Chanel-Like Corso Como Quilted Boots

When I first saw these gorgeous black leather quilted boots on the street, my first thought was “Chanel.”    But my suspicions were raised when I couldn’t locate, even with my mad secret eyeballing skills, a double CC logo anywhere on the shoes.  So I decided to ask the stranger instead.  To my surprise, the lady said’ Corso Como at Nordstrom’.  So here you are gals, chic and classy Chanel-like boots at a non-Chanel price of $199 at Nordstroms.  Plus, with free shipping and free returns, how can you not be tempted to try one on?  Enjoy!

Corso Como San Angelo Quilted Boots ($199 at Nordstrom)

UGG Cavalieri Boots – Still UGGs but better looking

UGGs is one of those footwear brands that I have a love / hate relationship with.  On one hand, I love how warm, comfy, and soft the shearling lining of their boots are.  Yet, for all their functionality, the aesthetics of the boots have left much to be desired, especially since my feet look huge and clunky in them.   With the introduction of ‘The UGG Collection’ for fall,  UGGs is making leaps and strides in the looks department.  Take these  UGG Cavalieri boots from the Collection line  for example.  They have the equestrian looks that remind me of Gucci rider boots but are lined with UGG’s signature lining.  I also like that the boot shaft can be removed, which is great if you want a different look or want to go from warm to cool.

Now, there’s a price for beauty.  The UGG Collection  marks UGGs entry into the high end accessories market.  This means the shoes are made in Italy with luxurious materials but it also means the shoes start at $495.   The UGG Cavalieri boots are $995 at Zappos, which is priced right up there with Jimmy Choo, Louboutin, and Chanel.   Do you think they are worth the price or would you stick to the main, more modestly priced line?

Win SIX Pairs of Christian Louboutins on OpenSky.com

Need I explain this to you?

OpenSky is a selective shopping site that allows you to follow your favorite tastemakers — a brilliant idea that is winning the site heaps of plaudits. I recently attended one of their events in Brooklyn and signed up for the club.

Now you get an additional entry in the Louboutin giveaway for each friend of yours you invite who joins.

So check it out. I’m enjoying shopping on the site, which has lots to offer, from simple pretty fashion to laptop lap desks in fashionable colors.

SS12 Fashion Week Footwear: OMG YSL

Shoe lovers, we’ve been together long enough that I feel I can confide my deepest-felt emotions to you, and it’s with that security and knowledge that I make this confession.

I am in love.

I am in love with a platform.

I am in love with a beautifully fastened slingback.

I am in love with an etched instep shield.

I am in love with texture combinations that are simultaneously creative and restrained.

I am in love with the continuation of the SS12 trend for shiny shiny metallic gold.

I am in love with footwear that requires a polishing cloth.

I am in love with heels that are actually a wearable height.

I am in love with a neutral color palette highlighted by jewel tones in suede.

I am in love with reflective surfaces in unexpected places.

I am in love with shoes that can somehow be business-like and sexy as all get out.

I am in love with the kind of glitz that belongs on Audrey Hepburn’s stylish feet.

I am in love with dainty, on-trend ankle straps.

I am in love with toes that are just the right rounded square shape.

I am in love with shoes that are classic enough to last season after season.

I am in love with a sprinkling of sparkly crystals.

I am in love with the way the light shines off all those matte and semi-lustrous surfaces.

I am in love with shoes that seem to be from a whole bunch of 20th century decades all at once.

I am in love with elegant hardware details.

I am in love with a play of hard and soft.

Yes, Shoeblog fans, it’s true.  I am in love with Stefano Pilati’s Spring/Summer 2012 shoe collection for Yves Saint Laurent.

SS12 Fashion Week Footwear: Vive la France!

I always love that Paris Fashion Week comes last, because its style is my overall favorite.  I’m always likely to covet more shoes from the Paris runways than New York, London, or Milan.  This year is no exception.  I’m loving what we’ve seen from Gay Paree.

Balmain showed us glamorously embellished boots with heels and patent leathers and filigree swirls that make me swoon.

Viktor & Rolf gave us typically playful and over-the-top mules and sandals that made good use of the SS12 transparency trend.

Sonia Rykiel offered up charmingly wearable simple silhouettes with fun lacing details (and by the way, I’m proud of how closely those last flat ones match the “Pocahontas” Louboutins I scored some years back).

On that note, Jean-Paul Gaultier showed a similar silhouette with this sporty white number.

I give that one a big and central visual shout-out, because much as I like to ogle the awesome heels shown on the runways, I do so love seeing shoes that actually look like I could wear them in style and comfort on a daily basis.

However, I refuse to ignore the gorgeousness (and simultaneous unwearable-unless-one-is-Lady-Gaga-or-Victoria-Beckham-ness) of the rest of the JPG footwear.  Behold the pretty!

But wait! Despite the indisputable beauty (go on, I dare you to dispute the beauty of those JPG booties!) seen above, I have saved my favorite Parisian shoes for last.  And that collection comes from Balenciaga.

Would that I were in a cleverer frame of mind,  I would write odes to these shoes and their squared off toes and their little heel nubbins and their simple primary color palette and their architectural style.  If you love these shoes like I do and are feeling more eloquent than me, please oh please OH PLEASE, feel free to share your own odes in the comments to this post.  I’m so tempted to promise away my first born for those red ones on the left.