This is the start of a new feature on FMS – the “Shoebox” of our models. Rachel was the first to do it, faithfully snapping each pair of shoes she brought with her up from her small town up to her dormitory in Seoul. She has more shoes, obviously, but these are the ones she decided to pull out from among the many, so it’s a good representation of what she likes.

The assignment was to photographically record all of her shoes, in whatever way she liked, without my interference. Then, at the end, she was to snap herself wearing her favorite pair. She is also supposed to snap whatever new pair of shoes she buys so that the Shoebox record remains complete.

She didn’t have a separate camera, so she just used the one on her cellphone. She did her homework well, as a good student should, and the effect came out kind of cool.

What does one say about a woman’s life laid bare for the world to see, as expressed through her shoes? Well, you are careful with your feedback, of course – this is personal stuff we’re talking, here!

But what I do see is a young, bookish girl (she attends one of the best universities in the country) who, as much as she strictly regulates her time and is serious about her academic commitments, finds a lot of room to express herself via her footwear. For being as deeply mired in her studies as she is (she’s in one of the most competitive programs in the country, in the hard sciences, so she actually works much harder than most Korean university kids), she has quite an interesting and eclectic collection.

She chose well – you’ve got classic black pumps, blood-red, open-toed slingbacks, some casual-yet-colorful summer sandals, and her playful blue bows, which she wears with the miniskirt. Only question is: what happened to the sandals, girl?

One point I wanted to make: Rachel’s got a good sense of her feet and chooses shoes that actually fit them. If you go to the other posts (1 and 2) that introduced her, you’ll see that she has a broader, straighter line across the front of her feet, and isn’t like what many Korean girls want to be but aren’t, yet continue to buy shoes for anyway – the long, tapered feet (see here) that often fit better into certain designer and many Italian shoes.

Rachel’s shoes are cute and sensible, but with a bit of girlish flair and a couple that are considerably sexier. Her favorite pair – the blue bows – that first caught my eye when I met her strike that perfect balance for her. It’s a high, sexy mule that winks coyly at you with the overly prominent bow, keeping it from entering the realm of “naughty.” The same shoe with just a straight vamp across the front is likely one Rachel wouldn’t have bought.

As it is, she’s pretty picky – and tastefully so – about her shoes.

Anyway, let’s praise Rachel for doing such a good job on her first homework assignment! Does anyone have any other bright ideas for possible fun, future homework?