Gap Design Editions

Such a perfect pair of spring shoes.... I'm off to see if they're in stores and check the quality (it is Gap after all). Gap, you better not mess this up for me...

Gap heels

New Shoes

Super awesome $5 shoes from Ebay.

Via Spiga Slingbacks

Long live Ebay. 

Mmm... Shoes

Here's what's currently on my feet:

 mmm... check out the toe cleavage.

But check out the patent leather and leopard print (done in oh so classy pony hair I might add). LOVE.

And guess where they're from?
Aerosoles!
I know, go figure right? Almost as weird as L.L. Bean.

Here's the long and short story.

Our manager (a dude. Of COURSE) reprimanded my friend, another sales girl, at work today for wearing flat shoes. We're technically not supposed to, but she was on an 8 + hour shift, and it's hard to work that long in heels.
Of course we were a bit miffed that he'd say anything. I mean, I suffer for fashion sometimes, but a girl's got to draw the line somewhere.
Then one of the older employees mentioned to us that for comfort, you need to go to Aerosoles down the street.
"They ain't cheap honey, but your feet will thank you".

So we head over after work, her for some new shoes, me to give emotional support (and because I had time to kill).
She left with four pairs of shoes, I left with these cuties for $50. Expensive? To some maybe, but the two things I cannot skimp on are jeans and shoes. It always comes back to haunt me. So $50 for retail price is chicken feed.

Basically, my opinion is that Aerosoles still carries some of the orthopedic granny shoes you know and love,  but they've definitely revamped their image and they have some seriously cute kitten heels and flats. For anyone in the retail/restaurant/standing for hours on end business, these are an investment in sanity.

As for comfort? My feet are cushioned on angels wings and unicorn fluff.
Enough said.

Shoes

I feel like a good way to kick back is to do a bit of imaginary shoe shopping.
I'm actually considering some of these though so I kept everything under $100 for you guys :)

On that note I also have been on shopping ban for the last month, and I didn't slip up once! Not enough time to I suppose, but still, I'm very proud of myself.

Tutti by Jeffrey Campbell

Shield Platform by Schutz

Oriana Platforms by Faryl Robin

Chuqui Wedge by Mango

Dartiania by French Connection

Lisa by Zigi Soho  

Palmer Wedge by Ellen Tracy

The Tragedy

I really only have three pairs of shoes that are deemed my "party shoes". A pair of red pumps, my Tahari heels, and my freak-em heels.

Of course, none of these are under four inches.

If a guy can't handle a girl being 6' and change tall, he obviously can't handle me. ; )

My red pumps are a rare occurrence, my Tahari ones are really only for when I'll be sitting down a lot, and my Calvin Klein patent-leather platforms are really my go-to shoe for dancing and generally going out. They were probably my favorites

Anyway, so I went out for a girl friend's birthday up in the Bronx, and for those of you who know Grand Concourse up there, you also know that that hill is KILLER
As I was walking up that hill, I could feel the heel of my favorite patent-leather shoes just starting to bend a little more with each step, basically folding in on itself, until by the time I had gotten all the way to the subway, one leg was about two inches shorter than the other and I was effectively without a leg to stand on. Ahem.

Therefore I completely can justify this purchase. It was an emergency. And thankfully one of the stores was selling these Jessica Simpson shoes, which were a dead ringer for my old Calvin Klein patent leather platforms.
I took the last pair out of the window and wore them out.

So can we welcome my new party shoes to the closet?

To my Calvin's, thank you for three years of faithful service, for supporting me through endless parties, dancing, and general merriment. You will be missed.

Shoes...

Some new shoes came from DSW! WOO!

Crazy thing is that I didn't realize if you sign up for their membership, you keep getting these coupons.
I always assumed that the coupons had a time limit, but when I logged on to browse it had some left in my account from a year ago!
So, two pairs of shoes, free shipping, and $35 worth of coupons later I'm a very happy to welcome these cuties into my closet.

Note: it seems I still have a leopard problem. I'm just going to go ahead and embrace it.

Nude Shoes

Just doing a little shoe browsing. Since I'm stuck up in the northern hemisphere I usually don't get a chance to bust out warm weather anything, as I'm finding out by my social calendar.
Between going down south with the girls and a wedding in San Antonio I need to do some serious warm weather shopping. Can you believe I don't own anything without sleeves? Or any strappy shoes? Or any nude shoes for that matter?
I think these would be just gorgeous to wear to the wedding with my red dress (and out clubbing with my girls later shhh....)

 Nine West Consuela

Edit:  I just realized that I might not be up to date on wedding dress code. I know that it's a huge no-no to wear a white dress (um... duh) but what about white accessories? 

These are labeled as nude, and let's be honest, if I'm going to buy nude shoes/ones that match my skin tone they're going to be closer to cream than to tan. But of course I want to be within social guidelines?

What do you think? Are white accessories/shoes okay to wear to a summer wedding?

New Shoes

So what did I do this weekend?
Worked. Ate. Slept.
Got a new camera (finally!).
And picked up these cuties at work. We've been having some major sales, and I may or may not have been hiding these in the back of the stock room, deciding whether I wanted to buy them or not.

I'm so glad I did. I'm just imagining them with lots of neutrals, white, and navy.
Little capris, denim shorts and floaty summer dresses.
*Sigh* I can't wait for summer. 

New Shoes and Old Habits

Just wanted to share my latest purchase, tapping back into my town's preppy roots:

Etienne Aigner Loafers (ebay)

And check out the weave detail on the toe-box. Love.
Like I've said, I love the preppy look, but you know, my way. :)

And I headed over to check out the 80's purple warehouse sale, and OF COURSE, I wound up buying something that wasn't on sale (c'est la vie).

Silver Fox Hat by Obey

But how perfect is this hat going to be for fall?
I was keeping an eye out for a hat like this all winter (there was a short dalliance with a cloche hat from Arden B., but it sold out too fast. Twice.)
So even though it's the wrong season I snapped this cutie up before it could disappear again.

Flat Out

Heel heights are finally lowering this spring, and I've been checking out all the new cute options out there! I love a cute ballet flat. Comfortable, easy, classy.... what's not to like?
Besides, if I saw any of these on my feet I'd be smiling every time I looked down, and isn't that the point of shoes?
(Btw, all of these are under $100) 

Adila by Boutique 9

Newsy by Nine West

Lexa by Calvin Klein

Fiona by Kate Spade

Citrus by Chinese Laundry

Hit by BCBGeneration

Want

Man oh man.... look at that hotness. It also comes in purple and black (my other favorite colors). I stumbled on it while browsing for my need list.
Does this count as a need?
Hell no.
Do I want it anyway?
Hell yes.

Michael Antonio Toki Pump

and guess what? It's only $66.95 with free shipping and returns from Endless.

3010

I'm starting to discover more and more exactly what niche my style falls into. Of course I'm all for reinvention, but knowing what works for you is a necessity.

One thing that j'adore... wicked crazy cutting-edge shoes. I tend to be classic, a little conservative, but when it comes to shoes you need to bring the party.

So can you see why this new tech has me drooling?

Ladies, please welcome the one piece shoe, "Mojito" by Julian Hakes.

Mr. Hakes, can I please order a pair, sz 8.5, black or gold?

Thanks darling.

for more info, head over here.

Flats vs. Heels

my babies....

my favorite heels from Tahari (at the moment)

I love heels. A lot. The higher, the crazier, the better. Most of my friends will argue that when a person measures in at 5'9" that there's really no need for more height.

My favorite moment wearing heels? When my guy friend said, "You know Erin, you're like really tall usually, but now you're like... guy tall."

Of course, please realize that I was wearing my conservative 3" heels.... although now that I think about it (math isn't my strong suit) that would put me at 6' tall and taller than all my girlfriends and most of my guy friends.

The point of this is although everyone always says "spend money on what you love, buy more of what you wear the most" this is seriously conflicting in my case.

I love my heels, I wear them every time an occasion even remotely allows for them, but in reality I'm a student. Therefore for comfort's sake I spend more time in flats and NYC pavement is not kind to flats (I just had a mini funeral for another purple pair that got holes through the soles)

So here's the question: what do you spend more money on? Flats (which most girls wear every day) or heels (where quality matters. A LOT)?

I find I split it pretty fifty/fifty. So that means I have a lot of cheaper flats and a few expensive heels.

I personally have not found a way to make flats last longer than a year for me (but if anyone has a trick please chime in because I'm getting sick of replacing them).

Oh and just for fun here's a picture of my closet. Yup. that's about it. The other half is my roommate's, and there's about a 6" of shelving behind that wall.

All I can say is that college has definitely forced me to know what works and toss out anything that doesn't, because there's limited space and if I'm not in love with it.... well, that simply won't do.

Shoes!

There is simply nothing like a fantastic pair of shoes to finish off a classic outfit.

Like just about every girl out there, I love shoes and I really can't think of anything that I would rather shop for. Perhaps it's because while we gain and lose weight, age and stretch and just generally re-shape ourselves, our feet stay pretty much consistent. Maybe that's the allure of a great pair of shoes and a handbag: they'll never make you feel fat or ugly and will still be fabulous even on your less than fabulous days.

Anyway, enough of my accessories philosophy.
At the moment I'm merely window shopping and these are a few beauties that I would love to find in my closet.

These galoshes by Vivienne Westwood for Melissa I might actually consider wearing... even when it's not raining outside.

Both of these are from Omelle. Just check out the curved metal and wood heel, it looks like a tusk. Awesome.

Pour La Victoire, how I love thee... too bad you're shoes are completely impractical for a college student to own. So while I'm budgeting for fur chubbies and flats, I'll just keep drooling over your designs. I love the ruffle (but I love ruffles on everything) and that jade green color? Yum.

Out of the Box

After seeing the Cafe Fashionista's post on Tom wrap boots, (a boot that is custom wrapped around your calf? why didn't someone think of this sooner??)

it got me thinking about out of the box shoe styles.

My current favorites that I might just hurdle over people to get at? (assuming of course I could afford them) is United Nude. The whole collection is stunning, excepting some weird cloth bootie things, but hey, everyone has their off days.

My favorites:

These last ones are probably my favorite, it must be the physics geek in me.

Also if you haven't checked out Cafe Fashionista yet (what are you waiting for?), just hop over using the link http://cafefashionista.blogspot.com/

Why I Love Jeffrey

Steve and West have always been faithful to me. Always dependable, but they seem to lack a certain pizazz sometimes. Jeffrey however, there's a man. Have I professed my undying love of Jeffrey Campbell to you yet? Yes?
Well, let me remind you why I love this man and he can do no wrong. Here is the current list of shoes that I want from him. Best part is they're reasonably priced, quality shoes, and all of them are so quirky and fun.
*sigh* I love you Jeffrey.

These beauties however, these are mine. :)

I still smile whenever I see them. Complete impulse buy, but so worth it.