[galligator]

I have always (like many women, especially) likes shoes. But it was only after I had kids & my feet grew that I really got addicted. The growth of the internet shoe retailers & sites like style.com, NYmag.com & Vogue have allowed more people like me who would never have encountered a high-end shoe to see what is coming off the runways.

So, there are plenty of shoes that I have, historically, not encountered & my self-education is continuing on the whole shoe front. It is funny to me how many shoes this last year have been the other way - Designer 'duplicates' of some very Fetish footwear. It's only fitting to see some styles (Strappy Gladiator Boots, Heel-less Shoes, etc) go from the Exotic/Stripper market, to the runway, back to the Sexy/Club market.

I will have to look around my bookmarks. I encountered a great article several months ago regarding trademark & fashion. It really had some wonderful insights on why trademark & trade dress are so tricky to protect & why the fashion industry is actually driven to new fashion combinations because of the existence of knock-offs & designer inspired styles.

Back to the Ellie shoes, I have managed to keep up my willpower so far. I do love those oxford spectators but am hoping to wait a couple of months before picking them up - I'm trying to stay responsible & on-budget. But I am a sucker for that style anyway. Back to the stripper/club shoes mentioned earlier - I was jonesing for a high-heeled women's oxford about 5 years ago & at that time, Pleaser was the only brand carrying anything in that style; now, you can't go to a shoe dept without running into 10 variations on the theme. Needless to say, I now have some lower oxford heels than that original 5 inch Pleaser shoe that I got when it was the only game in town.