Study of Shoes and Stilettos

Nine West navy blue patent leather Mary Janes. I found these lovelies at Nordstrom Rack and fell in-love immediately. I love patent leather, I love Mary Janes, and the fact that these were BLUE instead of the expected black…sold!

I have wanted to hem this skirt since I bought it, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Today was the first time I tried belting it and on my 40 minute lunch break I received three separate compliments. Perhaps belting is the way to go instead of hemming? Thoughts?

I do not own anything this minty green color, but when I saw the snakeskin belt for $1.00 at a thrift store I couldn’t not take it home (this is a recurring problem with me, I’ve found). When I saw the minty-green J. Crew bracelets on sale I had to have them (see it again? The shopping problem?).

The Details

Navy v-neck T: Ann Taylor
Magenta cardigan: B.P. by Nordstrom
Gray full skirt: Ross/TJ Maxx find
Navy blue patent leather Mary Janes: Nine West
Minty green snakeskin belt: thrifted
Pink necklaces (2 worn, one looped twice, one knotted): no idea…
Minty green & silver bangles: J. Crew, Bohme, Tiffany
Light blue glass ring: Ann Taylor Loft
Dangly disc earrings: Street vendor, Mazatlan, Mexico

**This post is part of Kayla‘s 21 Day Challenge, Layer Accessories. Check out the rest of the participants in the Flickr group here.

Navy blue patent leather Mary Jane’s with 4-inch heel and almond-shaped toe, by Nine West.  I found these beauties at Nordstrom Rack for half-off of half-off.  I ended only paying $15.00 for them.  And they’re blue!  And shiny!  And look at the fancy, strappy bit on the heel!  Swoon!

I love shopping at Nordstrom Rack, I love that my feet are not an average size so there is always something fabulous there for a great deal.  (Size 10 is far from average, yo.)  I had a hard time finding navy, patent leather Mary Jane’s that are available right now…but I think you’ll see that these are just as fantastic.

Madden Girl Sursey Pump ,Navy Patent ($39.95)
(Available in a bunch of other colors as well!)

Nine West Reptile-Print Rocha Pump, Navy Patent ($54.11)
Navy! Patent Leather! With a reptile print! Triple love!

United Nude Modern Mary Jane, Navy ($134.69)
I can’t get over the structure of these heels! I don’t know a better way to describe them, but they are fantastic!

ALSO!  Remember to enter to win a FREE pair of Lucha Shoes! Contest entry and details are here. Contest is open until March 18.

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!)

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.

(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.

 Steve Madden embroidered mary jane’s with 4-inch heel, rounded toes and an ankle strap. I found these several years ago and fell in-love immediately. I love the thicker heel and I love love LOVE the embroidered flowers. There is a little teal, a little emerald green, a little red, a little orange, and a little purple–basically, these heels go with anything. They are practically a neutral. I was feeling lazy this morning (and running a bit late) so I skipped shaving my legs and wore tan fishnet tights instead. (Shh, don’t tell.)

Black satin mary-jane’s with criss-cross detail on the toe and 4-inch heel, be l.e.i.  For years these were my favorite pair of heels, I actually have purchased them twice, the ones I wore to death and the ones (pictured above) I recently found while digging through my shoe room (yes, I have a shoe room, which is currently a disaster.)  I love the 1940′s feeling of these round-toe heels, however when paired with Smurf-blue tights the look is completely modern.

Steve Madden black patent-leather mary jane pumps with rounded toe and 4-inch heel.  I absolutely adore these shoes–they are classic in every possible way.  I looked for the elusive black patent mary jane for several months before scoring these from TJ Maxx.  These are no longer available from Steve Madden, and I couldn’t find many comparable shoe in my cursory search (Maybe these?  Or these? They are both kind of similar).  Thus, I am validated in my decision to buy them when I did. (I find I do this kind of validation or justification all the time, by the way.  I do not, however, usually use words like “thus”.)

Charles by Charles David, emerald green suede Mary-Jane 4-inch wedge.  Aren’t they just heaven?  I first saw these shoes a few summers ago and lusted over them for months before deciding that I’d loved them long enough to justify the triple-digit price tag (!!).  By that time, of course, they were sold out.  A few months later I happened to wander into a Charles by Charles David store in California (they don’t have any in my hometown), and that store happened to have one last pair of these babies IN MY SIZE on clearance for $40. Clearly, it was a sign that I was supposed to have green suede Mary-Janes. Right? Right.  (Don’t judge.)  I suppose these are more of a Spring/Summer shoe, but I figure when worn with chocolate brown they are passable for Fall.  Besides, I had to turn on my air conditioner today; I feel justified in my “summery” color choice.

While these shoes are no longer available, here is a similar option you may enjoy.

Today is the last day to enter my Giveaway!  Comments close at midnight and the winner will be announced on Monday!