Unlike Louboutin’s creepy, fish-themed ‘Pesce’ pumps (which, frankly, scare me enough to produce nightmares), Roberto Cavalli has a scaled metallic shoe that is just as fishy as a shoe can get without going overboard (pun intended).

Roberto Cavalli L70038 $1494 $1072.80 at Zappos.com

I find these to be an interesting and fresh alternative to the many recent glittered, sequined, pailletted,  and otherwise bedazzled shoe options being offered in nearly every price range. They also happen to make me smile because they bring immediately to mind one of my favorite, illustrated, children’s books, “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister:

These Cavalli peep-toes are just as sparkly as the rainbow fish is at the beginning of the story.

Though, I must admit that I actually love the illustrations as much or more than story text; a morality tale centered around the concepts of vanity, sharing, friendship, and inner beauty.  Over the course of the story, the rainbow fish eventually passes out most of his scales to those around him - sharing his beauty and gaining friends as he learns humility and the ability to share.  There is also a great, tactile, quality to the artwork; foil scales are inset into the watercolor illustrations - adding sparkle and collage interest to each page.

Looking at these shoes, I feel kind of like the rainbow fish at the beginning of the story.  They are soooo pretty; you would feel spectacular any time you tried them on.  I suppose that even as a grown-up,  it’s hard to share certain things that make us feel fabulous and personal all at the same time.

I certainly wouldn’t want to share these if they were a part of my closet. I’m afraid the closest I come to the tale’s selflessness (in regard to shoes) is by periodically donating any non-worn shoes in my closet.

How about you?

4 Comments »

While economic events have been a bit dreary over the past six months or so, it’s nice to see that we won’t have to worry about being stuck with spring shoe options that are either conservative or gloomy.  

So, what am I seeing at online retailers as well as in every brick-and-mortar store with a shoe section?

Color.

What kind of color? From Payless to Macy’s to Saks, just about every primary, prism-based color is on tempting display.

So, if you like bold colors, then this is the season for you.

Here are some (mostly) high-end highlights.

Red:

Christian Louboutin ‘Madame Claude’ D’orsay Pumps $795 at Saks.com

Valentino ‘Mena’ Day Wear Pumps $695 at Saks.com

BCBGMaxazria Patent and Rafia* Sandals $250 at Saks.com

Orange:

Dior ‘Klimt’ T-strap Sandal $570 at Saks.com

Miu Miu patent leather wedges $570 at Net-a-porter

Yellow:

Christian Louboutin Platform pumps $736 at Saks.com

Brian Atwood ‘Riva’ patent sandals $725 at Net-a-porter

Green:

Roberto Cavalli satin basketweave sandals $915 at Net-a-porter

Brian Atwood Suede Sandals $710 at Saks.com

Blue:

Christian Louboutin ‘New Simple’ pumps $675 at Saks.com

Oscar de la Renta V-Pieced open-toe platform pumps $755 at Saks.com 

Loeffler Randal ‘Graphic’ wood platform sandal $575 at Saks.com

Violet:

Miu Miu ‘Sandali’ cork* sandals $585 at Saks.com

Miu Miu suede pumps $495 at Saks.com

Costume National slingback flats $560 at Saks.com

What if you want to play with the whole rainbow instead of just choosing by the individual color?  Well, multi-hued styles are available too. Heck, many of us are just starting to experience 2009’s first rainy, spring-time weather; it’s as good a reason as any to bring your own rainbow to the party.

Nine West ‘Mudpie’ bamboo*-wrapped slide $88.95 at Endless.com

T.U.K Rainbow Heart Strap Heel $60.50 at Zappos.com

Jimmy Choo Open-Toe Sandals $825 at Saks.com

Brian Atwood ‘Margie’ rainbow sandals $565 at Saks.com

Sergio Rossi patchwork knee-high boots $1500 at Net-a-porter

Here’s to a colorful and optimistic spring.

* See, you really can’t get away from cork & rafia this year. 

6 Comments »

Clearance items are such a lovely way to round out a shoe collection.

And, while I may not always manage to live up to my mantra of  ‘Never Pay Retail’, I really do try. So, how about this bejewelled Roberto Cavalli slingback at 51% off retail over at 6pm.com? Sure, they’re still over $700.00. But look how they sparkle.

Roberto Cavalli Slingback T6517  $747.50 $1515.00. (Available in sizes 7, 38.5, 39 & 40)

2 Comments »

Well, after episode two’s rather bland shoe offerings, last week’s episode three was a definite improvement. 

I have been drooling over the Gucci “Eva” wingtip platform pump and booties since I first saw them at the Gucci website last fall.  Unfortunately, even at Bluefly’s best sale prices, these have yet to drop below the $450-500 range. This is just too rich for my blood - and my bank account.

So, I was happy recently to find several reasonable and affordable alternatives to satisfy my attraction to the basic style of the Gucci originals.

• Guess by Marciano’s “Egeria” $129 at Zappos.com/$125 at Shoes.com. In black or brown:

• Report “Ellis” $189 at Zappos.com/$185 at Shoes.com.  In black, grey, or nude:

• Bongo “Square Dance” $46.00 at Zappos.com:

And, for those of you attracted to the green Cavalli sandal already seen on several episodes, Chinese Laundry has this affordable copy. Which, interestingly enough, seems to come in just about any color except for green.

• Chinese Laundry “Mika”, $63 at Zappos. In black, red, royal blue, and white:

I love the challenge of finding affordable styles for those of us who are on a budget or who live in small towns where we see very little variety. I hope these help you to look like you just walked off of a fashion runway.

And as for tonight’s show? I’m hoping to start seeing stronger designs tonight, both in footwear and in fashion.

8 Comments »

LEANNE WAS ROBBED!!!!  Robbed, I tell’s ya!

How beautiful and classy and chic-with-a-(literal)-twist was this outfit?  It’s a blouse and skirt, and I would wear both of them, together, separately, any which way I could.  And she accessorized it perfectly with that gold necklace and the Gucci Eva wing-tip inspired platform pump.

On the other hand, the actual winning outfit (Kenley’s) did indeed look like it was made with… what did Joe call it?  Ft. Lauderdale pool furniture cushion fabric.  From the 80s.  Not in a good way.  I’ll give it that it was interesting and well-made and a good interpretation of the photograph on which it was based.  And it gave us our first double shoe usage (the emerald green Robert Cavalli sandal from episode 1).  But I can’t put this dress in the top 3 at all, let alone give it the win.

Who would I say was deserving of more love (and perhaps a spot in the top three instead of either Kenley’s or Terri’s (which was also interesting, but the dress over pants thing is old hat, and hers seemed to have a lot of extra messy fabric that made it look flouncy rather than streamlined sexy)?

Once again, Jerell.  He made a whole gown, for chrissake!  And it’s perhaps more limiting in what kind of “night on the town” you can wear it to (a black tie gala?  a flamenco performance?), it’s beautifully made and a gorgeous dress.  And worn with shoes that are not quite the Kenneth Cole Hit or Miss, but pretty close.

I’d also give a shout out to Kelli for this rocker Mad Max number, which went perfectly with the Gucci Ebony sandal, which isn’t available anymore, but I remember well from Chris March’s Hershey outfit last season.

I mean, I even didn’t hate Blayne-licious and his neon frills.  Though I didn’t much like the blah shoe choice (something along the lines of the Charles David Devin pump).

Emily’s losing “little black dress with a corsage” (Tim Gunn is always right, people.  Listen to him!) wasn’t great, and one could argue that the Gucci Eva maryjanes (guess it was the night for Gucci Eva shoes) were the most fabulous part of the outfit.

But in this, too, I think the judges went wrong.  Because I swear to you that I would much sooner be seen in public wearing that dress—which is at least kicky and has an energy to it—than Jennifer’s dowdy and depressing silk charmeuse number, which looks like maternity wear for a ladies club luncheon rather than a dress for a night on the town.

The shoes are VERY DEFINITIVELY the best part of this outfit.  They’re the secret love child of the Stuart Weitzman Vanity and the Christian Louboutin Caberet, and I love them.  Unlike the dress.

5 Comments »