This Week in Shoes

-Think you’re a shoe fanatic? Zhong Mantian has been collecting shoes for decades. His shoe collection now has over 4,000 shoes, including ones over 200 years old. [China Central Television Video]

-Barack Obama’s Shoes: A Historical Perspective [Huffington Post]

-Step aside, Louboutin, Blahnik and Choo – four of London’s designers are setting the pace for the future of footwear. [Times Online UK]

-Susie equates tried and tested to a stamp of approval. Like Susie, I’m certainly apt to purchase brands which have worked for me in the past. Haven’t you? [Style Bubble]

Chewbacca Sandals?

It must be close to Halloween. Otherwise, how am I supposed to take these sandals seriously? I came across these today and immediately realized that these are the Perfect Fringed Sandal- for the girl who is partying as a Wookie (or, if she’s short like me, an Ewok*) or heck, Bigfoot.

*Please pardon me, my geek is showing. 

Here is the shoe (Zucca Brown Fringed Sandals $284 at Creatures of Comfort):

Here is Chewbacca:

And here is Wicket:

Can you look at the sandal and come up with an outfit that doesn’t scream out ‘Hobbit Feet’. These are like nightmare, shorty Uggs for Summertime; apparently these are for those occasions when a knee-high, furry,  Yeti-esque boot is just too hot to be practical.

E-mail Roundup: More October Shoe Sales

Several sales have found their way to my inbox this weekend.

Among them: Te Casan, Shoebuy, and Speigel.

20% off Full-priced items at Te Casan; Use code gcn20; offer good until 10/31/08.

20% off at shoebuy.com; Use link; offer good until 10/31/08.

Spiegel 2-day Shoes and Accessories Sale; Good through Monday; Use code 158 for extra 25% off.

Yves St. Laurent is my Halloween Dream Shoe.

I love the colors of Fall. And, I love Halloween. To be honest, I love just about everything about it: Putting up goofy and spooky decorations around the house, helping my kids to find the perfect costumes, taking turns trick-or-treating with my kids and giving out candy to excited trick-or-treaters, drinking hot mulled cider, and even watching old John Carpenter movies like The Fog and The Thing.  It’s just a fun and cozy time of year for me and my family.

Of course, with Halloween coming up next week, and decorations in most of the stores, I am noticing orange-and-black color themes many places I go. So, why not in my shoes? I wear green for St. Patrick’s Day, why not show my colors and Halloween spirit in my footwear?

Well, there is that whole family-budget issue, particularly with a whole slew of other holidays around the corner that I need to be keeping in mind.

However, if I could actually afford a separate pair of shoes to go with each holiday, one of these YSL’s would definitely be my go-to choice not just for Halloween, but probably for most of October as well as for any Fall days when I’m feeling particularly excited about the season. And, with Bluefly having one of their 3-Day shoe sales, the temptation remains.

Yves St. Laurent ‘Moonlight’ Patent and Grossgrain Ankle Strap Sandals $356.40 $396.00 $495.00at Bluefly.com

Yves St. Laurent Orange Suede ‘True Col’ Slingback Sandals $356.40 $396.oo $495.00at Bluefly.com

Designer Deal of the Day: Roberto Cavalli Jewelled Slingbacks.

Clearance items are such a lovely way to round out a shoe collection.

And, while I may not always manage to live up to my mantra of  ‘Never Pay Retail’, I really do try. So, how about this bejewelled Roberto Cavalli slingback at 51% off retail over at 6pm.com? Sure, they’re still over $700.00. But look how they sparkle.

Roberto Cavalli Slingback T6517  $747.50 $1515.00. (Available in sizes 7, 38.5, 39 & 40)