Study of Shoes and Stilettos

Dark gray suede Italian pumps, gifted to me from my favorite Aunt.  She and I have the same shoe size, and when her feet grew a half-size she handed down several pairs of beautiful shoes.  These are the gray sister of the navy blue suede pumps I wore last week.

In hopping about the Interwebs I found a couple of fantastic pairs of gray heels, I particularly love these Gray suede menswear-ish pump by Tracy Reese. This gray flannel pump looks particularly cozy. And these fabulous oxford-inspired, menswear-ish, spectator-like heels.  (Yes, that’s a mouthful of a description, but they’re just so perfect!)  They aren’t gray and they aren’t suede, but they are all kinds of fabulous, so I’m including them here.

Chocolate brown suede vintagey pumps with slight pointed-toe, 2.5-inch heel, and bow detail.  These are one of the very few pairs of shoes I own that came from a thrift store, I absolutely love them.  They are so feminine and sweet and perfectly shaped.

Burgundy Mary Jane with T-strap, 3.5-inch heel, and cut-outs at the toe, by Report.

It’s been a crazy weekend here at Casa de the Shoeologist, I had a pretty wicked head-cold yesterday and hardly moved from the comfort of my bed. Today the temperature is in single digits, I start classes again at the University, and I would very much like to be snuggled up under a fluffy feather comforter.  Instead, I’m bundled up at work in thick tights and a snuggly sweater with a steaming cup of cocoa.  It’s almost as good (who am I kidding, it’s not the same at all but it’s all I’ve got to work with).

Here is a gorgeous pair of burgundy T-strap heels from Frye.

Black round-toe T-strap pump with 4-inch heel, by Hot Kiss.  Conservative meetings mean conservative footwear (mostly).  But, because this is me we’re talking about I decided to up my game with funky tights.  That’s just how I roll.  I have some pretty impressive bruises on my left knee due to a fantastic sledding tumble last weekend, so the dark purple tights are an excellent choice to cover up my black and blue body parts.

Leopard print d’orsay* heels with sequin and lace embellishments, 4-inch heel and a peep-toe, by Steve Madden.  I don’t know if I can explain in how many different ways I love and adore these shoes.  I love the pony-hair animal print (not real pony hair, obviously), I love the sparkly bits, the peep toes…these are easily one of my all-time favorite pairs of shoes.  I wore these lovelies for 15-hours straight, from work straight to a holiday party, and by the end of the night I was still trotting all over the place without any kind of foot pain.  That, my friends, is the mark of a fabulous pair of heels.

*Vocabulary Lesson:

• A d’orsay (door-say) heel is cut away on the middle of the vamp from the toe-box to the heel so that the arch of the foot is exposed.
• The vamp is the center part of the shoe, the part that goes over/around your arch.
• Perhaps a bit more self-explanatory, the toe-box is the area where your toesies live.

Editors Note: Goodness, I never realized how many definitions it takes to explain something like this!  Huzzah for the mini vocabulary lesson!

CC has been leaving me some lovely comments and while she doesn’t have a blog of her own I think she’s off to a great start in her inagural blog post!  These shoes are adorable–and on sale!–I’m sure you could find a way to incorporate them in your New Year’s Resolutions.  Right?

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Hello Fellow Shoe Lovers,

CC here. Guest blogger reporting for duty. As you can see I won’t be guest blogging on any photography sites anytime soon. Taking pretty pictures is not my strong point which is why I resorted to this picture.

However, wearing pretty shoes is an area in which I excel. Who doesn’t love a pretty, little, pointy, gray, suede, kitten heel? That’s a lot of commas. They show the perfect amount of toe cleavage. Just enough to still be classy. These pretty things visited my dreams for a few weeks after seeing them in the store. One day, in celebration of nothing in particular, I decided to make them my own. To make it that much sweeter, my Target version is much cheaper than the Macy’s. Honestly, this love at first sight has lasted well beyond the honeymoon stage. So happy and so in love.

Buy them here, now on sale for $17.99! Mossimo Veralis Ruffley Flat

Today’s shoes are brought to you from across the pond, Mackenzi is one of my most favorite former students and I was thrilled when she volunteered to fill in for me from her outpost in London.  Miss Kenzi, you have a great start on some amazing style with these beauties!

I have always, always, always wanted to own a pair of red patent leather heels. They are sassy, classy, and seriously hot.  However, I have never found that pair that is just quite right. Then I found these beauties. They are everything I ever wanted in a red shoe; skinny heel, peep toe, shinny, eye popping color, these ladies are the complete package. And the best part? Only $20. I’m in love.

Shannon is all-together lovely and charming and all those things you look for in a friend who lives in your computer.  Plus, she does awesome things like send me pictures of  shoe ornaments (as in, things that go on a tree).  Clearly, we are meant to be friends.

Howdy from Texas! (No, we don’t always say that, but it’s a good distinguisher from the other substitutes thus far.) What a wonderful opportunity we shoe-lovers have here to share while The Shoeologist is off getting sand in her toes.   In the southern part of Texas, our Christmas weather currently has a high of a nice chilly 78 degrees. Which is why I can still wear my favorite pair of shoes just a few days before Christmas.

This pair of gray suede peep toe slingbacks are from my favorite designers, Elie Tahari. Now, if you are familiar with Tahari, you might be with me and consider her a luxury designer… I shop sale racks only. But, during a quick trip to Marshall’s to look for a dress, I saw these shoes. And it was almost an “angelic” moment, for I could hear a chorus. (Maybe it was the background music, but go with it.) I tried the shoes on and they fit perfectly. They spoke to me and said, “We are coming home with you.” So, of course, they did!

One of my favorite aspects of these shoes is they are probably one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I own! I have worn them to work, and then social functions that evening, and it was only around the 12-hour mark that my feet started questioning my sanity.  Now, I fear these shoes were on such deep discount ($50) because they are no longer available…I cannot find any place on the internet to guide you to these lovely beauties. However, if you are at one of your local discount shopping stores, you never know what type of luxury shoes you can find at not-even-close-to luxury pricing.

Red leather pointy-toe, 3-inch heels by Carissa.  There is nothing that will brighten your day quite like a pair of red shoes.  Happy Friday everyone!

(Psst, I’m announcing the winner of my MuckBoots giveaway at the bottom of this post–keep reading, okay?)

Black leather Mary Jane’s with 3.5-inch heel, by Rampage.  These used to be my all-time favorite pair of shoes.  I wore them constantly and frankly, they are starting to show their age.  However, when I looked out the window this morning and saw a couple of inches of fresh snow, the suede shoes I was planning on wearing became a bit too impractical.  Paired with funky black lace tights these simple shoes make quite an impression.

AND NOW FOR THE AWESOME PART:  (Not that funky black lace tights aren’t the epitome of awesome, they are, but in this case FREE STUFF is probably more awesome.)  I am giving away a free pair of Muckboots in your choice of color (black, brown, hunter green or bright pink).  After weeding out a dozen or so invalid entries*, I had 228 comments, tweets, and blog-mentions.

And the lucky winner is commenter #37, Allie who said “Ooh!  I have heard great things about MuckBoots!  And in Rochester, winter boots are a must!”

Congrats Alllie!  I will be emailing you shortly with details on claiming your prize!  I really hope these lovelies help make your Rochester winter more bearable!

For those who did not win, make sure to keep checking back for your daily shoe fix and upcoming giveaways!

*As per the contest rules, detailed here.