So many shoes, so little time. Reflecting on the various fashion weeks, it seems to me that this season, with ever advancing economic issues affecting the fashion industry, clothing has been more wearable than it used to be (for the most part. We all know there have been some pretty significant exceptions. Trias, cough cough.. This is all well and good, but I think several designers tried to make up for it through the footwear they presented with their collections. Furthermore, the editrixes and general fashion crowd seemed determined to look better than ever while reviewing the collections. Is was as if they were trying to say: “Recession? What recession? So what if now I suddenly have to lower myself to taking taxis instead of having a waiting town car. So what if I am no longer permitted to purchased clothing and call it a “work expense.” So what if coffee stirrers have been cut from CondeNast’s budget? I am still a FASHION EDITOR. KOWTOW to me and my fabulous footwear. You WILL bow down!”

And here’s some more proof. I know I promised you the Cramazing footwear selection from the Worldwide Fashion extravaganza, and you’ll get it. But, you’l just have to hold on to the end of the post so we can wrap things up with a bang. To start though, here are a few odds and ends.

Know what I think will be in for Spring? Mandals. And Man Rompers (Manpers? Rompans? Mansuits?)

Yeah baby, check out those toes.

You know whose always in? Leanne Marshall. Can’t see her shoes (or her face), but one look at that skirt and you KNOW it’s her. And it was; I was just a bit far away.

You know who else was hot at NY Fashion Week? Are you guys ready for this? PAYLESS! We’ve featured Christian Siriano’s Payless collection on this blog several times, but we have yet to highlight the designer brand collaboration going on there that swept fashion week. Alice + Olivia designed a fabulous range of shoes for Payless for fall that popped up all over the place. They also have a new one a-comin’ for Spring. You guys will be getting a look at both collections very shortly!

Here are some shots of the shoes at Fashion week.

Unfortunately, the ones that were the most popular BY FAR are no longer available online, but I saw them on at least five people (and managed to snap two). They are Alice + Olivia’s New York Woman Boot.

Here’s a close-up look:

I suspect that they were modeled on something like these:

or these:

But these retailed for only $49.99 (which is like an $800 savings) and were a HUGE hit at fashion week.

1st runner up was also by A + O, the Robertson Jeweled Boot ARE still available. Huzzah!

Nicely done, Payless.

Other interesting boots at fashion week included these from the front row…

And these on a model waiting for a cab (how do they always managed to look so cute and put together when you KNOW they are running around like insane people? You KNOW! In NY, many of them get from show to show by BICYCLE and they still look fab!

Strappy heels are always a big hit. I don’t know a single woman who does have at least one pair. And in the modern era, they have multiple benefits: in addition to their having a strap (or several)  that actually physically keeps them tied t you foot, they look amazing over tights in the winter/fall. You have not known woe until you have tried to wear your favorite pair of pumps over tights and experienced the very unpleasant slippage sensation that comes from the lack of helpful strap.

With Mad Men inspiring women across the globe, this olde fashioned look was one of my favorites. Simple and classic, it really blew me away.

See if you can guess what’s unusual about this pair of legs:

I was so intent on crawling through people’s legs to get a shot of these shoes that I didn’t realize that the wearer was actually a man (with an amazing pair of legs). Way to rock those stilletos!

The weighted-ankle look (I don’t know the real word for it) was very popular too. These shoes have a wedge hell the just sort of seamlessly fuses into the rest of shoes creating the illusion of a boxy heel that somehow totally works:

Ok, ok - you’ve waited long enough. It’s time for Cramazing shoes…..oh wait - first a not from the weather channel:

Did you all know the New York Fashion Week was REALLY REALLY rainy? What does does a guy wear when he wants to be super fashionable, but not worry about the miserable weather? Break out your very own PlastiSuit. Don’t let the weather get you down! brighten things up with a fabric that keeps you dry and keeps onlookers happy at the same time! Available in Clear or the water friendly FishTastic!

Now back to our main story.

Zippers have really taken the fashion world by storm. They now bedeck basically everything. When used tastefully they can really make an outfit:

Oops. Wrong photo: I mean, When used tastefully, they look like THIS:

I Love Love Love these so much. This woman is so very lucky she got away from me with her feet fully intact. They have a bit of the vibe of those Louboutin for Phillip Lim sandals that are STILL being knocked off to this day, with a dash of that edgy zipper trend thrown in. Throw in that very now platfor and wider heel and they are a total win for me. Well, except that they are not mine. And I had to watch them walk away. And I maybe cried just a little…but that’s another story for another time!

This season’s Fashion week really turned up some amazing footwear. Here are a few more samples:

Geometry meets wooden heel. They produce offspring. It looks like this.

I do not agree with those Juicy Couture tracksuits being worn in public. I fully believe that one’s body should be dressed when on eleaves the house. One’s feet on the other hand might be a different story altogether.

Ooooohh! Tribal shoes!

Why yes, I did make this corset myself.What did I use? Electrical tape is the best invention ever! I use it for everything: boots, pants, wrist cuffs…

Simply amazing boots. Yes, they are open toed. Yes, they may have knee-high spats. But if you can’t wear your open-toed knee-high spat boots to fashion week, where can you wear them?

Remember SJP and her cloven-toed boots,

I bet you never thought you’d see a thigh-high version. The magic of fashion week is that, in the real world. This woman looks slightly nuts. But at fashion week she looks fantastic. And, truth be told, she appeared to be very comfortable and confident. In fact, I kind of wanted to BE her when I was shooting this look. I who have condemned this cloven-toed trend so vehemently in the past! Don’t get me wrong, if I saw her pushing cart at Gristedes in this ensemble, I might snicker. But this woman is a prime example of wearing exactly the right thing to exactly the right place. By the way, that sort of acid green/yellow color is really growing on me.

In closing, a special conversation:

Leather Jacket Girl: You know, I hate to tell you this, but you appear to have run afoul of some cobwebs on your way to the show today.

Cobweb Woman: I don’t know what you’re so uppity about, you appear to be wearing tights that were last seen paired with a pink tutu at a dance recital.

LJG: That may be, but at least I didn’t let the participants in said recital draw on my my arms with colored markers.

CW: Oh yeah? At least I left my black diaper at home.

LJG: Wait a minute, this is FASHION WEEK. Let’s play nice.

CW: Huh. That seems a litte counter-intuitive, but fine. You are wearing some pretty awesome booties. Even if you DID put them on over leaopard-print socks. And your jacket is pretty cute and looks buttery soft.

LJG: Thanks. You, er, hey that girl behind us is wearing florescent pink toenail polish! Look over there!

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It’s been an exciting season hasn’t it? From Christian Siriano’s claws to Vuitton’s tassels and McQueen’s futuristic snake shoes, we have seen quite an array of fascinating footwear. But wait! I think we’ve missed an entire demographic. Why that’s right, it’s time for Fashion Week footwear OFF the runway. The editors, buyers, and general fashion public really bring out the big guns when they do the Spring fashion season. It’s as if the entire year is just a lead up to these weeks when they can bust out their arsenal of couture footwear. Are you ready to see some candid photos of what illustrious industry members around the world wore as they took in the Spring collections. Yes, I think you are.

To get started, let’s go ahead and just do away with a common fashion myth. Who says you can only wear shoes on your feet?

Just kidding, but I love the photo!

There were several through-lines at the collections this year. Unsurprisingly, spangles, studs and spikes were all the rage. Several of these shoes can doubles as weapon. And why not? James Bond often carried weapons in his shoes. These just take it to the next level.

Level 1: Add a few studs to your heels or loafers. Look slightly dangerous.

Level 2: Have Maison Martin Margiela get out the hammer. “People will say you’re crazy. You’ve got nails in the soles of your shoes.”

Level 3: Take it up a notch with ankle weapons.

Level 4: Break out the steel-toed boots. Look angry.

Level 5: Get your shitkickers on. Take no prisoners.

Another popular trend was to add a splash of color or pattern through the footwear to make the whole outfit pop as demonstrated in the following exhibits:

Exhibit A: A gorgeous teal YSL Trip Too Platform heels makes this very on-trend bnw graphic combo pop!

…or you could go the other way and add a Black and White combo to an more understated look with the babies:

Exhibit B: Amerie slips into some leopard print heels to add another element to her gorgeous red/black/white dress:

Exhibit C: LOVE the dress, LOVE the bead, LOVE LOVE LOVE the amazing colorblock heels.

Hey and speaking of colorblocking, check these out. This woman was a model-wrangler. She had to physically move the models from one place to another for 2 consecutive hours. SHe was on her feet and in motion contiuously. She looked amazing and not once did I see her wince. She looked a bit like she might hurt you if you got in her way but…:

Color also showed up in girlier forms:

“Look, bitches, it’s SPRING. I will wear FLOWERS. Yes, I am aware that it is September outside, but inside this tent it’s APRIL! Ya get me?”

“So yesterday, I was trying to figure out what I should wear to Fashion Week. I got out all my old mags and brainstormed and though, ya know Miu Miu did some awesome stuff with sequins, so one if I did them one better and rocked out the rhinestones. So I got out my trusty Bedazzler and handy dandy glu gun (the thing is my BFF) and I WENT. TO. TOWN. Now who’s gonna rock tis town tonight? ME!!!”

In other news, leggings continue to reign in the fashion world and every season I like them better. Now they’re bejeweled, bespanglds, bedazzled, bestriped, beseamed, bespandexed, and bepatterned, (and beworn by, like, be-everyone):

Beseamed:

Bepatterned:

Bedazzled:

Be-everythinged:

Pretty cool, no? Wait a second there, you DID look at the shoes that are connected to those leggings, correct? Didn’t you? You didn’t? Well then REVIEW! They are most excellent.

Moving on, I’d like to open a category I’d like to call CRAMAZING  (crazy and amazing) footwear…

Actually, no, I have way too any photos. You’ll just have to come back tomorrow to check out the next installment of our Worldwide Fashion Week Wrap Up!

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Is it just me, or have many designers forgotten the meaning of the phrase ‘Ready to wear’ during the Spring-Summer 2010 runway shows?  I know the runway is about drama, but more actual wear-ability in RTW lines would be nice to see.

Am I being too judgmental?

Perhaps I am in the minority here, but, I am willing to take the risk of being called  ‘unfashionable’ (or worse) when discussing the footwear that made it’s appearance at this week’s Louis Vuitton RTW runway show.

(Photos c/o style.com & nymag.com)

Called “terrific—modified clogs, moccasins and penny loafers, with kitten heels and feathery tufts” by Cathy Horyn at the New York times - I must, respectfully and vociferously, disagree!

We are, after all, speaking of these shoes:

And, painfully, all of these:

About the only thing I liked on the runway was the playful beaded take on the classic LV monogrammed bags (Which, if you take off that over-sized, fringe tassel, is kind of adorable):

Let me be clear on this.

I love that Marc Jacobs is unpretentious and playful with fashion.  Really, I do.

And, the idea of LV embracing MJ and adding a bit of play into their line is a nice idea - in theory.

But, please……..Let’s hope designers and fashion houses remember that we regular people need to do more than look at our fashion. We need to be able to wear it, too.

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For the second season, shoe designer Rupert Sanderson collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld for his runway collection.  If the Spring 2010 shoe looks familiar, it’s because the designs are based off two of Rupert’s best selling styles,  the Asteroid and Finesse.   Updates to the shoe included a heel inspired inspired by the Italian architect Gio Ponti and ankle straps that were altered so that they looped under the sole and are bolted in place.   To complete the futuristic rock look Lagerfield was going for, a shot of Karl as a guitar hero was spray-stenciled on the front of the shoes.

As for stars in attendance, Katie Perry was at the Karl Lagerfeld Spring 2010 show in shoes Rupert designed for Karl last season. Love the Lagerfeld tote!

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Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2010 runway collection was a statement about the future of our world.  More specifically, the meltdown of our world due to global warming.  McQueen’s version of Waterworld showcased mankind as alien-like creatures forced to adapt/evolve and live in the sea as the polar ice caps have melted.  Out came clothing in reptilian prints and sequins to mimic fish scales.  The fantasy heels on the runway looked like they were out of this world - or at least this land.  They were super high, skeletor-like and featured interestingly curved booties designed for the the animalistic and bold.

Photos from Style.com

On a side note, Gilt Groupe is having an Alexander McQueen accessories (shoes, bag, wallets) sale today.  The collection is decidedly more tame, but not nearly as interesting.

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