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!

Street-Gawker: London Edition

On the streets of London, the shoes are often fab.  More often than I can snap a photo of, actually.

But this gorgeous pair of Corso Como heels belongs to a friend of mine who happily posed for a photo while I tried to wipe up the drool that was puddling under my chin.

See for yourselves.

Corso Como is one of those companies that keeps coming up here at Shoeblog, because they’re always stylish, and made with comfort in mind.  And, yes, my friend who owns the above beauties reports that they are surprisingly comfy and have nice features like rubber soles and padding under the ball of the foot.

Sadly, she found them on sale (well… that’s not sad for her, of course) and they don’t seem to be around anymore.  But I could suggest a loafer version, the Max, which is only about $85 at Endless (that’s down from the original $155, if you’re curious).

 Of course, if you’re unconsolable about missing out on those pretty pretty heels, then you could opt for these other shoes on the street, though I might recommend eating them rather than trying to wear the things.

Yep, they’re chocolate shoes, made by L’Artisan du Chocolat, and you can find them over this way, at the company’s official site.  Not only will these taste better than those Corso Como’s, but they’ll be much friendlier on the wallet as well, since they’re only £17.50 each.

Street-Gawker: ‘Tis the Season for Flat Boots

Winter in the city is not an easy time shoe-wise. Right now, it’s about 35 degrees out. We’ve had the first ice of the season, but the real tragic weather has not even begun. Being chic and warm and still able to walk on New York’s treacherous streets is pretty tough. There are some women who pull this off with seemingly no effort at all. I am always baffled (and impressed) when I see these women. Now, to be clear, I am not talking about the glamour girls, or the ones who look like a single designer threw up all over them, I am talking about the ones that have a strong personal style that is all their own, but is appropriate for the season and city they are in.

This young lady, photographed in Think Coffee, a very popular (and usually crowded) coffee shop in the NYU area, has all that and an awesome pair of boots. Take a look at her cute outfit and rockin’ footwear.

These photos do not do these boots justice. First of all, the grey suede is totally in for the season, but these are a very unique incarnation of this type of boot. The contrasting textures of the leather and the suede give the boot a very edgy vibe and the pinky buttons give the leather wrap strips a very different look. Paired with the lace tights and the cute white coat, she is a total IN.

These Juliana Jabour boots are available at shopbop.com for the slightly painful price of $760.00. No one said looking effortless was, in fact, effortless. They come in a nice beige that is almost as cute as the grey in the photo (but only almost). The beige ones are actually very Narnia Ice Queen to me, but in a good way. There is also a black variety, but I think those are kind of blah.

For those of you who are not familiar with the designer (as I was not), Juliana Jabour started her eponymous label in 2004 with a small, but bright fashion show in her home country of Brazil. She primarily designs whimsical, yet edgy dresses and and accessories. You can check out her website here.

Street-Gawker: Yowza!

Since New York is the unquestionable home of street chic, I have decided to start an (ir)regular column called Street-Gawker. This will consist of me finding and photographing people with awesome shoes and writing about it here on shoeblog. Sound good?

Our first participant was a lovely young lady I met today in Midtown Manhattan. She requested that her face not be shown, but I could not pass up the opportunity to share her shoes with you. She was wearing a charming pair of wooden shoes. Now, normally, this might make you think of dancing clogs and pigtails, but not in this case. Check this out:

I want to reinforce that this was a perfectly normal person. She was sitting on a suitcase in front of a hotel in a very classic 1950s movie pose. Her head rested on her hand as she looked off into the distance. She was well-dressed, but by no means was she the unapproachable fashion vixen that you would expect to be wearing 7-inch custom built wooden HEEL-LESS platforms. Basically what I am saying is that she is not Victoria Beckham, but she might have stolen her shoes. Upon inquiry, I learned these shoes are the product of a now-defunct company call Falomi that specialized in just this type of shoe. I could only find a single picture of their wares online and I will share it here:

Though I cannot direct you to a place to purchase your very own Falomi brand 7-inch sandals (HAHAHA!), I will do the next-best thing just case somebody out there was in the market for a true daredevil walking experience.

Below is an unbranded pair that IS available at eleveneast.com for $169.00:

So the questions of the day is…what would you sacrifice in terms of mobility to feel the thrill that comes from a really delicious (and in thus case potentially insane) heels?

Until next time….Happy Gawking!