Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

Addicted to accessories?

And especially shoes?

The UnBudget may be snarling at the very thought, but, every now and then, a woman just needs to go shoe shopping!

Lest you bristle, imagining me indulging in my affection for shapely shoes, may I assure you – I do have my fiscal priorities in order. Shoe shopping needn’t require spending money. It is the hunt, the scurry, the flurry, the pleasure of playing and straying into the dark and glittering alley of temptation – without giving in!

There is no sin in a woman’s right to shoes, nor her desire to give them a whirl, all in the name of informing those who adore the fine art of haute couture when it comes to the chaussure!

Accessory Confessory?

I do love my scarves. I do love my belts. I do love my purses, my cuff bracelets, my pearls, my treasures culled from estate sales and street vendors.

In light of a capricious case of Spring Fever, yesterday I abandoned my laptop for a few hours and yielded to the requirement for an up close and personal encounter with this season’s fabulous footwear (and everything else that goes so well avec). All in the name of journalistic research, naturellement.

And along the way – I had to explore my share of bangles, baubles, earrings, brooches, piles of pearls, feather-adorned pins, bags and more…

What did I uncover in my excursion to an upscale shopping mall? Not to mention my studious and devoted outpouring of time on DSW’s site – a sight for these sore eyes?

Accessories for Spring? Shoe Heaven is the thing… oh, let me sing!

What’s catching our fancy, whether it’s pumps, booties, sandals or stilettos?

Hear ye, hear ye – you contented foot fetishists! Shoe addicts galore! Are you grinning ear to ear with the styles running rampant on the runways, and on the prettily pedicured petits pieds of the women who indulge?

As for shoe addicts, not unlike myself? I hope you have a bountiful budget so you may dare to bare in striking style this spring and summer. Because everything goes – with toes!

Accessory shopping is popping!

Do you window shop online? In person?

Both?

Let me strut my stuff through my tap-tapping fingertips, or stroll the gargantuan aisles at any fine designer shoe outlet.

I assure you – it’s as fortifying as a shot of Vitamin B12, as intoxicating as Tequila Gold, and (almost) as sweetly satisfying as the rush, nearly skimming the surface of the Mediterranean, as you land for a long awaited vacation, in Nice-Cote d’Azur.

It’s pure… pure pleasure in a measure of fun at the end of a long run of tasks and masks to get through the hard week. As for moi, I loved my peek!

And do pop by the jewelry counters or little accessory boutiques. Everything is on sale, and opulence and boldness are still in. (Were they ever out?)

Lay your hands on something funky or exquisite, classic or trendy. There’s a little bit of everything out there right now. (My hoops are in, my gauzy scarf is draped, oh, to be able to wear a wild, oversize ring!)

Accessories (bracelets, scarves, bold rings and silly things)

I have been indulging my fashionista fantasies chez une amie, where all things French Flair have been flirtatiously flaunted, including the latest in a series, The Signature Accessory.

So how could I not have done my due diligence? My daily data gathering on the subject matter?

In my forays (virtual and real) in recent weeks, I have been witness to the abundance of scarves, brooches, pearls, gold, silver, gemstones, and the all important (hooker?) hoops, as well as silly rings and feathery things – all sumptuously and unpresumptuously showing their faces in the local malls.

I’m also very much for searching among the costume jewelry in the back of the drawer, and more… the vintage shop, the estate sale, your mother’s favorite things she doesn’t care to wear, but optimal for your fashion flair!  Try them all and have a ball!

But with belts and purses, shoes are richly adorned with lavish details – zippers and grommets, cut-outs and ruffles, buckles and baubles – so get out there! Dare! (Then look to purses, bracelets, strapping and wrapping, budding with studding – and with audacity to spare!)

More news in shoes?

No shopping expedition is complete without a woman’s right to Choos… Oh! Is there anything other than poetic pyrotechnics when it comes to that audacious designer?

Whatever suits your foot fantasy and fancy this season, there’s plenty of tantalizing skin to bare as you wear heels at all heights, and finds for shoe vices at a wide range of prices… from the imminently affordable to the haute couture designer field for the luxuriously well-heeled.

I may add that I, personally, tried on quite a few of these works of art. So be smart! Before you ever buy online, be sure you know what you’re getting. If it looks like a steal, is it the real deal? And trying shoes on, ensures they will be worn. Even in my most precarious stilettos, I make sure I am comfortable, and can walk with ease.

Shoes I (personally) tried (I could’ve died; it was love)

From my lips to your ears?

• Boutique 9? Divine.
• Stuart Weitzman Jardin? Heaven.
• Via Spiga studded spikes? Versatile, and sublime.

But remember those toes – whether encased and laced, latticed, banded, strapped, wrapped, or fit to be tied – footwear is all style and sex right now, and toes are pros, in the finest of the fashionable shows.

Saturday window shopping

What can be said on a rainy Saturday morn from bed? I’m seeing red!

No sensual shopping spree is me without a jolt of poppy, or passionate and heated hues in shoes…

Of course, I cannot forget the Maestro, Christian Louboutin (here shown, a preview for the Fall), and a classic Badgley Mischka evening heel, in elegant satin, always delicious to feel…

If only I could wear them all.

 
 
Be sure to stop by Bloomingdales shoes online and likewise, Neiman Marcus, and of course, DSW!