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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Shoe lovers! Today is the ONE-DAY ONLY up-to-60% off shoe sale on bluefly.com! There are some truly amazing deals!

Want winter shoes? There are boots galore. Here are some examples:

Rafe “‘Galata Simpson” Boots, $475, reduced to $172.70!

KORS by Michael Kors “Loony” Boots, $360, reduced $194.40!

The holiday season is rapidly approaching and who doesn’t want to look awesome at the assorted holiday parties and get-togethers the will most certainly ensue?

Rafe Gold Metallic Flats, $235, reduced to $95.39!

Charles David “Kailey” Sandals, $250, reduced to $115.42!

Stuart Weitzman “Oboe” Sandals, $285, $131.56!

YSL “Kelly” Sandal, $525, reduced to $378!

And many, many more. There are nearly 2000 pairs of shoes that are covered in the sale. Go! Go now! Remember it is TODAY, Nov.10th only. And if you find something spectacular, come back and tell us.

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On Tuesday, the Olsen twins did a signing for their new coffee table book, Influence, at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. To hand it to B&N, more than 2000 people showed up in hopes of getting their moment with O squared, and the corporate bookseller did a good job of keeping the mayhem in check. They did less well with the outside mayhem which involved members of PETA wearing “Trollsen” masks and carrying signs to protest the Olsens’ use of fur in their clothing lines, The Row and Elizabeth & James.

The event was huge! There were tons of people and a full-on media pit in front of the desk where the twins did their signing, In order to attend said book signing, you had to follow a very strict list of rules that included a “buy the book or you don’t go upstairs” clause and a definite ”no photos” clause. They were seriously kicking people out for using their camera phones. So, in order to make sure I had something to report on, I kept my camera in check and have pulled a very nice image from the Internet. Though the girls did not read from their book or take questions, they were very nice as each person approached, trembling, book in hand. (And to be quite honest, my ears are still ringing a bit from the screams that erupted when the ladies first took the stage. Think *NSync concert in a high school gym circa 2000). Each fan placed their grail in front of the ladies of the hour and received a smile and signature that will last forever in the heart of each teenage girl and rampant celebritista.

But what were the famed twins wearing on their feet?

 
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

Well, honestly I don’t know exactly what these are. They are comparatively simple for the ladies in question, but crazy high. These ladies are teeny-tiny little-bitty creatures in real-life, so I get the insane heels, but Damn! they must be tough to walk in. The Hollywood types must take promenading lessons with Victoria “Her Stiletto-ness” Beckham. Cute cute cute. I have some guesses as to the make and model.

Option 1. They are the aforementioned Christian Louboutin Hidden Platform pumps described in my earlier ”Hard Days Work” post. OK, obviously they are not, but the Olsens describe good ‘ol CL as a close personal friend that they see on a regular basis in their book, so this would be a reasonable guess. Obviously, there is an obvious lack of a red sole on the Olsens’ version, so I guess it’s close, but no cigar with this one.

Option 2: They are the YSL Trib Two Platform Pump. These are appropriately sky-high, have a perfect pedigree (YSL is the dog and pony show champion of the fashion world) and current season. See Saks Fifth Avenue ($795). This is certainly a better guess and almost certainly correct.

Overall the event was worth attending and the book is…interesting. There are photos of the twins through the ages (cute babies in the Full House years) and some fascinating interviews with people I have idolized for a long time. My favorites are Diane Von Furstenberg whose clothing and fabrics are beautiful and Karl Lagerfeld who is crazily fascinating in everything he does. His interview is no exception.

I will leave you with a final image:

With love,
Mary-Kate and Ashley 

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Ok, so some of you may know that I have like a million jobs. Really. Just ask me. At any rate, one of the glitzier ones is that of production assistant for a fashion production company. And by glitzy I mean that average tasks involve being on set during photoshoots and running out to pick up whatever the photographer or stylist might need. Most memorably, I have been sent to fetch body-length human hair and fake boobs (called “chicken cutlets” if ya’ll wanna learn a little industry speak.

But I digress. I recently worked at a photo shoot for a very high end hair and makeup brand. I will not divulge their name because I am really not sure if I am supposed to. But for you clever folk out there it translates to ”Real Gold” from the French. This particular client hires stylists who bring in really incredible stuff. It’s so cutting edge, I get paper cuts (da dum chhhhssss).

 To demonstrate my point, a tableau:

Take a breath now:

YSL, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Louboutin, Louboutin, Louboutin, Givenchy, Louboutin, Balenciaga

Light headed yet?

I did a little research in case any of feel like spending your life savings on a piece of fashion gold.

 Shoe Beauty #1

These are my absolute favorite. If you want to take the plunge, these would be the ones to do it for. I was trying to figure out how to cram these suckers into my tiny clutch or under my blouse. There was much self-recrimination for not being into the whole peasant blouse, tons-of-excess-fabric thing. Behold the grail.

These are the YSL High Heel Lace Up Sandals with Jeweled Medallion in Black Patent. They are a whopping $895 dollars on ysl.com even now as the wintry winds begin the blow down Broadway. But so what. They. Are. Gorgeous.

Shoe Beauty #2

These Balenciaga Gladiator Sandals are obviously not available. The Sex and the City gladiator rampage of ‘08 wiped the Internet clean of these highly coveted critters.

However, because I aim to help the readers who are looking to cash in on the end-of summer sales, here is a stand-in which is significantly cheaper that the 600+ price tag on the original. These Vaneli Gladiator Sandals are much cheaper at the low, low price of only 88.79.

Shoe Beauty #3

Pretty, pretty Balenciaga. How I love how you shine through the dark of the night. You add luster to my evening. Unfortunately, these are also no longer available and I couldn’t find a worthy substitute, but I will give you a close-up for contemplation.

 Shoe Beauties #4, #5, #6, and #7

These assorted black pumps are the collective Little Black Dress of the shoe world.

Pictured here is the Christian Louboutin hidden platform pump, $700 courtesy of Neimanmarcus.com. I just think that when you wear these you can’t help but feel beautiful, sophisticated, glamorous, and all those other words that the fashion mags list under the stuff they want to sell you.

Shoe Beauties #8 and #9

Booties are kind of my new thing. The first year that they entered the world of trends I disdained them, looking down on them as underdeveloped boots or overdeveloped heels. However, I have reassessed the situation and realized that they are most excellent.

Shiny, Louboutin booties are an excellent way to get my thinking on track.

And the less shiny Balenciaga version keeps me on the wagon.

Though I couldn’t find either of these. I found this Balenciaga stand-in. They really look very little like either of them, but what’s another shoe to lust after among friends?

They are on sale at overstock.com for 569.99, still pricey, but an excellent discount from the original price of 1195.00.

The weird looks the stylist gave me as I crouched around the shoes shooting photos were totally worth it.

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I love the colors of Fall. And, I love Halloween. To be honest, I love just about everything about it: Putting up goofy and spooky decorations around the house, helping my kids to find the perfect costumes, taking turns trick-or-treating with my kids and giving out candy to excited trick-or-treaters, drinking hot mulled cider, and even watching old John Carpenter movies like The Fog and The Thing.  It’s just a fun and cozy time of year for me and my family.

Of course, with Halloween coming up next week, and decorations in most of the stores, I am noticing orange-and-black color themes many places I go. So, why not in my shoes? I wear green for St. Patrick’s Day, why not show my colors and Halloween spirit in my footwear?

Well, there is that whole family-budget issue, particularly with a whole slew of other holidays around the corner that I need to be keeping in mind.

However, if I could actually afford a separate pair of shoes to go with each holiday, one of these YSL’s would definitely be my go-to choice not just for Halloween, but probably for most of October as well as for any Fall days when I’m feeling particularly excited about the season. And, with Bluefly having one of their 3-Day shoe sales, the temptation remains.

Yves St. Laurent ‘Moonlight’ Patent and Grossgrain Ankle Strap Sandals $356.40 $396.00 $495.00at Bluefly.com

Yves St. Laurent Orange Suede ‘True Col’ Slingback Sandals $356.40 $396.oo $495.00at Bluefly.com

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