Okay, it’s official.

I am becoming more and more smitten by offerings coming out of Dsquared2.

My crush may even be deep enough that when Hubby & I finally reach debt-free status, (sometime toward next fall if things continue to proceed apace) I might even consider paying full retail once or twice a year for a lust-shoe or two from this design house.

Today’s example:

Dsquared2 Open Toe Pump Frou Frou Camoscio $911 at Zappos.com

Holy cow! And this is while staying with a monochromatic black color scheme - with the exception of the lining. These are anything but boring; filled with eye-catching textural details and contrasts from the ruffles to ribbon to croc-embossed heel…..

These shoe are both fierce and unapologetically feminine at the same time.

I am in deep smit, indeed.

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So, is anybody else sitting at home feeling miserable with the flu? Ah, the joys of back-to-school and fall weather are balanced by the colds that seem to come home with the kids.

Since local weather is still too insanely warm for me to think about consuming actual chicken soup, consider today’s shoes to be ‘emotional chicken soup’.

Sweet-but-sexy, studded Oxfords … luckily for me, the Oxford trend has not completely wound down yet.

Betsey Johnson ‘Kadina’ $200 at Zappos

As my husband said when I showed him these, “Oh yeah, those are completely you.”  What can I say? I have a week spot for women’s Oxfords. Oh, and plaid. And, of course, Betsey Johnson; it was inevitable that I would love these shoes.

To steal a movie quote, these are ‘Everything I never knew I always wanted’ *…or something like that.

Menswear-inspired, wing-tip appeal; Check.

Adorable, plaid-blocked contrast; Check.

Lace-up Lolita details; Check.

Patent leather, studded-Oxford edging; Check.

High Heels. Oxfords. Plaid. Lace-ups. Rockabilly. Goth. Lolita. Punk…a match made in shoe-heaven!

*Extra points if you can name the flick.

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Last Monday, after picking me up at the airport, my hubby was kind enough to stop by Nordstrom as a way of killing time before meeting for dinner with the in-laws that evening (Our little town doesn’t get any fancier than Macy’s & TJ Maxx).  So, we did the mall walk-through, ending in the Nordie’s shoe department …. Oh, do they have other departments?

Anyway, they were just enough new boots on display to make me both excited and impatient for fall to be here already.  And, there was one purple ankle bootie that had hubby again acting the enabler to my shoe habit - All purple suede and a funky-tough zipper trim. “Hey Babe, you don’t really have anything in purple, do you?”.   (Really, this is why I can’t take the man shopping with me: I can say no to myself, but he has a bit of a tougher time of it….Of course, I suppose a gal could have worse issues to deal with than a hubby that wants to see her happy.)

And, I have to admit, I don’t have anything in my shoe-closet quite like this:

Steven by Steve Madden ‘Bevan’ $99.90 $168.95

But, I was good and didn’t try them on. After all, we had dinner plans and had the whole next day free before we needed to head back on the 3-hour drive back home.

Um, maybe not so good. Apparently, Nordstrom re-set their entire women’s shoe department overnight and these babies were nowhere to be found in-store come Tuesday.

But, all was not lost.  While no longer available at the local Nordstrom (I have a feeling The Rack could be seeing these shortly), a quick search at the Nordstrom website had these showing on sale for about $70 off. So, I guess, that’s not such bad news after all.

Now, at $100 these are a much better value than when they were at their original $170-ish pricing. Plus, Madden’s are a great fit on my higher arched feet; they are almost always true to size and ready to wear without my needing to run to the store for arch inserts.

And let’s face it. They’re purple! Maybe it’s time to dust of my Nordstrom’s card.

(Oh, and in case you are interested in these, they are also available in several other color and leather choices at Steve Madden, Zappos, and Endless)

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Hi!
I need help! Every year I see tons of awesome calf- and knee-high boots. It seems like each Fall and Winter they come out with new styles…and colors! BUT I have to admire them from afar. I was born a beautiful full-figured woman :)….unfortunately, with BIG calfs! I can’t fit ANY of the boots I find! And the ones I do find are that suede material.

Do you know where I can find some MODERATELY-priced  leather calf- and knee-length boots? HELP!!

Crystal

Apologies to Crystal if it seems like we took awhile to respond on this plea; this is a tough and ongoing challenge for many women and keeping this article informative without going off on tangents has proven to be trickier than expected.

The complaint that boots are not made for gals with sturdy calves is, unfortunately, not news to anyone who has ever been in that same (and very unenviable) shopping position. So, of course, I find Crystal’s frustration to be completely understandable. And, there are many ladies out there who adore taller boots, but have less-than-dainty calves. At 14 inches around, my calves ride the fashion tightrope on whether a given boot will fit and zip.  If you are ambitious, there are even many products for you to attempt to self-stretch your own shoes, should the urge strike you.

Of course, the first requirement for successful stretching is that the boot upper be made of leather.  This is doubly important; Leather is very durable making it easier to get good wear and your money’s worth from your purchase and,  real leather is stretchable when given to a competent cobbler/boot repair shop. When all else fails, purchase and all-leather boot & have your boots stretched. The process will only lighten your pocketbook by $20-$30 and the result is often a perfectly fitted boot.

Now, if you are new to our site, you may have missed an older shoeblog article that focused on  Duo Boots.  Duo boots come in a number of different calf sizes and can even accommodate ladies with the opposite problem of narrow calves since they are sold by calf-size. Of course, at prices starting at UK 120/US $250 depending on the exchange rate, they may not quite fit into the category of ‘Moderately-priced’ to the average consumer. Lately, with shoe prices on the rise, these are definitely nowhere near as spendy as many current mid-to-high end designers that are now charging upwards of $500-$2500 for current-season leather boots; it may be a worthwhile investment for those harder-to-fit folks to spend the $250+ for a long-lasting, well-fitted boot.

Next, as he is the master of most things shoe-related, it is no surprise that ‘The Manolo’ has also struggled with a solution to the wide-calf dilemma. Among his recommendations of boot brands with roomier calf-allowances are: J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, and Church’s boots. More useful, perhaps are actually the comments responding to his article which recommend both Eddie Bauer as well as the (new to me) website www.widewidths.com (self-proclaimed as ‘Your Site for Fashionable Wide-calf boots’).

Finally, no hunt would be complete without a quick search over at Zappos.com to see what options are available on ‘Wide-calf’ site search. OK, that’s 50+ pages of results in varying styles and prices; Among them, a large selection of RSVP boots priced under $200. Of course, many ‘wide-calf’ boots only fit up to about 15 inches around in calf circumference, so some of these results will only be helpful for borderline ladies like myself;  so it’s always good to check the individual shoe stats (Thank you Zappos for such great descriptions).

Well, when my eyes alight on the phrase ‘Extra Wide Calf’, that sounds pretty promising. Way to go, Type Z.

Type Z Catie Extra Wide Calf $190 at Zappos.com (17″ circumference)

Also promising, selections from Ros Hommerson, a brand known for offering a huge variety of widths from extra-narrow to wide on all of their shoe and boot styles.

Ros Hommerson Chanel Boot (Wide - 16.25″ circumference) or Inlet Boot (Extra Wide - 18″ circumference) $198.

A few other options include widening a boot search to include boot-cut Western Styles as well as Lace-up boots and adjustable Granny styles.

Some options in this category are:

Dan Post Snowflake Ostrich $309.

Frye Veronica Slouch Black Patent $332 (15″ circumference).

Frye Page Buckles $382 (15.5 circumference).

Mark Nason Iris $574.95 $310 (14″ circumference). My own experience with Mark Nason is that the lacing give more width allowance than the base measurement indicates).

Etienne Aigner Kraft $ 148.95 $97 (14″ circumference).

Shoes for Lovely People Anthia $216 (14.5″ circumference plus added stretch gore panels).

This information is merely a starting point for those on the hunt for a more accommodating boot shaft, and some styles will work for some ladies and not others (But I have found that to be true of all shoes). Like any shoe hunt, it takes time and patience to find the right item at the right value. Hopefully I have provided some tools to help you along the way.

13 Comments »

For those of you here in the United States, I wish you a thoughtful and safe Veterans Day.  To all those who have served, past and present, I am taking this moment to say Thank You.  Your willingness to put yourself at risk for your fellow citizens as well as for the ideals of honor, duty, and freedom makes this former military brat proud and thankful for your commitment and sacrifice.

And, for all of our Shoeblog.com readers, I proudly unfurl my own flag-inspired favorite that I reserve just for patriotic occasions:

Steve Madden Lejune at Zappos.com

Wear your colors proudly and with honor.

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