Shoeflair

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But my Ugg's are so delightful,
And since I can't go to a Paris runway show,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

My beloved Ugg's what would I do without them? After so many years wearing cheap knock-off's, I finally broke down and bought a pair of these lovely Whitley Laced Boot's. Retailing for around $300, they were an "investment", but the Shearling based moisture-wicking micro pile lining makes any cost seem inconsequential when the weather dips below freezing.

You can purchase these Whitley Laced Ugg's for $288 from Neimanmarcus.com

Times are tough, we all agree. But one can maintain fashion sense an still be frugal, right?

Enter the "Frugalista". She's fashion savvy, compassionate, and not below scouring department store and boutique bargain bins to find the right shoe---at the right price. Still looking like a million bucks, no-one would know she spent pennies to get that way.

So what advice to savvy Frugalista's give to those of us just now making sense of the current economic woes?

Frugalista's always:

1. Buy Shoes Off-Season: The oldest trick in the book is to buy shoes at the end of a season, or even well into the next. Those shimmery sandals that are full price in May or June will be marked down substantially in just a few short months. The longer you wait, the cheaper they'll be, although you have to be careful not to miss out on the style or size that you want.

2. Buy Classic Shoe Styles: Unless you're getting a trendy item for a song, look for styles that will work well no matter what fashions the next season might bring. For example, a pair of simple black knee-high boots with a medium, classic heel will serve you far longer than a black knee-high boot with wedge heels, platform soles, faux fur trim and rhinestones on the side.
And, if you're the type who tends to live in jeans, then more than a couple pairs of evening shoes really aren't essential to your wardrobe -- no matter how pretty they are.
Think "versatile" and you'll cut down on the number of shoes you have to buy.

And finally, our last bit of advice from sage Frugalista's...

"Buying shoes you won't wear only prevents you from buying the ones you'll really need."

After starting her career in clothing, Laurence Dacade followed her lifelong passion and in 2002 began designing her own line of shoes for top fashion houses and runway collaborations.

Since then her line has flourished and is now carried by about 50 luxury retailers worldwide, including Harvey Nichols Of London and Saks.

We love her sense of style and passion for bringing her unique design elements from paper to production. And rarely do we see the Laurence Dacade brand go on sale, so when we saw these Iguana Sandals, we had to get the word out.

You can find these lovely Laurence Dacade Iguana Sandals for $330 ($660 Retail) at Vivre.com

Seeing that today is the largest online shopping day of the year, we have scoured the web and found hard-to-beat deals of fabulous designer shoes.

Compare to Amazon: $60
Compare to Overstock: $96.

What do you get when you cross the writings of fashion journalist Lauren Goldstein Crow and the head of the luxury retail division of Reig Capital Group - Sagra Maceira de Rosen? A wonderful unauthorized account of the mysterious Jimmy Choo back story.

"The Towering World Of Jimmy Choo" by Bloomsbury Publishers, due out in March, is a vibrant - behind the scenes look at the famed luxe brand who's history is a mystery to most consumers.

Although not on sale as of yet, the book can be pre-orderd from Amazon for $17.16.

It's not everyday that you see a new pair of Manolo's marked-down below $300. So, when we discovered these lovely pink (our favorite color) sequin pumps for $299 ($575 Retail), we had to let the world know.

You can find these Manolo Blahnik Ciuzzosa Pumps at DowntownGalShoes.com in the following sizes: 35, 37, & 39.

While most of the comfort products we featured, center around a stale looking insole of sorts, the 10 Kisses Lip Gel Insole set's itself apart by combining comfort with a bit of fashion.

ScandaLush, the makers of the 10 Kisses insole, claim they are stylish and sexy both inside and out minus the yucky glue-marks left-behind with most insoles. Each, one-size-fits all gel filled insole can be easily adhered to the heel, arch, instep, or anywhere you need a little comfort.

Available in both red (pictured above) and clear, each insole runs $12.99 and can be purchased at Scandalush.com.

A few months ago, we stumbled across a fabulous painting from artist Mark Schwartz of HighHeeledArt.com. Why do we like Mark's lovely paintings soooooo much? For starters, he is all about shoes. Calling inspiration from both Andy Warhol and Roger Vivier, the artist's pieces provide an insight into a man who also designs shoes for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Richard Tyler, Balenciaga, Christian Lacroix, Hermes and many others.

After spending over an hour on his site, we found ourselves finding a "home" for every painting he had. One after another, his work inspired us to build a new home with loft-style high ceilings, exposed ductwork, a doorman downstairs and a young (attractive) dog walker name Jose.....oops, wait, where am I?

For those with just a hint of fashion mojo, you absolutely must view Mark's work. All pieces are original work's of art and can be purchased directly on his site here: www.HighHeeledArt.com.

...Now back to Jose...

Via our "Shoe Shopping A Recession" posts, we are adding to the list of online destinations for finding the lowest prices on fabulous designer shoes.

In this edition, it is all about the Best Coupon Sites.
For starters, the past few years have seen a slurry of sites that aspire to offer true coupon features but "sneek" paid advertisements and promotions into the mix, leaving most shoppers skeptical of the site's true intent. Luckily we have compiled a short list of sites that skip the ad and promo clutter while offering true coupon's worthy of redemption.

1. First up is the site: Toutie.com.
Toutie is a great site that features over 100 coupons for online designer shops with coupons ranging from 10-30%. We love the fact that the coupons are divided by category (apparel, accessories, jewelry, beauty, and lingerie), and include a description of each online destination.

2. Our next and personal favorite site is: StyleBakery.com.
More than just a coupon site, Style Bakery is a site loaded with savings and tons of relevant style information. While providing coupons for major retailers as well as smaller online shops, we love the fact that the site offers a "Delicious Deals" section with categories like "Leather Booties Under $65".

3. StyleForFree.com also made the list.
Not as well designed as the first two sites mentioned above, Style For Free makes up for the lack of sophistication with sheer coupon volume. You can look up coupons by shop, or search through a particular category or find great product reviews on nearly every category. While the shoe selection is a mixed bag of sneakers as well as lower-end retail stores, we found fantastic coupons for Stuart Weitzman, Carlos Santanna, and Taryn Rose.

4. RetailMeNot.com.
A wonderfully designed site, Retail Me Not offers easy navigation and a powerful search tool that combs through thousands (literally) of fashion sites. Clicking on the "view coupons for these sites" links presents coupons for each site found through their search query. We were happy to find fantastic coupons from both FootCandyShoes.com and DSW.com.

In a few weeks we will be featuring a few paintings from artist, Mark Schwartz--but in the meantime, we thought we would display a little work-of-art from Mr. Louboutin.

Not a painting, these "real life" works of art from Christian Louboutin are absolutely stunning. We can't imagine doing anything with these booties except placing them on the mantle for all to admire.

You can find these Christian Louboutin Multicolor Bootie's from NeimanMarcus.com for $1065.

On the "heels" of our post the other day regarding the "Sex and The City" iPhone application, an informed reader made us aware of another-far more functional program for shoe shopping.

For those that have utilized the "visual search" feature at Like.com, then you know how handy it is to find that hard-to-find style/color combination when shopping for shoes. Simply type in the designer you like--then choose a style/color--click "Visual Search" and you are presented with a comparative visual list of similar styles/colors across popular designers.

Now, with the "LikeThis" iPhone program, you can take and image of a shoe while out shopping, and have Like.com present you with similar designer/style/color combinations (with pricing)--right from your iPhone!

You can get more information here, or download the application from iTunes.

Are you looking for something to tide you over until the next Sex And The City Movie and have an iPhone or iTouch? Enter the new application from the folks at Warner Bros, "Carrie's Closet".

If you have one of the devices above, then you are probably aware that their are now thousands of applications you can download and use in your everyday life. Some are complete fun and some are utilitarian. We downloaded "Carrie's Closet" and found it was a little of both.
Here is how it works:

If you are out shopping, you can use your iPhone's camera to take photos of shoes, jewelry, clothing or accessories that you must have. Tag each item with a description and start building your dream wardrobe only Carrie herself could top. Once you have satisfied your lustful spirit and filled your pallet with goodies, then you can email the outfit (or single item) to that rich Mr. Big in your life.

All in all, the application is more fun than anything else (you can also watch clips, download movie tracks, and view movie photos), but we did find it a nice way to store your holiday wishlist that could be emailed to loved-ones.

You can download the application here (opens iTunes).

A few months ago, we penned a list of budget-friendly sites and resources that provided a little aid to the pocketbook. With such a huge response from that post, we put together Volume II. We all know the economy has seen better days, right?

Shoe Shopping Without Breaking The Bank--Quick Links V2:

• TheBudgetFashionista.com
• TheBudgetBabe.com
• TheCheapChica.blogspot.com
• Daily Candy
• Bargainist.com

• SmartBargains.com
• Bluefly.com
• Yoox.com
• DowntownGalShoes.net

A few weeks ago we penned an article on the fabulous Alba Ankle boots from Moreschi. Hand-crafted with the wonderful combination of faux crocodile and leather platform sole, the Alba's most certainly deserved our attention.

The Alba not your cup of tea? Take a stroll through their fabulous sale selection of classic styles like the open-toe platform, Arianna, now on sale for $279.00 (regular retail, $545.00). If that is not enough, the folks at Moreschi, have created a unique offer for Shoeflair.com readers! For a limited time, moreschishoes.com email subscribers will be automatically entered to win a $50 Moreschi Gift Card.

Click here to enter the exclusive contest and view the full details (did I mention, subscribers get priority announcements on new products and special sale items!).

As the economic outlook remains dim, part of our daily routine is to scour the web for "hard-to-pass-up" deals on distinctive designer shoes. It is our duty (we feel) to keep you all in-style without sending you to the poor house at the same time.

So, when we came across this deal from Downtown Gal Shoes, we thought it deserved a post!
From now until the end of the year, Downtown Gal is selecting shoes from designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Prada, Tod's and including a style in a weekly, "Deal Of The Week" promotion.

The current deal is a pair of Manolo Blahnik Brown Sequin Flats at $129.99 which is 50% off their usual discounted price.

Downtown Gal Shoes is offering email subscribers exclusive "sneak peeks" at the Deal Of The Week item before it hits the site. Sign-up here to get your email.

Fans of Sex and The City star, Kristen Davis will be pleased to know that the starlet has partnered with North Carolina Department Store, Belk to offer a line of apparel, shoes, accessories, sleepwear, and sportswear.

Davis, known for her conservative-classy styling has carried that influence to the entire collection and can be seen in her basic Alta Patent Pumps, Soriano Flats, and Ally Boot.

While we can't argue that the star has remarkable class on and off the set, this new line seems to be a bit ho-hum in our eyes. We wish Belk would have waited for the Spring to launch her collection in order to capture Davis' taste in flowery pastels and the classic pink tones she wore throughout the Sex and The City Movie.

We are huge fans of leather maintenance. It is the only reason our beloved Prada pumps from Summer '91 have made into the 21st Century. Is it fun to do? No, not really. It ranks-up their with cleaning out the freezer; you know you need to do it, but it seems anything is more important at the time.

We have used every conditioning product on the market, from Neat's Foot Oil (messy), to our favorite Enzo Angiolini Polish (expensive) and everything in-between. We are happy to say that we have a new favorite polish, PO-ZU Edible Shoe Cream, made from 100% pure Coconut Oil. Yes, that's right it is edible (tastes like a Pina Colada), but more importantly it works like Neet's Oil without the messy oily discharge.
With just one application, our Tod's leather flats came out of life-support and looked ready for another round of Summer.

You can pick up a canister of PO-ZU Edible Shoe Cream at pozuusa.com for $15.00.

After the dust has finally settled from Milan Fashion Week a few weeks ago, we thought we would provide a "Cliff Notes" version of the week's happenings.

What caught our eye:
I remember doing this segment last year and writing a ton about the upcoming Gladiator craze that seemed a part of every Spring debut. Well guess what, "Glads" look to be very much a part of the design pallet for Spring '09. Keep an eye out for new versions of your favorite sandal and flat from this past year.
Cork: Yes, the beloved natural look that hit the show last year, was again present this year. Look for more heel adaptations paired with pastel blues and beautiful turquoise tones.
Extremely High Heels: As was present the last half of the Summer, the Skyscraper craze hit the Spring stage with Elevated Wedges and even Double Platforms. Look for designs with show-stopping pop colors and peep-toe laceups.

Our Favorite Designer From the Show:
Brian Atwood. As a Lead Designer for Bally, Brian's own collection for '09 was as classy as ever, but with just enough "trend-setting" to keep his line fresh and up-to-date.

Watching the fall '08 runways felt like walking back into Victorian era Monarchy. Brimming with lace, tulle and brocade, every designer from Prada to Valentino was hip to the new trend. Of no exception was Alberta Ferretti's gray patent-leather lace-up boots under the Philosophy brand (can anyone say L.A.M.B?)

While these shoes aren't our cup of tea, we can see why Victorian era influenced designs are so appealing to a great deal of women. The fine detailing and lace accents are a measure of true craftsmanship not so obvious on your every-day patent pump.

You can find these Alberta Ferretti Pumps for $600 at albertaferretti.com

I live in Colorado and have woke up the past few mornings to a nice little Fall tinge. Yes, the leaves are starting to turn and the barometer is starting to drop (why so quickly, I ask?). My evenings in sandals and cut-out booties are starting to take a back seat to boots and suede booties.

I know that in a few weeks I will see the white stuff and the sub 30 temps throughout my state. Thankfully, this Fall's boot trends are quite appealing for a change. Case in point: The Aquatalia Avery Boots By Marvin K. Fully weatherproof and made in Italy, these beauties even have a removable faux fur insole...perfect for keeping my little piggies toasty throughout the Colorado winter.

Available in black, brown (shown), chianti, you can find these Aquatalia Avery Boots for $425.00 at neimanmarcus.com.