Hey, foot fashionistas! There’s a new set of tootsies in town. I’m TrainingHeels, and I’ll be sharing my secrets for keeping it stylish on a budget, sassy in boring business zones, and comfortable and upright on difficult terrain. I split time between San Francisco, LA and New York, so I’m always prepared for a walking, dining, driving, stairclimbing, running to an appointment, see and be seen challenge. (More on my tips for walking, driving and dancing properly and stylishly in each city in a later post).

I have an interesting shoe heritage, having grown up in my parents’ shoe sales and shoe repair shops, watching the most beautiful Prada heels and Gucci loafers shuffled in bruised and broken and paraded out proud and gleaming, good as new. If you’ve got repair questions, I’m your gal, and if I don’t have the answer, I will inquire with the best of cobblers.

I’ve had the unfortunate diagnosis from a host of podiatrists (I kept hoping one was wrong and seeking another opinion!) of having plantar fasciitis, also known as the bubonic plague that wipes out your stilettos in one fell swoop. I haven’t let that stop me from participating in the art of shopping for and wearing delectable foot candy.

First off, I stretch my feet regularly and roll them over a foot massager nightly. For the long dashes across the Meatpacking District’s cobblestones or Russian Hill’s slopes on nights out, I place a pair of Scoop ballets, Born arch support flats, French Sole leopard slippers or Tory Burch Revas on my feet (which one depends on how big my bag is that night) with fantastic Pedag insoles, then put the 4-inch curvy Chloe black leather crosshatch-strapped toe cleavage stilettos that have been dangling from my hands back on. How many of you ladies do this bait-and-switch on going out nights or even before and after work? Here are some of my bait-and-switchers:

If you’re dedicated to funky statement shoes that take the outfit’s cake like I am, you’re in luck, because tis truly the season of the shoe. “It seems like the shoe is really the fetish item that has taken the place of the ‘it’ bag,” Mickey Boardman of Paper Magazine heralded at the closing of the Spring 2009 fashion shows. “It’s all about who has the sickest shoe.”

Hallelujah! The shoes at the shows were incredibly creative and I’m sure some of that will trickle down to pret-a-porter and bargain basement!

Even the fiercest Iman would need a set of training heels to teach her how to walk in these Spring 2009 Dior embellished platform heels with a fertile goddess figure on the heel. You can’t be lukewarm on these babies if you love shoes! So what do you think? Would you wear them? If not, because of the height, the likelihood of snagging someone’s dress on the heel, the appearance, or something else? I’m not saying what I think of them till you do!

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As the air gets brisk and the leaves turn colors, we at shoeblog want you to know that you can face the new season with confidence. Get ready to put away your sandals and tie on some booties because it’s contest time! This season we are giving away a pair of deliciously smart booties with built-in comfort and a fascintating history, to boot: the Bernardo Sahara Booties (retail value of about $169)

Check out other colors and fabrics for this divine bootie here.

Owning these shoes is like owning a piece of history. We have discussed Bernardo’s rich history of shoeblog before, but I’ll recap for you a little bit. The company was founded by Bernard Rudofsky in 1947. Bernard was actually an architect, as well as a designer who insisted that the shoe and clothing trends of the day were not rational. He believed that (and this may shock you!) shoes should actually be designed with the shape of a person’s foot in mind! To recognize how revolutionary this is, think of all the times you have tried on a shoe that seems to have no available space for your little toe or that curves in at the back to cut into your heel. These are just small examples of the issues Bernard wanted to rectify.

His shoes rapidly became celebrity favorites and were widely featured in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar througout the 60s and early 70s. Here are some Vintage images:

Vogue September 1st 1967, Bernardo ad p.164.

Harper’s Bazaar June 1965, product placement page 50, and page 51.

And my absolute favorite:

Vogue May 1st 1968, Bernardo “The Sandal Dress”. One piece that reaches from shoulders to toes, made to order. Product placement p.252.

As you can see, Bernardo brought class, style, and comfort to the fashion mavens of the 60s and the company is still doing so today. For a chance to win the Bernardo Sahara Booties, all you have to do is comment on this post. That’s it! No forms to fill out, no strings! Imagine the joy of wearing a little piece of history on your feet all through the winter. The winner will be able to choose from an array of colors and fabrics (based on availability of course. If it says “sold out” look to another color).

You’ll have until Tuesday, November 11th to comment; we’ll announce the winner shortly after. Good luck and get to commenting!

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And as Jitterbugbaby eloquently put it, voting is the perfect excuse to wear your shoes of choice (cute, comfy, red/white/blue, whatever you want) in the name of patriotism and freedom of speech.

Cases in point, for basketball fans out there, here are your election day basketball shoes. As we sit huddled around the television tonight to view all the election coverage, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady will be wearing their political feelings not on their sleeves, but on their shoes during the Boston Celtics vs. Houston Rockets match up tonight. Kevin Garnett’s shoes will say “Embrace Change, Vote ‘08” while Tracy McGrady’s will read “Change is Needed, Vote ‘08.”

TOMS shoes is also offering you an opportunity to showcase your political views, including shoes for the undecided voter.

Happy Election Day, fellow Americans!!

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It is that time again.  For readers in the USA, I entreat you to get out there and vote for the candidate of your choice.

And as Shoeblog-appropriate motivation to do your civic duty, I post a link to this story from Reuters’ always-informative Oddly Enough blog.

A reader wrote in asking:

Blog Guy, I’ve seen some recent pictures of Sarah Palin’s shoes. My impression is that readers are very interested in the shoes of important women. Do you agree?

OK, first of all, I’m sure we could all answer with a resounding DUH!  Of course we want to know what the women in public power are wearing on their feet.  The men, too, of course, but (sorry guys) generally the women tend to have something more interesting to wear with those power suits.

The Reuters rep responds with the happy fact that they always have photographers manage to snap shots of women’s shoes in addition to the actual images of those ladies doing their thang.  And, as an example of this, he points to several photos recently taken of the uber-fashionable French First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and her chic shoes.

Have to say that, not only are her shoes cute as (and sometimes adorned with) buttons—I’m seriously coveting those sandals at the lower right—but it’s great to see her wearing flats, too.  We’re so used to seeing heels as the symbol of a woman’s power, when really, the argument is just as strong that high heels are a way to disempower the lady.

Ah well, I’ll not bother with the whole feminist argument now (but you can get into it in greater detail over this way).  But I will say to our American readers, voting is the perfect excuse to wear your shoes of choice (cute, comfy, red/white/blue, whatever you want) in the name of patriotism and freedom of speech.

Go forth and vote!

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-I think there is a little bit of Beverly in all of us. Judge for yourself. Here’s an excerpt on her article, “They were the most frivolous shoes ever. They were exactly what not to wear in the inclement Northeast. They were too high and an accident waiting to happen. Yet they were exactly what I wanted.” [Boston.com]

-Rock the Vote:Which Vogue Front Row Shoe Is Most Fab? [FabSugar]

-A review of the book “Vintage Shoes: a lavish history of women’s footwear” by Caroline Cox. I may need to pick up a copy for myself! [LA Times]

- French designer Sandra Coclico gives Obama the boot, as in the name of this boot. [ShoeFlyer]

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