Cat in Heels

Who doesn't have amazing memories of Keds ? Those fabulous white canvas shoes that were never quite right after your mom put them in the washing machine. Eventually they came in other colors so that they hid dirt better. I remember being so jealous of a kid in my third grade class with a pair of black, multi-colored leopard slide on Keds . Then I moved on with my life, found heels, and the rest is history (or something). But if Keds are still your thing, but you want them to be a little classier than multi-colored leopard, Kate Spade has a line of Keds coming out. Which means nothing to me, but when I posted something to Facebook about not wearing Kate Spade Keds because I'm not in middle school anymore, my phone rang almost immediately. It was my mother. These are going to be all over the country club. Mom: "What's wrong with Keds? Some of these are really cute." Me: "I'm sure they are, but it's not really my style." Mom: ...

As we look towards spring with longing (Chicago is getting freezing rain now), there are a couple footwear trends that should be noted so we can all not embarrass ourselves by having shoes that are out of style. Fergie Footwear does a great chunky heels with the Maiden . According to sites that track trends no one cares about, the chunky heel is going to be all the rage come spring. Gone will be the stiletto heel and we'll all be partying like it's the late '90s in chunky heeled shoes and listening to the Spice Girls. Or not, but whatever. In all actuality, I really, really doubt this trend will push stilettos out of the limelight. Mostly because I can't think of a time when you couldn't walk into a store and not find an amazing pair of pin-like stiletto heels. Plus plenty of designers are still releasing stiletto heels for spring, and I will continue to buy them. There's also the really awkward point that last spring you could also buy chunky heel ...

We all have those moments when you feel utterly victorious and suddenly invincible. I want to thank Nordstrom for helping me with that feeling last week. A colleague of mine needed a new pair of black pumps, and she was looking for something very specific. Classic, small platform, stiletto heel, but nothing too crazy. Classic toe so it wouldn't wave in and out of style. Something that is so easy, yet so hard to find. As we wandered through Nordstrom we found a whole bunch of "almost" heels. The ones that are almost perfect except for the platform being too high or too low, the toe being too pointy or the heel being too skinny or too fat. Finally we stood on the threshold between regular shoes and Salon Shoes. "Let's just look," I nudged. And so we took the fateful step, and there it was. The perfect pump. And it was Gucci . Found: The perfect black pump "Just try it on," I suggested. And there was the salesman. Immediately hel...

Happy National Hat Day . Because that’s a thing, and given my renewed obsession with hats, I really feel the need to celebrate this year. Hers and his hats I’ve always loved hats. They’re the perfect funky and unexpected accessory, the ultimate solution to a bad hair day (or a day you just don’t want to do your hair) and can dress up or down any outfit (depending on the hat). Most people are probably whining right now that they don’t look good in hats and are jealous of the fact that I do, and blah, blah, blah. People who think that simply have not tried on the right hat. There’s a hat for everyone out there you just have to find it. To find your perfect hat, you need to find a good haberdasher. That’s a fancy word for “hat maker.” My personal favorite in Chicago is Goorin Brothers . I first fell in love with them in New Orleans on a trip a few years ago. Now that they’re in Chicago it’s a little easier to get there and visit all my favorite hats, and lust after new ones....

I often bitch and moan about women who can't walk in heels. It bothers the shit out of me. Did she actually walk the red carpet or just lurch along?  I understand that not all women wear heels all the time, and I don't expect it. Though there are some times when heels are almost necessary. Prom, weddings...giant award shows like the Golden Globes. And during those times it is of the utmost importance that you know how to walk in heels. Tonight during the Golden Globes Lena Dunham, writer of Girls , embarrassed herself and women everywhere when she stumbled and cow-walked her way up to the stage to accept two Golden Globes. It's seriously one of the most awkward things I've ever seen. If she didn't aggravate me so much, I would have felt bad for her. (Yeah, sorry world, she's not funny). You would think that she would have given her new heels a stroll before she got into her old prom dress (sorry Zac Posen) and got into a cab to go to the awards show....

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, Pantone has declared Emerald the color for 2013. The exact color is Pantone 17-5641, for those of you geeky enough to want the exact Pantone code. I'm sure if you need RGB and PMS codes those are available as well, but when it comes to fashion, the only thing you need to know is that this year it's all about emerald. Green velvet from Mod Cloth.  The nice thing about emerald is that it looks good on almost everyone. It's a bright, vibrant green that can bring out the most positive features. It's also an amazingly easy color to incorporate into your existing wardrobe. Green accessories can be paired with a variety of colors, and can provide that perfect pop of color. Green shoes can also count as an accessory, and can be the perfect pairing with the florals that will be popping up this spring, or provide a splash of color to the basic black and white that's so popular right now. If shoes are your thing (and since y...

This January 8 has proven to be a big day. Mom's birthday (along with Elvis and David Bowie), I found out Stoli is on sale at Target for $7, and it was announced that Rachel Zoe is taking over from Kim Kardashian as chief stylist at ShoeDazzle . ShoeDazzle, and I'm obsessed with them. One of these things actually has to do with the blog, and unfortunately it's not the vodka (which I didn't get because apparently not all Targets carry booze).  Some reports I read say Zoe is replacing Kardashian, and some say that she's joining her. My personal guess is that Kardashian is going to slide away into the ethers and have nothing to do with the site. Between the love her/hate her relationship America has with Kim and the rest of the Kardashian clan,  her impending bundle of screaming joy (the baby, not Kanye), her show and whatever it is she and her sisters have going with Sears and their own store, she's probably too busy for a shoe site she was never m...

There's a season for every kind of shoe. Summer is for sandals, strappy things, and those god-awful plastic atrocities better known as flip-flops. Winter brings out oxfords, things that are furry, and those wretched, heave-inducing Uggs. But what do you do with a pair of peep toes? Is there a season for the dress shoe that's not a sandal but not a pump? Does it make a difference if it has a sling-back? There are obvious reasons this is a bad idea.  These are the things I think about in my insomnia filled nights. The conclusion I came to was that where you live has a lot to do with the kind of shoes you can wear in the various seasons. Warmer climates can wear strappy sandals, peep toes and various other skin-showing shoes all year, because they don't have to worry about frost-bite. Places that actually have seasons (such as my beloved Chicago) are a little less kind to exposed skin anywhere, including the feet. The good news though is that sometimes it's so damn...