Designer deja-vu: the mop as inspiration for Louboutin and Diane von Furstenberg

Our own Shomore wrote about these Christian Louboutin fringe peep-toes a while back in our ‘Walking Disasters’ section on the Forums. She likened the styling with a car-wash mop. Well, it seems not only that the mop design is desirable enough to be reprised by CL, but also trendy enough to be assimilated into other designer collections. Oh, the humanity!

Below, Christian Louboutin Fringe-Front ankle bootie, $1145 at Neiman Marcus:

And this is a Diane von Furstenberg design for evening pumps, from Harper’s Bazaar, September 2007 issue:

I don’t know about you, but this last one makes me blush a little. 

Friday Shoe History Corner: Will the real granny bootie please stand up?

On the left: a creation of Francois Pinet, c. 1870; on the right, French boot c. 1890.

Writes Linda O’Keeffe: ‘Victorian morality dictated that women’s ankles be coveered to protect them from men’s prying eyes. Ironically, the intricate tight lacings of the ankle boots had a titillating effect.’

Word.

TSUBO Shoe Product Reviews

Our friends from Tsubo sent us three different pairs of Tsubos to try out. Of course, we were happy to oblige. Our reviews on the Tsubo Pinger, Zerine, and Vosa shoes are listed below.

Tsubo Pinger Review

Jitterbugbaby – I opted for the Pinger in white perforated leather. I wanted a summer shoe that was casual, but still with style, and man did I get that and more. As Shoesense and Shomore can attest, I wore these shoes during our VERY LONG day at the WSA Show in Las Vegas at the end of July, and was giddily pleased with the resulting comfort and funky style. I ordered them a size larger than I normally wear (a 9 instead of an 8), hoping to be able to put my orthotics in them. And when I got them? Success! The orthotics fit in them easily and comfortably. There are some TSUBO styles with removable footbeds, which would make this even easier, but this style didn’t happen to be one of them.

Anyway, I like to think that I put these shoes through a Trial By Fire (on my feet in them for a good 10 hours, without ever having worn them before) and they passed with flying colors. I also got several questions about where my shoes came from throughout the day, both from other exhibitors in the shoe industry and from buyers there to choose shoes for their spring/summer inventory. I take this as a high compliment, since the whole focus of the place was on shoes, and mine received admiring interest.

These are now a staple of my summer shoe wardrobe, and I’ll most definitely be keeping an eye on what TSUBO comes out with in the future. I know for a fact that some of there upcoming styles are great looking, and I can’t wait to see what makes it into stores.

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Tsubo Zerine Review

Shomore – I keep hearing from Shoesense that good shoes don’t need any breaking in. Well, I’m happy to report that I have finally found a pair of shoes where this holds true. I first wore the Tsubo Zerine shoes out grocery shopping and after casing practically every single aisle, I was pleasantly surprised to arrive home battle free – no blisters or foot pain. Yay! These shoes go well with my capris and the adjustable velcro strap allow me to snuggly secure my feet in place. The footbed is nice and thick – very cushy. The weird bubble designs on the soles? Well apparently they aren’t just for artistic value. They really do help absorb shock and prevent skidding. My sole complaint is that these shoes don’t breathe as well as I had hoped. Some people can wear flats without socks, but I find that my feet get sweaty easily in these shoes unless I wear my low rising loafer socks.

Overall, I was so pleased with Tsubo (plus their rep Courtney is such a sweetie) that I went online and purchased two more pairs for my significant other and my brother. Granted Amazon was having a closeout sell on many shoes so I got them at a bargain price, but the Tsubo Bombny model that I purchased was well appreciated by both men.

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Tsubo Vosa Review

Shoesense: I opted for this model in hopes it will become my next great pair of dog park shoes (replacing my defunct Merrells)–and (spoiler alert) come fall, you can betcha it will! Now, I’ve always had a problem with wearing shoes barefoot–perhaps my foot is just a tad wider than it should be, or filled out in all the wrong places, or God knows what; the point is, it is the rare closed shoe that I can wear without a sock and that will not cause me some kind of discomfort–blisters, rubbing, rawness, pain, you name it. To this day, I think that only my pair of Thierry Rabotin peep-toes qualifies for that kind of wear. You can see where this is going, right? While this hip and very forgiving Tsubo model feels heavenly at first, after about 10 minutes of walking it started rubbing at my heels. Now, the rubbing was far less severe than, say, a fashion flat could have done, but nevertheless, enough to make me reconsider wearing them without socks. I wore them with socks, however, and they felt heavenly, as they rightly should!

One bonus point for these: they work great for people with bunions or an extra-wide foot because the material on top is very stretchy and can accommodate more generous sizes. I imagine I’ll wear them every single day come September, to walk my adorable dog to the park. Oh, and I got a pair for my mom, who loves them. Now, that’s love!

Update: For our readers, Tsubo.com has a special promotional/coupon code. Use code shoebloglove to save 25% off your order by Tsubo.com. This offer expires on 9/7/07.

Seasonal lust: Loeffler Randall tall boots

I don’t know how YOU deal with your shoe obsessions, but here’s what I do: come the new season I usually form an uncanny attachment to a pair of shoes/boots/sandals/whatever, over which I salivate obsessively and whose picture I admire at least three times a week (what, it burns calories, I’ve heard), just to saturate my eyes with what, at that moment in time to me, is sheer perfection.

The time has come for me to start lusting, therefore, after these Loeffler Randall Maltide tall boots, in cuoio ($695 at Neiman Marcus):

Oh. My. God. Breathtaking, simple, beautiful, elegant lines, modest wedge heel, splendid color, gorgeous leather (excuse me while I wipe off the drool, it’s getting hard to type over here).

Ahem.

What’s your shoe obsession this season? Do share!

Flat or wedge oxfords? You decide!

This season, oxfords are, no doubt, a good way to break the monotony of the ballerinas and the ubiquity of the Mary Janes. In a recent post, I had surmised that for those of us for whom heels higher than 2 inches hold no appeal whatsoever, the selection in terms of oxfords is pretty dismal. Well, it appears, in the words of the inimitable Dr. Perry Cox, that I’ve been wrong wrong wrong wrong, wrong wrong wrong wrong (for non-Scrubs fans: sing that along the Big Ben chime. Trust me, it’s funny).

So who else but Anthropologie can give us girls who value our comfort at least as much as our trendiness some very chic options in terms of oxford-wear? Take for example these peep-toe beribboned shoes from TN_29 ($228):

I know what you’re going to say–how to wear these?–but have faith: they really do look great on this model, who wears them here with a knee length skirt and bare legs:

See? Told you so!

I’ll also take a high wedge over a high heel any time, too, so I’m kinda attracted to these metallic wedge oxfords from Rafe, $298 at Anthropologie:

I love the tasseled ties adn how they can pass off as booties. Also love the shimmery leather, which has a hint of lunar melancholy in it.