I haven’t owned any Baby Phat shoes. It’s probably because so many shoes from the brand have a tendency to go just a tad overboard on the whole Bling scale of adornment.

But, at the moment, I find myself drawn to this pair of Baby Phat pumps:

Baby Phat ‘Aly’ $41.23 $80.00@ Babyphat.com

At the most basic level, these are just a simple variation of the neutral-tone logo pumps that are produced each season for many labels. So what do I like about these?

It’s definitely that little crest over the toe. Very cute.

Perhaps I am also sensing a need to channel my inner Hermione Granger? Whatever the case, I certainly like the whole combo here. There’s definitely a bit of a playful wink and nod to that whole Hogwarts / boarding-school setting. Can’t you just see this on the foot of the stylish Gryffindor 7th-year witch?

So, this is a perfectly sassy pump for gals looking to show a bit of that college-coed attitude. Plus, these are affordable on all except the most belt-tightened budgets (which is always a plus to those of us cursed with a healthy dose of shoe-obsession).

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Do you know what I have seen a lot of this Fashion Week season in New York, London, and Milan? Snakeskin shoes. Most of it has been fairly subtle: the texture has added an extra dimension to many of fine pair of footwear, but snakeskin coloring has been relatively scarce. Well, look no more! At Baby Phat, if you are going to do snakeskin, you are going to do it all the way.

Most of the looks in the show featured either a 70s, Austin Powers feel (the Heather Graham version, not the Elizabeth Hurley) or a luxurious Egyptian Queen motif. There was a lot of gold, a lot, of sparkle, and a lot of skin. The shoes were high and they were hot. Python trimmed in gold and bright bits of color. Here are some exclusive backstage shots.

These snazzy snakeskin heels were worn by the model that I worked with backstage. (The charming Hollis - check her out here)

This model is waiting to go on (and waiting and waiting - the show was announced as “starting” 3 times over the course of an hour)

And here it some more formal footwear. I love that pop of pink!

There was a very unusual vibe backstage at Baby Phat, during New York Fashion Week. I have worked at many many shows and I usually find that the primary overarching emotions are stress and outright exhaustion, especially in the models at the end of the week. The stylists and and Baby Phat folk were certainly stressed out (if you work for Kimora, I’m betting your anxiety is off the charts right before a show), but the models were surprisingly chill. There was music, there was laughter, there were many models laughing about the sheer quantity of skin they would soon be exhibiting before the world. The backstage area was dark and strobe lights from the runway filtered through as the base reverberated through the floors causing the clothing racks to rattle. So let’s see, loud music+dark, crowded room+pretty girls in tiny clothing = nightclub. So the verdict: All in all, it was pretty cool.

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