The Peacock Shoes: A Primer

So my Critique Partner decided we're participating in the costume parties at the Romantic Times BookLovers Magazine Convention (RT) in Pittsburgh next month. Never let it be said I'm a party pooper. After shopping for the Golden Age of Hollywood party ballgown, the Under The Sea Faerie Ball, and the Vampire Ball and all the necessary outfit accoutrements, I had to search for funky shoes for the "These Shoes Are Made For Walking" party on the last night.

Alas, when you search the internet for interesting shoes, you get, um...interesting shoes. Try 8 inch stilettos with platform toes with ties that wrap up to your thigh. Uh, yeah. Even when I had the body for that, those 8" heels would've done me in.

So I was left with two options. Give up on the shoe party, or follow Pat S's advice. "Glue gun."

Turns out a glue gun wasn't necessary, but Elmer's did the trick along with some stitching.

Voila! The Peacock Shoes.

And now you can make your own. And I want to hear where you're wearing them because other than this one party I don't know anywhere else I'd wear them.

 The original shoe. I don't wear these anymore, so I figured, why not?

 First was to glue glitter to the heel.

Then I stitched the ribbon to the seam in the back, then the silk peacock iris, then, finally the stalk of the peacock feather. I looped the thread around and around, tacking it to the seam stitches. Once everything was stitched on I wrapped the ribbon up from the bottom and tied it off at the top behind the feather stalk, keeping them all together to hide the bottom of the stalk and the back of the iris.

 I painted Elmer's glue all over the shoe and attached the feathers then threaded 3 metallic bells through metallic green pipe cleaners and stitched them around the top of the shoe.

  Here is the toe of the shoe.

 The finished product.

 From the back.