Drool. From Dior.

Shopped out from Christmas?  I certainly was.  My bank account reeling by December 19, I was convinced I would be shopped out for many weeks to come.  And, well, I am, still.  Kind of.  I’m not feeling the urge to actually BUY any grossly expensive additions to my wardrobe, but it’s not keeping me from ogling the hottest of the resort shoes.  It is nothing like strappy sandal weather out there, but here’s a little eye candy for the winter months anyway!

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4 1/2" of heel. Ms. Stefani, you do not f*** around.

Summer brings out one of my biggest weaknesses: my love of preposterously high strappy sandals. I loooove strappy sandals, and I love a high heel even more.  Towering over guys like an Amazon?  That’s just part of the fun.

The problem is, I already have more high-heeled sandals than I really need. If we’re going to be completely realistic about this, I have a limited number of venues to which I can reasonably wear a sandal with a 4″ heel, and, dude, I live in the north.  While I admit that I have on occasion worn glittery strappy sandals on the street in January for the sake of looking especially smoking, it takes a special occasion to convince me to wear shoes like this during most of the year.  (An especially cute guy in dire need of being tortured, for example.)

Needless to say, none of this stops me from loving on the insanely tall sandals all over the stores and the internet.  And if I’m going to embrace impractical shoes, I might as well pick ones that rock.  As always, no one makes stilt heels with more attitude than L.A.M.B., which has a whole array of sandals that sport heels north of 4 inches.  Some shoe porn after the jump.

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Really? A stiletto heel appropriate for the bride AND Nike comfort?

Admittedly, I knew that Cole Haan made heels using this technology — I have a gorgeous pair of brown suede peeptoes that are possibly the most comfortable heels I own.  What I didn’t know was that Cole Haan also had the genius idea of making a whole line of shoes in dyeable white satin for special occasions.  This might be the best wedding fashion idea EVER.  Cole Haan’s offerings come in varying heel heights, from 4″ sandals to ballet flats, so there are options for everyone.  The real advantage here, though, is in the heels — the difference between a 3″ Cole Haan Air heel and your average stiletto is hours of additional standing time while looking great before your feet really start to protest.  And let’s be real, if you’re the bride or a bridesmaid, you’re going to be on your feet a lot on the big day.

I’m partial to the one at top (yeah, the rosettes are a little lavish, but what better excuse are you ever going to have?), but there are a whole slew of styles available — check them out at Nordstrom or on Cole Haan‘s website, and get ready to dance the night away!

Summer is in the air here in New York, and I’ve been on the hunt for cute sandals that can take me from day to evening for weeks now.  I LIVE in sandals during the summer season.  Something about letting my toesies air out of months of winter captivity is so freeing.

Flip flops at the office is a no-no, so I needed something a tad dressier.  The problem? They had to be cheap too.  Hey, it’s a recession.

Luckily I wandered into a Steve Madden the other day and came across this darling beauty:

The Motif sandal is a chic little number that’s available in numerous color options for the bargain price of $39.95 online and $29.95 in stores.  I wore my brand new tan pair the entire weekend, including a 2 mile walk home from my office – can you believe these babies are comfortable too?

Steve Madden FTW!

Because I know you all needed more things to spend your money on, I thought I’d call attention to the fact that Rafe New York is currently running a 40% off sale on EVERYTHING on their site, including both shoes and all their great handbags.  I’m a sucker for Rafe’s structured bags, and I think I might need to snap up the Abigail wristlet for running around the city this summer.  Enjoy!

Giuseppe Zanotti at Zappos!

The roundup continues!  This week we’ve gotten to one of my favorite shopping indulgences: shoes, handbags, and other accessories.  I have to admit, I used to be reluctant to shop for shoes online; something about the unforgiving nature of shoes sizing made me reluctant to buy shoes I hadn’t tried on already.  Thankfully, a whole slew of shoe and handbag sites make returns both insanely easy and free, so there’s no reason to hesitate. Some of my favorites sites after the jump.

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Michael Kors, you are without doubt a talented designer.  Sometimes, I completely dig you.

Seriously?

This is not one of those times.  Please tell me, what was the need for these shoes?  You took men’s work boots, and not only made them into a women’s shoe, but into a platform mule?  With a 4 inch rubber heel, no less.  I’m not sure that words adequately describe how freaking ridiculous these shoes are.

Lordy.

Look cute without killing your feet! From Sudini, also in black.

We are full on into sandal season, ladies, and today I’d like to address an issue that lovers of really hot shoes often ignore: comfort.  I’ve been in New York for long enough that I’m not wearing Tevas anywhere that doesn’t involve a canoe or a raft, but if I’m going to be walking all over the park, I admit practicality does factor in.  A lot of people just give in at that point and wear sandals that would have been better left behind in 1976, but really, there’s no need.  The beauty of the modern world and the internet is that if you take the time to look, the dozens of comfort shoe companies do actually make a lot of genuinely cute sandals that won’t make you look like you’re more concerned about your bunions than your appearance.  (Even if you are!)

In the hopes of saving a few hapless women from another summer in Birkenstocks, I’ve surfed my favorite sites to find comfortable sandals that still bring the style.  Some of my favorite selections after the jump.

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Adorable strappy sandal in teal from Charles David.

It’s time for part two of the epic Betsy Spring Wardrobe Update!  Our last post was looking for walkable flats for Betsy to wear to work.  Next up are cute wedge sandals to wear with sundresses.  As with everything in her wardrobe, if she can wear it to her casual workplace, all the better.

Wedges are a great seasonal update. There’s nothing more summery than a cork wedge, and few heels are more comfortable.  They do come with a certain danger, however.  If you pick the wrong one, a wedge can also end up looking horrifyingly clunky.  Today we’re going to try to steer the narrows separating a stylish wedge from a block of concrete, but you think we’ve gone astray, let us know!

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Today from the Femmeiniste personal shoppers, the first installation in Betsy’s spring wardrobe update: flats!  To set the stage, Betsy works in a casual office in the media industry.  When we say casual here, we mean neat fashionable outfits, but not “business casual.”  As long as she looks put-together, jeans, open toed shoes, and sleeveless dresses or tops are all fair game.  Because her office is relatively laid back, there’s a lot of overlap between her work wardrobe and her wardrobe for running around the city.  That said, though, Betsy is not the new college intern.  They always say to dress for the job you want?  Well, it’s that much more important if you already have the job and you need people to take you seriously.  Betsy wants to look like adult without looking stuffy; fashionable, but still a career woman who knows what she’s doing.

Betsy’s first request for her spring update are flats appropriate for wearing to work and around the city.  New York is a walking city — it doesn’t matter if you bus, cab, or take the subway, at some point your day is almost certain to involve a whole bunch of walking around.  We all walk a little less in the winter, but as the summer heats up and the subway platforms start to swelter, walking to work starts seeming like a better and better idea.

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