Shoes 4ever

Like I said before...

2005-12-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

I am not very fond of shoes (or any other footware) made in China. If you think I have no reason for being so snob, check out La Coquette's adventure with a certain boot.

How about this pair?

2005-11-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

This is really pretty from Marc Jacobs. It's available in the couture section of Zappos!
It's a bit more expensive but like the Manolo says, a girl should save so that she can afford the real thing.

This is such a great deal...

2005-11-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

Less than $47 at Zappos!

And to top it off, it's made in Italy. They're from Via Spiga. How much sweeter could that be?

This one is another story...

2005-11-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

I really love the shape of this coat but besides the price ($298) and the fact that I did buy a J. Crew coat last year, I am not totally sold on the color. I don't have that much pink and green items in my closet. But how I love it, let me count the ways... Once again availble at Anthropologie.

Lusting over...

2005-11-22T16:40:00.002-08:00

this pair of beautiful slingbacks available at Anthropologie. How pretty... It's on my Christmas list, so hopefully I shan't be lusting over these much longer!

Currently listening to...

2005-09-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

"From the Choirgirl Hotel," Tori Amos. One of my all time favorites!

A Dry Season...

2005-08-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

After purchasing quite a bit of shoes, lately I have been on a dry spell. Well, I did purchase three pairs of Dr. Scholls shoes. They were so dirt cheap, how could I resist? On a recent trip to Providence, RI, I had a chance to visit some decent stores and even a Nordstrom--yep, that's right, my current place of residence is rather lacking in the upperscale store department,--although everything was decent there was really nothing that caught my eye. On my ebay browsing, there also has not been anything extraordinary. Wait, I do recall a pair of YSL that I got recently for a great deal--less than $40 and they fit so well on my feet that I think I should wear that style of shoe all the time... I will try to locate a picture and post it sometime in the future. Before I can wear them I still need to take them to the cobbler so that he can put some rubber protector on the soles and heels. Actually, I need to do that for several pairs of shoes...

Love these shoes...

2005-06-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

These Dolce & Gabbana are just to die for. Don't you agree?

Here's a pair of shoes I just got for my birthday...

2005-05-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to J'Amori, my DH got me these for $50 plus $11 shipping and handling. The original retail price was $195. Very nice, no dust bag, but made in Italia of vero cuoio, you know, true leather...

Ciao Bella...

Awesome Deal

2005-05-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Target where I purchased an Isaac Mizrahi coat (made in Hong Kong) for $13.60 after tax--that's right, it was 75% off. That is an awesome deal. Here's the picture:

Unfortunately, it is not on sale on the website, so go check out the nearest Target store near you...

Designer shoes on sale

2005-05-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

If you are on the verge of a nervous breakdown because you cannot afford designer shoes, consider a virtual visit to J'Amori (www.jamori.com). Their member prices are sometimes very affordable. Consider a pair of Marc Jacobs for $100 or a pair of DKNYs or Gianna Mellianis for $50. I have just received an email saying that they are closing out, so you may want to visit the site soon rather than later. They have shoes from the following designers:

Jimmy Choo
G. Zanotti
Dolce & Gabbana
Moschino
Alberta Ferretti
Pollini
Calvin Klein
Richard Tyler
Sigerson Morrison
Gianna Meliani
DKNY
Marc Jacobs
Christian LaCroix
Charles Jourdan

Here's my personal experience with this website: for my birthday, my husband ordered me a pair of Dolce & Gabbana pumps for $100 plus $11 shipping (by the way, their shipping is super-fast). After he got them, he waited three days to give them to me (because it was my birthday) and the shoes ended up not fitting (too narrow). So he called the J'Amori people and they said that the best they could do was offer store credit. So we returned the shoes, got store credit and lost $11 shipping. Hence, they're not exactly Zappos but some of their prices are really competitive. My suggestion is that you research the size of the shoe (sizes do differ by brand) and maybe even contact them to get more size info, particularly width. In case you have not discovered the obvious, these designers think that everyone has skinny bony long feet! It's bad enough that high heels look great but most of the time cause great pain. But like they used to say back in the day "No pain, no game."

It's in the air...

2005-05-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

While browsing the web, searching for a Portuguese shoe brand that I cannot find (I think it is called 'Sofia Costa'), I came across very interesting news (source www.lagence.pt). Now please do tell me why the heck I have not come across this in an English/American website yet!!! Anyway, on with the news: Prada has been working with the Spanish perfume company Puig for the last five years to develop a scent for the house of Prada. And it's finally out. Here's the description of one of the products of the Prada scent family as posted on the Saks website:

Prada Beauty Deluxe Refillable EDP/2.7oz $95
Eau de Parfum Deluxe Refillable Spray. Amber-based fragrance perpetuates and reinvents the tradition of French perfumery through an ultra-modern formula made from pure essential oils. This Deluxe edition comes with a feminine, classic atomizer pump. 2.7 oz.
· Top notes: bergamot oil, orange oil, mimosa India
· Middle notes: rose absolute, patchouli oil, Peru balsam
· Base notes: labdanum resinoide, tonka bean, vanilla, musk

The marketing campaign for the perfume will include the first Prada commercial; it's directed by Ridley Scott and his daughter Jordan Scott and it's based on the poem "Thunder Perfect Mind." The commercial will be along the same lines as the Chanel no. 5 commercial featuring Nicole Kidman. The Prada commercial will feature model Daria Werbowy (she reminds me a bit of Paulina), who plays the archetypla female roles of mother, daughter, wife, and virgin (I can't wait to see this for the first time, I smell some kind of polemic in the US regarding this virgin role). The music selected for the soundtrack will be jazz. The cast will be wearing costumes especially designed by Miuccia Prada herself.

The perfume will be marketed at the following stores: Prada, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus.

Here's more info on the Prada perfume/commercial.

Finally back, almost...

2005-05-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

I am physically back from Portugal, you know that strip of land in the western side of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. However, I got a terrible cold right after I returned so my mind is not up to speed yet.

Back and Stuff
As I said earlier, I wondered how those Portuguese women were dressing these days. Well, not that well, surprisingly. Now the interesting thing is that the store fronts were all very colorful and the women were dressed in dark, tight clothes that did nothing for their body shape. I guess remnants of the winter season. By the way, this generation is a bit chunky. Tight jeans do not do much for women with short legs and very big hips and thighs. And I don't care how many rappers mention and praise the bootylicious look!

Previous Experience
During an earlier Portugal visit, over Christmas break of 1998, I found everyone wearing dressy pants and most girls were skinny. Well, that's not the case these days. Back then, I actually felt underdressed--indeed, I wore mostly jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes--that's the basic uniform of a grad student in the US. But now that I am a nearly brand new professional, things must change. But let me return to my diatribe.

Actual Fashion Info
Some of the stores that I saw and browsed a bit were Zara and Mango. Both of these are Spanish brands. In fact I remember when Zara started many years back (not that many as I am not that old, maybe 15 years ago). They revolutionized the clothing industy back then as it took them maybe 19 days between the time an item was conceived and the time it was available at the stores. The products sold were very fashionable, had average quality, and the prices were very competitive. The basic idea is that if you want to follow the fashion trends, you're not going to wear an item for more than a season, so it's OK if it only lasts that long. However, I must say that the quality is pretty good for their prices. I bought a couple of pairs of shoes in the mid-90s and I still use one of the pairs--I did have to buy them in the kids section as the regular section has sizes too big for my feet...

Between Zara and Mango, I prefer the latter, although I can't really explain why. It may have to do with their advertising. One of their early ad campaigns featured Claudia Schiffer--this was right before she became a supermodel. Their clothes always seemed more organic to me, they use a lot of suede and cotton, kind of a sophisticated southwest style. I just really like it, although I really don't wear it.

According to some of my sources, everyone seemed to be into Salsa jeans. I checked the website and I cannot decide whether this is a Poruguese brand or a Spanish brand. Considering that there are tons of stores in Portugal and a few in Spain, I'd say it's Portuguese. The website is rather stylish, so it's a welcomed change as sometimes Portuguese design is not that super-fantastic, as the Manolo would say.

To Be Continued...
Next time I will talk about some of the items I purchased--it wasn't that much as this visit was more of a family emergency that anything else, so shopping was a bit constrained.

Web Candy

2005-04-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

Rats...

2005-04-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I am new to this blog stuff and I have been reading about the instructions on how to post photos. It seems that I need an application that requires Internet Explorer and that is too bad for me. I am a Mozilla Firefox addict... I will have to survive, I guess!

On with the show. I am getting ready to depart for Portugal. I will be there a couple of weeks and will have a chance to see what is going on in the European fashion scene--at least in southern Europe. I will take my digital camera and I will try to capture some highlights. I am eager to see if they are also under the Carrie Bradshaw spell.

The good thing about Portugal is that you can find wonderful shoes--or at least you could a few years back. One of my girlfriends cautioned me earlier this year that things are a bit shabby in that department. The economy is bad and Spain has taken over the market. Oh yeah, and the euro is so expensive that my dollars are not going to go as far as they could. Thanks dear Bush...

But I can always retreat to my favorite ice-cream store, Tupik, where ice-cream is still handmade and, according to my better half, "probably the best ice-cream in the world." They can start preparing my "Splendid Tower."

Back to Earth, where tomorrow my French oral exam will take place. Alors, je dois faire mes devoirs, n'est-ce pas?

A Shoe Collection

2005-04-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

I recently started reinvesting in the shoe market again. It is so difficult to find worthy shoes these days, unless you are willing to shell out a small fortune. And of course, once you buy this kind of investment, your future return will be of the nonmaterial kind. But, I must get back to work, so that I can afford more shoes...