friday's shoe of the week: aldo's needlepoint platforms & flats

I like aldo’s shoes. this is a fact. they’re fairly good quality for the price (which is usually not bad), and they’re super duper cute, if not a tad bit hooker-ish sometimes. (sorry, crass again.) and though I usually stick to solid or two-toned kicks, I quite randomly really like these needlepoint shoes.

it’s funny...the platforms are a study in contrast: needlepoint (a stereotypically designated hobby of elderly women) melded with a 5.5” heel and 1.5” platform (um, anything but elderly).

I also love that the platform has a wrapped heel. solid black just wouldn’t seem right!

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I've found true love.

oh, my goodness. oh my goodness gracious me. this, my dears, is the real deal.

6pm.com and I? we're meant to be.

6pm.com is the clearinghouse for zappos, and you wouldn't buh-lieve the deals you'll find there. I'm talkin' shoes up to 90 – yes, 90 – percent off.

and, as luck would have it, I found this pair of mia gelato boots on 6pm that I was eyeing on zappos several months ago:


I loved them and can I just tell you? last year I looked high and low for wedge boots and couldn't find any that I liked. this year, they're everywhere. in any case, I didn't buy the mia boots then, and now I see why – I was meant to save 40 percent! they were $90, down from $150. I love the ruche detail and the height is good for me.

I'd also added these nautical-themed pumps by giuseppe zanotti to my shopping bag:


but then I decided to show some restraint, especially considering that 1) I was buying them primarily because they once cost $995 and now they cost $159.39 (84 percent off!), and 2) they were only available in my size (how often does that happen?), and 3) they had only one pair left.

how did I resist?! maybe because they still cost $160, which is a heck of a lot better than $1,000, but it still ain't cheap.

I also wanted these grey satin peep-toe platform andria pumps from romantic soles...grey satin! gorgeous. alas, not my size.

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thrifty thursday: nine west casilda

I have a thing for lace-up boots, though I have yet to find a pair this winter that aren't in some way suggestive of hooker boots (sorry, that was kind of crass). I also have a thing for nine west. I've always found their stuff – shoes, bags, watches – to be tasteful, decent quality and affordable.

in any case, their casilda boots are marked down 50%! that means was $100, now $50!

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holiday party shoe #2: the fringed shoe

ah, tassels. they have their place on graduation caps and bookmarks. shoes, well, that's a bit more difficult, but impossible? never!

along with velvet shoes (soft, plush, lovely velvet), shoes with fringe offer a festive touch to that holiday-party ensemble. just be sure you don't get too western, unless you're going for that holly jolly cowgirl look.

roberto cavalli (aren't they playful and gorgeous!)

by jerome c. rousseau

by jerome c. rousseau

the corby by born

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happy hanukkah

hanukkah begins at sundown tonight, so I thought I’d post a pretty shoe by alexander mcqueen that conjures up the image of “sundown.” happy hanukkah!

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big feet...you know what that means

you don't? well, allow me to enlighten: it means being constantly annoyed because shoes are never available in your size, and if they are, they look like friggin' clown shoes!

I wear a size 10 (11 in some brands), and it's a mixed bag. sometimes it means great deals because most women wear a smaller size, so retailers have to get rid of the monster sizes somehow.

but most of the time, it means exactly what happened to me yesterday during a quick, impromptu trip to payless on my lunch break.

believe it or not, it's been a whole month or so since I've bought new shoes. figuring I deserve it, I walk into payless and I'm greeted by the store's holiday display – row after row of adorable, sweet, lovely pumps – in grey flannel (which I'm dying for, by the way), dark red patent leather, frilly black embellishments...oh, love. love and a half.

I proceed to find the aisle that sells my size, and of course, none of the holiday delights on display are available as boats. so sad. so, completely sad.

they had them in size 9. I tried to squeeze in, but there was no way. not even "I'd be totally uncomfortable but it'd be worth it." my foot wouldn't even fit halfway in. it was like trying on a 5-year-old's pair of pants.

alas, I ended up with a pair of size 10 heeled black boots that aren't half bad. they're an easy replacement for two pairs of black boots I already own that have seen their day and are headed to shoe afterlife: goodwill.

oh, and in case you were wondering, the grey flannel pumps I want look something like steve madden's caryssa pump:

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what's new wednesday: calvin klein spring 2011

I've read review after review praising calvin klein's spring 2011 collection, and I have to say, I just can't find it in me to get on board. the colors are blah, the platform treatment is odd, and the shapes are too futuristic and modern for my taste. not to mention, too strappy! even for spring/summer!

I'll admit, I'm partial to more traditional shoes, but I try to keep an open mind. most of the time I succeed, but every now and then I come across a collection that – shrug! – I just don't like.

it almost seems as though at the last minute, the designers slapped together some sketches that went straight through to production without much in between.

oh, well. there's always fall.

image via luxe db.

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