Jane Aldridge's Sea of Shoes

I wish my life were more Dynasty. All of the girls on Dynasty wore sequins and feathers mostly every day…” writes Jane Aldridge, the effortlessly stylish Texas teen behind the wildly popular blog Sea of Shoes. Not that her life is lacking in glamour; on the contrary, she has loads of it.

A typical post from her reads like this: “Today was the one day out of the month that we don’t have to wear our uniforms to school. A perfect opportunity to debut the pants — apparently my shoes were too high and I had to swap them out for a pair of men’s brogues but I started the day wearing these Marnis. And then later I changed it up for driver’s ed (ha!) with an off-white patent Marni jacket and Alaïa gladiator heels.”

In less than a year of documenting her wardrobe acquisitions, design inspirations and daily outfits, she has caught everyone’s attention and imagination with her unique look and a closet filled with goodies that most grown women could only dream of.

But it’s not so much the designer pieces and one-of-a-kind vintage items that make her different, it’s what she does with them that make her a style star.

Jane shares her styling tips, inspirations and interesting tidbits about herself.

What inspired you to start your blog, Sea of Shoes?

I started Sea of Shoes as a summer project with my mom. Eventually it evolved into something that was mainly my own, but my mom is still a part of it. I started it because I think blogs are a great way to catalogue your inspirations and keep track of how your style evolves.

In a year or so you’ve already created a huge following — from a few comments in your earlier posts, now you have dozens. How many hits do you get and do you keep track of it?

Lately I get around 10,000 hits a day, but it varies! I do keep track of it. It’s amazing to see how Sea of Shoes readership has grown.

At 16 you already have such amazing style, while girls your age are still on their way to finding their own look. You have an enviable shoe collection. Do your shoes inspire the outfit or do you choose which shoe goes with the outfit?

Both. Sometimes I’ll want to wear a certain pair of shoes and pick the rest based around that, but sometimes I’ll want to wear a certain jacket or skirt. Different things inspire me at different times and the rest all falls into place.

Who/what inspires your look and how do you put together those outfits? Do you just throw things on or is it done with a careful and studied eye?

I constantly reference photographs of style icons like Bianca Jagger, Tina Chow, and Frida Kahlo.  I find their confidence so inspiring. Right now a major obsession of mine is Kelly Wearstler, a famous Los Angeles interior designer. She’s a judge on a TV show called Top Design and always has the coolest outfits.

In one episode she wore a vintage gown with a dragging train, but she wore it with jeans and a T-shirt. It was genius! My style idols are people who don’t take fashion too seriously. I try to take that approach when I put together my outfits. I think it’s important to consider color, texture and elements of juxtaposition in your outfits.

You’ve mentioned that your mom was a former fashion insider now raising you and your sister, and working on an independent project. Is the independent project her clothing line, which she models occasionally in your blog? What was she doing back then?

Yes, the clothing project she is working on is the revival of her old clothing line, Atlantis Underground. My mom started her career as a model in Tokyo during the ‘80s and began Atlantis Underground when she moved back to the States. She shut it down in 1992. The new line she is working on is called Atlantis Dry Goods and consists mainly of simple un-dyed basics. It should be available for purchase online by the end of this year.

You’ve got a closet grown women could only dream of. In a previous post, you said that your mom had pieces she saved for you. From there, how do you build up your wardrobe, and where do you shop?

I try to build on my wardrobe by having a constantly changing “wish list” of clothes and accessories I want to wear. For instance, I’m on the hunt for a marching band jacket, a pair of knee-length knickers, and the perfect vintage Ungaro dress.

I might not always be able to find exactly what I want, but along the way of searching for it I might find something that I like even better. I’m a huge eBay junkie. I search for my favorite vintage designers every day in case something good comes up.

Here in Dallas, I get most of my shoes at Barneys and some of my favorite clothing labels from a boutique called Fourty Five Ten.

On to the best part: What do you look for in shoes? What makes you choose and bring them home?

I’m not a shoe browser! As soon as the shows are over, I’m browsing the detail shots online, emailing shoe sales associates with questions about their stock, pouring over the look books, penciling in my size so they don’t sell out, fighting to get my Madison Avenue Barney’s picks shipped to Dallas, and driving an hour into town to pick them up.

By the time I’ve obtained my picks for the season I’m exhausted: this is serious business! Nowadays it’s hard to score the most coveted luxury items. You don’t just randomly pick up a beautiful pair of Balenciagas where I live.

What are your favorite brands and where do you buy them?

I could never choose just one designer! Givenchy, Dries van Noten, and Marni are among my favorites though. Barneys usually has a pretty good selection of these designers, but if I can’t find what I want from them I buy my shoes online.

You’ve mentioned that you’re a size 39 and your mom is a 40/41. Do you get to borrow shoes from your mom a lot, or is that the reason why you usually have one of each style?

Yes, because my mom has bigger feet than me, we can’t always share shoes. Sometimes I can wear her boots but truthfully she does not like to share shoes with me!

Among all the shoes in your closet, which are your top three favorites and why?

These are my three top picks for now but they change every day. I don’t play favorites with my shoes.

1. A pair of black patent platform Alaïa heels. They are six and a half inches tall and the platform is huge. They have an ankle strap and stitch detailing on them too.

2. My triple-lace-up Ann Demeulemeester boots.

3. Suede and leather Balenciaga ankle boots from Fall 2006. They are extremely sculptural.

Is there a particular shoe from a previous season that’s still haunting you?

Yes. The Miu Miu baroque sandal from Fall 2006 is absolutely one of my dream shoes! Let me know if you know how to score a pair.

You’re still in high school, and while it may be too early to ask, are you considering a career in fashion?

Most definitely! I would love to be a buyer (particularly a shoe buyer), editor, or some kind of consultant to one of my favorite labels.

What tips or advice can you give about cultivating our own style, especially to young girls who mostly conform to what everyone else is wearing?

Find the most beautiful things you can afford and wear these things constantly. Cultivating your own style isn’t easy — you have to do a lot of footwork and search for the good stuff.

Once you’ve found something that you love it’s that much more rewarding. I would encourage young girls to dig deep.

Visit Jane’s blog at http://seaofshoes.typepad.com.