it not been for her glass shoes. From fairytales to everyday life, shoes have been women's obsession since time immemorial. From Mary Jane worn in Northern America and Europe since the 1930-40s to the slender stilettos which staged a major comeback after 2000, shoes continue to be associated with a woman's personal style and panache.

The luxury market in India is expanding its domain from the consumer of high-end brands to the rapidly growing tribe of brand conscious converts who have lately been acquainted with luxury. The overall luxury market in India, estimated to cross the $8 billion mark this year, witnesses an annual growth of around 20 per cent. However, the apparel and accessories category (which includes footwear) in India grew at a faster pace of 30 per cent in 2010 over the previous year, according to a report on luxury by AT Kearney.

Generally men dominate the footwear market in India, but when it comes to luxury shoes it is women who put their best foot forward, according to store managers.

While the stiletto remains a timeless aspiration, the flat shoe (also those with a slight elevation at the heel) comes to most women's rescue. Its practicality and usability score over the over-hyped heels. “Indian buyers prefer flats and the store has a couple of options for a consumer who isn't fond of a stiletto,” said a supervisor at the recently launched Christian Louboutin store at DLF Emporio in the capital.

Being no stranger to the French brand worn by Hollywood A- listers such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Heidi Klum, Kim Kardashian, Renee Zellweger, and other celebrities such as Madonna and Nicki Minaj, Delhi is certainly going in for the red-soled ‘deluxe' indulgence like never before.

Interestingly, the store also showcases its range of not-so-high options such as the Metal Nodo, which is a pair of golden ballerinas, and Vaudoo-black patent leather flat sandals with pink stressed organza.

The other flat-style options include Tonguissima-nude leather with a pink gold mirror finish and potpourri and Balinodono-ballet shoes with leopard printed silk satin. However, the Glanol et Raglan and Vol au Vent, both in black, seem specifically suited for the Indian woman. Complimenting the saree, these sandals are a perfect match with traditional wear as well. “I'm looking at the collection and am surprised that we have such a variety to choose from in flats and heels. I am a school teacher, so heels are a big no-no for me, I'd rather try the flats on,” said Kavita Khullar who walked into the store with her daughter.

Its line of Bollywood-inspired shoes called ‘Bollywoody' has embroidered hot pink suede, specially designed for the Indian buyer, as opposed to the European choice of basic black. The colours have been chosen keeping the Indian buyer in mind. The Torero is an embroidered turquoise crepe satin with black embellishments standing tall on 150 mm of heel. With a price range starting at Rs 30,000 for a pair, the store offers an array of shoes, including the dramatic Asteroid, a peep-toe metallic pink leather with zebra print and spikes on its toe. However, their classic Pigale is the most popular.

John Malkovich for Pirelli PZero, the capsule collection of shoes

The project between fashion and industrial design of the Pirelli PZero, has the honor of another important collaboration, this time with the American actor John Malkovich , who designed the brand, a capsule collection of shoes with a unique style for materials and quality.

The technical name coined for his shoes will 'Technobohemian' , that is, just as we said a combination of old and new, but above all ' cutting-edge technology as always for the brand PZero, the line will be sold in the flagship store Pirelli in Milan and inspired by the clothing line launched by Malkovich and also presented at Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence, which bears the same name. Among other things, her clothing line was created and produced entirely in Prato, that John has chosen on the advice of a dear friend and businessman who has enjoyed the same quality and reliability of traditional tailoring district.

The capsule collection stands out Boholacchino , canvas and denim ankle without finishing with applications of rubber and printing pique with white rubber soles air. But the Bohosneaker in jeans with applications of cow split toe insole personalized with the inscription "Technobohemian, by John Malkovich" . The first meeting between the actor and director of Changeling, Burn After Reading and many other masterpieces and Pirelli PZero , there was in 2005 when the American artist, along with Naomi Campbell, was the protagonist of the first Pirelli short "The Call", directed by Antoine Fuqua.

This Gucci v. Guess Court Battle Just Keeps Getting Better

Things are heating up on our favorite courtroom TV drama in the Gucci vs. Guess legal battle.

The latest in the juicy ongoing court proceedings is testimony from Paul Vando, a former director of men's product at Marc Fisher Footwear, the company which provides Guess with its footwear–including several of the designs Gucci has named as knockoffs.

The last time we tuned in, Gucci's lawyer, Louis Ederer, had fingered Marc Fisher as an integral player in the “massive knockoff scheme,” even presenting evidence that the company was sending Gucci fabric samples to Guess' fabric supplier, with the intent to copy coloring and patterns. Ederer also read aloud emails between Marc Fisher and Guess, which specifically referenced Gucci products spanning from 1995 to 2008. Sounds like they've backed Marc Fisher into a corner, right?

Not so. Vando defended the company yesterday in court, saying it was “absolutely not” ever his intention to fool customers into thinking his Guess designs were, in fact, Gucci shoes, Footwear News is reporting.

But things got sticky when Vando was asked why he went shopping at a Gucci store on May 8 2010, a day after his deposition at the plaintiff's attorney's office. “I went to Gucci under the instruction of Marc Fisher,” Vando said. “I also went to Ferragamo and Tod's to purchase styles similar in nature [to any Gucci ones I may have bought].” (Hear that, Ferragamo and Tod's?)

When pressed by Gucci's lawyer on what specific styles he purchased, Vando said, “A cap toe dress shoe, a drive moc and maybe a loafer. I don't know what [Fisher] wanted them for.” Ok…

Oddly, part of Marc Fisher's defense is that the company's practice of knocking off being inspired by other brands, is not limited to Gucci. Vando said the company had used “close to 100 [brands],” as reference points, “from athletic brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma to fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada and D Squared.”

Well that explains why the footwear company gets in trouble so often for violating intellectual property rights…

'Titanic' spotlight

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Among the graves of Fairview Lawn Cemetery, there is one that was a magnet for bouquets and weeping girls in the 1990s. The name on the tombstone: J. Dawson.

Jack Dawson, you will recall, is the name of the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1997 film “Titanic.”

And this cemetery is the final resting place of more victims of the Titanic than any other.

Now, with the movie's re-release in 3-D and the 100th anniversary of the disaster, keepers of the cemetery expect more flowers, love notes and more weeping — though James Cameron, the film's director, has said there's no connection between his Jack Dawson and the J. Dawson buried here.

This is a place that has a deep connection to the tragedy. Halifax is 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) west of the spot where the ocean liner hit an iceberg; the ships bringing bodies back to land arriving starting late in April.

Families came to claim the remains of their loved ones, and funerals and memorial services followed.

Altogether, 150 of the Titanic's dead are buried in three cemeteries.

Gerry Lunn, curator of Halifax's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, said this city was in mourning for months after the disaster, with much of its downtown draped in black bunting.

“This was not just a one-night story,” he said. “It may have been for the ship and the victims, but for Halifax this story went on for months and months and hasn't ended to this day.”

On April 15, the anniversary of the sinking, a candlelight procession will be followed by an interfaith memorial service at Fairview Lawn.

Flares will be set off at the time the ship began sinking; and the Nova Scotia provincial government will tweet the Titanic's final emergency messages.

The Five Fishermen Restaurant and Grill — housed in the building where a funeral home handled the bodies of wealthier victims such as millionaire John Jacob Astor — is offering an April menu inspired by the Titanic's first-class fare.

And the maritime museum is mounting an exhibit of pictures and stories of the 150 Titanic victims buried in Halifax graveyards — 19 in the Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery, 10 in the Jewish Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, and 121 in non-denominational Fairview Lawn.

Fashion peak conquered in just six months

WHEN Chrystal Copland's name was called out as a finalist in a modelling competition in a Perth shopping centre, her mother was so overcome she literally lost her lunch.

''Mum was so excited she dropped her sandwich,'' Copland said yesterday.

But Copland, then 14, was ambivalent about a future as a clothes horse.. ''At such a young age I was more focused on school and homework,'' she said. ''I was a bit of a nerd but I realised this was a rare opportunity, so I was curious to see which direction it would take me.''

In the six months since Copland, now 20, made her international debut, modelling has taken her to the pinnacle of the global fashion industry. After opening the Louis Vuitton show during Paris Fashion Week in September, Copland is now gracing the cover of Vogue Italia in a shoot by the superstar photographer Steven Meisel.

''Being on the cover of Vogue Italia is the highest level you could shoot in the world and shooting with Steven Meisel is what any model would dream of,'' Copland said. ''All my agents worldwide are telling me how amazing and important this is for my career, which is a bit overwhelming, but we will just have to wait and see.''

Copland appears on the cover as part of an ensemble cast in the ''prom night''-themed shoot, for which two covers were designed, one with masks.

''Growing up in Australian beach culture, I never imagined myself in such a posh and lavish concept,'' she said. ''My granddad always needs help recognising me in pictures - I'm laughing to myself imagining if he picks up the masked cover.''

Copland's grandfather is going to be seeing a lot more of the model, whose rise has been meteoric since she first strutted the global runways during the European and New York show season in September.

Just four Australians have made the Vogue Italia cover - the others were Miranda Kerr, Robyn Lawley and fellow Perth model Gemma Ward.

Copland was on holiday in Prague when the Herald spoke to her but she will return to Australia for Australian Fashion Week at the end of the month.

''I feel lucky every time I have the chance to come home to my beautiful country,'' the model said. ''Hopefully it will be warmer than Europe and a bit more laid-back.''

The Spring 2012 Accessories You Can't Just Get Anywhere

One of the downsides of globalization is that what you can find in the stores in Paris you can most likely find in Mumbai or

Sydney or even Bhutan. This poses a problem to many who long to find special pieces that are rare or difficult to get. A sartorial conundrum for  women who live for the hunt of  that ultra-luxurious and only one of its kind handbag or brooch. Thus, you can no longer say “Oh, I got these shoes in Milan” because there’s a high percentage that those exact pair will be available in all the major stores around the world.

It is for this very reason that Lane Crawford in Hong Kong has decided to team up with designers and labels, via a collaboration called Blitz, to create exclusive accessories especially for the Lane Crawford stores in Hong Kong and China, and for their e-commerce site. Whether it’s by choosing colors or finishes globally exclusive to the retail giant or changing a concept entirely (like 3.1 Phillip Lim’s denim vest which now doubles as a backpack), these accessories from relative upstarts like Peter Pilotto and Erdem to blue chip names like Christian Louboutin, Celine and Alexander McQueen are one of a kind. Or two in the case of the leather backpacks inspired by golf bags from Alexander Wang. Only 10 of those are available worldwide. Lane Crawford has two—one in white, the other in black.

Click on the slideshow to see the gallery of spring 2012′s lust-worthy accessories from Yves Saint Laurent, Celine, Balenciaga and many more. Prepare to drool.

Christian Louboutin Opens in Qatar

Christian Louboutin will open a boutique in Doha, Qatar this month. The stand-alone store will be located in Qatar's unique shopping destination, The Villaggio Mall in the capital city of Doha.

The boutique design revolves around a futuristic theme, discernible through colour scheme and materials alongside more tangible features of furnishing and bespoke display elements.

The facade of the boutique is a bevy of windows outlined with a blue theatrical curtain pulled aside to reveal the interior of the store. On crossing the threshold, the visitor is welcomed by the signature Christian Louboutin red carpet into the main entrance, where a Saturn inspired chandelier dominates the space. The installation's light emerges from concentric metal ring surrounding the translucent Plexiglas sphere.
Comprised of three shopping spaces, the boutique offers dedicated areas for men and women's shoes, each accompanied by a selection of bags and accessories. The entrance provides a masculine environment for the men's collection complete with acrylic gyroscope shoe displays and exotic, handpicked textiles furnishings. Two circular shopping suites house the women's collection, each centered round a vibrant hand-blown Syrian teardrop glass chandelier. White arched shoe alcoves adorn the walls of the rotundas, reminiscent of an old theatre, giving each product an individual stage to showcase their personalities.

The store's debut collection includes sought-after classic styles such as the Pigalle, Hyper Privé and the now iconic Sweet Charity handbag, in a seasonal mandarin red colour with contrasting trim. Whimsical styles from the Spring/ Summer 2012 collection showcase the designer's wit and craftsmanship, like the Makeup Trash: The six-inch peep toe utilises elements of a beauty queens vanity in a unique display of masterful embroidery. Meanwhile the Loubi Zeppa, inspired by a Louboutin window display of neon lights "the Neon Graveyard", comes to life as a colourful statement wedge.