some recommendations

Remember a while ago I wrote that by bargain hunting at the end of the season, you can sometimes score a really cheap shoe at the very start of the trend?  Bargain hunting can be a tough game.  Often you think of end of season sales as containing tired or overlooked merchandise, past its prime.  But if a look is kind of new, but hasn't quite peaked, there will be plenty left over at the end of a season for you to snatch up, and then next season, when everyone else is coveting the new hot trend, you've got yours at waaay less of a price point than everyone else is buying. 

I've stumbled on exactly such a trend, so even though I doubt any of you would be into this, I have to share.  My sister asked me to look around for a cheaper pair of Steven by Steve Madden boots she was coveting.  They were tall boots that looked as though the entire shaft was folded back upon itself - a full foldover.  She wanted the Maryn style, in stone, at left. 

I couldn't find it online many places.  Seemed like a popular shoe that had sold out and prices were high.  But in looking around, I noticed this foldover style a lot of places.  And I noticed it was cheap.  And I remembered I had seen a fair number of foldover styles over the winter, noting a new trend.  Skinny pants tucked into boots were a hot trend this year. 

And then I noticed some really cool boots for super cheap.  Believe me, if I was working, at least two of these boots would be in my possession right now. 

Another tall option: the Detective Boot by Naughty Monkey.  Don't know anything about this brand, but last week the boot was $60, this week it's $50.  A huge buy.  Black is almost sold out, but there are plenty in other sizes. 

WOW!  These Turnout by Naughty Monkey are now $30!  Look at the cool studs.  Again, black is almost sold out, but there are lots in other colors.  I like this color which is called taupe, though appears brown.  $30.  Free shipping.  Free returns if it doesn't work out.  Seriously, that is an unbeatable price. Cool wedge heel, which is also on trend. 

Steve Madden P-Zesst - $38.50 in taupe and brown, $43 in black.  No large sizes left (nothing over 8.5).  I like these a lot in taupe, which almost looks grey in the picture. 







Those studded Naughty Monkeys for $30 may prove to be irresistible to me.  Endless.com has some goooooood prices right now. 

August 25 - grey and pointy

What: grey pointy-toed kitten heel size 8 pumps
From: Tahari(Lord and Taylor)
Purchased: December 28, 2008*
Cost: $30*

All right, I've been shamed and called out by one of my two readers, so back at my shoe blogging. I'll wrap up August and then restart September with more energy! I do, after all, have more than 100 pairs remaining to be worn, and if I find them so uninspiring, perhaps I should more seriously cull.

Anyway, these are one of my infamous I-have-no-job-and-maybe-will-become-a-stay-at-home-mom-so-let-me-purchase-5-pairs-of-mostly-work-shoes-in-one-month-while-it-is-winter-and-I-am-spending-maternity-leave-walking-around-Friendship-Heights. These may, in fact, be the first pair I bought. Actually they had them in purple, now that I am thinking about it, and I saw them and loved them and did not buy them (no job, no need for them, trying to be frugal), but thought about them endlessly and went back and the purple were all gone but the grey still called my name. I love them. Love kitten heels, love the exaggerated pointy toe. The first time I wore them I limped home, but they've become quite comfortable and are a great shoe for work. The picture does not do them justice. I need better lighting.

The day before I wore them I was reading something that said the trend this fall is for not quite as pointy shoes, which reminded me of this pair so I pulled them out. But they are still quite stylish and will remain a staple. And grey is a hot color this year for fall (as it often is). I was just reading another fall style guide ("affordable trends") and am eyeing a grey bag and yet another pair of shoes - booties. I'm watching this bootie trend and while I first thought it was ridiculous looking, I'm actually feeling like I need a pair of booties. I prefer to buy better brands a little later in the season from stores like Lord and Taylor rather than buy cheaper earlier. What say you, dear readers - fan of the booties? (or shooties, if you prefer?) And do you wait for higher quality, or buy now?

Also, do you spell it gray or grey?

Bottom line: keeper!

eta: So when I was putting these back in their box, I found the receipt. Actually bought these in late December 2008, so they were the first of my 5 shoes in a month (well, 30 days) purchases. Also, I had deflated the price - they were actually $30. I think, trying to hide my absolute financial foolishness, I had mentally oked it by lowering my price paid. The other ones were definitely cheaper, but these - while still a great bargain - were not quite the huge bargain. Out of all those 5 pairs, though, I've worn these the most. I love them - here's a closer picture of the pattern - love that marbelized look. They would have been fab in purple, but the grey has probably been more practical!

August 5 - nude trend

What: Size 8 light tan (nude) strappy sandals, 3.25 inch heel
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: fall '07 -spring '08
Cost: $25

Not sure of exact cost, just a guess based on outlet purchase. I started noticing, around 2007, a lot of 'nude' shoes, worn with any possible color, even black. It's a definite trend - the idea is they blend in so that your legs look longer (rather than shoe, leg, outfit, your eye sees legs, outfit, without a visual break). The trend is peaking now - nude shoes are everywhere. One thing I love about bargain shopping is often you can grab something before it really jumps in popularity, and then the next year you're trendy. The reverse is true - you can get too far behind the curve in trendiness if you buy super trendy stuff leftover at the end of the season, which means it's leftover because the trend is super saturated and over. Fine line. You just have to luck into it, I think, or buy things that suit you and if suddenly you're trendy, well, a stroke of luck!

These are nice sandals, and I'm going to admit I was skeptical of the trend, but I've grown to like the look. Would I wear these with a simple black dress? Maybe - and I am super conservative in the mixing of black/brown (ie, I almost never do it). I wouldn't wear them with black pants. I'd probably wear them with almost any color skirt/dress, and only earth tone pants. (hmm, maybe that will help me style these cream shoes a little bit better.) I've not worn these much - 2 or 3 times. I wore them in May 2008 for a really disastrous meeting, which I how I can pinpoint the purchase. Oh well, had fun in them today, though they are a bit tight.

Speaking of, I tried on these shoes at Talbots on Sunday. For my pale skin, this is really a nude color, but maybe the nude trend is really best with a light tan. Anyway, at $32 now, a real bargain. Liked them a lot, but I was already buying two pairs so left them on the shelf. Hmm.



Bottom line: Keeper

July 31 - another mistake - and some good buys

What: platform espadrilles with wrap ties
From: Nina (Hechts or Lord and Taylor)
Purchased: '03
Cost: $40? Guessing

I have always, always wanted a pair of wrap around the leg sandals like this. So I got these. I don't remember how much they cost, but I think because of this deep desire, they cost more than I should have paid. (or, alternately, they were so cheap I couldn't pass them up - can't decide, so going with too much as I don't want to artificially keep my average cost down from reality).

Here's the thing about these - that tie is a stiff, rough, twill-like material. And, it's the only thing keeping the shoe on your foot. I wore these once, to work, actually (hmm, probably inappropriate!), and wore sores on my legs where the ties rubbed!

I was in Talbots this weekend and they have a pair of ribbon espadrilles:
Marked down today to $22! Look how the ribbon hooks onto the back, heel strap. These ribbons are decorative, not functional. Comes in a ton of colors, and a snap up the bargain price. (But these are not the ones I bought, though I did try them on).

Speaking of bargains, Talbots marked down all their stuff today (Monday) - and I went shopping Sunday. Garrr. Two more bargains to point out - I would love a pair of red espadrilles, because I don't have that color, but not sure - well I know - I don't need them (only $22 right now!):

And another bargain for today - I love these, but they are only online and so I have no idea on fit, but I think they look fab (though that side angle is hard to see what the decorative thing really looks like, it might be fugly, might be cool) - only $27:
Aren't those a great replacement for the gold sandals? Hmm, if I had not bought two pairs of shoes yesterday, the DAY BEFORE another markdown, these sandals would be making their way to me right now. Which is ridiculous as I HAVE ENOUGH SHOES. You know what? I think shoe blogging is making me think about shoes more than I actually normally do, which is leading to more purchases. I'm up to 14 this year alone.

Anyway, back to the ones I actually own. OK, in addition to wearing actual open sores, they are also now too small. So to the discard pile they go.

Bottom line: bye bye

July wrap up coming soon!

Perfectly defining the problem

So, I have a shoe buying situation that so perfectly captures exactly why I have so many shoes and why I rarely wear many of them. I'm over the gold wedges. Totally over - they are too high, and really cry out for a half inch platform (gee, now I'm designing shoes). But, I am still thinking about the purple ones. Here's a pic:
I even said I felt like I was in a purple phase. Still really interested in these.

And then, lo and behold, I was on the Lands End site and saw these. Shoot, can only put in teeny tiny picture that is blurry.
But essentially, they are flat purple/brown shoes. Not nearly as "cute" as the Talbots, but still interesting, charming in a utilitarian way. They even have a buckle. Chunkier. But! They are 9.99, plus another 10% off (through today), PLUS free shipping. They might be irresistable. But then I'm still thinking about the Talbots flats. The Lands End ones are more casual, and look like they could be worn with socks and in cooler weather (suede/quilted material), whereas these talbots ones are no socks flats. Despite their similarities, they'd be worn entirely differently.

You know what I'm going to do, don't you? I'm going to buy the Lands End (seriously, $9? How can I pass that up?). But I'm going to keep thinking about the Talbots ones, and I'll cave and buy them (most likely because I will see them for even cheaper at the outlet center), and then suddenly I've got TWO purple shoes with buckles and brown trim. This is precisely how I got into the situation of owning three pairs of virtually identical green shoes. No one needs purple shoes with brass buckles and brown trim, much less two oddly similar, yet stylistically different, pairs.

So that, in a nutshell, is me shopping. I'm going to lose all my friends because seriously, me shopping is more than a little quirky. One by one, you all are going to back away from me, eyes averted, trying not to make any sudden movements.

In other news, I've broken my 6 week fast - I bought a pair from Lands End earlier this week. These were $15, plus free shipping. One of my good friends, K., used to be my Talbots buddy (we still exchange e-mails discussing Talbots merchandise, policies, and general info, including one this week bitching about the new final sale policy). But once she became a stay at home mom, she cut back on Talbots. One day I asked her where she got her super cute green loafers and she clued me in to Lands End. Lands End has incredible sales, their clothes and shoes are practical, sturdy, and yet still retain a basic level of style, and their kids clothes really hold up well. End of season sales at Lands End, as is going on right now, are really, really good. Check out the overstocks section. And if you sign up for their e-mails, you get a free shipping code (sadly every.single.day., but it's easy enough to delete the e-mail). So anyway, saw these in a catalog at my sister in law's house, and J told me she had just bought them, and let me try on her size 7s, which actually almost fit, so I went with the 7.5s. They are winging their way to me now, along with a different pair of pink shoes for Elizabeth!
Yay! New shoes for me! Now, where am I going to put them?

*eta: OMG! The shoe gods are with me this week. Talbots just issued a Facebook offer for free shipping with no minimum purchase. And, they're down to $24. So, umm, that makes pairs 10, 11, and 12 this year on their way to me right now. (those wedges - now $23, are now tempting me again). Way to go Talbots! Have to give you props even though I am pissed about the final sale on internet/catalog purchases. Seriously, who buys final sale sight unseen? I'd buy if you offered a return for store credit.