B Brian Atwood like totally gets us, you know?

B Brian Atwood Strappy Cage Sandals, $400. B Brian Atwood Glitter Platforms, $350. Both via Neiman Marcus.

Although the B Brian Atwood Strappy Cage Sandals and B Brian Atwood Glitter Platform Pumps don’t technically have anything to do with each other (except for being from the same brand, obviously), it seemed like a good idea to combine them in a joint post, if only for expediency’s sake. I feel like I’m going to be harping on how much I love this new diffusion line early and often for the foreseeable future, so doubling up the number of shoes per post just seems like good logic.

The first thing that always has to be mentioned in a post about B Brian Atwood is the price point – these shoes clock in at $400 and $350, respectively, which allows them to occupy a price level that the shoe market has largely ignored in recent years and that which will probably be of great interest to footwear lovers. For that amount of money, you can absolutely get a well-crafted shoe with a ton of style that’s made of high-quality materials. I’ve tried on so many stiff, ill-fitting, twice-as-expensive shoes in my lifetime that I’m more than happy to give a brand that’s doing similar design work at half the price a very generous opportunity to impress me.

And that’s exactly what B Brian Atwood keeps doing; these shoes are exactly on-trend and still have a ton of Atwood’s signature quirk, but at a price point that is often half of his usual work. At the same time, they’re light years ahead of the Sam Edelmens of the world, who occupy a slightly lower price level and spend their time playing design catchup to the people who make the trends. Both of theses shoes could take up some space in my closet any day. Buy the sandals for $400 or the pumps for $350, both via Neiman Marcus.

Kat

Wow! If I judged purely from the photos, I wouldn’t have guessed that the shoes were “just” from a diffusion line! These are such great-looking shoes and are much better looking than what some premium designers churn out for their main line (*cough* Jimmy Choo *cough*).

http://dontaskmetosmile.wordpress.com
Chris

Let me start out, that I’m a lover, not a hater. If you go back a couple of posts, you’ll note that I just purchased the Brian Atwood “Lolita” Anke Strap Sandal – which is Drop Dead Gourgeous !

While I have found many of the “B” line to my liking, I can’t substitute “cheap” for quality. This is another example of manufacturing handed over to China, purely for the sake of exploiting cheap labor – for that reason I’m actually disappointed in Brian Atwood.

Ditto for brands like Michael Kors, who have turned more manufacturing (even of the exact same pieces) to China. However, Kors maintains the higher price point, actually expecting shoppers to pay equally for lesser quality goods. The term “fleecing” (defined as “to charge excessively for goods”) comes to mind. However, I digress . . .

Brian Atwood seems to have dropped the EUR42 from his “B” line, a size which he carries in his “premier” line. This is counter to trend, where more and more “high-end” designers are adding sizes on both ends of the spectrum, namely 34 and 42.

While collections like Valentino ‘s “Red” line, or Chloe’s “See” line seem similar in theory, one has to recognize that these are ESTABLISHED fashion houses, with a rich history. Alexander Mcqueen has MCQ, but no shoes there. Brian Atwood is still in its infancy (not a bad thing, just an observation).

Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE Brian Atwood’s arrival on the scene. I’d LOVE to see these designs in his standard, or Premier, line (which is not that large to begin with).

Perhaps something along the MiuMiu line from Prada if Brian Atwood would like to “branch- out”. At this point, however, The “B” line seems like a distraction (or worse yet an acknowledgement that he can’t compete with established designer brands). Personally, I think he can, but this is the wrong approach.

You can’t be all things to all people without sacrificing “cachet”.

Christian Louboutin knows better. So do Dior, Fendi, Giuseppe Zanotti, Gucci, Lanvin, Prada, Valentino (the “Red” collection is still “Italian-made”), etc. They’ve learned there is no “quick” way to cornering the market.

Come on Brian Atwood. Give us more.