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Closet Envy: Meet Jane Aldridge, the teenage blog star who out dresses the average 30-year-old

By admin on November 25, 2009 0 Comments

JaneAldridgeSeaofShoes.jpgActually, chances are, you’ve heard of Jane Aldridge already. The 17-year-old Texan has a more impressive wardrobe than most adults you know and shows it off through her cleverly styled personal look book, the blog Sea of Shoes. She’s one of the best of a growing number of bloggers who chronicle their outfits online. “I was bored one weekend in 2007 and started it with my mom as a small project. We lost interest after about two weeks,” she says. These days, celebrities such as Kanye West and industry insiders regularly check out her D.I.Y. fashion shoots where she models looks crafted from the high street, eBay and high-end fashion finds that make up her wardrobe. But the blog is mostly about the shoes. In fact, her taste in designer footwear is so rarefied that Urban Outfitters commissioned Aldridge to design not one, but two capsule collections for the brand. And the blog perks don’t appear to be dying down anytime soon. This week, Chanel Haute Couture is dressing her for the annual Crillon debutante ball in Paris.

The blog has lead to some pretty big projects for you. If you could pinpoint a defining moment in your blog’s existence, what would it be?

Hmm…being in the Chanel Haute Couture fitting rooms and thinking, “The only reason I’m here is because I started a blog!”

Your mom seems to be a huge influence on your personal style. How would you describe her role in the blog now?

We both have blogs and it’s really nice to be able to share content and take each other’s pictures. My mom and I share a huge love of fashion. She has an amazing eye and knowledge of designers. She used to be a model in the early ’80’s and lived in Tokyo. She moved back to Texas and ran a very successful line called Atlantis Underground that she eventually wants to re-launch. But for now, she is really busy with her vintage store, blog, and side projects.

So is your house one big walk-in closet?

All of her inventory is just sitting in our garage. Between her inventory and our ever-expanding collection of clothes, our house is totally run by our wardrobe. It’s a small house and we have clothes hanging in our bathroom, kitchen, living room, studio — and the two extra closets we built are totally overflowing. We love clothes a little too much. We’re a bad influence on each other.

How do you balance school and the blog?

It’s hard. I was at a very small school with an extremely rigorous curriculum and it was impossible to balance my blog duties and my school duties. Now I’m finishing up my English credit at home and graduating this spring.

Where do you hope the blog will eventually lead you?

My biggest dream is to design shoes of my own some day. Even if this dream never comes true I have a lot of other things in the works right now that may keep me busy for a long time.

Are you ever surprised to find out who is reading your site?

Probably the most surprising was Kanye West. I was so amazed to find an email in my inbox from Kanye West that I spilt coffee all over myself. I talked to him on the phone a few times too. It was very exciting and totally unreal. He has great ideas!

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