Do you remember a decade ago, when Nine West was anything but cutting edge and classy? When reliability and a similarity to Payless were its more noted features? Now, of course, it’s anything but. New leadership and designers as well as the Boutique 9 collection have updated this brand considerably. Hold a purple Stuart Weitzman pump next to a Nine West pump, and you might have trouble telling them apart, though the former would probably be more comfortable and hold up longer because of better materials.

Nine West has also further developed its bag and coat collections to include chic laptop totes, slouchy animal print bags and cute trendy coats.

For the girl on a budget, Stuart Weitzman is a cut above affordable, and cutting edge class at a discount is the recession name of the game. So it’s good to know Nine West is having sales in its stores and online, often thirty percent off. The New York store on 6th Avenue is almost always having sales, but can be swamped at lunchtime. In the San Francisco store on the Embarcadero that I visited yesterday, shopping was easy and relaxing. Here are some photos of the sales, and you can find most of them online here.

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Yet another sale. I can’t keep track of all the sales that have been springing up of late.

While all the sales are possibly another indication of trouble for retailers who are hoping for any cash-flow boost during the current uncertain economic climate; they remain good news for all of us hoping to make our budgets stretch just a little bit further. I certainly hope most of our favorite shoe retailers weather through the current financial troubles without too much difficulty.

So, if you feel like hopping over to the Nine West website, they are having a 20-30% off sale on any footwear on their site.

Some seasonal options?

How about the faux-fur cuffed ‘Accents’ boot for $179.99 $199.99 before the additional 20% discount?

Me, I’m feeling pretty partial to the ‘Cuzza’ ankle boot for $109.00 $149.99pre-additional 20% off. Anything that manages to hit tough, sexy and practical is a winner in my book.

Of course, if you loved last season’s Jimmy Choo Maryjane sandals but missed them or need a lower-priced alternative, you can find a fair and affordable substitute in the Nine West ‘Lex’ for $29.99-34.99 $89.99 before the additional 20% off.

Finally, what fun would it be talking sales if we didn’t find something in the fun and funky category? The ‘Bela’ hair-calf ankle boot in black or brown for $89.99 $119.00 before that additional 20% kicks in. Pretty decent prices, all the way around.

Well, I’m off to enjoy dinner with the family. That, unlike all these sales, is a least easy on the pocketbook.

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One of the must-have items of the season is, apparently, the good ol’ penny loafer. I’m all for that: school season is knocking on your neighborhood’s door, and even if you’re not in or around a school at the moment, you must feel the buzz of books and the studious energy in the air. No? It must be me, ahem; still, you are probably seeing a preview of collegiate fashions by now. And if you indulge one of my pet peeves for just a second: I for one would LOVE to see young women sporting an elegant, well-made penny loafer rather than a flip-flop way into November, as I often see, and which is just….wrong.

Penny loafers were named as such because they could be decorated with a penny (or often, a dime). I didn’t realize there was actually an urban legend behind this:

In 1934 John R. Bass (a bootmaker in Wilton, Maine) started making loafers and called them Weejuns (meant to sound like Norwegian). These had a strap across the upper part of the vamp that was shaped like a pair of lips (said to be John’s wife, Alice Bass, kissing each shoe on its way out the door). The mouth opening soon was used to hold an ornament (such as a penny), and thus penny loafers became a style. Penny loafers often held a dime instead of a penny. (From Wikipedia).

Edited: Correction: Allison in comments points out that it was actually George Henry Bass (and not John R.). Thanks, Allison, for pointing out again why Wikipedia can’t be entirely trusted!

In the days of yore, the penny loafer was a low-heeled shoe through and through, with a strong masculine vibe (it makes sense, since it started off as a men’s shoe). These days the penny loafer, just like the oxford, has gone through a high-fashion transformation, and the New York Times’ T Magazine is eager to present these options to us:

Clockwise from top: Christian Louboutin shoe, $1,050 a pair. Go to christianlouboutin.com. Yves Saint Laurent shoe, $770. Go to ysl.com. Tod’s shoe, $545. Go to tods.com. Nine West shoe, $99. Go to ninewest.com. Cole Haan shoe, $275, and Anna Sheffield for Cole Haan coin, $45. Go to colehaan.com.

This style is a classic that’s been around for decades and is bound to stay in style for a long time; in theory at least, you can’t go wrong wearing a pair of well-made penny loafers. I do admit to having misgivings about the 3+ inch height of the models shown in T Magazine; but again, I also have misgivings about models that look so masculine I have no desire to wear them. Therefore, I have also scoured teh interwebs for more pleasant AND easier on the feet loafer-options and found a few. Behold:

From top to bottom:

Marc by Marc Jacobs patent loafers (available in other colors, too), $264 at Zappos.

Marc by Marc Jacobs high-heeled loafers (2 & 3/4″, also available in other colors), $354 at Zappos.

Kate Spade Lindsay loafer (also available in other colors), $199 at Zappos.

Givenchy gold calf loafer, on sale for $204 at Zappos.

Tory Burch Clayton Loafer (also in red), $275 at Nordstrom.

Celine tasseled low-heeled brogue, $460 at Yoox.

MariaCristina low-heeled loafers, $178 at Yoox.

L’Autre Chose tasseled loafer, $68 at Yoox (only one size left!)

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I know I’ve written about gladiators before, trying to find a pair that was both good looking and relatively inexpensive, because, let’s face, my shoe budget is not on the level of Gwyneth Paltrow or Lindsay Lohan or numerous other stars who’ve been spotted around town in these Giuseppe Zanotti stunners (about $650 at Zappos):

No, I’m more on a Nine West budget here (especially with some recent fashion expenses that I shall leave nameless for now).  Speaking of Nine West! It seems that they have made my perfect gladiator sandal and then they promptly got sold out of it:

Seriously, I can’t find this multicolor version of the Nine West “Jobilyn” for the life of me–although I can find it in about 12 other color combos, most of which are on sale for a little over $50 at Endless. Oh! Le sigh.

But then, the gladiator-shod gods smiled down at me as they made me discover this:

Palladium “Key Largo” sandal, rich in buckles and studs and overall gladiator-y goodness. I can’t decide between the pewter version or the orange version–they’re both very appealing, I must say! And only about $80 at Shoes.com or Endless (shipping included):

I’ll probably go with metallic (metallic is the new neutral, remember?), as I can probably accessorize it better. But I still love the orange! Bonus points: Palladium is a brand known for comfort, and I can already see that, unlike its cousins with ultra-thin, slippery soles, this “Key Largo is seriously padded. Score!

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We’ve talked before about how Nine West has been upping their style quotient in the past few seasons. Some of them get mighty close to directly copycatting high end designer shoes, which I’m generally not into.

But some of their shoes have been hitting exactly the right trend notes, including these, as seen on the feet of a super stylish friend (who’s already made it to our Shoes on the Street forum with another pair of colorful, fun pumps).

Wouldn’t you believe those on a shelf at Saks? I know I would!

Update: You can purchase the Nine West Drazly at Zappos for $93 (in yellow dual straps), Endless for $44.90 (black with white straps), or Piperlime for $54 (in black with either red or white straps).

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