Ladies, beware. Soho’s Irregular Choice may be the cutest shoe boutique we have ever set foot in. The large carousel pony in the center of the shop was what tipped us off to how irresistible this place might be. The children’s Japanese cartoon wall decals were also an indicator. But the biggest, girliest, most delightful aspect of this shop was hands down, the shoes.

The London based founder and designer Dan Sullivan says his intentions for the brand were to “make a unique and individual stamp on the footwear world.” He has no doubt accomplished this task — we have never seen shoes like this before.

When you look at the shoe displays lining the walls of the boutique, you see a collage of polka dots, metallic brocades, feathers, and appliques. It’s apparent that Sullivan is not afraid to experiment with contrasting textiles and prints. Bold combinations of color and texture are accented by carefully placed faux flowers, plastic fruits, taffeta bows and cartoon toy charms. We keep having flashbacks to our childhood — a boot inspired by Rainbow Brite. A maryjane that could have been worn to the Mad Tea Party in Alice In Wonderland. We love how Irregular Choice encourages you to be a kid again.

In addition to the incredibly unique shoes, Irregular Choice also offers clothing, accessories, and even fashion for the boys. The mens’ collection is far from being as flamboyant as the girls’ styles. Your style-savvy male pal will likely walk out of the boutique with a pair of loafers with a perfectly placed pop of color or some suede boots with an unexpected hit of embroidery. Just the right amount of flare.

Irregular Choice is an exuberantly playful, charming escape from the sometimes daunting and serious side of the fashion world. We hope you can visit the boutique in Soho next time you are in New York so you can let your Rainbow Brite Shine.

HighStreet.New York

After browsing through the Fall fashion issues of some of our favorite magazines, we stumbled upon an indulgently luxe New York interior space featured in Harper’s Bazaar. The Upper East Side apartment belongs to Jimmy Choo stiletto shoe founder Tamara Mellon, a recent London transplant who had a very distinct look in her mind for her new space. She hired L.A. Based interior designer Martyn Lawrence-Bullard to revamp the old school-house-turned-residential apartment. “What I like about Martyn is that he can take your look, digest it, and then magnify it by a hundred,” she explains.

The image that caught our attention in this feature was the sitting room. Six heavily saturated large scale photographs of coiled, exotic snakes by Guido Mocafico hang framed above her modern white tufted leather sofa. The image is striking; perhaps a slight bit disturbing, but indubitably sexy at the same time. Deep shades of saffron, chartreuse, burgundy, and goldenrod are grounded by black and white– a palette that can be a bit on the masculine side is femmed up with luxurious fabrics and sparkly lighting. We find a great balance in Mellon’s house, something she calls “[her] own signature look, something that is both modern and old and glamorous, a bit of ‘70s but a bit minimal.”

Another one of our favorite spaces in the apartment is the entry which features an original work by Terence Koh. The piece was commissioned by Mellon at a dinner party and consists of a series of neon lights that read LOVE FOR ETERNITY.

Quite an avid art collector, Mellon has a Basquiat hanging in the kitchen, a Warhol in the sitting room, and framed photographs by Nobuyoshi Araki and Jim Lee displayed throughout the home. She explains “I never plan to buy a piece of art. I buy it in the moment. When you get divorced, you have to go through this awful thing of listing everything you own. When you actually sit down and write the list, you realize that the only good investments are art and property.”

We found these images of Tamara’s new home a great inspiration for transitioning into Autumn– the colors and textures are deep and sumptuous. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Katherine Tyznik.HighStreet.New York

Love it or hate it, edgy jewelry line Bijules NYC has been stirring up the independent jewelry scene for some time now. The designer behind the brand, Jules Kim started her line six years ago after realizing she could no longer work for anyone but herself. During a DJ gig, Kim was noticed by a Lucky Magazine writer for her the unique jewelry she was wearing, all of which happened to be her own designs. Kim got her break after sending the writer a custom Bijules piece which was then featured in an issue of Lucky Magazine.

Since then, Jules’ designs have been worn by both fashion forward pop stars and underground rockers alike. Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, MF Doom, Santigold, M.I.A., and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are just some of the artists to don her accessories while performing.

Bijules’ iconic nail rings are featured in Beyonce’s Sweet Dreams music video. The designer was commissioned to create custom $36,000 14K gold ruby and diamond nail rings for the pop diva. Bijules pieces have also been featured in music videos for Rihanna, Drake, Kelly Rowland and Chris Brown to name a few.

Bijules designs are not for the faint of heart; some of the common themes she incorporates into her creations are snakes, bones, teeth and weapons. One of her most recent collections was inspired by Tycho Brahe, a 14th century Danish astronomer and alchemist who lost part of his face in a duel. The nobleman became well known for wearing a gold nose in place of the one he lost… hmmm this makes us wonder… is this where Humpty Hump’s inspiration originated too? After researching Brahe, Jules designed pieces emulating body parts such as lips and fingers, and even designed jewelry for the eyes… 24K contact lenses.

Jules Kim recently debuted a swimwear line with Marc Jacob’s former beau, Lorenzo Martone. Nycked is a swimwear line for the New York City girl, a girl who prefers black and hardware to island sunsets, palm trees and neon hibiscus prints.

We can’t wait to see what this chic does next. Keep on shocking and awing us Jules, we love it.

Bijules x Beyonce from Jules Kim on Vimeo.

Katherine Tyznik.HighStreet.New York

But before all of this, she was, perhaps most influential to those of us in the United States as the founding editor of Elle Decoration UK, where she boldly pushed the boundaries of object-driven design beyond anything seen before, and introduced the new wave of modernism we so enjoy today.  In considering all of her accomplishments, ilse’s most revolutionary contribution to our world is the recipe blending design innovation with individual self expression, elevating lifestyle to a previously un-named level of spiritual evolution.  She may have no equal in bringing such freeing ideas to a wider audience.

ilse Crawford has been named one of Great Britian’s 30 most influential women by Harper’s Bazaar in the “Power Issue”,  for being “the person that defined the way we want to live”.

You may view the work of ilse Crawford at the site of her studio of Design and Art Direction: Studioilse, modern and emotional design at www.studioilse.com

ELLE DECORATION UK was incidentally, the most critical inspiration behind the creation of HighStreet and we’d like to thank ilse Crawford for her propelling light.

Thank you Ilse Crawford.

Leah Spurrier. HighStreet