Purchases and eBay

Side note:

Just won these Spring/Summer 2008 Prada heels:


Eee! They're a size 39, which definitely is not my size. They are a gift for someone! I will never tell who.

Okay it's my Mom. :)

I really wish I would have won the flower-heeled version... but alas, that ship has sailed.


Sigghhh...


Also I bought these Ann Demeulemeester knock-offs from Free People:

Mine:


Original Ann's:



Pretty good take on a designer pair, no? And for only a quarter of the price!

To buy the knock offs, go here: Free People

When is it too extreme?

That's a question I've had brewing in my head for a while now. With the thought of shining Louboutins dancing above my head, I wonder: when does the price of a shoe become too much?

Recently I attended a party where the average age of the women in attendance was 40. When asked about the price of the shoes I had on, (Franco Sarto Fall pump in Patent Croc Grey) I replied honestly, as I always (try) to do. They were $114.98. (Of course I bought them on my employee discount from my store, but that's besides the point...)

When they heard that price, their eyes practically bulged straight out of their heads. One women told me I was, quote, "Damn lucky (I) don't have the responsibility of feeding a family!". Yeah, I am lucky. I'm lucky I don't have to buy Mr. Junior Pizza-for-Breakfast spider-man sneaks, nor do I have to buy Missy Coco Pigtails and Sparkles a pair of slip on's. I'm lucky I have a couple hundred bucks to spend on myself every month. Yeah.

All this over a hundred dollars?

Which of course to me, knowing the quality of the brand I purchased, and the comfort, had no problem shelling out. To this woman, and her co-herts, it was an insane price. To me: average. I understand that yes, they do have other people to worry about, whereas I just have myself, and maybe my dog on a good day, but does that really garner me the reaction I recieved? Is 100 dollars too much to spend on a pair of kitten heels?

The leaping point in my thought process brought me to designer shoes (how that always happens, I don't know. I swear. Really). The Christian Louboutin Hyper Prive's, which I've been eyeing for a year now, retail anywhere from $750-$900. To me, I know they are worth the money, I just don't have it. When I talk about this with other people, their eyes glaze over, and their chins wobble. Is 800 dollars too much to spend on a pair of patent black pumps with a red sole?

In truth, I would never, ever, spend over $400 on a pair of shoes. Some people find even that amount of money outrageous. For now, I will scoure the Bay that is E for deals on slightly used, or out of season Loubs, or any other designer shoe I crave at the moment, and that suits me fine. Maybe if I had a higher income I would have no qualms about dropping 2k on a pair of Chanel stompers.

Maybe.

Then again are shoes just a combination of leather, plastic and stiches? Are they really worth more than $100?

I don't know. You tell me.

Go.

Am I the only one...

... who dislikes jazz shoes?


'Fred' Glitter Lace-Up by Christian Louboutin

I'm all for flat shoes. I love 'em. Especially after a week of heels, I love sliding my sore soles into a nice pair of gladiators, ballets, or boots. But... these jazz shoes. I don't know. I can't put my finger on why I dislike them. Could be spawned from my youth as a dancer? Must look into this stat.

To prove my allegiance to the flats of the world, I post these:


Sammy 3 Buckle Winkle Pickers by Underground England

I actually would love a pair of these. Size 9.5, thanks!

They sort of remind of the Chloe boots that have circulated must-have lists for the last two years.

WANT

WANT NAIO!

Via PixieMarket

I Had a Dream

I talk a lot about shoes, (clearly) but I've never really tapped into my dream shoe collection. I already own some great pairs of footwear, but the grass is always greener, right? Ignoring the boundaries of space and time and ($$$) here are my top five favorite shoes of right now.



5. The Yves Saint Laurent Tribute Boot.
I know everyone and their mothers have talked about this boot for the last year, but I mean, c'mon, it's beautiful. These are around $1,500.


4. Lanvin Satin Ankle-Strap Pumps
These retail at over $1,500. I can't control myself they're amazing. Crystal heels, satin bows, blush-pink seashell colour-- ahhhh.


3. Miu Miu Swarovski Platforms
Caught on to the pattern yet? Look at those heels! I'm a crow, I love shiny things. These are so luxe, I can't believe. They're $695. Shut up! SHUT UP.



2. Balmain Crystal Heels
I tried to order myself an imitation of these (see two posts down) but nothing can compare to these.



1. Christian Louboutin for Rodarte Dominatrix Heels
These will almost always be my number 1. I know they're so 'last year' already, but when I saw these in Harper's Bazaar a year ago, I cried until my tears became money. I wish. These don't even HAVE a price tag. For real. You have to phone Christian Louboutin yourself, and REQUEST a pair. Yeah. That's happening. I'm guessing (considering the Marie Antoinette shoe) that these are around $2,500. Oh god. If I win 649 these are the first things I'm tracking down. FIRST THING.


Oh, and here are the ones I left out of the top 5:



Chanel Silver Gun Heels. These are almost $4,000!



Gucci Devandra Boot. Ughhhh. These are almost $2,000.

Questions, With the Bonus of Answers

Here are the three main questions I'm asked almost everyday. (Besides the obvious, such as, "How are you?" "Where the hell is my five bucks" and "When are you going to get a real job?")

1. "How can you walk in those?"

A: This may sound contrived, and perhaps a bit complicated, but, here goes.

Walking (also called ambulation) is the main form of animal locomotion on land, distinguished from running and crawling.^[1][2] When carried out in shallow waters, it is usually described as wading and when performed over a steeply rising object or an obstacle it becomes scrambling or climbing. The word walk is descended from the Old English wealcan "to roll".

Walking is generally distinguished from running in that only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground: for humans and other bipeds running begins when both feet are off the ground with each step. (This distinction has the status of a formal requirement in competitive walking events, resulting in disqualification at the Olympic level.) For horses and other quadrupedal species, the running gaits may be numerous, and while walking keep three feet at a time on the ground.

The average human child achieves independent walking ability around 11 months old.^[3]

See the rest of the article here.

2. "How can you spend so much money on shoes? They're just shoes, for chrissake!"

Well, that may be so, but I would rather have strong, beautiful legs and feet for the rest of my life, thanks to expensive, comfortable designer heels, than spend $20 on a pair of Payless flats that will ruin my hips and heels forever.

3. "Why do you love labels so much? They only cost so much because they're designer."

That's partially true. I do understand how the world works, and that labels are put on things to give them value. This can apply to anything. Why do you buy Kleenex brand tissues instead of in-store knock-offs? Why do you spend money on an LG cell phone, when you could have an MTS flip for free? Probably because the label sells itself to you in advertising, and quality. Kleenex brand tissues have been around for over 80 years. My 12 year old brother thinks tissues are called, "Kleenexes". This is how saturated our society has become to advertising. Does anyone ever ask you to pass them a 'tissue'? Please. And if they do, it's because they've seen you're poor and have No Name brand Kleenexes.

As for shoes, designer shoes just make me feel happy. Why would I live my life doing and purchasing things I despise?

Shoe Purchases

A real post with quality sentences to follow.

Here's what I bought since February:




They're beautiful but sadly too tight on my small toe. For some reason the zipper kept splitting also. Cheap Aldo impersonations of Manolo Blahniks.. Anywho, I exchanged them for these:



I did buy them a size and a half too big (41's instead of 39.5's) simply for the plain fact there are no half sizes at Aldo, and the 40's were sold out. I'll probably keep them any way. They need a good home :(

I was also bidding on a pair of Chanel spectator pumps a la eBay, but lost. They were two different sizes, but whatever, they were Chanel, okay?!