Shoe Blog
These are completely impractical and ridiculously high and I imagine I could barely wear them sitting down–but hot dang, aren’t they just SPECTACULAR? Seriously, this is something a futuristic femme fatale would wear–possibly while wielding her laser proton missile on her way to her XC17000 two-seater spaceship ride. If you want to own this particular version of the future, these Versace pumps are $300 at Yoox (not a bad price, but sizes are limited).
Authentic Shops:
Zappos.com
Vivre.com
So, the challenge was to design an outfit for the female athletes from the USA to wear for the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics. Cool challenge, right? Olympics start this week. We’ll get to see what Ralph Lauren cooked up for the actual ceremony tomorrow night.
And I have to say (with a few exceptions), thank god those women don’t have to wear what was proposed for them on tv last night!
Seriously, can you imagine hundreds of athletic, muscular, strong women coming out into the international scene in this? I know I’ve loved on Jerell before, but this is just flat out hideous. And misses the challenge by a mile! The Charles by Charles David Skip shoes are pretty adorable, though (and on sale for only $60!)
 
Or, what about Daniel’s cocktail dress? It’s the Olympics, for chrissake! As Michael Kors said, a woman wearing this would have to be coming from the Republic of Cocktail Land. Though, the Stuart Weitzman Spring Fling platforms are kind of cute, in a basic summery way.
 
Keith’s outfit wasn’t a total travesty, but has nothing to do with an athlete’s body and isn’t particularly American, apart from the color scheme (which misses the mark, too, in my book). He did use the Gucci Eva oxfords, which I suspect are going to end up as the Patron Shoe of Project Runway 5.
 
As far as the good, there were really only two that I thought deserved a win. And neither of them won. One was Joe’s skort outfit, which says USA in a cute and athletic way, without relying on one particular era or style other than… well… sporty. Plus, I ADORE his zipper color combining (in case you missed it, he bought red zippers and blue zippers and mixed them so each zip had one red side and one blue). Couldn’t find his exact shoes, but the Stuart Weitzman Linda isn’t too far off.
 
And finally, much like last week, I thought Leanne deserved much higher kudos for her effort. Because this is sporty and flattering as well as representing a nice, clean vision of USA sportswear. Fashion and athleticism (and patriotism, too) at once. The shoes are adorable, too, and though I couldn’t find these exact ankle strap sandals, this Giuseppe Zanotti red and white slingback would do in a pinch.
 
One note, though. I know this was a runway show and all, but there are plenty of cute shoes on Bluefly that (if they were available to the designers) would have been much more appropriate sporty footwear choices. To wit, the Kate Spade Hayley ($32!!) in either red canvas or the oh-so-American denim
 
or the Stuart Weitzman Freshy (what an adorable name).
We’ll see how the real thing stacks up tomorrow night.
Palladium Key Largo Sandal (buy it at Endless for $80), in “New Pewter”–worn with jeans and a blousy silk gray top. I had blogged about them before (here) and then decided that I MUST have them. From the company’s description, we learn: “Made in a rural city in France since 1947, Palladium shoes are built to last in natural materials that have been put through a serious round of inspections and stress tests to ensure you’ve got a perfect shoe.” What’s there not to love, right? And so, I recommended the Key Largo gladiator for being comfy, affordable, and good-looking–a holy sartorial trio that’s a challenge to find.
The verdict?
That holy trio holds, no doubt about it, BUT (you knew that was coming, right?)…having to buckle on, buckle on, buckle on, buckle on before leaving the house leaves me somehow dispirited. Also? Do NOT, under any circumstances, wear these if you’re going out shopping for shoes. Taking them on and off is a chore of the highest order. The leather of the straps is thick and the buckle tiny, so yeah, it takes some doing. Which, for the person on the go (and who isn’t, these days) can become pretty annoying.
Also: heed the advice of the reviewers, for these babies run LAAAAARGE. Not a TAD large, but a hefty whole size large. I know! I was surprised, too! I wear a 10, so, taking the advice of the reviewers on Shoes.com, I ordered a 9.5. Guess what? They still look/feel about a size too large. I don’t think I’ve been an 8.5 since 7th grade, so something is amiss here, for sure.
On top of everything, this morning, the second stud from the top on the right sandal decided to pop out, never to be seen again. Was it bored out of its mind with a life of militaristic order and conformity, next to its other obedient fellow studs? Did it suddenly have a bright idea and popped out with excitement? Was it frightened out of its mind by the prospect of going out?
I guess I’ll never know.
What I do know is that gladiators, shmadiators. I’ve scratched this trend’s itch, and I won’t go near it again.
Authentic Shops:
Designer Shoes at Zappos.com
Vivre.com
Well, afterepisode two’srather bland shoe offerings, last week’sepisode three was adefinite improvement.
I have been drooling over the Gucci “Eva” wingtip platform pump and bootiessince I first saw them at the Gucci website last fall. Unfortunately, even at Bluefly’s best sale prices, these have yet to drop below the $450-500 range.Thisis just too rich for my blood - and my bank account.
So, I washappy recently to find several reasonableand affordable alternatives to satisfy my attraction to the basic style of the Gucci originals.
- Guess by Marciano’s “Egeria” $129 at Zappos.com/$125 at Shoes.com. In black or brown:
- Report “Ellis” $189 at Zappos.com/$185 at Shoes.com. Inblack, grey, or nude:
And, for those of youattracted to thegreen Cavalli sandal already seen onseveral episodes, Chinese Laundry has this affordable copy. Which, interestingly enough, seems to come in just aboutany color except forgreen.
I love the challenge of finding affordable styles for those of us who are on a budget or who live in small towns where we seevery little variety.I hope these help you to look like you just walked off of a fashion runway.
And as for tonight’s show? I’m hoping to start seeing stronger designs tonight, both in footwear and in fashion.
Authentic Shops:
Designer Shoes at Zappos.com
Just when I was feeling quite proud of myself for foregoing the plethora of sales over the past few weeks, including Nordie’s infamous anniversary sale which I passed by a number of times on my way to the chiropractor, I have to admit my resistance is withering. The causes of my weakness? Let me count them.
Within my top 3 list of shoe brands I’d like to own are shoes by Taryn Rose, who is Jitterbugbaby’s patron saint of lovely and comfortable shoes. And wouldn’t you know it, HauteLook is having a sale on Taryn Rose shoes. The sale ends 24 hour, which doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but it means 24 x 60 x 60 = 86,400 seconds for me to cave in and push the “add to bag” button on the Taryn Rose Daphne oil slick wedges, which now cost $175 instead of $450 (65% off!) and the Taryn Rose Bianca, now $150 instead of $425.
 
NineWest is sorely tempting with a 50% off sandals sale. I’d love to duel with Russell Crowe in these orange gladiators for $39.99.
Shopbop.com isn’t much better. They are offering an additional 20% off their sale merchandise using coupon code BONUS20, which expires on August 7th. Even though I wouldn’t know what to wear with these eye-popping green Marc by Marc Jacobs spectator pumps, I’m still quite partial to them, especially at the price of $112, down from the original price of $470, which is what Zappos still has them priced at.
On the high end, Neiman Marcus is having an end of season clearance sale for an additional 33% off making these Manolo’s cost $309.
See what I mean? Temptation lies around every corner (and website).
Authentic Shops:
Designer Shoes at Zappos.com
Vivre.com
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