Got The Blues?

Meet the new staples in my shoe closet! I was strolling the aisles of DSW looking for a killer pair of black pumps to add to the “office” collection. I struck out on the black shoes, but found a fabulous pair of inkwell-blue patent leather pumps by Nine West to kick up my heels in. It’s an amazing color that will work with anything that would call for a black shoe.

They basic, but not basic black. They’re bold and beautiful. This fall when I’m feeling the blues, it won’t be a sad thing!

Oh Dem Golden Slippers

Elvis has returned to the building

Cherry red slingbacks. Sunset orange Chuck Taylors. Silver Hush Puppies. Asparagus green sandals. None of these kicks can top my new Midas-gold wingtips. I found this fabulous pair of Sam Edelmans at Marshalls for $28. Yeah, it really does feel like I raided Fort Knox.

I dubbed them my Elvis shoes. Why? There is a 1959 Elvis album titled, “50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong,” and on the cover he’s rocking a gold lamé suit and matching shoes.

The shoes made their debut with a pair of indigo J. Crew Toothpick jeans that were plucked brand new from the racks of Buffalo Exchange for $20, a charcoal J. Crew tee listing the days of the week in Italian, and a Boston Proper jacket with gold-tone studs at the cuffs. I padded around the workplace wearing them with black high waist pants and a snug black cap sleeve turtleneck.

My friend Amy says that I have to do the Mummer’s Strut when I wear them. I just might do that as I navigate the cube farm at my job.

Shoes Abloom!

Here’s a shoe that redefines “spring in your step.” This was a delightfully unexpected find at the Gap. There is so much to love about this shoe -- it’s flat, comfortable, versatile, and affordable (under $60). It’ll make its debut when the polar vortex vacates and our souls thaw after this nasty winter.

The flowery pattern will transport me to an English garden, whether I’m on the concrete searching for treasures at a favorite resale shop, or trotting off to the gym for my favorite indoor cycling class. I’m excited about wearing them with everything including midi skirts, cropped pants, and boyfriend jeans.

Not Trending

The end of season sales. A time when you trawl racks and racks of ugh-inducing items. Sometimes you’re seduced by thrice-slashed prices even though the color washes you out, the fabric gives you hives, and the print makes you look like Aunt Rhoda’s armchair.

Stop throwing your hard earned coins at those racks--here’s a better plan! Invest in trendproof classics and you’ll look and feel spectacular every time you got dressed. These items aren’t on the clearance racks, but if you buy the best quality you can afford you’ll wear them forever. You’ll also be less inclined to shriek, “I don’t have anything to wear,” when you’re invited to the opera.

Here are some items to look for the next time you shop.

Trench coat - Effortlessly stylish. You’ll feel as mysterious and glamorous as Ingrid Bergman did opposite Bogie. You can also pop it on over your birthday suit to greet your sweetie at the front door.

Black cashmere sweater - The only reason to look forward to cooler weather. You’ll never feel as elegant, cozy, or warm as when you slip a cashmere sweater over your head. Makes you feel rich and sexy.

Knee length pencil or A-line skirt - An indispensable, stylish staple that can be dressed up or down. Great for travel. It’s a wonderful wardrobe extender--unlike the rust-colored mini-skirt that’s been on clearance at Macy’s for the past two years.

Wrap dress - The perfect dress for any occasion. Got a date? Wear it. Going to work? Wear it. Weddings, graduations, cocktail parties? Wear it here, there and everywhere.

Ballet flats - Cute and comfy shoes for tired feet. Makes visiting museums and standing in line at the DMV a bit easier. Polyvore.com has an amazing selection!

Shooting Stars

These cute Anne Klein shoes remind me of shooting stars--those silver streaks that light up the black night sky and delight skygazers everywhere. They'll add sparkle and excitement to dark chilly evenings and brighten up abbreviated winter days.  I want to wear them with everything, but if I don't respect this heel height I'll become a falling star!

Loafing Around

Remember back to school time?  If you weren’t outfitted with a pair of brand new saddle shoes with eraser colored soles you probably had a pair of penny loafers.  Didja have a shiny copper penny (or for the big spenders, a nickel) inserted into the coin slot? Yeah, me too. Well, now you can relive those days with this season’s hottest shoe, the chunky heeled loafer.

A perennial preppy favorite, you can find these kicks at any price point.  Makers include Nine West, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Burberry, True Religion, Chinese Laundry, Gabrielle Rocha, and Boutique 9.

Wear them with to work a suit for extra attitude, and pair them with your favorite jeans on the weekends.  You may not be able to jump double dutch in them, but you’ll double your cool fashionista points.

We’re Going to the Nudies

The hottest color in footwear this spring is “nude.”  Platform pumps, wedges, and ballet flats can be found in soft shades of blush, ecru, peach and tan.  YSL, Jimmy Choo, Steve Madden, Vaneli, and Miu Miu among others have added these muted colors to their shoe design palette.  Flesh tones are your best bet for versatility, and a gorgeous pair of dusty pink slingbacks would be the perfect compliment for hot shades like kozmic blue, chocolate city brown, stop-in-the-name-of-love red, and fireball orange.  "Nude" also flatters neutrals such as like-a-virgin white, oyster gray, and inky shadows black.

However, in my online searches, “nude” usually doesn’t translate into my skin tone. I would love to find a pair of platform pumps that match my golden brown color.  Where are the sexy ebony, café au lait, mahogany, warm cocoa, or almond colored shoes that reflect the shades of many of world’s women?  I found a pair of Steve Madden caramel colored patent peep toes that are close to my shade, but where is the wide selection of “nudes” for the Roshumbas, Juanitas, LaToyas, and Khadijahs?  Our feet are flesh colored too, but again, it all depends on who defines the standard.

When you're looking for "nude" kitten heels or gladiator sandals, will you be able to find your skin?

Bold Sole Sister

The NY Times recently ran a story that will satisfy your sole.  If you are a fashionista who refuses to sacrifice style for comfort, read this article! 

You probably remember hearing grandma say, “If your feet hurt everything hurts.”  She was right and that’s why she adopted “sensible shoes.”  Sensible usually means boring, but my shoes must be sexy and comfortable--these are non-negotiable.  I can strut much more effectively in 3” heels than I can in 5½” platform pumps and can rock the heck out of a pair of kitten heels or flat boots.   

If you’re hesitant about entering a new comfort zone, just remember--the pinched look on the fashion victim’s face is because her feet are aflame.  Winching with each step is so unattractive!

Gimme That Wine*

Mary Janes, platform pumps, stilettos, oxfords, ballet flats. Shoes are many things to many people and there are innumerable ways to express yourself through your choice of footwear.  The right shoe makes you feel glamorous and powerful.  The wrong shoe puts you on the short road to torture.

You know which kinky boots to wear on the first date.  You would never wear flip-flops to the White House.  Your running shoes enable you to be as fleet footed as Mercury, messenger of the Roman gods.

However, did you know that in addition to being a missile, hammer, or weapon of mass seduction your shoe can open a bottle of wine?  Watch this video and you'll be amazed!  Caveat - this method will not work for screw top caps or boxes.

*This post is dedicated my wenches!

Sweet and Lowdown

Some say that lower heels are just around the corner.  Leaning towers of woman are almost passe.  Skyscraper soles that put your perfectly coiffed head closer to the clouds are clumping towards oblivion.  Sleek kitten heels will be padding their way back into your closets.  Modern, easy-to-wear three-inch heels (the new “low”) will return.  You’ll be able to descend stairs without gripping your best friend‘s shoulder for support.

After a few years of shoe styles that led many fashion victims to the chiropractor’s office or left them yearning for a soothing foot bath and massage, “sensible” shoes are returning.  According to Mark Holgate in Vogue, “…it’s reduced heels that have really caught the eye.”  He advises us to “…get ready to look different and look at the world differently.”  He acknowledges, however, that his empirical research in Saks and Bergdorf Goodman yielded no takers for the new styles.  Superhigh platforms shape a woman’s legs as well as her view of the world.  A woman in six-inch heels can look her male boss in the eye.  But does equal in height translate to equal in power? 

Designers are working to make the new shoes colorful and sexy, with cutaways and ankle straps.  New styles from Christian Louboutin, Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs and others promise flirty, elegant, feminine looks.  Get ready to walk!

Walk A Mile in These Shoes

I’m smiling because two new pairs of fabulous summer flats from 6pm.com arrived on my doorstep this week.  Both pairs are black, flat and shiny with big buckles.  One pair is a perforated ballet flat by Bella Vita, the other is a dainty peep-toe by Donald J Pliner.  Both were on sale at giveaway prices.  The Pliner shoes have ankle straps, a dancer’s pedigree, and look as if they were rinsed in gold spray paint.  The Bella Vita shoes are great for those warm days when your pedi is raggedy but you still want to look cute.  It’s likely that I’ll live in these shoes for much of the summer--they are funky, unique and will make everything look fresher. 

6pm.com is a great website for bargain hunting shoe addicts.  Big names (Stuart Weitzman, Cole Haan, Charles David, Calvin Klein), small prices.  Have your credit card ready!

The Chucks Report – Exclusive Edition

This caption from the March 2010 Harper’s Bazaar caught my eye, “Vintage Missoni prints go modern in a new collaboration with Converse.”  These Chuck Taylor sneakers featuring the iconic Missoni print are $200 a pair and will be available at boutiques in NYC and Beverly Hills early next month.  But at that price are they still the ultimate in cheap cool?  Would you wear them daily until the soles disintegrated?  Would you wear them in the rain or on a muddy field?  How about to a beer-soaked dance party where they’re destined to be stepped on and splashed on?  If I bought these, I'd have them encased in glass with a prominently placed sign, "For Emergency Use Only."

Shoe Be Do

I took a step back in time with one of my most recent shoe purchases.  Had to--still can’t understand the appeal of the current Lego-land shoes or the desire to mince along city streets in 6” heels. 

I wrote about the style ascent of women’s wingtips last summer (see July 11 2009 post) and spent the months following that post drooling over fuchsia patent, black and white, or silver wingtips by Robert Clergerie, Kenneth Cole, and Charles Tyrwhitt.  Gorgeous shoes that would force brown bagging every day for the second quarter of 2010. 

A recent article in More magazine on the exquisite former model Veronica Webb featured her in a cute pair of cream colored wingtips with a sunrise high price tag.  I wanted that look and resolved to scour the Internet to find it for a sunset low price.

I was a fan of Bass Weejuns as a teenager and nubuck lace ups as a thirty-something, so it was a small leap to the GH Bass website in search of an affordable oxford.  I found a collection of two-toned saddle shoes that are reminiscent of my (rebellious) Catholic school days.  I chose a dune/wheat combo with a perforated upper and the traditional red sole.  They’re so uncool that they’re cool!  I’ll wear them with jeans and other slim pants this spring.

The Chuck Report

Now available -- trimmed down Chucks!

$150 will buy the new white leather Chuck Taylor designed by the artist Terence Koh for the Converse 1 HUND(RED) line. Less rubber, styled more like the shoes that boxers wear in the ring. Minimalist, stripped down, they make a entirely different statement - delicate, not tough. Jazz, not hip hop. Peaceful posse, not gang wars. The NY Times quoted Mr. Koh as seeing the shoe as "a perfect round white pearl."

Judge for yourself. These shoes will be available beginning November 21 at Opening Ceremony, 35 Howard Street, New York. The design is appealing, and will likely sell well. I am partial to the traditional style (and the traditional price), but Christmas is coming and I've been pretty damn good ...

Click here to see Mr. Koh and his new design.

Walk This Way

Comfortable shoes could be a trend in the Fall! In the Sunday, June 28 NY Times Style section’s “Pulse” column, a mini piece appeared about lace up shoes. Oxfords, lace ups – specifically men’s style shoes. It cited a right-on rant by Andre Leon Talley on Vogue.com that noted how women have become fashion lemmings. He called out shoes that would better serve as “torture chambers” when he wrote, “Too many career women look like a herd of fashion beasts, aping one another in impractical shoes….”

I would go one step further and ask why any woman would buy and wear a pair of shoes that look like demented playground equipment. Think about jungle gyms, monkey bars and sliding boards on steroids that recall a bad acid trip, a lingering nightmare, or an early Betty Boop cartoon where the shoes come alive after midnight and chase our heroine through the streets. How far can you walk? Can you stand up straight? Most importantly, can you run for the train or from a creepy date?

I love heels and wear them regularly, but I refuse to be hobbled by stupid shoes. However, this does not mean that sensible granny shoes are my fate. Oxfords and saddle shoes can be kinda funky. I loved them on Janelle Monae in her “Many Moons” video (check it out on You Tube). I like the androgynous look, but it's not for everyone. Although these shoes are already a smash hit in the UK and the number of fans in downtown NYC is growing, most women will likely bypass this trend. Not me.

I've worn saddle shoes and heartily embraced the resurgence of Hush Puppies in the 1990s. I still have a pair of their two-tone cream and ginger suede oxfords. And I'm absolutely devoted to Converse. I'm looking forward to the arrival of wingtips for women.

After reading the column I checked the Internet for prices, styles and colors. The brands that I found, Charles Tyrwhitt (made in London), Dieppa Restrepo (hand made in Mexico), and s/sense (made in Portugal), are pretty slick. Unfortunately, all of the shoes that I liked best were in the $200 price range. A pair of Kenneth Cole was discounted to $100. I'll wait for the knock-offs.

Click here and scroll through the photos at Governor's Island for a better look at these shoes. There are lots of pics here, but I think you'll enjoy them all.

Aw-w-w Chucks!

My mom wouldn't let me wear Chuck Taylors when I was growing up--she thought they were ugly. She preferred Keds, so that's what I wore. They were cute, ladylike, and came in every color in the rainbow. Through the years I had pairs in navy, red, aqua, white and spring green, but my heart belonged to Chucks. It was like dating Steady Freddy but lusting after Randy Ricky.

Chucks are perenially cool--the shoes of basketball stars and rebels. On the street they were called "gang wars." I bought my first pair as an adult in the 1980s, and have kept at least one pair in my shoe collection at all times over the past 25 years. I have eight pair in rotation right now, including chocolate leather high tops and licorice black leather low tops for winter cool. Last summer, while shopping at Filene's Basement in DC, I found "superstar" Chucks--white canvas sprinkled with dozens of tiny silver stars--and added them to my collection.

I bought another pair last weekend. They are black canvas with tiny multi-colored loops scattered all over. Got them at Kohl's. I'm not a Kohl's shopper, but I was chasing a skirt that I saw in Vogue. Didn't find the skirt, but I found a pair of funky red high top Chucks in the men's shoe department.

So, why Chucks? I prefer a little sass with my casual wear. They look great with jeans and add a rocker's edge. I rarely wear gym shoes if I'm not at the gym. Why so many pairs? They're like Lays potato chips--I can't have just one!

When I was in Rome last year I was surprised to see that Chucks were everywhere--worn with very skinny jeans on young men and women. I'm sure that I'll see them on the streets of Paris when I'm there this summer. If you want to see them in action, check out old NBA footage or the film version of West Side Story.