Gianna Meliani Shoes

Do y’all know Gianna Meliani’s shoes? Yeah, neither did I; not that the information is scarce on them–they’re all over the pages of European fashion magazines, and their website is pretty well designed (on said website, you’ll also find some of the sexiest shoe modeling you’ve ever seen, to be sure). It’s just that, well, they’re not marketed in the US–yet.

And this is where I say: thank the powers that be for Yoox! Every once in a while, just like you, I’m sure, I get a little tired of the local or website offerings, no matter how generous; I’m invariably drawn to just a handful of styles (a girl’s gotta be picky!) and once I’ve made the rounds of enough websites, everything starts to sound repetitive…. This is where European websites come to the rescue, with a fresh eyeful of new designers–or at least, models I’m not likely to find in the US–but of course, the downside is the rather steep shipping costs (though in many cases those are offset by the absence of a VAT for the US–always check for that if you’re ordering from overseas, btw). However, some websites won’t even ship to the US, so forget that!

Enter Yoox, which maintains a US-based warehouse, from all indications, and will have hottt European fashion at your dainty feet in 2-3 days, give or take–often shoes (or clothes and accessories) I would never be able to find in the US. The fashion is already discounted when it comes to Yoox, but their end of the season sales are to DIE for–this is how, for only $30, I scored the pair of Sonia Rykiel low heeled pumps in which I defended my dissertation.

Apart from the occasional sale event, I also love Yoox for the unique brands, like the Gianna Meliani I had started to write about at one point (geez, I can be quite long-winded, can’t I?). I am particularly drawn to their flat peep-toes, coming in delicious colors and textures–purple, red with white polka dots, or silver pebbled: