Lusting after Pour La Victoire

For those of you who have been Shoeblog readers for awhile, you may recall how I nearly swooned over last year’s Valentino line.

In particular, I would still love to own a pair of these delicious (and sold out) booties:

(Originally $945 at Saks)

But, budgets being what they are, I instead find myself turning to the Pour La Victoire brand to satisfy my lacey-shoe urges.

How are these for a lower-cost alternative?

Pour La Victoire ‘Eden’ $284 $166.25-$193.23 at Zappos.com

I think I actually prefer the lower ‘shootie’ height of these inspired-by copies.  Plus, if you are looking for a lighter spring color, the tan nubuck is a great spring neutral.

(The tan is also available from Urban Outfitters for a relative steal at $158)

I also love the allover lacework on both the original Valentino and the PLV version. This open design provides plenty of ventilation to keep your tootsies cool on hot summer days.  In addition, I think this is a great interpretation of the recent open-toe bootie mini-trend; one that is lovely enough on it’s own that it will last through many years without looking dated as is likely happen with many of the more

Plus, the PLV Eden is available in grey, white (if you can find it), and an absolutely amazing blue suede (this would blend so well with my clothing wardrobe).

(Grey is $292 at Shopbop, Blue is $280 at Piperlime)

Yummy. I could use a blue summer shoe. Maybe I’ll get lucky and this will go on sale in my size, making it an ever better deal…a girl can dream. Decisions, decisions…too bad I can’t get one in each color.

Christian Louboutin’s Fetish-Worthy Sandal Boots

Is it designer shoe deja-vu when it is high-end borrowing from high-street and/or alternative fashion?

I have seen a lot of online rants over copycat and designer-inspired fashion. Certain consumers hate the idea of brand-dilution that they perceive to occur as trends spread out into the general populace. Others love the opportunity to get a designer look or similar style at a fraction of the runway price.

Interestingly, I rarely see discussions on brand-dilution or concerns over intellectual property when this situation  occurs in reverse. 

I’m also curious when this style-borrowing happens at the haute-couture level.  At what price range and perceived quality level do shoes move from being outrageously stripperlicious (thank you jitterbugbaby for adding that word to my vocabulary)  and instead transform into glamourous, runway-quality, high-fashion objects?  If these styles were made by anyone other than shoe-royalty, would women be lining up to own such styles?

Today’s case in point:

Christian Louboutin’s ‘multi-buckle sandals $1495 at Saks.com

This hybrid sandal boot is straight out of the ‘more buckles, more skin’ school of footwear-as-lingerie. Heck, if you are a size 6, you can get a very similar look on clearance  over at 6pm.com; and at a fraction of the above price:

Report ‘Diaz’ $87.75 $175 at 6pm.com

I actually prefer the Report boot over the current season Louboutin version. I like that the Report boot has a softer feel due to its natural leather upper and its more-rounded cut-out styling.

Anyway, I’m of the opinion that fashion is cyclical. High-fashion borrows from low and low-fashion borrows from high; this back-and-forth cycle helps keeps fashion feeling fresh and dynamic.

Here’s a question:

What type of consumer criticisms might have occurred if the Report shoes had appeared the season after the Louboutin’s instead of before?   I’ve seen enough folks cry ‘Copy!’ ‘Get your own designs!’ over the appearance of a plain black platform pump that I have to admit to being curious to the answer on this one.

I welcome your thoughts and observations.

Moschino Knock-off

Last Summer, I fell in mad, unreasoning lust with this shoe:

The Moschino Rainbow T-Strap Sandal. Originally retailing at about the $400-ish mark, I reluctantly walked away from these due to a tight budget when it fell no lower than $200 at the Nordie’s Half-Yearly Clearance racks. Sigh.

This was definitely one of those cases of non-buyer’s remorse.

But look. Hurray!  

I just ran into an obviously Moschino-inspired, and decidedly in-stock, substitution:

Very Volatile ‘Kendra’ ($69.99-$85 at Endless, Piperlime, Delias, and Robyn Marie’s Shoe Closet)

Sure, it trends a bit toward Cute with the shorter 3-1/4 inch kittenish heel and matte finish while the Moschino was more of a Smokin’ 4-inch Slim-n-Sexy Patent Party Heel.  But, it has maintained that essential POP of Rainbow-Brite color that makes it a wonderfully upbeat shoe to brighten up any (and every) summer-in-blue jeans outfit or casual sundress.

Prada Floral Stiletto Knock-offs

I’m fairly confident that I’m not the only gal who fell in love with these Prada shoes last year:

So breathtakingly gorgeous!

These Prada lovelies retailed for $590 last spring. If you were lucky, you were able to find them on clearance in your size for about $300. Long since sold out everywhere (except for a few pricey pairs that surface occasionally on ebay), you now have a chance to own an ‘inspired’ near-duplicate knockoff made by Pelle Moda:

Pelle Moda ‘Holly’ $101.50 $145 at Shoes.com

If these babies are still too rich for the budget-conscious, there is yet another lower-end alternative via the Newport News website.

Newport News Patent Pump with Floral Detail $49 $39

This one is not nearly as successful as either the original or the Pelle Moda copy. But, it will fit in most budgets. I actually wouldn’t mind the purple color variation, but I am horribly distracted by the excessive plastic-entombed glitter of this molded heel. These would have been much better off had somebody (anybody!) resisted the urge to pick up the glitter stick.

New York Fashion Week Shoes: Off the Runway

It’s no mystery that at Fashion Week, the shoes worn by the editrixes, bloggers, and other assorted fashionistas can be just as fabulous, if not even better than what we’re seeing on the runway. Who do you think actually goes and buys those shoes anyway? So this is going to be a completely covetable, drool-worthy photo essay of Fashion Week Shoes: Off the Runway.

Let’s set the stage. Picture yourself at the Bryant Part. You are surrounded by fashionable folk and hangers on. Photographers hang out by all the entrances smoking and cracking jokes. Masses of people line the front and back of the tents, hoping to catch a glimpse of a famous person or to slip by security. You are not concerned with this as you blithely bypass security and stroll into the Tents. Since Fashion Week is Barbie themed this year, the first thing you see is the giant barbie sign. Each letter filled with Barbie in her many different iterations:

There are life-size barbies standing in a field of (real!) pink painted apples.

Are you getting into the mood?

Now check out the fabulous shoes that are literally just standing around:

Ok so these are not the gorgeous spiky Christian Louboutin for Rodarte heels that Rachel Weisz wore on the October cover of Vogue, BUT I was still pretty impressed that these lookalikes were being worn in public by a (regular?) person.

Red Hot Hoofers wander around, waiting for their close-up Mr. DeMille.

Studded Gladiator Sandals with cuffed jeans? Is that Katie Holmes? (Sadly, no. But her influence is clear.)

Furry Fabulosity! It may have been 45 degrees outside, but arctic fashion is SO in right now

Cut-outs are fun! (Well, the girl on the left was having fun. She was pretty agile in those booties. But the girl on the right was literally being completely held up by her date. She could not move on her own!

All Around Cool

I hope you have enjoyed my little Fashion Week photo story. May the shoe gods smile down on you!