On the fringe

As usual, the NYT picks up on as few commonalities seen in a few more or less obscure places and turns it into a trend: this time, it’s fringe, baby:

The shoes you see in the picture are Paul & Joe Neo fringe high-heeled sandals, $600 at shopbop.com, and fringed gladiator sandals, $730 at Etro (NY store).

I trolled teh interwebs but found scant evidence about this so-called trend. Ok, here’s some: Candela “Flecos” fringe sandals, $225 at Intermix:

And Fendi peacock fringe sandals, $540 at eLuxury:

Prada did the fringe thing  a season or so back:

Personally, I’m not a big fringe person–but I’ll have to agree with the experts: if you’re going to wear fringe, keep it limited to one item on your body (no fringe shoes AND bags at the same time, or, God forbid, fringed suede jacket–brrrr!).

Whatever you do, however, don’t put any fringe in your step that looks like this:

…unless, of course, you wear them while doing your household chores, case in which we’re willing to look the other way.

It’s all in the heel: Etro pumps

Aren’t these absolutely striking?

As I said, designers are more and more interested in the heel, and this, in good Etro tradition, is little over the top but also wonderful. A metallic sculpted heel with rhinestone embellishments–oh-la-la–not to mention they will make your rear view look even more like a work of art. If you’re interested, these Etro pumps are just a whisker shy of $580 at Zappos.

Excuse me, how much do those boots weigh?

We all know just about all the measurements we need to know to select our shoes: size (length), width, heel height–that sort of thing. But apparently, we’ve been missing one on a rather important one. The other day, while browsing Zappos, I came upon this description:

Yep! We never even considered the weight of the shoe! How crazy is that? So, perhaps we should be aware that these Etro riding boots would add 19 oz each to our frame–that’s almost 2 1/2 lbs more than we weigh (gasp!). But don’t worry: you’ll compensate as your wallet will become proportionately lighter, as you’ve just got rid of about $1000:

By contrast, these Belle by Sigerson Morrison skimmers are light as a feather, at about 4 oz each–adding just 1/2 lb to your frame:

As far as I can see, this feature has been added only for the newest styles. So what do you think–will it in any way influence the way you select shoes? Just about now I’m thinking that my Timberland boots must weigh about 15 lbs each, which is probably the reason I haven’t worn them in 3 years….Hmmm…I sense a shoe-closet purge in the near future….

This Week in Shoes

First Gwyneth Paltrow has high heel-related problems, now Sarah Jessica Parker: High heels have destroyed SJP’s knees

Usually, we match our shoes with our outfit, but a car?

Abaete for Payless Fall is here!

For the runner in you: join the debate–landing on your heels or the balls of your feet? A new shoe is trying to change the way we run–more pros and cons in this Denver Post story.

It was inevitable, but it doesn’t make it less tragic: Paris Hilton launches line of shoes. The world recoils.

There is still plenty of time to bid on some of the fabulous shoes auctioned by the Collections at WSA on eBay. It’s for a good cause, too–proceeds will benefit the Ovarian Cancer Fund. Some of the great finds there:

These sweet Celine Rossimoda Canvas leather flats in a size 38, priced for now at only $75:

…these to-die-for funky purple Etro flats, size 40, starting only at $50:

or these classy Tory Burch thong sandals in a size 7, currently at $102.50:

Many more models available, so what are you waiting for?

Shoes for Harry Potter fans

Now that the Harry Potter mania is about to reach the same levels as the iPhone one, with certain people queuing at Barnes and Noble early in the morning to read its thrilling conclusion (and you know who you are), perhaps it’s time to think of ways to greet the wizardry fest shod in some proper witch shoes.

If you’re on a budget, of course, you can go with these:

…cheap witch shoes which you can get for $30 here and there on the internets.

But if you can conjure some riches with the tip of your magic wand, here’s a much more fabulous option:

Casadei 4768 Red Velvet Boots, $451 on Zappos (and that’s almost half off). Now, that’s kicking it in style!

Or if the knee-high length is sort of overkill for ya, there are these (by comparison) understated booties:

Etro 6028 purple sueded booties with croc trim, $335 at Zappos (over 40% off). Wouldn’t Hermione be proud of wearing these?

Of course, you can always sex it up French style:

Roger Vivier deep purple patent buckle pumps, $315 at Bluefly (40% off). Definitely something Fleur Delacour would don to seduce Harry!

Finally, if you can’t decide you want to be a witch or a wizard, here’s something appealing to your androgynous side:

Bottega Veneta wingtip oxfords in brown, purple and green leather, $464 at Bluefly (20% off).

See you all at Hogwarts, my friends!