In our last post on Saks’ Shoe Heaven, we waxed poetically and lovingly about the lovely summer sales going on. No more, dear shoeholics, no more.

Meet the man who would take away your sales.

What the heck does this midtown-lookin’ businessman have to do with my shoe addiction, you ask?

That ubernice-looking man is the President and Chief Merchandising Officer at Saks. He is the one who determines what is sold, and how long it stays on the shelf.

He wants Saks to become more competitive in a “challenged luxury segment,” so he’s “tweaking the product assortment to include more contemporary brands, ramping up exclusives, introducing private label and expanding elements of the 10022-SHOE salon concept across the chain.”

Love the idea of expanding the 10022-SHOE salon marketing concept across the world.

Love the idea of more exclusives.

Love the private label plan.

LOVE the idea of more contemporary brands…….

DON’T love the plan to stay away from the sort of intense discounts that the Saks salon had last fall!!!

According to Women’s Wear Daily’s just-published piece: “‘That was last fall,’ Frasch firmly stated, adding that the company has no intention of repeating the deep discounts this year.”

New York is the land of the rich. But even the rich folks I know have been bargain hunting like addled old ladies at the flea market. And whereas I used to be able to afford a $300 to $700 shoe once every few months, it’s out of the question now.

So if a middle-class consumer like yours truly can’t afford her $300 to $700 shoe a few times a year anymore, why can’t they keep offering a $175 shoe for me that I would actually buy instead of two pairs of low-to-medium quality shoes at Urban Outfitters?

WWD visited the 10022-SHOE salon recently and testified to zero discounted shoes.

My point of view on this is that people right now still want to feel like they’re getting a bargain because we’re still in a recession. So have a mix of very expensive for the rich to very rich, and keep drawing folks like me in with the quietly-discounted-in-the-corner and the seasonal sales.

Frasch wants to seek out more mid-range shoes.

“‘Prices definitely got out of control,’ Frasch said of the pre-recession world. ‘Now you have a pricing structure where there are shoes that are $795 or more, and shoes that are $195. Where are those designer shoes that are between $395 and $595?’”

Frasch also wants top designers to do more interesting, reasonable styles, and mentioned jelly sandals, but hoped for something more high end.

That sounds great. My thought on this is that we can use new sustainable materials, like a natural latex rubber or gum rubber for boots and quickly-growing bamboo for cushioning and covering interiors. That’s a big selling point. I don’t believe beauty has to be sacrificed. How about those great Chanel camellia rain boots? They could be low cost, high style, sustainable rubber and carry the designer name and make Saks proud.

Also, we’ve seen Zaha Hadid and Vivienne Westwood do some great things with low cost materials with Melissa Plastic Dreams. Isaac Mizraahi, as I will write about in my next post, is making shoes with what looks like leather but is sustainable salmon skin. In Barcelona, I saw a lot of plastic shoes that were very high design in boutiques. I’d prefer sustainable rubber or leather, but it’s nice to see affordable design. Though $365 online, both pairs were discounted below $100 at my local boutique.

Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania shoes with Melissa Plastic Dreams. You can buy them here.

You can buy this other style of the VW’s here at Zappos for $154.

Zaha Hadid’s architectural shoes for $365, but look for deals in your local boutiques:

Well, Saks, we look forward to your private label. Like Barneys, that could be a wonderful thing. But please keep the discounts coming, especially at end of season! Don’t drive me away to all sample sales, DSW and online sales! I thought that with Fashion’s Night Out, the industry was leaning toward a more egalitarian, inclusive luxury market, an idea of high design for all.

I am devoted to Saks almost as much as I am to Barneys when it comes to department store giants (I rarely visit Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Lord & Taylor, and Bergdorf I only go to for inspiration since its windows are fantastic), but my suggestion is that Saks open up a co-op similar to Barneys’ Co-op. Younger, cheaper, hipper. It could be a small boite within each Saks, not even an entire building or store.

What do you think readers? Are you ready to go back to regularly or even occasionally buying $400 and higher shoes from your recessionista shopping habits?

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DOOM DOOM DOOM AND GLOOM! FALL/WINTER STYLE IS APPROACHING AND FASHION IS HEADING TO UGGTOWN! ALERT, ALERT!

Okay, Saks, I’ve been looking at your website a lot, and this is not ok. When you click on “New Arrivals,” these are the first six shoes that come up.

Of the above, only the Cole Haan shoe is acceptable. The Tod’s shoe is UGLY, and that UGG pink Cardy makes me want to throw myself off a bridge. Classic??? For who? A female fisherman wearing a fisherman’s knit sweater? $140? Really? For fabric and rubber?

I will wear my genuine sheepskin Australian booties (better than UGGs, in my opinion) running out to the grocery store or on freezing days, but I will not accept them on your website as “New Arrivals” on August 2.

This is not ok, Saks. I love you heartily, but this is not ok. Fix your search engine so that some pretty shoes come up first. Where are your merchandising people when you need them???

Sorry to rant, but this ruined my shoe day. I am going to start a support group entitled, Survivors of Fashion’s Insistence on Starting to Peddle Depressing Winter Styles in August.

Can anyone cheer me up with some links to photos of good fall/winter style?

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Chanel isn’t just for matrons or uptight Heidi Montag types. They’ve got some adorable things for younger girls, too. I spied some remainders of the popular Chanel Camellia Jellies at Saks. Unfortunately, they seem to be unavailable on Saks’ or Neiman Marcus’ websites. However, I can affirm that there were pairs in store at Saks. Whether they’ll have them in your size, I’m not sure. Call 212-753-4000 for more information or to see if they’ll check for your size. They supposedly run a tad small, so you’d be wise to check for the size above as well. They were in the low $200 range, as I recall.

The colors they had were clear, green, yellow and pink.

Here’s a better promo shot of them. Aren’t they adorable? I wore jellies a lot as a child, so these bring back memories for me, but are much more fashionable than my netted pairs!

It’s been a VERY rainy summer in New York. Annoyingly rainy, as I’ve mentioned before, bringing out the boots in droves. It’s threatening to rain this morning, in fact. I wish I had a pair of these, which I instantly fell in love with when I saw them at Saks. How have I not seen them before, I wondered. With the black camellia and off-white camellia, as well as the quilted sole, these are too cute! Hurry into Saks to get them, they’re not on the website as far as I can tell!

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I promised I’d post more photos from Saks. Here are a pair of gorgeous Marni shoes I snapped that I would just die for. I don’t care how old they are, because they’re so classic, I would wear them forever. I love the curvy heel, the platform, the open toe, the color and the woven vamp. I can’t find the name for them easily though, and I’ve got to dash out the door in a moment. Does anyone know their name?

I love the Marni style because it’s so distinctive and a little bit more outlandish and daring than some of the other high end stuff, but still so classic, and I love the 70s notes. They’re just such HANDSOME shoes. I would never say pretty, and some of them are plain ugly, but I love a good handsome shoe. It makes me feel very safe and classic and sturdy in good leather. Sort of that feeling of being in horseback riding class, wearing classic breeches and riding boots. That’s the kind of girl I can see wearing Marni in her professional life.

Here’s a screenshot of some Marni platforms from ShopStyle, one of my favorite websites for easily searching for either a category (”platforms” or “silk camisole”) or specific item (”Irregular Choice shoes”).

These Marni buckle sandals, one of my favorites, are on sale for $344, down from $685.

And here’s a fun little Marni video for you, set to jazzy music, no less (not what I would have expected for Swinging Seventies shoes, but fun!)

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Going to Saks’ Shoe Heaven is an experience, especially when they’re having a sale. The shoe floor is so big, it has its own zip code: 10022-SHOE! We’ve written about it before, but with this sale, it deserves a fresh look.

You take an express elevator (here’s a photo of Kellie Pickler in front of said elevator) to the eighth floor and start getting excited while you’re in the elevator, which says 10022-SHOE.

The shoe mecca has its own repair service, Charbonnel chocolate cafe and private room for VIP shopping. There is also a large selection of Roger Vivier bags and shoes against the wall adjacent to the VIP room. I don’t love the Vivier Pilgrim Pumps, but some of the bags are great.

The first thing that hits you when you come in is a tough, black, motorcycle-styled display by some of the most prominent shoe designers today, including McQueen, Choo and Louboutin. Yup, that trend is still rockin strong.

The above shoes are not on sale, unfortunately, but may be by this fall if there are any left.

I will post more photos later, but for now, I’d like for you all to know that it’s going on so you can check it out during your strolling midtown business lunch! Plenty of iconic Marni, Louboutin and Giuseppe Zanotti shoes were on sale. That means that shoes that range from a bottom of around $500 to a top of around $1500 were on sale for around $200 to $500. Not bad.

Don’t get me wrong, there weren’t only 7 to 7.5 shoes on sale, but like many women, that has always been my dream size (I’m an 8.5 to 9), so I snapped a photo of those in wishful thinking.

If you’re buying online, there’s free shipping on all orders with the code SFASUM9, only through today.

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