Cat in Heels

Trips to Target are practically a weekend ritual at this point. I obviously need laundry detergent, hand soap and a new coat all at once, and it’s a one stop shop for almost everything. This weekend I tossed the girls onto a cart, one in the seat and one in the basket, and headed inside (where I found the only double cart occupied by one kid). I gave a brief look through the clothes and where they leaned out of the cart in an effort to touch  everything , and we headed to the shoe aisle. Cute stuff but nothing earth shattering, let’s move along. They really liked these .  Oh, S needs winter boots, let’s check those out here. As I slowly navigated the cart into the children’s shoe aisle both girls started getting visibly excited. They stood up in the cart, leaned over, and then both started yelling “SHOES, SHOES!!!” in screechy toddler voice while desperately grabbing at all the shoes they could reach. S pulled her shoes off and threw them to the floor. The ...

This weekend we were getting ready to go out and as I was putting on shoes I noticed that S’s toes were almost to the end of her sandals. And I mean touching the very top inside. And they were hard to buckle. Apparently the kid’s feet grew overnight and her two month old shoes no longer fit. Of course I work all week, and Stride Rite is 30 minutes away which puts us straight into bedtime assuming I feed them dinner. That’s a recipe for two kids walking around Stride Rite screaming while trying to crawl under fixtures or just making circles while crying. Yes, they do strange things when they’re tired. Of course I need the shoes by Saturday because we have something to do, and I won’t have time in the morning with breakfast and naps and what not, mostly because I want to avoid being that person with two screaming children in a store. Of course there’s the internet, but free shipping is 5 days (i.e. after Saturday) and for some reason I feel like I need to see the shoes if I’m bu...

Heel heights that are in vogue change yearly. For the last few years heels have been sky-high stilettos Denelle by Sole Society . with massive platforms. Some of them got so high they bordered on vulgar, being a height and design once only reserved for dancing when you can support yourself with a pole. This year heels have gotten a little thicker (more on that in a different post) and in doing so they have gotten a little lower. Once the standard, the newly named "mid-heel" is all over the place this year, and is much easier to walk in, and a little less scandalous than it's higher counterpart, even when in stilettos.  The mid-heel is the perfect shoe for the office, and can go seamlessly from day to night. Another bonus is that they don't have your feet pitched at an insane angle, so you can actually walk in them, and stand in them for more than an hour.  The mid-heel is also popping up on sandals for summer. From gladiators...

"Hello lover." The Diana pump is a must-have.  It's perhaps my favorite line ever uttered on Sex in the City, and it was to a pair of shoes. It's the line that summed up one woman's obsession with footwear and that runs through my head every time I see that "oh my god, can't live without them" pair of heels. Which is like every time I go shopping. Now, Sarah Jessica Parker has channeled her inner Carrie Bradshaw and her own love of shoes, and Nordstrom . released a line of shoes and handbags, appropriately titled SJP. And, while we all knew this was coming, now they're actually available at Sarah Jessica Parker made a stop at the Nordstrom across the street from my office on Friday, but due to the fact that I'm 36 weeks pregnant with twins, and haven't seen my feet in over a month (plus the swelling, not being able to walk a block, and so on), I had to skip my chance to meet her and the opportunity to try on the shoes. No poi...

I would like to be a celebrity because they get to do whatever they want. I don't mean that in an Amanda Bynes, bad wigs and bong tossing kind of way (though that If this is what we can expect, I'm sold. doesn't seem to be working out well for her), or even the more philanthropic Angelina Jolie saving babies kind of way (because seriously, what would I do with that many kids?). I mean it in the "why can't I team up with an established company and be a designer?" kind of way. Sarah Jessica Parker is the most recent celebrity to announce she is launching her own line of shoes, bags and coats. She's teaming up with George Malkemu, CEO of Manolo Blahnik , and launching the collection, appropriately named "SJP." The collection will be available exclusively at Nordstrom (because apparently Macy's is for Madonna's stuff), and will also include bags and a few coats. The price points will be the higher end of affordable, ...

I get teased for keeping a drawer of shoes at work. Not by other women, because they totally understand, but when my IT guy comes up and wants to see the laptop I travel with and I open a drawer full of shoes and one laptop, there are comments. This zipper is screwed.  Well, as of today all you who don't understand and give me funny looks can kiss my ass because that shoe drawer came in handy when my beloved (and worn) Kensie boots decided to drop dead at the office. When I was zipping up my boots this morning I noticed that there was a little irregularity in the zipper and it caught. So I did what we would all do, and I forced the zipper closed, knowing this probably wouldn't end well and praying it would get through the day. Those boots didn't make it to my second cup of coffee. I looked down to check on them and the zipper split. I said a bad word (shocking), unzipped the boot and a small shower of zipper teeth came tumbling to the floor and the zipper came...

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...

Today I had a rare day off, and I found it somewhat fitting that today (the 21st) is also the end of the world. At least according to some people who decided that they know what the ancient Mayans were thinking. So as I got ready to leave the house, I wasn't sure what kind of shoes I should wear for the end of the world. I mean, if they had explained how it would end that would be helpful, but they didn't so what;s a girl to do? Ready for the zombie apocalypse.  I mean is this going to be a Walking Dead zombie style end of the world? Are we talking Mad Max where I have to wear leather and chain mail and fight? Or will everything just explode and that will be the end of it. All of these scenarios involve very different footwear needs. I asked my Facebook and Twitter peeps what they thought would be appropriate footwear for the end of the world, and the responses were amazing (and varied). My mom's suggestion was that I wear something I could run in. But th...

No joke. I got to meet the legendary designer and his son Jesse Friday at the Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue where Sam was talking to fans, signing shoe boxes and being generally fabulous. I wish I could wear spikes to the office.  As I wandered around and drooled over the new line Circus by Sam Edelman , and sipped an Izzie drink brought to me by waiters, I couldn't help but notice the frenzy around me. Women were clamoring for shoes. Sales people were in short supply as they brought out piles of the green and black boxes and women tore through the wrapping like kids at Christmas. Sam Edelman is also the Sam behind Sam and Libby, the footwear company that came to fame in the 1980s with their ballet flat. Now on to something different, Sam Edelman is still designing shoes that make women drool, and the shoe business is still a family affair. I had the chance to speak with Sam's son Jesse for a bit about their new line Circus. A little more flash, a little higher plat...

Years ago I wandered into an eccentric little shoe store in my up-and-coming neighborhood and fell in love with a heel. The Fluevogs that were my obsession and rent money Actually I fell in love with a designer, but it was the heels he put on shoes that really made my heart race, and made John Fluevog shoes the first pair of designer heels I splurged on.  (I spent my whole bonus check to get these shoes, and didn’t pay any bills). What makes them so unique? Aside from John’s use of color and cut, often creating a modern take on classic and Victorian styles, it was the fluted heel that took my breath away. Featured on shoes, boots, booties, dressy and casual heels, I would wander the store tracing the curve of the heel in a way that probably bordered on pornographic, and wish all my shoes were as beautiful as the ones Fluevog made. Alice and Olivia So you can imagine my surprise when wandering through Nordstrom Salon Shoes when I started seeing fluted heels...

I love fashion events. They combine two things I love, which is fashion (shoes included) and booze. Total win. Apparently handbags were selling well. Since I have a real job, and I'm not important enough to go to Fashion Week with my little blog (and because there's nothing dedicated to shoes), I was in Chicago for Fashion's Night Out, and again decided to meet up with my sister after work, and we went to the Shops at North Bridge , where they were celebrating in style, and because one of our friends was working an event there for Ulta . We spent most of our time in Nordstrom , where the sale initially derailed me, and I was lost among shoes and totally didn't see the booze and fashion show going on in Salon Shoes. Nordstrom was serving pineapple and jalapeno martinis (they were amazing), wine, champagne, appetizers, and all in the company of some amazing shoes. Cole Haan's new  Chelsea pump was being featured, and it was (of course) fabulous. We sa...

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 ...

It's well known that I keep a couple pairs of shoes at the office. And by a couple, I mean a drawer full. So it's never really a surprise when I'm looking for a pair of heels and it turns out they're in my filing cabinet and not any of the 100 different places scattered about my house. Sometimes that can be a problem though. Like when I was packing for a business trip the nigh before I left and realized I left my black pumps at the office. I posted a Facebook message about it, and my mom (who loves to tease me via comments) said, "You have ONE pair of black pumps-no I don't think so." Well, she's right and wrong, and my black pumps made me have a total meltdown in Nordstrom last week where I tried on a ton of heels and then decided they were all kind of like something I owned, and instead bought nothing. These were left in a drawer. Ironically, I now also have buyers remorse over one pair. In the sense that I didn't buy them. My bla...

Late last fall I did something I never got around to sharing with the blog. I bought a pair of boots, but they weren’t cute. They were a pair of black, Sperry “Pelican,” knee high rain boots that fit my calves. I even bought the inserts to go with them so that I could wear them in the snow.  Leopard made them more tolerable. Winter was mild, and snow never really came, spring wasn’t that rainy, and summer has been a scorching bitch with little to no rain, so since last fall my traditional rubber rain boots, made by the company who is known for deck shoes, sailing and all things water, were barely ever worn.  So you can imagine my surprise when I wore them to work the other day (because it was finally raining) and they were hurting a spot on my ankle. I got to my desk, pulled them off and found that they had split apart along the seam and were ripping.  Apparently that’s what you get for $100 and deciding to look silly so you don’t ruin your shoes or clo...

Last week I went for snow boots on my lunch. Because I haven't done that 1,000 times before and not found a damn thing. This time I was particularly determined to find boots. I had scouted ahead, found them online, priced them, and all that good stuff. I decided this trip would be to Aldo , and if all else failed, I'd go to Nordstrom after work. So I walked through the cold and snow of Michigan Avenue and realized that Aldo was much further than I thought it was, and by the time I arrived my shoes were a mess, my pants were wet and I was again cursing winter and determined to find snow boots. I love these more than snow boots I went in focused. I found what I was looking for, asked to see it, and then while I was waiting I start perusing the sale racks. This is such an amazing time of year for sales.  By the time they arrived with the boots for me to try on, I had an armload of heels to try on. I don't even need to explain that the boots didn't fit right ...

I totally lied about getting winter boots today. I'd wear them, but not in snow. Well, I didn't lie. I just didn't get around to it. And once I looked at the weather forecast in Chicago for the next 10 days and saw that today is the coldest day we're having for a little while, I decided I can hold off on spending obscene amounts of money on hideous things for just a little bit longer. Maybe in the meantime I can find something cute. Which is really my problem. I struggle to find something cute that also serves any kind of function at all other than to adorn your feet with fabulousness. @GlamB0t asked me on Twitter what are cute boots that are warm and can withstand snow and rain. After thinking and thinking (and struggling with this myself), I have come to the conclusion that the answer is they don't exist. Sure, there's the Hunter heeled rain boot, which isn't awful, and you can add a liner to it for the instant snow boot, but that heel will se...