Reminder: Enter the Nina Shoes Giveaway

Tick, tock.  That’s the clock winding down as we approach the deadline to enter the Nina Shoes giveaway on the ShoeBlog.   The contest ends TODAY so if you’ve been too busy until now to enter, this is your last chance. GO NOW!!

And really, what have you got to lose?  At worse, you’ll earn bragging rights for sharing your favorite shopaholic moment.  At best, you’ll be the proud new owner of a pair of Nina shoes in your choice of style, color, and size.  I, for one, was impressed by some of the selections our readers wanted to win. Many wanted the Nina’s Electra shoe, which is available in a myriad of colors:

And others preferred the black, edgy, but feminine Edina peeptoe bootie,  both are beautiful choices depending on which direction you prefer to go in.  Gals, you have terrific taste!

Now I consider myself a pretty savvy shopper, but I my fellow shoeaholics beat me hands down – they are either really lucky or deserve to be professional shoppers. I mean, look at some of the contestants’ fabulous finds (note, I am not judging this contest so I feel comfortable randomly picking a few to share). Can you believe the how beautiful the purchases were and the incredible deals these ladies got? To name a few:

• Frye shoes marked down from $200 to $23.
• A flowing black and purple Trina Turk dress. Found for sale at $25, down from $328.
• Stuart Weitzman tortoise shoes for $10.
• A quality, warm jacket for $20.
• $500 Prada flats for an astounding $49.
• Steve Madden’s Bijoux sandals for $20.
• A lovely and flattering vintage peacock tee.

Enter the giveaway by leaving us a comment with the pair of shoes you want to win and your favorite shopaholic moment over here.

Saks Friends and Family Sale – Save 25% off

It’s springtime! To celebrate, Saks’ is offering a Spring Friends and Family Event.  The savings are pretty wonderful – receive 25% off all Saks’ merchandise, 20% off jewelry, 15% off cosmetics and fragrance. To receive the discount, use code SFAFAM9 at checkout and stack with code FAMSHIP9 to get free shipping with $200 purchase, too. Offer valid 4.14.09–4.19.09.

Now, there are a ton of brand exclusions,including Chanel, Balenciaga, Prada, Louboutin, Gucci, Alaia, YSL, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Valentino, McQueen, just to name a few, okay a ton of the brands.   However, there is still enough brands that still quality for the discount so you can stock up on cosmetics, those Reva flats you’ve wanted for the past few seasons, or even these Dior sandals (yup, Dior handbags were excluded, but not the shoes)!

Dior Extreme Rock Mesh Sandal – originally $880; using F&F it’s $660. If the name sounds familiar, these are the cousin of the Dior Extreme sandals we saw on SJP during the SATC movie, just with a totally different upper.

Dior Riviera Sandals – originally $880; using F&F it’s $592

Happy Easter!

Knock-Knock.

Who’s there?

Ether.

Ether Who?

Ether Bunny.

Here’s hoping your holiday weekend was wonderful.

Happy Easter everone!

(Oh, and if you find that you need a pair of the Flip-hop bunny slippers shown above, they are available for $29.95 from Bunnyslippers.com)

Christian Louboutin’s Fetish-Worthy Sandal Boots

Is it designer shoe deja-vu when it is high-end borrowing from high-street and/or alternative fashion?

I have seen a lot of online rants over copycat and designer-inspired fashion. Certain consumers hate the idea of brand-dilution that they perceive to occur as trends spread out into the general populace. Others love the opportunity to get a designer look or similar style at a fraction of the runway price.

Interestingly, I rarely see discussions on brand-dilution or concerns over intellectual property when this situation  occurs in reverse. 

I’m also curious when this style-borrowing happens at the haute-couture level.  At what price range and perceived quality level do shoes move from being outrageously stripperlicious (thank you jitterbugbaby for adding that word to my vocabulary)  and instead transform into glamourous, runway-quality, high-fashion objects?  If these styles were made by anyone other than shoe-royalty, would women be lining up to own such styles?

Today’s case in point:

Christian Louboutin’s ‘multi-buckle sandals $1495 at Saks.com

This hybrid sandal boot is straight out of the ‘more buckles, more skin’ school of footwear-as-lingerie. Heck, if you are a size 6, you can get a very similar look on clearance  over at 6pm.com; and at a fraction of the above price:

Report ‘Diaz’ $87.75 $175 at 6pm.com

I actually prefer the Report boot over the current season Louboutin version. I like that the Report boot has a softer feel due to its natural leather upper and its more-rounded cut-out styling.

Anyway, I’m of the opinion that fashion is cyclical. High-fashion borrows from low and low-fashion borrows from high; this back-and-forth cycle helps keeps fashion feeling fresh and dynamic.

Here’s a question:

What type of consumer criticisms might have occurred if the Report shoes had appeared the season after the Louboutin’s instead of before?   I’ve seen enough folks cry ‘Copy!’ ‘Get your own designs!’ over the appearance of a plain black platform pump that I have to admit to being curious to the answer on this one.

I welcome your thoughts and observations.

Spring 2009 Shoes Trends: A Rainbow of Color

While economic events have been a bit dreary over the past six months or so, it’s nice to see that we won’t have to worry about being stuck with spring shoe options that are either conservative or gloomy.  

So, what am I seeing at online retailers as well as in every brick-and-mortar store with a shoe section?

Color.

What kind of color? From Payless to Macy’s to Saks, just about every primary, prism-based color is on tempting display.

So, if you like bold colors, then this is the season for you.

Here are some (mostly) high-end highlights.

Red:

Christian Louboutin ‘Madame Claude’ D’orsay Pumps $795 at Saks.com

Valentino ‘Mena’ Day Wear Pumps $695 at Saks.com

BCBGMaxazria Patent and Rafia* Sandals $250 at Saks.com

Orange:

Dior ‘Klimt’ T-strap Sandal $570 at Saks.com

Miu Miu patent leather wedges $570 at Net-a-porter

Yellow:

Christian Louboutin Platform pumps $736 at Saks.com

Brian Atwood ‘Riva’ patent sandals $725 at Net-a-porter

Green:

Roberto Cavalli satin basketweave sandals $915 at Net-a-porter

Brian Atwood Suede Sandals $710 at Saks.com

Blue:

Christian Louboutin ‘New Simple’ pumps $675 at Saks.com

Oscar de la Renta V-Pieced open-toe platform pumps $755 at Saks.com 

Loeffler Randal ‘Graphic’ wood platform sandal $575 at Saks.com

Violet:

Miu Miu ‘Sandali’ cork* sandals $585 at Saks.com

Miu Miu suede pumps $495 at Saks.com

Costume National slingback flats $560 at Saks.com

What if you want to play with the whole rainbow instead of just choosing by the individual color?  Well, multi-hued styles are available too. Heck, many of us are just starting to experience 2009′s first rainy, spring-time weather; it’s as good a reason as any to bring your own rainbow to the party.

Nine West ‘Mudpie’ bamboo*-wrapped slide $88.95 at Endless.com

T.U.K Rainbow Heart Strap Heel $60.50 at Zappos.com

Jimmy Choo Open-Toe Sandals $825 at Saks.com

Brian Atwood ‘Margie’ rainbow sandals $565 at Saks.com

Sergio Rossi patchwork knee-high boots $1500 at Net-a-porter

Here’s to a colorful and optimistic spring.

* See, you really can’t get away from cork & rafia this year.