Study of Shoes and Stilettos

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.

Black suede, velvet and leather strappy Mary Jane’s with 4-inch heel, from Coach. That’s right, Coach. Several years ago I went to Chicago for the weekend to reward myself after a particularly grueling year. I went to see Wicked, visited some of my favorite museums, and wandered along The Magnificent Mile for two days straight. In my wanderings and window shopping, I found these lovelies. They are, to date, the most expensive pair of shoes I own. I got them on sale, a really big sale, but they were still $156.74. I know this, because the receipt is still inside the box. Do I regret this purchase? No. Do I wear these often? No. Do I think they are a waste of money? Absolutely not. They are like the “good china” your grandmother had, beautiful and delicate and not meant for every-day wear. Will I hand these beauties down to my daughter? Maybe, if she happens to be a size 10. (wink.)

Here are a few similar pairs, although nothing quite so outrageous in price. Happy Monday.

BCBGeneration Drift Mary-Jane Pump

T.U.K. Mary Jane Pump

MICHAEL Michael Kors Clare T-Strap Heel
(these ones are a little pricey, but so pretty!)

Bordello by Pleaser Spectator Pump
(I love these, absolutely love them!)

Gray plaid “Prison Issue” Vans.  It’s Friday!!  And it’s been one of the crazier, busier, more stressful weeks in recent memory.  Words can hardly explain how thrilled I was when I realized today is the beginning of my weekend.  ”Prison Issue” Vans have Velcro tab-closures instead of laces, I have them in red as well and usually get compliments on how awesome they are.  In the vast halls of the Interwebs these are a bit of a rare commodity, I found them (in men’s sizes, careful if/when ordering) in black and gray, but that’s about it.

Happy Shopping, Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!

Cream and white cowboy (cowgirl?) boots with feather/flame-ish detail.  I was never the type to always want a pair of cowboy boots.  I grew up in the Wild Wild West geographically, but my town was just a quiet little town.  Sure, we had a rodeo every summer, and I was a bit obsessed with horses as a girl–what girl wasn’t?–but my horse dreams always involved riding bareback in the circus and not becoming a rodeo queen, thus no boots.  (Note: while both circus performers and rodeo queens both wear sequins, I think it’s pretty obvious which version I lean towards.)

These beauties were a gift from my amazing Aunt Mouse (not her real name, don’t worry), she and I used to be the same shoe size, but then her feet tragically grew about a half-size and she gifted me several pairs of shoes, including these boots.  I was looking around the Interwebs at cowboy boots, and they are expensive, yo!  Seriously, most pairs are $200-$300, and some go up to $800!!  And that was just a preliminary search!  I was baffled.  I had no idea they were so expensive!  I went to Toronto a few months ago and–among other things like visiting a SHOE MUSEUM–found a row of cowboy boots in a thrift store, I admired them and took an artsy-ish photo, but what I should have done is buy a pair at those low prices (and with Canadian money it’s like it’s free–their dollar bills are pink and purple, which seems like monopoly money to me.  I heart Canada!).

Here are a few pairs I found for under $100, enjoy!

Coconuts By Matisse, Burgundy Gaucho Boot (red cowboy boots?  Sold.)

Groove Kick Knee-High Boot (these come in purple AND red AND tan! Love!)

Western Cowboy Lizard Boot (a sleek, shiny option)

MIA Traill Western Boot (I love these.)

Western Cowboy Firewater Boot (turquoise flames on boots?  Rawr!)

Black leather slip-on loafers, the brand is worn off the inside but I’m pretty sure I got these at Nordstrom Rack.  Yesterday’s exclamations over the spring-like weather must have angered the snow gods or something, because as soon as I headed out the door to my car–in springy, strappy satin sandals--it started to gently snow.  By the end of the day the roads were solid ice and there is a few inches of fresh white stuff on the ground.  C’est la vie, right?  Today I opted for practicality, which is so unlike me!

Additional loafers for your enjoyment and perusal:

AK Anne Klein Zeru Patent Leather Loafer

Circa Joan & David Neema Driving Loafer

Sperry Top-Sider Madaket Suede Loafer

Michael Kors Winsor Loafer

Two Lips Studded Slip-On Flat (only $36.50!)

Let me tell you a little something about ordering from Endless.  While I was looking around their site the other night for some links to include in yesterday’s post I found a pair of heels (which you’ll see next week) that I thought were adorable and they were on an incredible sale.  I ordered them at approximately 8:00 pm on Monday and used their standard, free shipping option.  By the time I got home from work on Tuesday they were waiting for me.  Um, that’s incredible!  I can’t think of any better form of instant gratification than a new box of shoes outside my front door, less than 24-hours after I ordered them.  /end soap box.