They said/We said: Sea of Shoes blogger Jane Aldridge does not like your nasty criticism

Date April 5, 2012

She debuted at the Crillon Ball, has arguably one of the most covetable shoe collections and counts Kanye West and Karl Lagerfeld as fans. Like most successful bloggers, the key to Jane Aldridge’s popularity is her perfectly curated online persona. However, today the Sea of Shoes blogger is stomping her fancy heels all over the Internet after New York magazine’s The Cut blog published an unflattering synopsis of a profile of Aldridge that appeared in Texas Monthly.

The writer of the profile, Jason Sheeler, spent many weeks with Aldridge (and her mother-slash-BFF, Judy) in order to write his in-depth portrayal—which for the most part is comprised of a sea of praises. However, it also gives readers insight into the not-so-nice aspects of her personal life and blogging business—which The Cut was quick to pick up on.

Aldridge took to her blog and Twitter to do some much-needed damage control. She tweeted, “Fact checking is non-existent and people will make up the craziest things for a story. It’s nice to have words put in my mouth!”

But here’s where it gets confusing: while The Cut’s take on the article can be considered as a crafty work of out-of-context cut and paste, it still doesn’t dismiss the fact that Aldridge initially seemed to support the Texas Monthly profile. She even appeared with Sheeler in a TV interview to promote the piece. We’ll be watching to see if Texas Monthly issues a correction or stands behind its work.

THEY SAID:

The Cut: “[It] begins with Aldridge scolding the reporter, Jason Sheeler, for daring to touch a pair of her Miu Miu glitter booties: ‘Hello! I’m trying to shoot those. Can you put them down?’ He actually gets a bit scared, and perhaps with good reason.” [The Cut]

Fashionista: “The full article is fascinating and definitely worth a read.” [Fashionista]

WE SAID:

Paige Dzenis, associate online editor: “What’s that saying about not being sorry you did the crime, but being terribly upset that you were caught? It seems Jane thought that this article would stay within her no-TV, no-fashion-people, just Mom-and-me sheltered bubble. But now that everyone’s taking her quotes ‘out of context’ (though, in what context does mocking your sister’s style not sound bratty?), she’s on the defensive. Jane may not need a college degree to get the job she wants, but it would give her a much-needed education in getting along with others.”