Born in the vibrant city of Singapore with a unique Eurasian blend of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, my journey has taken me from the bustling streets of Singapore to the serene and open landscapes of Sweden. My educational pursuits in Singapore culminated at tertiary level with two separate Master degrees, after which I embarked on a new adventure in 2002, moving to Sweden. In Sweden, I pursued with deep interest, the knowledge field of applied linguistics, particularly corpus linguistics research methods, earning a doctoral degree from one of northern Europe’s largest universities, the University of Gothenburg. I currently work as Project Manager, focusing on EU and international projects, at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, at the Division of Bioeconomy and Health, Department of Agriculture and Food. My office is located in Mölndal municipality. Mölndal, known also as the Valley of Mills, is located about ten minutes by bus ride from the city center of Gothenburg to the south. If you’re ever traveling south from Gothenburg to Malmö, whether by train or car, you will likely come by Mölndal municipality. In these pages at cmariec.com, you’ll find my lifestyle musings on culinary and travel adventures from Singapore to Sweden, and from when I lived and worked the Arctic City of Tromsø (2018 to mid-2022). SINGAPORE | SWEDEN | NORTHERN NORWAY Life in Singapore Pursued all academic interests in Singapore, of which the post-graduate years were founded in two separate disciplines. In 2000, graduated with two separate Masters Degrees: (i) Master of Science in Information Studies at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore (ii) Master of Arts in the English Language at the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 1999, represented the Republic of Singapore at the Miss Universe Pageant in Trinidad and Tobago. With this came a variety of film, educational TV, media, and ambassadorial work for the Singapore Tourism Board. Life in Sweden In 2002, moved from Singapore to Sweden in order to pursue a PhD in Gothenburg, where a number of international corporate head offices were located that all had a substantial business presence in Singapore and also Asia in general. In 2009, graduated with a PhD in applied critical linguistics from the faculty of humanities at the University of Gothenburg, with a cross-disciplinary thesis entitled, Swedish management in Singapore: a discourse analysis study, looking particularly into the concepts of assimilation, integration and hierarchy, at top management levels of Swedish-Asian corporations in Singapore. 2013, as research fellow at the Centre for International Business Studies (CIBS), School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, researching the future implications of increasing Asian-Swedish cooperation within the field of international business. The project is entitled Gothenburg in Asia, Asia in Gothenburg, funded by the Anna Ahrenberg Foundation. The project is aligned with the 400 years anniversary of the city of Gothenburg in 2021, and falls under the broad category of Kunskap Göteborg 2021 initiated by city representatives of Gothenburg, Göteborg & Co, University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. 2015, was granted the Flexit post-doctoral scholarship by Bank of Sweden Tercentennary Foundation (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, RJ) for a three year project together with the Swedish-Swiss multinational enterprise ABB. From 2015-17, the research will take place at ABB Corporate Research Sweden HQ in Västerås, and at CIBS during 2017-18. The research focus of the project is how new technologies are perceived and accepted by users and customers, using linguistic methods of data analysis. More information can be found at RJ’s website, at Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) Felxit 2015. Life in Northern Norway (2018-2022) 2018, late summer. I acquired new work as Market Scientist at Nofima. Having moved to the county of Troms in August, I’m currently enjoying myself, exploring the island city of Tromsø. From the 1900s, this city became known as Paris of the North due to how the people of Tromsø were exceptionally stylish and sophisticated in contrast to the fishing village preconception that many might have of a city located in the Arctic Circle. In my years in Sweden, I have known Sweden to be called the land of the midnight sun. During the long summer mights, it was beautiful to sit and watch the sun’s languid pendulation between east and west, touching the horizon out at sea before going up again. Northern Norway takes this languid pendulation of the sun to the extreme. It is not only known as the land of the midnight sun, but it is also the land of polar nights and the northern lights. This is my new adventure. And in these lifestyle blog pages, you’ll find my personal thoughts, insights and musings. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro | PhD MSc MA ACADEMIC REFLECTIONS | CV LIFESTYLE BLOG

Draped emerald green top

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Draped emerald green top by Vogue. Green is the feng shui color of renewal, fresh energy and new beginnings. Combined with purple some believe that it will even be good for generating wealth.
Photo for CMC © Jan-Erik Nilsson, 2009.

It’s finally spring and the days are getting longer up in the Nordic countries. And who’s not looking for something fresh and new to start up the season with?

According to conventional feng shui wisdom all shades of the color green is good for revitalising energy. So in that sense, green in its various shades and hues can be used to this effect. Lillian Too, a fengshui expert, also believes that green is the colour to wear for 2009 for the purposes of attracting financial success.
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When things are different

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The following article was first published in Swedish on 16th April 2007 in the University of Gothenburg’s Journal. This post brings you the English translation of the article, followed by the article in Swedish. The article in Swedish can also be accessed via GU Journalen.

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro. Photo by Steven Grindrod

Photo: Steven Grindrod.

I’m a Singapore citizen and a research student with the department of Linguistics at Gothenburg Univeristy. When I arrived a few years ago, it was no small cultural shock that I experienced. While I generally found Swedes to be a warm, helpful and friendly bunch, it didn’t help that I still felt completely isolated. I didn’t understand the language and the various social activities I attended inherently contained values and codes that were unlike my own and what I was used to.

Compared to Sweden, Singapore is fairly conservative. It was only a generation ago that arranged marriages were the norm and the concept of sambo or living together without getting married for all practical purposes is still unheard of. A Chinese girlfriend of mine had a magistrate marriage ceremony in Singapore and thereafter, both husband and wife returned to their respective parents’ place to live. They only moved in together after the traditional Chinese wedding ceremony was conducted a year later.

Graffiti is unthinkable. The competition between organizations and individuals is also tougher in Singapore. Delivery is calculated within the hour rather than days in between and it is not unusual to call after office hours and still get excellent customer service. The public transport system is clean and efficient, with trains arriving every three minutes during peak hours.

About a week ago, I was invited to an international student / researcher reception held at City Hall with the Mayor of Gothenburg as host. It was interesting to have met so many people who were like myself, non-natives of Sweden and who came from various cultural backgrounds.

A French researcher I met that evening said that on his part, he would rather not get to know a country, its culture and its people prior to working / living in that country. This is so that he doesn’t get a coloured vision of the country and he could begin getting to know the different culture without bias.

That was an interesting point of view. In part because it didn’t quite par with my experiences on getting to and living in Sweden and in part, it was my area of research interest. I research Swedish leaders of Swedish owned organizations in Singapore and how thier experiences with the local culture influences / affects their leadership style.

In the way that fish are quite unaware of the water in which it swims, I believe Swedes in general don’t seem aware of Swedish idiosyncracies from the eyes of a foreigner and I’m not talking about snaps, hard bread and small little pigs that run around the Midsummer Pole come Midsummer. It’s much more subtle than that, such as implicit status symbols, hidden hierarchies, politally correct feminism, consensus seeking behaviour etc.

But look at it however, from a Swede who is now in a new culture, in some part of the world away from Sweden. It would be someone deemed to have leadership skills, whose job is to establish and steer a Swedish based organization abroad. They would have the pressing job of performing from day one and thier appointment in the foreign country is costing the organization in terms of salary and benefits. They are the best man for the job and the fate of the organization overseas is in their hands.

If that place were to be Singapore for example, everything would have been clean and tidy. Any season other than warm weather with or without rain, does not occur. The people are effective and friendly but the laws, social, family and organizationnal orientations are different. A congregation of over ten persons in public is forbidden and nobody laughs about the chewing gum ban. The land is multi-religious and religion is taken seriously. You can’t seem to order food from the local hawker center and people might be horrified at your table manners. There are social taboos not to be spoken of or referred to. Status symbols are a mystery. Everyone seems polite enough and they smile a lot but at the same time, you wonder why it is that what you want done just doesn’t get done even when the answer was yes when you asked.

My point with this not that we should stay home and not venture overseas and not even try to understand the different cultures abroad, but rather to point out that it is important for us to recognize the different nuances between cultures, which is much more than theatre, song and dance. There are institutions, the law, the passions of the people and fundamental values and beliefs in which we, with all our hearts, are convinced that is Truth, given by God, Allah, Brahma, Hunab Ku, Viracocha or Tom Cruise.

As a tourist, we perhaps can afford to explore unbiased and call the reception when we need help, but if the aim is to work with others in a different culture, we’ll need to be aware that there exist different understandings of what is real for others, what makes their morals, their truths and what is right for Them and understand their ambitions.

I believe if more resources were allocated to the study, understanding and respect of different cultures, there is much to be gained for all involved.

My hope is that my research will be a small contribution to this end and that it will help towards a deeper understanding of cultural differences.

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Shrimp bisque, an Easter dinner entrée

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Shrimp bisque with cognac and peeled shrimps

Decorate with a dusting of cayenne pepper and tarragon and maybe a few neatly peeled shrimps.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC, 2009

Easter is upcoming and I have already started to think about dishes I feel would fit the season. Right now I believe salmon would be great, lamb cutlets are always a temptation and maybe a chicken baked whole and stuffed with some crisp apples would be fine.

We’ll see. The options are many but I have already started planning and that is always a beginning. In the mean time, considering the world’s finance crisis, I thought I’d like to share my best luxurious and least expensive dish ever- Lobster Bisque on a shoestring.

What usually happens when preparing a shellfish meal is that the meaty parts are put to good use whilst the shells of these crustaceans are discarded. The economy in this is that you can use every bit of those crustaceans, separating the meat from the shells and saving the shells for this dish. Here we are replacing lobster with shrimps.

This is a delicate entrée or starter, or something you can serve in-between dishes as a surprise. It fits well to be served in a cup. The value of this dish lies in its exclusivity. It will be a magic wake up call to the guests, and make them very hungry for the next dish. Ideally it should be tied into the whole meal so that the meat parts of the shellfish appear somewhere else. Here I don’t use beurre manie as thickener but whipped cream instead. This is my preferred way of simplifying the cooking, improve the flavor and texture, and mystify my guests.

The following serves 4 to 6 persons.

Peel shrimps
Peel 500 grams (1 lbs) of cooked medium sized shrimps. Put heads and shells, and peeled shrimps in separate bowls. In Sweden shrimps will come salted and might benefit from a slight rinsing in cold water before peeling. If your shrimps are cooked without salt you will need to add some salt to the finished stock.

Prepare stock
Prepare the stock by peeling and dicing 3 shallots, (1 carrot and 1 celery stalk are optional). Melt 2 tbs butter in a pot. Braise until soft. Add the shells, roe, heads and all into the pot. Add 1-2 dried chillies, or less if you are not so used to spicy food, and 2 tbs tomato paste. Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of white wine and braise under lid at low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. If you actually use lobster shells, extend the time to an hour.

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Things to do in Singapore, besides shopping

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In today’s issue of the Swedish newspaper SvD, there was a question on what to do for a few days in Singapore and if there even was anything else to do there besides shopping. Well, I love challanges and I couldn’t help picking this one up.

Chingay street carnival in Singapore

With its multicultural background, Singapore is bound to be celebrating something at any time during the year. The “Chingay” annual carnival at Orchard Road, is a celebration of Spring.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Marie Cordeiro for CMC, 2009

There are many foreigners that don’t think much of Singapore as a holiday resort. Actually, there are also a lot of Singaporeans that don’t think much of Singapore as a holiday resort either since it compares badly with most tropical destinations if it is bathing in the sea or scuba diving you want to do. Singapore is basically a city, a capital and a republic all by itself. It is a business hub and a very busy container harbour. You will find the internet connections (available most anywhere) one of the best you have ever experienced. With these limitations as a tourist attraction, you will find Singapore a most interesting place to spend a few days in. Here are a few suggestions that cover some pleasant but not so heavily advertised things to do when in Singapore for a few days, other than shop.

Get some wheels
Singapore’s public transport system is very efficient, with its subway or MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) system being the easiest and possibly cheapest way to navigate the country. So, the first thing to do is to find an underground station and get yourself an ezlink MRT card. Fill it up with some 20 Sing$ and you are good to go. The underground system in Singapore is lightning fast, safe, clean and there is a train about every 3 minutes or so. You tap the card when you enter and tap it when you exit, and the fare is deducted automatically. You can see how much money there is left on the card on a display at the machine. This card is valid on buses too and you can even pay for hamburgers with this ezlink card at some fastfood outlets.

Inside an MRT, Singapore

The inside of an MRT train.

Taxi is also cheap and you see more about where you are going, so doing a combination of MRT and taxi is good. Singapore is very much about being efficient and this way you will be able to cover the whole city fast and quite inexpensively. You might lose some overview if you travel too much underground.

2. Team up with someone to help you around
If I were a guy in Singapore for the first time and alone, I think I would have printed out all the good advice I could get on the Internet and then walked up to some girls having frappuccinos at a table at pretty much any café and explained the problem, that “it looks nice but you can’t figure out how to order food here”. Singaporean girls are a nice and un-snooty crowd that might well listen to your requests for information. Chances are that you might be able to find some volunteering as guides. Don’t get your hopes up too high though, since all Singaporean girls live home with their parents until they marry, but the point is, exploring Singapore is so much more fun when you’re in a group. You’ll also probably need some locals to help you find the really good places to eat. I have written some on the topic of dating in Singapore, but that is a different issue.

3. Don’t give up on Shopping
If you are the slightest interested in gadgets you will want to spend some time at Sim Lim Square. Any singaporean will be able to point you in the right direction because it’s where we go too, to buy our gadgets. It’s a five storeyed shopping mall that sells everything electronic. The first and second floor offer mostly digital products such as mp3 players and cameras while the third, fourth, fifth level offer computer hardware products. You wont believe your eyes when you get there, and it is well worth a visit.

Sim Lim Square, the third floor with a shop specializingin CDs

Of course there are other things to do than shopping in Singapore, but on the other hand, imagine a five storeys high shopping mall crammed full of electronics! This is just one out of hundreds of specialist shops at Sim Lim Square specializing in CD and DVD media.

Just outside Sim Lim Square is a long outdoor market called Bugis Village. It’s a street market through which you can stroll and you’ll find hundreds of little stalls dotting the small area. Here you will come upon stuff like handbags, purses, clothes, jewellery and other arts and crafts. Its fun to explore and the through road will also bring you towards the nearby Bugis MRT station.

4. Movie theatres and Orchard Road
An evening walk along Orchard Road is recommended. You might find the lights, music, colours and the beat of the city irresistible and something you won’t forget easily.

Along Orchard Road are at least two large movie theatres that can give you a break from the outdoor heat. The sound system is great and the tickets are a fraction of what you are used to paying for in Sweden. Food, drinks and snacks are allowed into the theatres. The aircon is usually set on “mild frost”, so you might actually want to bring a fleece jacket. Insane but true.

Orchard Road by Christmas, Singapore

The sounds and sights of Orchard Road by night makes for a pleasant stroll, even after the Christmas season.

5. Adventure water park
Bring a bathing suit and something water tight to carry money in (or get a “fun key”), to the adventure water park Wild Wild Wet. It’s fun and there are some really weird rides there that could scare anyone. It’s a bit childish, but that is what having fun is all about. It is just a 10-minute walk from the Pasir Ris MRT station. This place is mostly visited by locals so you might find yourself one of the attractions.

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The Eiffel Tower in Paris by night in early spring

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Under the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Under the Eiffel Tower at night in early spring in Paris, France.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC, 2009

Considered by the French as a national embarassment and an architectural eyesore on French landscape when it was first erected in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is now one of the world’s most recognizable construction. Though not the highest lattice tower in the world, it could well be the most replicated structure of our time and you can find versions of it in countries such as China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Romania, the USA and Denmark.

When it was suggested that I should visit the Eiffel Tower by night, I thought that rather a ludicrous idea – what could you possibly see at the Eiffel Tower at night?

But we were in Paris to do all things crazy and romantic, so why not.

It took less than ten minutes from where we were to get to the Eiffel Tower by taxi. When we got out, instead of pitch black deserted grounds as I had expected, we were greeted by crowds of people in vibrant, cheerful spirits. Tourists and Parisiens were there on excursion and you had local street vendors who sold everything from roses to stuffed plush toys, Eiffel Tower keychains and all sorts of sourvenirs they could wrap up under their generous woollen coats.

To my delight, the base of the Eiffel Tower was alive with activity and more than that, the crowd was basked in the warm orange glow of light emanating from the Eiffel Tower by night. And it was this warm glow of light that we found ourselves embraced in, as we walked to the entrance of the Eiffel Tower.

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, looking up the belly of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Myself, lying on a bench under the Eiffel Tower, looking straight up in to the belly of the trellised structure.

The visual journey and experience of the Eiffel Tower begins even before you get close to its ticketing entrance. The intricately latticed structure knocks the wind right out of your lungs just by you standing at the base, looking up. It’s as if you were looking up into the heart and core of this enormous construction of iron. The flickering lights by night made it look like the Eiffel Tower lived and breathed the very heartbeat of Paris and you’re at once entranced and puzzled by how soft and romantic a piece of metal structure can look.

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Luella Gisele

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Luella Gisele limited edition bag with scallop fringe in tangerine

A Luella Gisele by Luella Bartley.
Photo © Cheryl Marie Cordeiro for CMC, 2009

The Luella Gisele bag was launched in 2002 by Luella Bartley, though it only became really popular by the end of 2003 and early 2004 with celebrities such as Kate Moss, Reese Witherspoon and Christina Aguilera toting the bag on their arms. The fact that the bag was named after Gisele Bundchen might have also helped in its marketing along the way.
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Waffles Day in Sweden, the 25th of March, 2009

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Homemade heart shaped waffles with raspberries, blueberries and cream

A homemade hearts waffle topped with blueberries, raspberries, vanilla ice-cream and generous whipped cream!
Photo © J E Nilsson for CMC, 2009

In Sweden, which might be the most secular nation on earth, the Annunciation is still celebrated the 25th of March every year by eating waffles.

The waffle day is however named as it is in Sweden due to a misunderstanding of the word Vår Fru, meaning Our Lady or in French, Notre Dame all referring to the Virgin Mary, but sounding like the word waffle or våffla in Swedish, albeit after some phonetical twists. So technically, waffles day in Sweden is a celebration of the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, with the news of Mary’s conception of Jesus. This happy revelation happened exactly nine months before the holy child Jesus was born on the night to the 25th of December, which we celebrate as Christmas.

Historically Sweden was pagan until the twelfth century. With the founding of modern Sweden some four hundred years later, the Swedes left Catholicism in favour for Protestantism. Religion wise it went pretty much downhill from then on however most feasts are still happily celebrated. The 16th century was also the first time that western people were allowed to read and hear the gospel in their own languages. Up until then, the Bible had been only available in Latin, so just maybe, the misunderstanding of the “Vår fru” dates back, all the way to that time too.

Today in Sweden, the celebration of waffles day is mostly concerned with how to make them as sinfully delightful as possible. Here are our suggestions:

Waffle with whipped cream, blueberries and raspberries

A waffle topped with fresh blueberries, raspberries, whipped cream and a light dusting of icing sugar.

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Artichoke, dining on a sexy weed

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Serving artichoke with aioli, butter, oilive oil

Artichoke served with soft stirred butter, some good quality salt, homemade aïoli and some olive oil and balsamic vinegar to go with dark bread.
Photo © J E Nilsson for CMC, 2009

“These things are just plain annoying. After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual “food” out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps. Have the shrimp cocktail instead.”
~ Miss Piggy (The Muppet Show)

The first time I saw an artichoke I drew a complete blank on how to cook them. These beautifully crest-petalled flowers don’t have much of a history in Singapore and are certainly not your average hawker-center staple.

It took some time for me too, to recognize them as part of the Italian Quatro Stagione (four seasons) pizza where the soft heart of the artichoke is used to symbolize the spring.

The artichoke itself is the bud of a thistle flower. The plant can be almost 2 meters high. If allowed to flower, blossoms measure up to 7 inches in diameter and are of a vibrant violet-blue colour. It also seems to have most of its history around the Mediterranean basin.
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Ratatouille à la Ratatouille

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Ratatouille a la Ratatouille

Inspired by the Disney/ Pixar movie Ratatouille (2007), here is my attempt at creating just such a ratatouille dish as they did, as a main course.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

A few years ago the movie Ratatouille (2007) by Disney / Pixar came out in the movie theatres. I found that a most inspiring film when it came to cooking despite the fact that the best chef in the movie was a rat, however most adorable!

Ever since I saw that movie, I have been pondering how the actual dish fits with the title of the movie, and my guess has been that the Disney/ Pixar gang probably found the title Rat-atouille witty, so that they based the whole story on that, but was then also stuck with trying to compose a main course out of something that is actually a side dish, similar to salsa. This was a challenging task for the film team since ratatouille is nice, but not really a dish so grand as to be presented as a main course in a gourmet restaurant.

Today when a friend who preferred vegetarian dishes showed up, I thought why not; lets see if it is possible to create something similar to a ratatouille, but one that can work as a main course by itself.

Normally a ratatouille is cooked and stirred towards a very soft consistency, it being a dish that might well be best served with a spoon. In the movie it was served warm with a fork, upright standing in presentation and appearing pretty dry. This is a bit tricky to accomplish since the main ingredients are botanically speaking fruits, and as such they will cook very quickly and also melt or fall apart very easily as soon as they get warm.

So, if we are to make a stand alone ratatouille main course, all this would need to be addressed.

My version of Ratatouille à la Ratatouille

The Ratatouille is known to stem from Provance, so taste wise I decided to situate it somewhere in between Southern France and Northern Italy, and brought out some really good olive oil from San Gimignano, some fresh garlic, a few shallots, and then fried this together into a spicy foundation.

Fresh garlic in a bulb

Two cloves of garlic, chopped up and braised in olive oil together with some shallots.

Chopped shallots

Shallots are actually a kind of lily buds and have a much milder flavour than onions. Braise to taste.

Dark purple aubergine, eggplant

A dark purple aubergine, sliced.

I then sliced up one zucchini, one eggplant and some large tomatoes. The zucchini and eggplant I drizzled with salt and left them for about ten minutes to marinate, to make them softer and more flavourful. The tomato and the zucchini does not need more than a warming to cook, but the aubergine is tougher to cook due to its spongy and air filled cells. So I tried to deal with this difference by using a really fresh aubergine and by sprinkling it with some salt beforehand to make it softer. Due to the difference in cell structures, salting the aubergine is actually more important than salting the zucchini prior to cooking.

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Jasper Conran’s cone shaped heel booties

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Jasper Conran ankle boots

A pair of strappy ankle shoe boots with cone shaped heels by UK designer, Jasper Conran.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

I’m absolutely in love with cone shaped heels at the moment! I find Rodarte’s and Lanvin’s renditions of the cone shaped heel from 2008 sexiest! Chloé’s are elegant in shape and form, and in this post, you see Jasper Conran’s chunkier rendition of the cone shaped heel.

Shoe boots by Jasper Conran

These shoe boots from Jasper Conran are made in antiqued leather with a softly rounded toe and brass details on loose fitting straps around the tops. The strappy design is a nod to Chloé’s strappy and wrapped boots design from previous seasons, and Conran’s loosely draped straps at the top of the booties, make them good for a casual or dress down day. Continue reading “Jasper Conran’s cone shaped heel booties” →