Sorry, my previous comment was meant for Not Impressed and not Yes Impressed.

And I am not quite done yet. In literary journalism, the author is NOT necessarily the character of the "I" that she crafts as speaker. So for Not Impressed to judge the author as self indulgent or narcissist is really amateurish.

Not Impressed, you clearly have no knowledge of literary tools so you have no basis for sound criticism. Please take some literary theory classes before you go public with comments that only serve to embarrass you.

You will thank me for this piece of advice years from now.

You can ramble on and post more potshots here, but save yourself. Let journalistic and literary giants get in on this forum and they will tell you what others here have already done.

But, good exercise on don't discourse, don't you think? That is why the internet rules because it is the most democratic of mediums and forums and it gives each of us a voice that would otherwise be forever unheard.

Cheers!

Dear yes impressed,

I gather from your your lengthy and long winded comments that you are a straight journalist and have no clue (get this: not grasp; i really mean CLUE) about what literary journalism is.

This column clearly is the latter. The tools used by the author here is much too sophisticated for you understand, obviously. She uses an object--in these case: boots--as a metaphor for courage. Now, she also uses the analogy of the break-up for something--anything in one's life that resembles a crisis, and in the end reigns all these in for a great insight.

What you are looking for--oh so embarrassingly amateur in fact--shoe trends amidst the LA backdrop, is so painfully literal and hick that you obviously are barking up the wrong brain.

Look for a travel guide or pick up Instyle magazine or some other fashion read because that's what you're looking for. THIS IS A LITERARY COLUMN, which is no place for shallow and small minds like yours.

Have you not heard of IRONY? There are 3 levels of it: Irony of thought; irony of speech; and irony of insight. This column covers all three levels.. It is MEANT to be ironic--hello??? You do not have the capacity to get it yet. But you might, at a future time, if you work hard at it.

I am saddened that someone like you has gotten into Annenberg and you call your comments constructive. They are embarrassing. I would beg for the author to be delete your comments because if your future employers get a wind of them you are in deep trouble. Finish your course at Annenberg. Read maybe tons more of books. Then get back to me because I'm twice your age; Ive read three times as much as you (I figured that from your comments) I've had more degrees than you, so please get back to me after a few years.

Meantime, please direct your attention to a lesser online magazine that suits your taste. Neon Tommy is, clearly, not in your league just yet.

I'm not impressed with Not Impressed. Here's the big pint: Not Impressed needs to find a deeper meaning in life. Don't like the column, sister? Cool, don't read it.

Deidre, I believe I was very precise in my criticism of the column. I understand you want to "showcase" a variety of different styles of writing, but forgive me if I beg to differ. See, in the real world, it's not just about showcasing a variety of writing, it's about publishing GOOD writing. And as an editor, it's your responsibility to make sure articles are well-written and titles are appropriate. Is Neon Tommy not meant to be a competing online publication with the likes of LA Times and LAObserved? If you don't take it seriously, then the word 'amateur' needs to be included the masthead.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to publish a diary. Belle's diary is very clear on its contents and she manages to strike a good balance between her topic and her personal stories, and in her case, her column is actually a diary on her personal exploits. However, and I can't believe I'm having to bring this up again, this particular column is misleading. "Shoe Diaries" suggests that the column will perhaps be about an outline of a specific pair of shoes and their story. Or maybe it'll be about a shoe-lover and his/her experiences of wearing certain shoes or finding certain trends. "Los Angeles" refers to the city, and when all these words are included in the title, I suspect that the expectation will be of a weekly story focused on shoes, featured with a story in the backdrop of Los Angeles, and not focusing on the author.

Unfortunately, Ayala deters from Los Angeles many times in her previous columns and rarely talks about shoes procured in LA. Outdated cheap shoes (that are also really not stylish!) found in remote markets from far-east Asia are not really relevant. What more, she then decides to divulge far too much information about her personal life, something that is unnecessary, and also extremely boring. (You got cheated on and dumped - so what? Send it to a magazine agony aunt, don't bother the rest of us with it). And there's not one useful bit of information on shoes or Los Angeles in any of these columns, so it's misleading.

Francesca - your rather "witty" comeback yet again confirms my suspicions of your false sense of confidence in your terrible writing (better give those boots a break and bring yourself down to earth again). I posted these comments because if you ever decide to send these to future employers as part of your portfolio, I'd like them to see my comments and realize that at least one person thinks your writing and your method of tackling this subject are sub-par. I make some valid points and I think this column reflects really badly on Neon Tommy. Both Deidre and you display reluctance in accepting constructive criticism - I gave you some good ideas to consider including in future editions, but you're choosing to ignore them, which means you've definitely lost me as a reader.

And as for more page hits, try not to flatter yourself. I'm already at USC and only read this site because I know about it - you're not gaining
an international audience, don't get too excited.

Not impressed: Clearly my column can't be so vapid if it attracts the attention of anonymous commenters as important as yourself.

I would like to thank you very much for the continued support; Neon Tommy can never get too many page hits.

I think what ‘Yes Impressed’ was trying to point out with the Nancy Sinatra comment was that the shoes inspired a feeling, which the song demonstrates, and that the column similarly focuses on a feeling and attitude inspired by the shoes.

We showcase a variety of types of writing on our site and this column is one style of writing, a personal narrative celebrating the highs and lows associated with one form of fashion and what it has meant in this person’s life. It’s one way to interpret fashion, just as focusing on fashion trends, news, events or profiles is another, and all of them can be informative and engaging.

There’s room for a variety of styles and tones, and each person might have a preference as to which style they like best. Some might prefer a personalized diary, others may prefer fashion news or the latest trend. We like to provide a forum to showcase all of it.

And yes, we're all excited about the Jimmy Choos... so stay tuned for more on that.

'Yes Impressed', your inability to grasp the actual point I was making, makes me think you sound a lot like the author of this column (coincidence?!). I myself an a big lover of shoes and I too enjoy the feeling of confidence gained from an amazing pair of shoes. I like to read amusing and informative articles on new shoe trends and like to think I have a good knowledge of the high end and affordable collections out there. It is why I clicked on your column and I had to comment on my intense disappointment because you talk about your own tatty, horrible, and not very stylish shoes (and believe it or not, you can be stylish even on a student budget, but you clearly know nothing about this).

But why you want to bring Nancy Sinatra into this equation bewilders me. Of course she doesn't sing about shoe trends, I don't think that's the point of her songs. You write a column, which is nothing like a song (your lack of decent comparisons astounds me) and I highly doubt you should be comparing yourself to actual talent.

Secondly, your inability to understand the similarity between self-indulgence and narcissism worries me, as I thought Annenberg students were supposed to be educated to a decent degree. The official dictionary definitions are:
Self-indulgence - excessive or unrestrained gratification of one's own appetites, desires, or whims (an appropriate description of your column I think).
Narcissism - Excessive preoccupation with self and lack of empathy for others. (check the medical term, and again, this very appropriately describes your article and relates to self-indulgence).

Finally, the reason I ask about H&M is that any lover of shoes knows that H&M is collaborating with Jimmy Choo and that the collection hits stores on November 14th and what more, will be available in LA too. Believe it or not, a lover of shoes living in LA would actually like to know this. And if you yourself are a lover of shoes, this is big news (cheap Jimmy Choos? Yes please).

I think my comments were critically constructive but your poor defense of your article irritates me further. I know I can choose to not read your column (and I actually don't read them anymore) but you needed to be aware of your weakness (i.e. the whole column) and the fact that it's a disappointing attempt at a column. 16-year old Jane Aldridge writes an amazing blog on shoes that is followed by Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, InStyle, Teen Vogue and other big fashion industry names, because - and get this - this girl has talent. She's a blogger and yet not self-indulgent. Instead, she's informative and clearly passionate about shoes. I think you should get off your high horse and either start writing an article that isn't so stupidly patronizing without any substance, or else rename it to your own personal diary of dating exploits so that no one will be misled into reading it. Because from what I've read so far, your dating life is pretty boring, and this website already has Belle, who has much more interesting adventures.

To Deidre and Alaena - I understand your points, but I disagree with your defense.

Deidre - Alexis Alagem's trend reports on this website have a great mix of what the hot trend is, why you should get it, and where to get it in LA. It's informative, sassy and devoid of any self-indulgence. The girl clearly knows fashion (an important factor when writing about fashion, be it clothes, shoes, bags, makeup etc) and the author of this column would do well to take some tips off her.

Alaena, you clearly have never read good fashion articles or columns, I suggest you buy a copy of any well-established fashion magazine and see how they approach it. This column is frustrating and annoying rather than refreshing, and the author's voice is obnoxious, bordering on stupidity. And this column is the very definition of vapid and fluffy, there is not one item worthy of substance here or in the previous ones.

And as for challenging me to do a better job, I think I already do for my articles. Ultimately, if the author of this article thinks that this particular column is serving any purpose to readers or a suitable addition to her own portfolio, she's sadly mistaken. I hope she never aims to write for fashion or lifestyle in the real world.

I would agree that your column is misleading. Misleading in a good way.

Not to completely bash all the superficiality out there that is fashion blogging, but why would anyone deny you the opportunity to muse about life’s bigger issues (i.e. love) in the context of your own shoe collection? Afterall, readers beware: It’s called the “Los Angeles Shoe Diaries.” The operative word here being “diary.” Diary meaning a written account of one’s experiences and observations, right?

I love that each pair has a story- a reminder of an event or emotion in your life. Afterall, it’s important to remember that we wear clothes, they shouldn’t wear us.

Ultimately, your column is refreshing. Your voice is honest and heartfelt. You put some actual, relative stuff into a fashion column that could otherwise be vapid and simply fluff.

“Not Impressed,” if you can do a better job, we challenge you to do it.

We like to have a variety of writing styles on our site – both personal and focused on trends – and we feel there’s room for all of them. This column is a diary that represents an aspect often overlooked in fashion writing – how what we wear makes us feel and influences who we are. It provides the opportunity to bring a depth to a topic that many people might not think about beyond a superficial level.

After all, why buy a new shirt or pair of shoes unless they made an impression on you? To find out where to get them is one column - to find out why you got them is another. We like to showcase both.

As a fellow boot fetishist, there's nothing I like more than the sound of my own motorcycle boots on the ground drowning out the world. And maybe shoes do have a lot to do with self-indulgence, though I wouldn't say that self-indulgence has anything to do with narcissism. When Nancy Sinatra sang about her boots, she didn't mention H&M or what's trendy in LA, so I'm just saying, talking about H&M is not a prerequisite for writing a good, relatable shoe column, at least in my book.