Here’s a less severe alternative to Alexander McQueen’s hoof shoes (seen recently on Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video and possibly on a street near you soon-ish) — Nicholas Kirkwood high heel platforms (from the Autumn Winter 09 collection) featuring a stunning silhouette. Heels and chunky soles are one of the design highlights of these pretty pairs of platforms.

Although I’m more a sneakers kind of girl, I’m loving the fact that women’s footwear design is reaching new heights (literally and figuratively) in the past couple of seasons. Will we see this trend extend to men’s shoes in the near future?

Just finished the last Meiji chocolate bar bought during my Tokyo Trip. When I saw these going for cheap at Donki stores all over Tokyo, I got myself a couple (okay make that a lot) of bars. I may lust constantly for designer chocolate but I’ll take a cheap and good bar o’ choc any day!

The last time I checked, the supermarket near my apartment was still stocking bars bearing the old wordmark with serif typeface, framed by fancy flourishes (see here) but apparently they’ve come up with a new look.

The design looked kinda weird to me at first – the typeface is almost too friendly and cute for my liking. After the nth bar, however, I got used to seeing the new look Meiji, and honestly, I can’t recall how the old one looked like without referring to a picture (short-term memory induced by too much chocolate?).

The old packaging stood out from the rest of the pack (heh) because of its old school feel but I think the new one does the job equally well. The minimalistic design still stands out from the sea of other candy bars bearing loud colors and busy designs. Do you like the new look?

Saw the huge posters of Jimmy Choo for H&M in when I was Shibuya, Japan. Didn’t have time to check it out then. Here’s what’s in store this Autumn:

Sexy color patent high heel shoes. Love the electric blue color. Disco!

S&M/biker/rock chic strap leather heels with studs…

…and animal prints galore – like these zebra print heels and the weirdly beautiful snake skin-like boots studded with crystals.

Prices for shoes start from a very affordable US$59.95 for a pair of flat pumps and go up to US$299 for a pair of stretch leather over the knee boots. But what I’ve really fallen for are these two leather bags with zipper detailing:

Sidenote: This is the second post in a row with the title format *couture designer for mass market brand* (see Stella McCartney for Gap Kids and babyGap). Which fashion designer would you like to see designing for your favourite label?