“The fashion world is having another fling with Scottish tartan,” announces The New York Times, and who am I to disagree? After all, who doesn’t want a little Scott in one’s step? The love of tartan seems to grow proportionally with the advance of cold weather, when the image of comfort becomes associated with plaid flannel pajamas, a hot cup of tea, and bunny slippers. But if that’s too homey for you, may I suggest below a few ways for you to romance the plaid, fit for just about any taste and any budget?

Volatile Bitsy Tartan Mary Janes, $25 at Amazon (about $31 at Endless):

Tartan boots with a coquettish heel, £126 at ScotlandShop.net:

Beautiful tartan pumps from Bettye Muller, $216 at Amazon.com:

Sugar “The Fergie” navy tartan pointy-toe flats, $35 at Amazon.com or $39-$5=$34 at Endless with free shipping and return

Barbour Tartan rubber boots, $85 at Orvis (remember that Barbour is a classic brand of English sporting goods, one proudly worn by the Queen herself):

Chinese Laundry “Cryssa” kitten heels, $54 at Amazon.com:

Paul Smith “Princess Mary” Tartan shoes, $249 at Zappos:

Sperry Top-Sider Pelican slip-on, $52 at Zappos:

So please, tartan away, ma lads, tartan away!

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Here’s the bargain that arrived in my mail today:

Adidas Silverstreak Low Women’s Running shoes, $60 at Overstock.com (down from $150-$200). I already wore them on two errands today and God, I love them! The crinkled silver leather, the navy suede stripes, the divinely comfortable fit–oh, I’m in love! They only have a couple of sizes left at this bargain price, but let me warn you: they run BIG. I wear a 10, and these were marked size 9.5, and they’re still roomy (though not uncomfortably so–my point is, they could be a little more snug). Then I looked at their conversion chart and realized why: apparently, a 9.5 translates for Adidas into a European size 42! That’s a lot–my size is usually somewhere between 40 and 41 (more often 41). So–just be aware of that.

This silver leather styling is apparently limited edition, but there are a few other color options available in the same model, like these satin and patent floral Silverstreak Low sneakers, $95 at Adidas:

Too cute, right? My thinking is, if you’re going to have to wear sneaker-type shoes to go about your business, you might as well make them funky or at least interesting in some way. Don’t you agree?

As for my new sneakers, I am unclear whether they are indeed intended for running, but I’m disinclined to think so, despite their title. Although, come to think of it, something so shiny would probably give me wings!

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Nike has just released a new shoe. The Air Native N7. It’s targeted to (and will be made available only to) the Native American population in the USA, in an attempt to help fight the obesity that is prevalent in that community. The shoes are specially designed with a shape and footbed that are apparently more in line with Native American feet, and the shoes will be made available to American Indians at wholesale prices through schools and wellness centers.

Profits will be turned back around and given to the tribal communities to help them even further.

The shoes mostly look like regular Nikes, but have some adornments that reference American Indian culture (sunset and sunrise tags on the tongue, feathers and stars on the insole, etc).

What do you all think about this?

Personally, I’m of two minds. On one hand, I think it’s great that such a major company is recognizing and taking steps to help a problem in a specific community. However, on the other hand, this whole thing comes off a bit as a patronizing publicity stunt for Nike.

What say you, shoe lovers?

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Ok, I think I’ve just stumbled across the world’s cutest shoe ad, featuring a bull-terrier and bull-terrier K-Swiss shoes:

Of course, my perception may be biased by the fact that I own, as I might have mentioned before on this blog, the world’s cutest miniature bull terrier, featured below in a vain attempt to get me to play ball with him (hint: he never lets go):

I found the ad while leafing through Vogue Hommes International (What? my husband told me he saw an ad for a really sexy bra in there, and wanted to know what I thought of it–loved it, btw, it was Carine Gilson, look for her lingerie products, they’re fabulous!).

Further research turned out that K-Swiss created this limited edition model in collaboration with Desiree Mejer of the funky English label Fake London (’the ultimate chic meets kitsch story’). The shoes WERE available for $165 Euros, but last I checked….they were sold out! Personally, I’m bummed, since I try to collect funky bull-terrier items, and this shoe combined two of my greatest passions in one… I hope they make more really really soon!

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I know I should be all atwitter at the coming New York Fashion Week, but I’ve been a little bit distracted by the US Open. The players are cute (James Blake, anyone?) and impossibly fit, the women are fierce (go, girls!), and above all, the tennis is absolutely fantastic.

One of my favorites is, of course, everybody’s favorite, the unbeatable Federer. If you saw last night’s game in which he defeated Feliciano Lopez to advance to the quarterfinals, you might have remarked the all-black ensemble, which actually turns out to be created especially for him.

Well, Nike created the outfit, of course, and this is it:

This is the all-black version of the Nike Vapor IV, a limited production of only 50 pairs on-site in NYC only. However, Roger’s shoes are unique: they sport 3 red and white Swiss flag logos, each one designated with an ‘04, ‘05, and ‘06 for his last 3 consecutive US Open wins. Additional details include an embossed ‘RF’ logo on the heel and tongue. You may remark the same logo detailing on the polo.

Which begs the question: if he wins this one, too, will they make a 4-flag logo-embossed shoe for him? Oh, I think so.

As about the black shorts, the NYTimes described as them ‘as if they had been cut from a tuxedo above the knee.’

Federer is a bit of a clotheshorse himself, attending fashion shows under the seasoned wing of Anna Wintour, and favoring Prada among designers (he reportedly claimed he did not know a lot about American designers…yet). When NY Magazine asked Miss Anna about her favorite tennis couture this season, she replied, ‘Anything that Roger wears.’ Tennis afficionados, take note!

If you want the same shoes as Federer–they’re available for $110 at Nike.com–though not in black!

Ok, back to the game now!

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