Cat in Heels

When I got pregnant everyone kept telling me how it was going to change my feet. How my feet would get bigger, or flatter, or both. Once in a while a little ray of light would come through and some woman would tell me that her feet didn’t change at all. Everything was the same as it always was and all her shoes fit even better than before she was pregnant. (Yeah, I made that last bit up). My new shoes need to be even bigger. I’ve decided the women who didn’t have any foot changes are either lying or were those horrid people who gain like 10 pounds and have that perfect, round, little bump that looks like the fake belly women wear in maternity catalogs. Being pregnant with twins I gained almost 50 pounds, my feet swelled, and my bump was more of a giant belly mound that expanded forward, up, down and sideways, threatening to crush me at every turn. Luckily, as soon as I gave birth I lost all but 5 pounds (muscle mass is a different story), my feet slowly stopped being all swol...

For some reason I’m obsessed with peep toe booties, and yet, so picky about the way they look I didn’t own any. Finally I found a pair from Sophia & Lee that I did like. Black, peep toe with a sling-back (so they don’t look too blocky), lacing and a subtle texture to the shoe. They would look amazing with a pair of cropped cigarette pants, and give a little oomph to a fun summer dress (assuming I ever own such a thing). They were the first shoes I ordered after I gave birth to the twins and my feet were back to a normal size (although not my previous size). Then it turns out I didn’t leave the house for weeks on end because I had two newborns at home, so they basically sat in my room collecting dust. Then I went back to work. I love these shoes, but they suck, The first day I tried them on at work, I was so unstable I actually took them off and wore a different black shoe from my shoe drawer at the office. The heel didn’t look so high I couldn’t walk in it, but that was t...

Right now it's all the rage for brands to team up with celebrities for a special line of something.  Kristin Cavallari has a deal with Chinese Laundry for heels, Madonna brought Material Girl Nice lips, but she's hardly the first to do a bold lip. exclusively to Macy's, the new SJP line is only at Nordstrom, and Gwen Stefani unveiled her GX shoes only through ShoeDazzle .  No stranger to the celebrity lines, MAC has recently announced the celebrity face of their new partnership for the next round of limited edition cosmetics. And seriously I couldn't be more disappointed.  Oh, you thought this was going to be positive and about shoes. Sorry. It's about my second favorite love, cosmetics. Especially MAC, to which I am hopelessly devoted.  This summer MAC releases a line with songstress, and possible one-hit-wonder, Lorde.  I'll give you a minute to let that soak in.  The girl who looks like she's wearing drugstore lipstick that doe...

Gwen Stefani spent the last decade going from rock star to style icon and rock star. Plus she married Gavin Rossdale and had a couple of cute kids, including the one she's currently pregnant with. I'm obsessed with the red boots.  I'm trying to figure out how we can become friends so we can have playdates with her new baby and my twins. Then we can talk fashion and diapers, and with the new line she has just launched with ShoeDazzle , Gwen sure has a lot going on. GX is the first collaboration between ShoeDazzle and Gwen Stefani, and features shoes and handbags in black, red, white and cobalt blue. This works out really well for me because those four colors make up 90% of my wardrobe. The shoes have some great diversity between sleek pumps with small island platforms and single soles, sky high wedge sandals, and some great bootie styles. When it comes to handbags, there are more square, structured styles, and the same basic but bold colors. They're all pret...

Anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows I’m kind of obsessed with hair. Not because mine is particularly awesome or because I can do amazing things with it (I can’t), but because it’s part of fashion, and there’s no excuse for bad hair. Also, I love a good product, and ever since my best friend and hairdresser turned me on to Alterna , I have been a devoted follower. Even my travel products are all Alterna. Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend a “Runway to Realway” wrap party for Project Runway, and meet Michael Shaun Corby, Global Creative Director for Alterna Haircare, stylist, and the hairstylist on Project Runway. He’s also the sweetest person you could hope to meet, and can (of course) create killer hair. What I learned last night is that it’s all about the updo (bad news for me an my straight hair and round face) and all about profiles. Michael Shaun talked Golden Globes hair styles, the new pomp on women’s hair, and how to create beautiful, messy looks in...

Red knee high boots are kind of a staple in my wardrobe. I've had them on and off for years, and wear the hell out of them. Recently I found my new perfectly red boots courtesy of ShoeDazzle . The burgundy color is perfect, and they have great rivet detail on the eyelets and ribbon laces. Of course there's also a side zipper so it's easy to get them on and off.  I wore the boots Thanksgiving with the family,which was a long day, and they were comfortable pretty much the whole day. That's a hell of an accomplishment at this point with my growing twin belly.  Remell by Leila Stone Honestly the shoes were so amazing, and fit so well, I'm considering purchasing them again. This time in black.  But is it too weird to have the same shoes in two different colors ? Especially something as unique and noticiable as a knee high boot with ribbon lacing?  Facebook said go for it, and I think I may have to. Finding knee high boots that fit my calfs tha...

White shoes are kind of essential, right? I mean, I don’t own any, but other people do, and they always look great (or only sometimes). They’re the essential summer work shoe, and are amazing for all those garden parties I don’t go to because none of my friends are that sophisticated (or have gardens) and so I decided that I need to get my first pair of white shoes since Easter when I was 5. By the way, five-year-olds should not have white shoes, especially in patent leather. I’m pretty sure I somehow had grass stains on those before I even got outside. After searching and being bored with so many of the white heels I came across, I finally found a pair on ShoeDazzle that looked pretty damn amazing. White snakeskin with gold studs on the top. And they were on sale. Sold. It's only a matter of time until I stab myself while wearing these.  After a shipping snafu where the package went to the wrong place, they finally arrived and I busted open the box with ...

There's something so sexy about a shoe with an ankle strap. I'm not talking about gladiator sandals or lace up espadrilles, but the classic style pump.  They remind me of old Betty Page photos and are vaguely BDSM. Steve Madden Faymuss and Whitneyy They're also everywhere now.  Now on every kind of shoe from wedges to stilletos, ankle straps are the shoe this spring and will certainly continue into fall.  Some of my favorites in my own collection are courtesy of Charles David . The fig colored heels are suede with a leather snakeskin heel and ankle strap. They're perfect with a pair of ankle length cigarette pants or a pencil skirt.  There's also the far less logical pair by Wild Pair that I bought at Bakers last year on some kind of stress induced shopping spree. Dubbed my "dinosaur heels" because of the spikes down the back of the heels, the red and black suede sandals may not be work appropriate with their six inch heels and giant...

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...

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which accounts for all the pink. I think I need these Charles David heels. Ribbons at the airports, pink tops of buildings, and pink pins on clothes all bring awareness to and assist in raising money for horrible cancer that we have yet to find a cure for, and has a ton of brave survivors. People and companies all find different ways to wear pink, raise money and raise awareness. One of the best ideas I have heard all month though is to wear pink shoes. Sure, it's not as philanthropic as running a marathon, doing a walk or listening to a survivor's story, but if you're short on time and want to help, it's just one more way to show support. Plus, seeing as how I have a random abundance of pink heels, this works well for me. But if you're like most people and don't have an entire section of closet that looks like it may belong to Barbie, there are plenty of heels out there. The best part is that not o...

A few months ago I blogged about cap toe shoes , saying they're going to be the hot new thing, and they're amazing and here's why. Then I didn't hear anything about them for a while, and I thought maybe I was the only one in love with them. Then last week I was on Twitter , taking part in the #stylechat with Style Caster , and the topic of conversation turned to shoes, and the cap toe trend, which has suddenly made its way from the designer's stores and into the mainstream, and now everyone wants them. I had quite a few questions about them, including where to find them (which is now almost anywhere). As promised to the fabulous people on #stylechat , following are a few cap toe heels that are fabulous, available, and at varying price points, so there's no excuse to go into Fall without them. ShoeDazzle At $39.95, ShoeDazzle probably has the best deal on a metallic cap toe. The "Ann" heel, which was released just a few days ago, comes in a ...

Earlier this summer I decided I needed a pair of orange heels. Why? Cause I didn’t have any. Duh. Seriously, they actually match a lot.  So I did a little online browsing and found a nice, cheap pair of orange canvas peep toe heels from ShoeDazzle . Moderate platform, moderate heel. And no I have no idea what moderate means other than I can walk in them. When they showed up I was a little perplexed because I realized that in my frenzy to buy orange heels I had nothing to go with them. I don’t wear orange. Hell, I barely even wear color. But a little digging around in my closet and a trip to Banana Republic where I found this fabulous orange silk Trina Turk tank, and I'm suddenly wearing these damn orange heels all the time. They go great with my navy cigarette pants. And when in doubt just toss on a plain shirt and let the heels be your pop of color. If you actually have color in your wardrobe, add some orange accessories to tie the whole thing together. I’ve al...

Monthly shoe clubs are all the rage right now. Actually clubs of all kinds are, but let’s focus for a hot second on the million shoe clubs out there. Just Fabulous , Sole Society , Shoe Privee , ShoeMint, ShoeDazzle …the list can continue on, but really, why bother. That’s a wide enough sample for discussion purposes. Each one offers something different than the other one. With exclusive designs, celebrity collaborations, company collaborations, and fixed prices on everything you generally know exactly what you’re getting, and you always know how much you’re going to pay. Yeah for flat pricing! ShoeDazzle gets points for leopard, red and studs On the other hand, are the designs really all that exclusive? In the 39.95 range clubs the Iron Fist designs that Just Fabulous carries are available through Iron Fist, Shoe Privee carries mostly Qupid , which are available in various retail outlets and online stores, and ShoeDazzle actually carries their own brand that ...

I decided I should have my own shoe line. I mean why not? I like shoes, probably know more about them than a lot of women, have some great design ideas...all good things if you're going to start a shoe line. Who'd have thought this guy would make women's shoes? Oh, then there's also the fact the apparently now anyone can design shoes. Halle Berry has joined the long (and ever growing) list of celebs who has a shoe line. She will be "designing" 40 pairs of limited edition shoes for Deichmann , which will launch next month in the UK. Many others preceded her, some with their own brand, including Carlos Santana (love the shoes but does that even make sense?), Fergie (she actually wears her own line), Madonna (will never wear her own line), Jessica Simpson (better at fashion than singing), Cindy Crawford (also designed for Deichmann ), Kanye West (I wish I was kidding), Gwen Stefani (we all love L.A.M.B. ) and a bunch of celebs who designed shoes fo...

I decided this winter I needed silver shoes. That makes sense, right? I didn't have any, I just bought this great gray-silver silk button down, and the whole look would be perfect for the holidays. It's also freakishly easy to find metallic heels around the holidays. But I procrastinated. I saw shoes I liked, and put it off. Then they were out of stock on my size. I saw other shoes that were great, but open toe, and I wanted a closed toe. Others were amazing but out of my price range. Too sparkly, not sparkly enough, too dark, too shiny. I want something that looks like I have mirrors on my feet, now I want something subtle that I can wear to work. My totally basic silver pumps On and on this stupid mind game went until I saw a pair on massive sale, bit the bullet and ordered some classic silver pumps with a closed toe, platform, and 5 inch heel. Unfortunatly I also waited so long that they didn't get to me in time for Christmas. So yesterday I walked in and my hu...

I love being told about comfy shoes. Believe it or not this happens to me a lot; as in a couple times a week. It's usually led up to with someone saying, "Oh my god. I love those shoes but I could never walk in those. How do you walk in those? Don't your feet hurt? My feet hurt just looking at your feet in those shoes." Well, sorry that your feet are so damn sensitive that they hurt just looking at my shoes, but seriously, grow a pair. They're my shoes, not yours. I didn't walk up to you and ask how you could possibly show your face in public while wearing Crocs , and those are way more offensive than the highest heel I own. I wear these because they match my pants.  After I explain that yes, my feet feel pain, and yes, I am insane enough to choose the way I look over comfort, and yes, I realize that may not always be the case but I am not ready to give into something "comfy" I get a look like I'm insane and obviously don't know what I...