I haven’t done any sale updates or shopping deals for awhile. So, today I swung by smartbargains.com.

What do you know?  They have a bunch of new boot styles in stock to whet your winter appetite.

You all know the only thing I love more than shoes & boots is finding them at a stellar price. Of course, the one caveat that is always true with Smartbargains is that quantities are always limited - and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

So, here are my quick picks great fall style and value:

London Fog ‘Zoey’ in black or chestnut;  $130 $79.99. This is a cozy, practical, cold-weather style.

Max Studio ‘Reunion’ in black or brown $260 $129.99. This has a rubberized sole - which I tend to find helpful in wet & icy weather.

Marciano Ellen $280 $99.99. Tread for winter weather and a high-heel; this is an interesting and sexy little loafer bootie - and it’s got a nice bit of tread on it as well.

Lovely People ‘Finley’ with faux-fur trim; $140 $79.99. A cute and warm-looking bootie; great for pairing with winter outfits.

Charles by Charles David ‘Pow Wow’ $165 $79.99. We haven’t seen the last of fringe yet. These are a nice nod to the moccasin-style inspiration without going too over the top.

Matisse ‘Sioux’ $188 $99.99 in black or brown. Yet another fringe style - this time with a tall winter/fall shaft.

Lovely People ‘Riddler’ $160 $79.99 in black, grey or cognac. A low suede style with a touch of the currently-popular metal-stud detail. Don’t forget to water-proof these!

Lovely People ‘Velma’ $160 $79.99 in grey, black or cognac. I love all the knotted straps on these. Plus, I have had a soft spot for grey, sueded boots for at least 20 years….. go figure.

London Fog ‘Foxy’ All-weather leather boots $135 $79.99. Can I just say ‘Wow!’. These are amazingly gorgeous - plus they’re waterproof. Sign me up.

Matisse ‘Brooklyn’ $175 $99.99. Another ‘I think I’m in love boot’…no particular reason. They just make me go *sigh*. A lot.

Other good news for frugalistas: Some of these boots are still in the ‘new arrivals’ category and are eligible for an additional 20% off at checkout (for a limited time).

So, is it time to go shopping yet?

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Lipstick Jungle, huh?

Yep, that was the challenge for Project Runway designers last night: design an outfit for Brooke Shields’s character, Wendy, to wear on Lipstick Jungle.  I think it’s quite possible that every designer was also required to say the name of the show in every single soundbite, too.  Shill, much?

Anyway, the description that was given for the character was that she came from a bohemian background, but is now a high-powered executive, and this was supposed to be a day-to-night outfit.

What did these teams of two do?  More importantly (as far as we’re concerned here, that is), what shoes did they use?

The look I’d have handed the win to is the one Heidi loved most: Jerell and Stella’s.  And it’s also by far the one with the best shoes.  The Nanette Lepore Dotty Dame pumps are ADORABLE and have a perfect balance between grown-up and girly, as expected from the designer.

Who actually got the win?  Keith and Kenley, who, admittedly, also made a beautiful dress there.  It’s pretty primetime ready.  And so are its shoes, the Stuart Weitzman Expump (here in black patent, but also available in black leather).

Middle of the pack were Korto and Joe with their interesting “ethnic” blouse and poorly-fitted strapless dress.  And Terri and Suede, with this outfit that, to me, didn’t seem quite right for the office OR for evening.  And same goes for the shoe choice, the Charles by Charles David Savior mule that we saw way back in the first episode with Daniel’s plastic-cup dress.

And then we had the travesty that was Kelli and Daniel’s hoochie-mama outfit.  Leopard and lace and lingerie are NOT good looks for a classy, sophisticated type.  It looks like they used the Charles David Catch sandal, which is nice enough, I suppose.  But really, I don’t think there was a way to save that outfit.

If you want to check out other options for “dressing the businesswoman,” Bluefly is doing a spotlight on the peep-toe this week from their Project Runway accessories selection.  Ironically, the only one of the above shoes that shoes up on that page is the Nanette Lepore pump, and that one in a different color.

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So, the challenge was to design an outfit for the female athletes from the USA to wear for the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics.  Cool challenge, right?  Olympics start this week.  We’ll get to see what Ralph Lauren cooked up for the actual ceremony tomorrow night.

And I have to say (with a few exceptions), thank god those women don’t have to wear what was proposed for them on tv last night!

Seriously, can you imagine hundreds of athletic, muscular, strong women coming out into the international scene in this?  I know I’ve loved on Jerell before, but this is just flat out hideous.  And misses the challenge by a mile!  The Charles by Charles David Skip shoes are pretty adorable, though (and on sale for only $60!)

Or, what about Daniel’s cocktail dress?  It’s the Olympics, for chrissake!  As Michael Kors said, a woman wearing this would have to be coming from the Republic of Cocktail Land.  Though, the Stuart Weitzman Spring Fling platforms are kind of cute, in a basic summery way.

Keith’s outfit wasn’t a total travesty, but has nothing to do with an athlete’s body and isn’t particularly American, apart from the color scheme (which misses the mark, too, in my book).  He did use the Gucci Eva oxfords, which I suspect are going to end up as the Patron Shoe of Project Runway 5.

As far as the good, there were really only two that I thought deserved a win.  And neither of them won.  One was Joe’s skort outfit, which says USA in a cute and athletic way, without relying on one particular era or style other than… well… sporty.  Plus, I ADORE his zipper color combining (in case you missed it, he bought red zippers and blue zippers and mixed them so each zip had one red side and one blue).  Couldn’t find his exact shoes, but the Stuart Weitzman Linda isn’t too far off.

And finally, much like last week, I thought Leanne deserved much higher kudos for her effort. Because this is sporty and flattering as well as representing a nice, clean vision of USA sportswear.  Fashion and athleticism (and patriotism, too) at once.  The shoes are adorable, too, and though I couldn’t find these exact ankle strap sandals, this Giuseppe Zanotti red and white slingback would do in a pinch.

One note, though.  I know this was a runway show and all, but there are plenty of cute shoes on Bluefly that (if they were available to the designers) would have been much more appropriate sporty footwear choices.  To wit, the Kate Spade Hayley ($32!!) in either red canvas or the oh-so-American denim

or the Stuart Weitzman Freshy (what an adorable name).

We’ll see how the real thing stacks up tomorrow night.

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LEANNE WAS ROBBED!!!!  Robbed, I tell’s ya!

How beautiful and classy and chic-with-a-(literal)-twist was this outfit?  It’s a blouse and skirt, and I would wear both of them, together, separately, any which way I could.  And she accessorized it perfectly with that gold necklace and the Gucci Eva wing-tip inspired platform pump.

On the other hand, the actual winning outfit (Kenley’s) did indeed look like it was made with… what did Joe call it?  Ft. Lauderdale pool furniture cushion fabric.  From the 80s.  Not in a good way.  I’ll give it that it was interesting and well-made and a good interpretation of the photograph on which it was based.  And it gave us our first double shoe usage (the emerald green Robert Cavalli sandal from episode 1).  But I can’t put this dress in the top 3 at all, let alone give it the win.

Who would I say was deserving of more love (and perhaps a spot in the top three instead of either Kenley’s or Terri’s (which was also interesting, but the dress over pants thing is old hat, and hers seemed to have a lot of extra messy fabric that made it look flouncy rather than streamlined sexy)?

Once again, Jerell.  He made a whole gown, for chrissake!  And it’s perhaps more limiting in what kind of “night on the town” you can wear it to (a black tie gala?  a flamenco performance?), it’s beautifully made and a gorgeous dress.  And worn with shoes that are not quite the Kenneth Cole Hit or Miss, but pretty close.

I’d also give a shout out to Kelli for this rocker Mad Max number, which went perfectly with the Gucci Ebony sandal, which isn’t available anymore, but I remember well from Chris March’s Hershey outfit last season.

I mean, I even didn’t hate Blayne-licious and his neon frills.  Though I didn’t much like the blah shoe choice (something along the lines of the Charles David Devin pump).

Emily’s losing “little black dress with a corsage” (Tim Gunn is always right, people.  Listen to him!) wasn’t great, and one could argue that the Gucci Eva maryjanes (guess it was the night for Gucci Eva shoes) were the most fabulous part of the outfit.

But in this, too, I think the judges went wrong.  Because I swear to you that I would much sooner be seen in public wearing that dress—which is at least kicky and has an energy to it—than Jennifer’s dowdy and depressing silk charmeuse number, which looks like maternity wear for a ladies club luncheon rather than a dress for a night on the town.

The shoes are VERY DEFINITIVELY the best part of this outfit.  They’re the secret love child of the Stuart Weitzman Vanity and the Christian Louboutin Caberet, and I love them.  Unlike the dress.

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Dear me. Has it been six months since the last Charles David semi-annual warehouse sale? I really wish I still lived in LA because if this upcoming sale is anything like the first one, it’ll be a shoe bargain hunter’s lucky day. Just remember to bring water and layered clothing because it might get warm with all those bodies packed under the scorching sun.

And if you manage to make it to this sale, please help your fellow fashionistas out by reporting back. You can either leaving a comment or post/show off your new additions here.

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