Study of Shoes and Stilettos

Red satin pointy-toe slingbacks with dainty bows and a demure 2.5-inch heel, by Karen Smith.  These are generally categorized as “fancy shoes”, but today feels completely springy and I, for one, would like to celebrate it.  With satin slippers.  Impractical?  Yes.  But when have I been known for being practical?

Also–this is my 100th post as The Shoeologist!  I think that deserves a little celebration, right?  For the next two minutes I will have a mini dance party in my cube.  I suggest you follow suit.  (wink)

Nine West Manequin Red Slingback Pump ($55.14)

J.Renee Amaya Slingback Pump, Gold ($52.22)

Moda Spana Quid Pump, Red Silk with bow ($85.00)
(these are quite possibly my favorite from this lot!)

J.Renee Rachele Slingback Pump, Fushia ($89.95)
(these lovelies come in ten different colors!)

Calvin Klein Daria Satin Pump, Midnight (09.00)

Martinez Valero Rusched Slingback, Bronze ($79.72)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Bright red patent leather sling-back, peep-toe shoes with 4-inch cork heel, by Guess.  I probably own almost ten pairs of red heels, but these are hands down my favorite.  Today I’m celebrating my birthday (well, it was yesterday, but close enough) and my favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day.  I don’t have a sweetheart this year to celebrate with, but I have an evening full of cupcakes and books and fabulous shoes in store for me.  It should be awesome.  (Note: The Strand is a used book store in New York City that is absolutely fabulous.  It tops my list of favorite places in the city, you must check it out if you are ever in NYC!)

Other lovely V-Day heels for your enjoyment:

Dollhouse Kasana T-strap Sandal, Red ($38.46)

Harajuku Lovers Delaney Platform Sandal, Red ($89.95)

Joan & David Collection Kenyon Platform Sandal, Red Patent Leather ($220.95, but so pretty!)

Today is the last of the party shoe mini-series, and we are ending on one of my all-time favorite pairs of heels.  Click here for the rest of the party shoes.

Magenta satin t-strap peep-toe sandals with rosettes and 4-inch heel.  I would like you to take a moment to just admire these–they just might be my favorite pair of shoes.  I have worn these only a few times–to the symphony, on a fancy date, around in my apartment on a particularly sad day–they never fail to make me feel like a million bucks.

I have been touting wearing fancy party shoes with jeans, however these ones must be seen.  Please to wear with something that shows a little leg, okay?

I can’t find these online anywhere, but here are a couple of options that are similar.  (Well, they are close–the ruffled roses on a T-strap aren’t to be found.  Sob!)

Miss Me Dazzle-32 Sandal, Coral ($33.78)

Calvin Klein Rajah Ankle-Strap Sandal, Fuchsia (109.00)

Badgley Mischka Kiwi Sandal, Raspberry Satin (137.90)

Bordello By Pleaser Preen Peep Toe Platform, Fushia Satin ($41.95)

This week is all about party shoes, those fancy, satiny, ruffled, sparkly heart-stoppers. Click to see all the party shoes here.

Black open-toe heels with ruffles, ankle wrap and 3.5-inch heel.  I used to wear these fairly often–usually with slacks to prevent raised eyebrows at work–and I had forgotten about them until I started digging around in my stacks.  Such a cute pair of heels!  Swoon!  I tried to find some similar ones, but unfortunately search results for “bedroom shoes” were more fuzzy slipper and less fantastic heels.

Touch Ups Ivanna Pump, Black ($55.16)

Dyeables Frilly Sandal, Black ($19.95)

Betsey Johnson Nelson Pump, Black Satin (40.95)

This week I’m posting all about party shoes, the ones I rarely wear but still are so beautiful I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about them. See here for other party shoe posts.

Silver sparkly strappy sandals with 3.5-inch heel and criss-cross straps at the toe.  I found these at Nordstrom Rack almost 8 years ago for $35 dollars, marked down from a hundred.  They started out at t-strap shoes, but I was in an anti-T-strap phase and clipped it off.  (What was I thinking!?  I’m glad it was just a phase!  I love t-straps!)  At any rate, I have worn these to the opera, the ballet, a fancy black-tie party, dancing, (smooching!)…I love them.  They go with just about everything and what girl doesn’t need a little sparkle at her feet every so often.  Am I right?

There are about ten-thousand options around the Interwebs for something sparkly and fantastic, here is a small sampling.  Seriously, if you need  a little pick-me-up click through these links.  So many pretty shoes!

Coloriffics Jessica Platform Sandal, Silver ($61.95)
criss-cross straps, peep toes and a lot of sparkle!

Jen + Kim for Coloriffics Devote Ankle-Strap Sandal, Sterling (83.00)
silver silk shantung with a sparkly buckle

Nina Clorele Sandal,Gunmetal ($99.95)
strappy leather sandal with rhinestones and silver baubles, love

Cynthia Vincent Alora Ankle-Strap Sandal, Gunmetal ($295, but oh-so pretty!)
metallic mesh strappy sandal, goodness, these are fancy!

Michael Antonio Casey Sandal, Silver ($49.46)
strappy silver snakeskin

Nine West Edera Sandal, Pewter ($78.95)
glittery leather straps in all kinds of awesome shapes

Bordello by Pleaser Violette-12G Sandal, Silver Glitter ($56.95)
sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!  swoon!

Nina Corvala Sandal, Gunmetal ($89.95)
sassy and strappy with a little flouff at the heel

This week I’ve decided to take a little break from my regular daily footwear postings and do something a little different.  I have several boxes of party shoes that rarely get worn, so in honor of Valentine’s Day* I will be putting a little sparkly, a little frill, and/or a little satin up everyday.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Hot pink satin peep-toe pumps with 4-inch heel, by RSVP.  These beauties would be fabulous with a little black dress (or a little gray dress, or a sparkly dress, or a creamy dress…you get the picture) or a pair of dark, skinny jeans and a flouncy, sparkly top.  I love the pleating and the peep-toe.

Caparros Lizzie Open-Toe Pump,Hot Pink ($64.95)

Martinez Valero Carolina Platform Pump, Fuchsia (09.95)
(These have the most fantastic detail at the toe! Hello, “bedroom” shoes!

GUESS WHondo3 Peep-Toe Pump, Pink ($49.47)

Mojo Moxy Inferno Peep Toe Pump, Fuchsia ($58.76)

Menbur Sling Back Pump, Fuchsia ($52.25)
(These are made in Spain, sling-back and a bow on the toe, absolutely beautiful!)

Whelp, that’s it for today.  Come back tomorrow for something sparkly!

*I know some of you may hate Valentine’s Day / Single Awareness Day.  I am not exactly looking forward to it this year either, I don’t have a date nor a party invite, which means I have no excuse to wear any of these beautiful shoes.  I may just end up ordering a pizza, watching a cheesy chick-flick, and trying them all on again. One by one.  Alone.  In my apartment.  Don’t judge.

Steve Madden red patent leather, peep-toe, platform pumps with 4-inch heel.  Today is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness for heart health for women, tragically, I haven’t done laundry in about 3 weeks and my stash of red tops is buried at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper.  But I decided I could wear red heels instead.  I know these are more summery than February-y, but between the Go Red for Women and Valentine’s Day I figured it didn’t really matter.  Right?  Right.  Here’s some additional bright-red lovelies for your Friday-viewing pleasure!  Happy Weekend!

GUESS Hondo3 Peep-Toe Pump

Madden Girl Fawwn Platform Pump

Jessica Simpson Kally Pump

Franco Sarto Women’s Now Platform Pump

Vince Camuto Renees Open-Toe Pump

Soft brown leather pumps with almond-toe, 4-inch heel, and gold zipper details, by Liliana.  I found these last week and had to have them, I was so delighted when they were delivered less than 24-hours after I ordered them, thank you, free overnight shipping!  And thank you, Endless!  I just love the zipper detail, so funky and unexpected!

Liliana Escada Zipper Pump

They also come in red!

Can I gush a little bit about this photo?  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this here before, but I don’t take most of the photos that are posted here.  I take a few, like, maybe 5%.  I am tricky, but the kind of contortion required for the shot above while still paying attention to light balance and composition are beyond my scope as a overly amateur photographer.  Also, my little point-and-shoot camera just doesn’t have the skills for that sort of thing in the first place.  No, I don’t take my own photos.  My sister, pinksuedeshoe, comes to visit me every couple of weeks with her big, bad SLR and a head full of creative ideas, and she will take photos of 25 or 30 pairs of shoes.  She’ll edit them up real nice and upload them for me to peruse and subsequently post here.  It’s kind of like that scene in Clueless where Cher has her entire closet loaded into her computer and can scroll through it.  That’s what I do in the morning (or the night before if I’m feeling productive).  I scroll through, find a pair of shoes I want to wear, and then dream up an outfit to go with them.

Up until recently we have been doing these photo shoots outside, ignoring the strange looks from my neighbors as I schlep an enormous bag of shoes around the block, looking for the right spot.  But this last Saturday we decided to set up a mini studio in my warm, cozy apartment and see how that would work.  Come to find, the photos take about 10 times longer to get right when you’re working with sunshine coming through the skylight and setting up different backdrops.  The good news is we both really love how they turned out (see above).  Thanks a million, Pink!

Black snakeskin knee-boots with rounded toe and stacked 3-inch heel, by Nine West.  The arctic chill has hit the valley in which I live, so I bit the bullet and pulled on these boots this morning to make my way out to the car.  I was only outside for about 1 minute before I decided to go back in and put on a pair of (purple!) tights.  Baby, it’s cold outside!  These boots are no longer available, but I did find some other lovelies from Nine West.

Nine West Trurman Knee-High Boot

Nine West Convinceme Boots

Nine West Charisma Knee-High Boot

Nine West Haden Boot

Gold metallic snakeskin peep-toe, platform sandals with ankle strap and 5-inch heel, by ShoeDazzle.  Are these particularly “winter weather” appropriate?  Mmm, no, not really.  Have I ever been one for “practical” or “appropriate?”  Mmm, no, not really.

Ok, so let’s chat a minute about ShoeDazzle, they are a subscription shoe dealer, which sounds a lot fancier than it really is.  Basically, you get a new pair of shoes every month for a pretty low price, I’m on month two and have already purchased extra pairs.  And not all of the shoes have 5-inch heels, I promise.  You actually take a little “shoe preference” quiz and they give you a selection based on that.  If you don’t like any of them you can request new ones.  It’s a pretty sweet gig.  And, of course, I get referral points if you use this link to join.  So head over there, check it out, report back to me, okay?  Okay.  Happy Tuesday.