Last year we wrote about the Ruby Slipper Extravagaza in celebration of the 70^th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.  Some of the world’s top shoe designers were chosen to reinterpret Dorothy’s iconic Ruby Slippers for modern times.  At the time, only artists’ sketches were available, but now the actual shoes created are available for viewing.

The shoes are currently on display at the Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED ™ Store in Soho  until September 15 -23. If you can’t make it to the store,  you can view the collection online and even bid on individual shoes via an online auction (www.rubyslipperauction.com) benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.  Bidding closes on  the evening of September 24, 2009.

Wizard of Oz Collection: Roger Vivier Shoe Design

Wizard of Oz Collection: Christian Louboutin Shoe Design

Wizard of Oz Collection: L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani Shoe Design

Wizard of Oz Collection: Betsey Johnson Design

Final Reminder: For slippers of a different sort, enter the Dearfoams slipper giveaway here.  Contest ends TONIGHT!  Of course, they aren’t nearly as beautiful as the ruby slippers showcased above, but I’ll bet they are more comfortable. 

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Okay, I have had a mad, crazy, lustful, crush on Roger Vivier’s Rose-n-Roll stilettos since I first saw photos of them in vivid blue at an online fashion forum late last year (Since then, seen on other blogs):

(Photo source: www.luxist.com)

Aren’t these just the most romantic shoe? I am so put in mind of Sleeping Beauty; wouldn’t these be perfect for the princess waking from her enchanted sleep?

But, alas, at £830, these beauties were never remotely anything more than a sweet and distant dream for this particular shoeblogger.

Anyway, in the process of searching for a photo of these rose-thorned stilettos to share with you, I encountered not only an affordable (and obviously inspired) style by Leg Avenue, but also a fabulous (and fabulously expensive) rose-themed shoe by Mai Lamore which pre-dates the Vivier sandals by about a year.

So, for your amusement (and thanks to Polyvore for the searchable fashion engine and set editor that created this collage), I present a small example of shoe evolution in action:

At top center, Mai Lamore’s $27,945 rose shoe has a 14K covered sculptured stiletto -  as well as hand-dyed silk rose petals at the heel; these breathtaking shoes were found in a 2007 issue of Elite Traveler.

At the bottom left are the previously mentioned Roger Vivier shoes from the 2008 fall/winter collection; this time shown in a red-and-black color combination (many other colors and combinations were produced).

At bottom right, are the Leg Avenue look-alikes to the Vivier silhouette. The Leg Avenue ‘Sangria’; these will run you $31.62-$58.32 at the Amazon Marketplace. A closed-toe pump version; the Leg Avenue ‘Thorn’ is also available for $38.95 at Shoebuy.com.

So, now I just need to find a little bit of budge in my budget. After all, how much closer am I likely to get than this to the dream shoe I drew back in October of 2008 - months before I ever set eye on any of the styles shown above.

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Going to Saks’ Shoe Heaven is an experience, especially when they’re having a sale. The shoe floor is so big, it has its own zip code: 10022-SHOE! We’ve written about it before, but with this sale, it deserves a fresh look.

You take an express elevator (here’s a photo of Kellie Pickler in front of said elevator) to the eighth floor and start getting excited while you’re in the elevator, which says 10022-SHOE.

The shoe mecca has its own repair service, Charbonnel chocolate cafe and private room for VIP shopping. There is also a large selection of Roger Vivier bags and shoes against the wall adjacent to the VIP room. I don’t love the Vivier Pilgrim Pumps, but some of the bags are great.

The first thing that hits you when you come in is a tough, black, motorcycle-styled display by some of the most prominent shoe designers today, including McQueen, Choo and Louboutin. Yup, that trend is still rockin strong.

The above shoes are not on sale, unfortunately, but may be by this fall if there are any left.

I will post more photos later, but for now, I’d like for you all to know that it’s going on so you can check it out during your strolling midtown business lunch! Plenty of iconic Marni, Louboutin and Giuseppe Zanotti shoes were on sale. That means that shoes that range from a bottom of around $500 to a top of around $1500 were on sale for around $200 to $500. Not bad.

Don’t get me wrong, there weren’t only 7 to 7.5 shoes on sale, but like many women, that has always been my dream size (I’m an 8.5 to 9), so I snapped a photo of those in wishful thinking.

If you’re buying online, there’s free shipping on all orders with the code SFASUM9, only through today.

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Last night in New York was that always-delightful high point of every fashionista’s calendar o’ chic: the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala.  This year’s theme (in conjunction with the Costume Institute’s major annual exhibition of the same title)?  The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion.

While last year’s Superhero show only produced a few interesting footwear choices, this year, there were beautiful shoes galore!

This may well be the year of Nicholas Kirkwood.  It certainly was on the carpet last night.  In my opinion, the most interesting designs were his, and they were on the feet of some of the top models in the industry.

Here’s Jessica Stam in the S9051B.

And here’s Karolina Kurkova so considerately displaying the S9049A for us.

Check out the official site for stockists near you and a peek at the GORGEOUS, uber-glam styles for the spring/summer 09 line.

While Kirkwood was my favorite on the carpet, there were plenty more style statements made through shoes.

Louboutins were everywhere… of course!

I’m not sure I’m feeling the giant bow look (seen here on Ivanka Trump with her Bow T pumps, which you can find at Joseph here), but I’ll tell you I do love her dress.

The so-called hourglass heels from Louis Vuitton that Twinkletoes wrote about so amusingly during Paris Fashion Week earlier this year were EVERYWHERE last night!  And I do mean everywhere.

Madonna wore a crazed thigh-high boot version.

Posh went with the ankle straps.

And Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester took the cake for Walking Disaster in the covered ankle bow-tie version.  I hasten to add that the shoes are BY FAR the best part of this outfit, and that Walking Disaster status is earned by that horrible piece of—I hate to even call it fashion—fabric she has covered herself in that is an awful combination of rejected upholstery, spangles, and some American Apparel red lamé leggings.  XOXO?  I think not.

But we can’t end on such a hideous note, can we?  No no.  I wouldn’t do that to you.

So instead, I will end with a beautiful shoe that I totally covet.  It’s Roger Vivier’s origami-inspired Kyte in a beautiful ivory/gold combination that matches Marisa’s dress perfectly.  Mwah!

All in all, a beautiful batch of shoes full of interesting heels and toes and uppers and materials.  It’s going to be a fun season, folks.  Can’t wait for it to unroll.

(Celeb photos courtesy of Celebutopia and StyleFrizz.)

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Yves Saint Laurent knew a clean, classic silhouette and a clean, classic shoe. He knew funky too, of course, he just knew when to be simple.

I went to the YSL exhibit at the de Young Museum this week and nearly had to close my eyes as a brief respite from the overwhelming visual feast. This is the only stop in the U.S., so if you can, please go to the de Young for this fantastic exhibit.

Of course, I was on the lookout for the best shoes at the exhibit. This 1992 silk cocktail dress with its teaspot earrings and black and white crepe shoes was a stunner. I soaked in the negative space of the shoes as much as possible, getting close and letting myself feel sucked in by the white ovals. How can the whole outfit be so loud and yet so elegant, and the shoes be so quiet and yet so fun (and almost teasing, playful, funny)?

Now that over-the-knee boots are back, wouldn’t you like to just traipse around like a woodland hunter-sprite in these thigh boots?

Or how about going completely fearless in these fire engines, matched with a dark magenta, no less?

You could go for this eskimo look with the cordon-wrapped boots while you polish off that tuna nicoise with the ladies who lunch in the Arctic.

In 1965, Vivier’s Pilgrim pumps were paired with YSL’s Mondrian dresses. A fantastic match of geometry.

Most of the YSL shoes in the exhibit were black patent leather, and went incredibly sexily with the YSL tuxedo. (I wish I had photos of them). I love his masculine silhouettes and the strongly feminine, rounded square-toed black patent leather shoes he paired with them. Hamish Bowles said Yves had “impeccable understatement and startling modernity.” This is true, and is so evident in his scores of well-tailored black separates. But the man also put a woman in a matador outfit and heels, a jini in a lamp gold lame gown with leather and rhinestone pumps  - why couldn’t he have lived forever to have outfitted the 22nd century woman?

You changed the way women entering the workforce in the 60s dress by offering them pants. You paved the way for the existence of style rebels like Nan Kempner, who, when rejected from a restaurant for wearing one of your pantsuits, simply unzipped the pants and wore her tunic as a minidress.

“Nothing is so beautiful on a woman as the arms of a man she loves. But not all women are so blessed. Those women have me.”

Here’s to you, Yves, and your shoes, classic, refined and thoroughly modern at the same time.

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