Hubert de Givenchy turns 83 today.  He is such an interesting man.

He is the younger son of a french nobleman.   At ten, he decided he wanted to work in fashion.  In 1952, just weeks before is 25th birthdayhe opened his design house.  He was the youngest designer of the progressive Paris fashion scene. His first collections were characterized by the use of men’s cotton shirting – a cheaper fabric, but they always piqued curiosity through their design.  He later became such a good friend with Cristobal Balianciaga that when Cristobal retired, he referred his customers to Givenchy.

The two women most closely assiciated with Givenchy fashion are Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy.  He designed the cream silk gown Mrs. Kennedy wore on their visit to France in 1961, and it was a Givenchy dress she wore as she attended her husband’s funeral in 1963.  

He met an awkward teenager named Audrey Hepburn, in 1954, looking for dresses in her first movie Sabrina. They remained friends and he dressed her for 40 years. 

He created the first line of ready to wear.  LVHM bought his design house in 1988, then was pressured to retire.  A side note, LVHM ignored Givenchy’s choice of replacement designers and hired John Galliano then Alexander McQueen,  neither were good matches so they moved on.  Riccardo Tisci is creating some wonderful designs at Givenchy, and I can’t wait to see what he shows in Paris.  Today Hubert de Givenchy lives quietly outside Paris collecting art and antiques.

Here are shoes the House of Givenchy offers.

Star studded bootie $1095 at Barneys

Givenchy 594913 $1403 at Zappos Couture

Metalic Gladiator Sandal $790 at Barneys

To celebrate I will put on my tiara, have coffee and a danish while I look at the Tiffany’s website.

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Richard Ticci at Givenchy wowed reviewers with his Couture line.  Here is what he offered.

Close up of the booties.  I dunno.

In suede:

Here is a formal gown.  Love the purple suede platforms.

I love the outfit below.

I can’t find a good photo of the shoes by themselves, but they look like they are glittery, peeptoes.

Ok, I love the jacket.

the boots.

I have to keep reminding myself that couture is all about the outfit.  Not about the shoes.  The outfits presented in this line were a lot of fun.

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Hey all – Saks is having an ‘up to 40% off’ designer brands sale.

So, if you are in the market for a Christmas shopping splurge, now’s your chance.

This is just a sampling, there are pages of shoes on sale…I’m betting most of them, especially the selection of Louboutins, won’t last:

Top Row:

Christian Louboutin Ruched Ankle Boots $674.99 $965

Christian Louboutin Paolo Lace Boots $807.99 $1155

Christian Louboutin Metallic Open-Toe Booties $835.99 $1195

Row #2:

Christian Louboutin Lace-up Granny Boots $835.99 $1195

Maison Martin Margiela Demi Wedge Ankle Boots $485.99 $695

Brian Atwood Suede Platform Ankle Boots $520.99 $745

Row #3:

Givenchy Fur-Front Ankle Boots $804.99 $1150

Givenchy Wide Ankle Boot $905.99 $1295

Valentino Drape Open-Toe Ankle Boots $541.99 $775

Row #4:

Giuseppi Zanotti Zipper Ankle Boots $681.99 $975

Dolce and Gabbana Cutout Booties $384.99 $550

Dior Persia Ankle Boots $727.99 $1040

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This year, we have much to be thankful for.   We are thankful for our family (including my brand new little boy!), our health, and the many friendships this little website has sent out way.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts and soleful desires on ShoeBlog!

And since this is, after all, a blog about shoes, we are thankful to the designers that created these fine feathery creations.  Hopefully no birds were harmed in the making of the shoes!

L.A.M.B. Women’s Leslie Sandal ;Offered by Endless.com at $268.99

Givenchy Urania feather and leather sandals; Offered at NetAPorter for $1,150

Delman Women’s Anouk Boot ;Offered by Endless.com at $525.00

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Let the sales begin!  That’s right, now that we’ve somewhat recovered from the winter sales, the spring sales are descending upon us.   Amazon is having a super duper shoe sales on designer shoes – with some shoes sellling at an whopping 80% off.

Now, before I show you the incredible prices and selection, let me say that I performed some random comparison shopping for you.  Compared to Zappos and also Endless (owned by Amazon) the prices are by far better on Amazon.  Most likely, this might be because both Zappos and Endless allow free returns, whereas Amazon does not.

Without further ado, here are some of the shoes and brands on sale.

Giuseppe Zanotti Women’s I80021 Pump with Disco Heel; Originally $695; Now $138.

More sale Giuseppe Zanotti shoes can be found here.

Casadei Women’s 1021 Pump; Originally $595, Now $119 or 80% off
More sale Casadei shoes can be found here.

Classy Givenchy Women’s 584761 Pump; Originally $475; Now $95
More sale Givenchy shoes can be found here

Georgina Goodman Women’s Ripley Satin Pump; Originally $809; Now $161
More sale Georgina Goodman shoes can be found here

Anyways, you get my drift.  There are about 28 designer shoe brands that you can choose from.  If you have a particular designer that you prefer, try this shoe link to view the sale by brand.

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