May 2008 Archives

With all the hype about The Sex and the City movie and the shoes that will be worn, we thought it relevant to offer a little "help" for those looking to cut corners on their next shoe purchase.

5 Steps In Spotting Fake Manolo's

1. Manolo Blahnik shoes do not have embossed serial numbers.
2. Authentic Manolo Blahnik dust bags are white with black lettering. The box is also white with black
3. Manolo Blahnik shoes always have a leather sole.
4. If purchasing online (such as on eBay), You should try to compare pictures of the item up for auction to the pictures of what you know to be an authentic item- magazine articles, company website. Major retailer's sites might be good source.
5. Authentic Manolo Blahnik has only two types of labels. The first one is the traditional one and is found in most of the styles. The other one is from “My favorites” collection and is actually Mr. Blahnik’s signature. (A very rare find these days)

We at Shoeflair always use the "gut" approach. That is..if it is too good to be true, then it probably is. Our gut instinct has never been wrong. Learn to trust yours.

Story courtesy of OnlyModa

As you may have already heard, Gwyneth Paltrow is the latest face for the beloved Italian Designer, Tod's. Word has it that shooting has finished for a series of commercials (directed by Dennis Hopper) centered around the beloved Tod's Pashmy Purse. A "behind the scenes" making-of short is being shown on Tod's TV and was filmed in Rome’s Piazza Campo de Fiori in Italy.

To see the largest selection of Tod's online, visit www.downtowngalshoes.com, where you can find Designer Shoes without Designer Prices.

We have a love/hate relationship with lizard/snake-skin shoes. Unfortunately the style has been so overdone this last year, but then we see a shoe like this and fall back in love again. We absolutely love how the heel applies a diminutive-feel to the overall look of the shoe.

These Manolo Blahnik Lizard Strappy Sandals retail for $565, but you can find them listed at Downtowngal Shoes for $299.00.

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.

With weekly travels schedules to major cities all over the world, how does famed shoe designer, Christian Louboutin have time to create his trademark red-soled stilettos and platforms? In a recent article penned by freelance journalist, Alexandra Marshall, Louboutin discusses his hectic and romantic lifestyle. "It's all part of the process." states Louboutin. "Travel puts me in a creative mood."

His travels provide inspiration from the colors he sees on trips to India, and in the Spanish gardens he often visits in Andalusia. Louboutin owns a flat in Paris's first arrondissement, a houseboat on the Nile, and a house outside Luxor. But to "unwind", he heads to the One & Only Reethi Rah, a private-island resort in the Maldives (see our recent article regarding the custom One&Only Espadrilles he created).

Quite frankly, we are so in love with his designs, he could live in the middle of the Sahara Desert and we would still buy his shoes! Travel-on Christian!!

From 1998 through 2004, we saw Carrie almost always starting and ending each Sex and the City episode by typing on her laptop. Did you ever wonder what was on her laptop? Would you like to find out?

For those that are curious, you can now virtually explore Carrie's laptop. The official website for the movie has added a new feature, "Carrie Bradshaw's MacBook Pro" that allows fans to "explore" the virtual desktop of our favorite fashionista, answer trivia questions in "chat" windows with other SATC characters, based on clues found on the desktop, to unlock bonus content/videos and for a chance to win a Sex and the City movie poster.

To begin exploring Carrie's Laptop, click here: http://www.sexandthecitymovie.com/macbook

With Summer just around the corner, we are a bit late with our Spring Shoe Cleaning project. We recently found a great way to organize our boots, but what about those leather and suede pumps we love for Fall and Winter? Fortunately, we found these shoe boxes from BenjiBox that come in 5 or 10 pack sizes.

We love the optional anti-slip pads - so boxes stack securely without slipping against each other...a huge gripe of ours with other shoe boxes we have tried.

You can find them here: http://www.benjibox.com.au/

For those in love with the "red-bottom" inspired soles from Christian Louboutin, but would like to save a little in the purse--enter PeepToe Shoes. Australian born design, PeepToe offers elegant designs (with a red sole) at a fraction of the cost of Christian Louboutin's.

We love these "Miss Washington" Peep-toe heels with a fabulous ankle ribbon for $220.00.
For sizing help, click HERE.

A few weeks ago, we reported that all Christian Louboutin's made by the end of 2008 will include an additional red sole for replacement/maintenance purposes.

With comfortable summer styles topping our wish list, we are happy espadrille style shoes are back in fashion these days. These classy Christian Louboutin Mallorca's most certainly don't disappoint.

These Christian Louboutin Mallorca's retail for $430, but you can find them listed at Downtowngal Shoes for $199.00.

In keeping with our trend in providing helpful sizing tips, we have gathered this list of "popular" Christian Louboutin styles and their associated sizing nuances.

• 1/2 to 1 full size down: Palace Zeppa, Helmut, Decoltissimo
• 1/2 Size Down: Gwenissima
• True to Size: Very Prive, Numero Prive, Miss Marple, YoYo slingbacks, Piaf, Lady Noeud, Cleosceptre, Moonbow, Minibout, Architek
• 1/2 size up: Prive, Josephine, Simple, Maria, Horatio, Horasling, Iowa, Iowa Zeppa, Steva, Mouchalina (Mouche), Clichy, Wallis, Bruges, Vanitarita, Hi Tina, Rolande, Fox Trot, Sabotage, Collier Mont, Activa, Yoclou, Ernesta, Ernesta Plateau, Merry-Go-Round, Lady Strass, Yoze Kubrik, Miminette Wedges, Gabine, Lastic Bootie, Matador, Lady Strass, Marpoil Zeppa, Ariella Talon Booties, Madeleine, Lady Gres, Net E Renet Corta, Un Voilier, Super T, Turbillon Rolf, Alicette
• 1/2 to 1 Size up: Decollete, Mademoiselle Marchand, Dickensera, Drapanova,Voilier Zeppa Wedges, YoYo Zeppas- (depending on type), Espadrille Styles, Fiorellino, Glamissima, Parciparla, Materna
• 1.5 Size up: Maternik Orlato

To read the full guide, click HERE

Making it's debut in August of last year, the "Social-Shopping" site "ThisNext.com" allows visitors to bookmark favorite products online and see which ones others have bookmarked. Other features include personal profiles, blogs, comments, ratings, and custom search.

In addition, ThisNext's home page displays what items are hot in various cities. Similar sites like Stylehive, Kaboodle, Wists and StyleFeeder, provide the same features, but ThisNext does something we find fascinating. It allows the user to view a global map of the minute-by-minute recommendations with product thumbnails linked to the recommender's geographic data...very cool!

We love the fact that ThisNext displays a fine array of higher-end designer shoes with first-hand user reviews. You can sign-up for your free membership here: www.thisnext.com.

Fans of Actress Kristen Davis aka: Charlotte from Sex and the City, know she has a flair for the philanthropic. Case in point, Kristen has partnered with eBay to auction-off two tickets to the May 2008 New York City premiere of Sex And The City: The Movie. All proceeds will benefit Oxfam America.

The top bidder will win the following for their night at the premier:

• arrival at the event in a chauffeured-driven car
• a makeover at Manhattan’s Prive Salon
• a brand new pair of Jimmy Choo's
• a personalized note from Kristen herself
• a one on one meeting with Kristen
• a walk on the red carpet with the stars

Story via PopCrunch

For those looking for unique-one-of-a-kind Louboutin's...take a vacation! Christian Louboutin has designed three special versions of his cabana-ready espadrilles for One&Only Resorts in Mauritius, the Bahamas, Mexico, Dubai, and the Maldives that will be available this month. The styles will also be sold at Louboutin stores in London and New York in case you're not hitting the beach anytime soon.

Story courtesy of FN

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.

Recently Emily Nussbaum from the New York Magazine, interviewed Sarah Jessica Parker about her upcoming role as Carrie Bradshaw in the May 30th, Sex and the City Movie. Here is what Sarah had to say about the transition from series to movie...

"...Sarah had an intuition that time was running out: “It had this shelf life.” The resulting film, which opens May 30, is no summery lark. Instead, it has a surprisingly serious tone, exploring questions of forgiveness in long-term relationships. The trademark elements are all there—rat-a-tat dialogue, sex scenes, and unsettlingly orgasmic excitement upon access to designer goods—but the mood is bittersweet. When the story begins, Carrie and Big have been together for ten years, and the melodrama of their off-and-on dynamic has faded. “She would probably long for that earlier type of heartbreak versus what she experiences this time around,” Parker says, dishing cryptic tidbits that are sure to be ruined when the movie gets spoiled online. “The disappointment and the loss is so painful because they’re grown-ups now, and it just changes, as we all know.”

To read more of Emily Nussbaum's New York Magazine Interview, click HERE

We all have that pair of shoes, that high maintenance pair we step out in every once in a while to remind ourselves why we've been admiring them perched in our closets all this time. But this spring, the low wedge promises not to be that shoe. The versatile Metallic T-Strap Sandal by Prada (Linea Rossa Collection) quickly takes a bare-legged look from day to night, offering a little bit of height with a manageable heel.

You can find them for $370 at Neiman Marcus Online.

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.

Lanvin, known to us for their incredibly high heels and styles that constantly push the "trend-edge", actually has a pair that we like. These stylish Mary Jane's have just enough "cute" in them to find a spot in our closet.

You can find them for $399 at Downtowngal Shoes.

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.

The best advice for women with feet size 11 and larger or size 5 and smaller is to take a deep breath before you enter the shoe department. Do not start by browsing the prettiest and loveliest shoes and setting your hopes on walking out with that pair today. Be calm.

Find a sales clerk who is polite, patient and hopefully sympathetic. If it's a crazy day of major mark-downs and rampant activity, you will have to hit the lottery to find a pair of shoes.

Lazy days, such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, are best for shoe shopping when you need special attention. As a bonus, many stores have midweek deliveries to prepare for weekend traffic, so they may have just gotten a new shipment and you can snag the one shoe available in your size.

Ask the salesperson about weekly deliveries and note it for the future.

For a nice selection of large-hard-to-find sizes, check out www.downtowngalshoes.com. They have all the major brands such as Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Tods, Prada, Kate Spade, and Burberry.

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.

A few weeks ago we offered a high-level sizing overview of the top 11 designer shoe brands. This week we are continuing the series with a simple shoe sizing chart that also includes the width of your foot--an often overlooked metric when choosing the correct shoe size.

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.

Shoeflair is proud to announce the launch of our sister site: Shoe Diva. Our goal with Shoe Diva was to create a special place where women fond of designer shoes could go and collaborate with other "divas" on specific areas of interest. Unlike Shoeflair, Shoe Diva omits the traditional "blog" format and allows women to join AND create interest groups like those pictured below:

"Users can invite other members and discuss whatever is on their minds." comments Shoeflair Marketing Specialist, Jarrod Krug. "It gives them (Shoe Diva Users) a place to collaborate with other women and play an active part in the sharing of information regarding designer shoes."

Shoe Diva's official launch was kicked-off last evening with a small women's charity event in Denver, Colorado. To join Shoe Diva, and start collaborating with other diva's, click HERE or visit shoedivas.ning.com.

Discuss this post on the Shoeflair Forum.