... I would like to present to you...
… seven Schitt shoes…
… six movie dresses…
… five gold wings…
… four paper pests…
… three growing bathers…
... two storytellers...
... and a lazy day in space.
When Schitt’s Creek (2015-20) first appeared on a well known streaming service, I have to admit that I looked at the thumbnail, watched the trailer and made the snap decision that it wasn’t for me. It seemed like it would be kind of annoying, but I kept pausing on the listing while looking for something interesting to watch and eventually I just decided to click on it and try, because at worse I didn’t finish the series.
Fast forward to today, and I think I have watched it’s six season at least twice a year, if not more, since it first aired in 2015. It has become a comfort watch, the show I put on when I’m down or need something that will make me laugh, it’s the show I put on when I just need something good that I don’t need to turn my brain on for, but it isn’t unintelligent comedy, I just know it so well that I can fully relax and not worry about missing something.
The show revolves around the Rose family (Johnny, Moira, David and Alexis) a very wealthy family who, as a result of their business manager embezzling away their fortune, are left with nothing more than the belonging’s they can pack as the I.R.S. invade their home. They have been allowed to keep one asset however, the ownership of a small town in the middle of nowhere called Schitt’s Creek, which Johnny bought as a joke and is now where they are to call home.
Created by Daniel Levy and his father Eugene Levy (David and Johnny Rose respectively), the series became an incredibly popular and lauded show over it’s six seasons, Levy (Daniel) taking inspiration from reality television shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s, asking the question: what would happen to these ludicrously over privileged and delusional people, if they suddenly lost everything?
But why am I choosing a beloved TV show for Day 7? It’s partly because as I was writing about The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) for Day 6 and made the realisation that the female equivalent in look to Jack Skellington was probably Moira Rose (Catherine O’Hara). It also came as I was also re-watching Schitt’s Creek again, and I thought it would be interesting to look for Moira inspired shoes, given the insanity of some of her costumes, including her choice of footwear. Fashion being of huge importance in the way the actress manifested her character, but also how within the show how it is used to display how alien this family is, in this small town. Moira in particular.
Moira Rose is an actress, and when developing the character O’Hara was given free reign to bring her to life in her own unique way, from the bizarre way she voices the character - which no one knew about until the first day of shooting - and the plethora of wigs she wears, to the Daphne Guinness inspired costumes:
The colour palette used within the characters wardrobe (which is mirrored in that of her son, David) is incredibly minimal, black being the main colour, with white used secondarily, though some metallics such as silver are used as accents you rarely if ever see Moira in colour. She is layered in different textures and clashing patterns, as is her jewellery, and with Moira the approach is definitely maximalist, more is more, but more is better. And in amongst these outfits you would almost be forgiven not to notice her shoes, or only register the height of the heel, because there’s so much going on with this characters styling that while they are perfectly fitting for an outfit, they don’t draw focus. This was something that Ana Sorys, personal hair stylist to O’Hara, Eugene Levy and Annie Murphy (Alexis) on Schitt’s Creek, felt was amiss, and took to photographing some of the designer heels that were part of the characters aesthetic.
Excuse the massive Instagram dump, but I think it’s important to look at some of the shoes that have come before to understand why I’ve picked what I’ve picked…
Firstly is a boot, the option Moira seems to go for over almost any other style of shoe, usually paired with a pattered tight or legging, thus elevating a plainer shoe to a higher level, and with that in mind I found a pair of black vegan leather platform boots with a wooden heel from Kelsi Dagger Brooklyn. They’re simple, though often Moira was seen in quite a plain platform bootie or pump, but the leather that wraps around the back of the wooden heel gives the illusion of the boot being a traditional heel over a wedge, which I really liked. And every time I passed these within the options I pinned on Pinterest, I kept stopping and instantly feeling like these were something Moira could have worn in the show and would have fitted easily into her aesthetic, at least once she’d added black and white or patterned tights and layer after layer of seemingly random but strangely fitting designer items.
Link || Styled by Christine (My Style Pill) || Website || Instagram || Facebook || Pinterest || Flickr || YouTube
Link || Leather Pleats by Christina Cameron via My Style Pill
Link || Kelsi Dagger Brooklyn Wedges via Styled by Christine
Link || Kelsi Dagger Platform Vegan Leather Lace Up Booties Black Wood Sole via Poshmark
Link || Kelsi Dagger Acalia Wedge Booties via Poshmark
Link || Kelsi Dagger Acalia Wedge Booties via Poshmark
Though I have literally just finished watching the show for the hundredth time, one thing I can’t remember is if Moira every wore a trainer-esq shoe. In my head I feel as though she may have within the show, but if she did, I almost feel as though it was remiss, and that at some point, some pair of incredibly impractical platform trainer style wedges of this ilk should have graced her feet. So, upon choosing I had a few options in mind with this particular sporty theme, and I chose these because while they don’t fully read as a platform trainer, they also don’t fully stray away from that aesthetic. With it’s heel less platform, it’s even more of an impractical choice, but given the character (and O’Hara’s) ability to walk in crazier heels, I wouldn’t put it past her to wear these to a sporting event.
Unfortunately I have no idea who designed these, whether they’re designer or high street, all I do know is that once again, when I was whittling my way down to seven options, these kept screaming Moira.
During my search for Moira Rose inspired shoes, I kept straying down the glamorous Goth biker route. I don’t actually have a good reason for it, but more and more I was saving images of shoes with lots of hardware on them, covered in studs and spikes and skulls, and then I noticed that one particular designer kept cropping up, Jeffrey Campbell. Of all of the adornments however, the ones that seemed the most Moira in my mind were these ‘Wrecker’ wedge booties covered in buckles, which are simultaneously ornate, but would also be easily incorporated into a very eccentric, busy outfit.
Much like the fashion industry, Moira Rose is not afraid to use fur textures within her wardrobe, or in her footwear, so these “Daf” boots from Christian Louboutin, which look like a skinned Muppet, could be right up her alley. I also fully believe that Moira would and could take down a Muppet for fashion.
Though who would win in a fight, Moira Rose or Miss Piggy?
The answer’s Piggy. It’s always Piggy.
The reason I like these boots for this particular character, other than fur being one of those fashion fabrics which someone of her pervious lifestyle and fashion style would have almost certainly have worn and distinguish her from her new more humble neighbours, is that they’re simultaneously really ridiculous but also elegant, which for vaguely matted Muppet fur you’ve got to admit is pretty impressive.
Link || Christian Louboutin Black Shaggy Faux Fur Fluffy Platform Heel Ankle Boot via 1st Dibs
Link || Christian Louboutin Faux Fur Boots via Vestiaire Collective
Link || Furry Louboutins That Look Like Oscar the Grouch? [...] by BeautyRiot Diva via Yahoo!life
Returning to one of the designers I mentioned in Day 5, and one of my favourite designers in general, it might seem inevitable that I would try and shoehorn (pun intended) one of Iris van Herpen’s designs into my list, however, I actually can’t imagine a fashionista such as Moira, with her own unique and over the top approach to fashion, not experimenting Herpen’s designs. They’re weird, they’re eye catching and their unique, and being one of a kind is something Moira strives for.
With her innate ability to over accessories, why wouldn’t that apply to her shoes?
These “Crystallization” boots, smothered in dozens of strands of silver chain, were part of a collaborative collection between Iris van Herpen and footwear design brand, United Nude in 2012, and are the perfect pre-accessorised choice for this Schitt’s Creek character. They have that exaggerated, over the top appearance, with that vaguely goth aesthetic I kept leaning towards with Moira, but were also in many ways far less extreme than the heel-less hoof shoes that her inspiration (Daphne Guinness) is often pictured wearing. They look remarkably wearable compared to the extremes that aesthetic could lean towards and since Moira would walk back and forth to town from the motel in these heels, seeming vaguely wearable is very much on brand.
Link || Iris van Herpen || Website || IMDb || Wikipedia || Instagram || TikTok || Facebook || Pinterest || YouTube || Vimeo
Link || Crystallization Shoes by Iris van Herpen via Iris van Herpen
Link || Crystallization Chain by Iris van Herpen & United Nude via Virtual Shoe Museum
Link || Iris van Herpen x United Nude Crystallization Black+Chain via Pradux
During my research into this post, and my search for shoes, one of the most important things I was looking for was examples of the shoes that Debra Hanson, the Costume Designer for Schitt’s Creek, actually used within the show. And one name cropped up on multiple occasions, Alexander McQueen.
This didn’t surprise me in the least, the brand has been hugely influential and popular since the nineties, I grew up with McQueen being one of the pinnacles of modern and daring design, setting new boundaries for the fashion industry, and with celebrities often turning to the brand for photoshoots, events etc. So, as Moira is an actress, her most notable role being in Sunrise Bay, a medical drama which would probably have run at the same timeline as the brands rise, it would seem unlikely that she wouldn’t have been familiar with McQueen’s clothes and shoes, but more likely would have had many of the brands designs in her wardrobe. Which is exactly what we see from her very real designer wardrobe in the six seasons.
The reason they’re used in the show is because Levy wanted the fashion to be real:
“Wardrobe is probably the most important element in storytelling, outside of actually
writing, because we, as people, say so much about who we are and what we believe in,
and what we want, and what we think of ourselves by the way that we dress. […] So to
me, wardrobe was like, a huge focus. Making sure that we react thought through each
of our characters, making sure that the details were there. […] My mandate when we
started this show was that I wanted the clothes to feel real and I wanted people who
were interested in fashion to be able to recognise pieces and say like, okay so this isn’t
just someone doing Zara doing Balenciaga”
(Dan Levy, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Farewell to Schitt’s Creek, 2020)
They scoured the net for the real deal items on a budget, because they wanted it to feel real to their audience. To create the fantasy, it should feel like a privileged family flung into the real world and looking absolutely out of place through not only their behaviour, but the clothing they’ve managed to retain.
The boots I chose from Alexander McQueen are these Fur-Armour Booties (Alexander McQueen: Fall 2011), which were a Runway Exclusive, however I wouldn’t put it past Moira to own a pair, having had a word with the design. For this avant-grade style character the mixture of metal armoured heel and the softness of fur would surely be appealing, and if they’re not fur/hair, and instead are black feathers as I initially believed, they are truly fitting given her role as Dr. Clara Mandrake in The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening, the fantasy horror movie in which for her big-screen comeback, Moira plays an ornithologist who has started becoming a human/crow hybrid. They’re not only stunning, but these boots seemed pretty perfect.
Link || Alexander McQueen - Fall 2011 Ready to Wear via Vogue Runway
Link || The Four Seasons: Alexander McQueen Edition by Jesenia, JGB via Jesenia's Goodie Bag
Link || The Four Seasons: Alexander McQueen Edition by Jesenia, JGB via Jesenia's Goodie Bag
Looping back to the Iris Van Herpen x United Nude SS12 collection, may I introduce to you, “Fang”.
Moulded in carbon fibre and fibreglass, each boots heel and platform are made up of ten curved spikes designed to look like fangs, which support the wearer as they accompanied Herpen’s “Micro” collection, inspired by microscopic organisms, down the runway.
And if fashion is used within the show, as it is in every day life, to show a characters personality, emotional state and the front they wish to present to the world, clothes often non-verbally communicating a lot, then these shoes would be a power move, something Moira would wear when she needs to feel and look confident, even if she’s not. Moira comes across as someone with endless confidence and her costuming mirrors that, but her clothes are also a mask, it’s layer after layer of distraction and bluster, her clothes are designed to hide as much as they’re meant to reveal. Certainly the Moira we’re introduced to at the start of the show is not necessarily the Moira we see at the end. Yes there’s vanity there, yes there’s overconfidence, however that’s her way of protecting herself, as are her clothes.
Link || Fang by Iris van Herpen and United Nude by Rose Etherington via Dezeen
Link || Daphne Guinness' Music Video Debut by Sarah Karmali via British Vogue
Link || Fang White - Iris van Herpen & United Nude via Virtual Shoe Museum
Link || Fangs For Fashion: Iris van Herpen x United Nude by Anna Batista via Irenebrination
The importance of the costume, which is where a vast amount of the show’s budget went, is shown by all the characters, the Moira that Dan Levy and Catherine O’Hara have created was never supposed to be that rich tight laced tweedy Chanel suit, rich bitch. She was designed to be an eccentric, over the top and eclectic, but quite clearly passionate about fashion, and as much for the showing of wealth as that love of it.
What’s interesting is that when started saving shoes to my Pinterest board as options, I kept unintentionally saving either ones the character actually did wear, or ones that very similar, such as the Jeffrey Campbell “Spine” heels worn in Season 5: Episode 5, the steel toe capped Alexander McQueen pumps worn in Season 5: Episode 13, and the black and white zebra print shoes from Season 6: Episode 10…
… I even had the faux fur hoof boots by Isabel Marant (second Instagram post from the top) as an option! So, hopefully my choices aren’t so far off from being believably part of Moira Rose’s collection.
If you haven’t watching Schitt’s Creek before, and have access to it via streaming, I really would suggest searching it out. It’s unbelievably well written, funny, satirical and really moving. I ended up falling deeply in love with the Rose family and the residents of this backwards little town, they’re ridiculous, but deeply endearing, and I will probably watch the show over and over again. And I hope I never get tired of it, because when you find those comfort watches, those shows that bring you joy and ease your anxieties, even just for a little while, you want to hold onto them and keep them forever.
Anyway, welcome to February… impressed how I can stretch these posts a full month and barely be half way through? Part eight is a click of the heels away…
Link || Catherine O'Hara || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes
Link || Is This The Best Dressing Up Box Ever? Daphne Guinness [...] by Daisy Dumas via The Daily Mail
Link || Wig's Boots and Bishop's Robes. Here's How to Dress Moira Rose by Janet Kiosian via Los Angeles Times
Link || 19 Thing's You Probably Didn't Know About 'Schitt's Creek' by Jessica Booth via Insider
Link || Dsquared2 Spin Heel Ankle Boots Worn by Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) [...] via Spotern
Link || Why Moira Rose of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Is One of TV’s Greatest Fashion Icons by Nikara Johns and Shannon Adducci via Footwear News
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Listening: Simply The Best - Noah Reid
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