GoodShop & Give Back on Black Friday & Beyond

How would you like to pump up your Black Friday buying power and give back to nonprofits in need at no extra cost to you? Well, if you do click over to GoodShop before you hit over 900 online stores, you can take advantage of stash of coupons. It only takes a few extra seconds and up to 30% of your purchases will be donated to the nonprofit of your choice. (There are over 85,000 charitable organizations registered with the site.)

Trust me, I realize that this sounds suspiciously like a scam but my dance organization, Monkeyhouse,  has worked with this site for three years. Checks really do arrive each fall and somehow they are always slightly larger than we were expecting.  In fact, Monkeyhouse just received another Goodshop donation on Monday.  I am so encouraged by this passive revenue stream that I have personally offered to match all the money that Monkeyhouse earns through GoodShop in November and December.

GoodShop has teamed up with over 180 participating shoe stores, and they have got deals for you whether you are into stilettos, sneakers, or retro roller skates. For instance, if  you got inspired by Shoetube’s recent Tess Tuesday post,

you could cut $10 off a $100 purchase and send 6.5 – 8% to your favorite school, charity, or religious organization with GoodShop.

Or, if Wendy’s romp through nostalgia reminded you to revamp your running shoes, you could save 20% if you rush to GoodShop by 11/29/09. But don’t worry if you miss out on that deal’s deadline, there are several other coupons and they will always kick back 4-8.5%  of your total to a worthy nonprofit.

Even if you have got to get golf shoes after this week’s Quick Fix, you can support your favorite cause by swinging by GoodShop beforehand.

So hop on over to GoodShop and discover how easy it is to give this holiday season.

DIY: Design It Yourself

Here’s a little something for all the Do It Yourselfers out there: Design Your Own Shoes sites. Thanks to About.com blogger Desiree Stimpert, we’ve all been introduced to Shoes of Prey, an online shops that boasts it “creates beautiful bespoke women’s shoes, designed by you.”

My first design attempt at Shoes Of Prey

Here’s how it works, according to the company: “You choose the heel, toe, fabric, color and embellishments. Our expert craftsmen then make your shoes to measure, swaddle them in a soft dust bag and crisp new box, and ship them straight to your waiting feet.”

Reports Stimpert, “I had a lot of fun playing with the design tool, and was surprised at how many combinations were possible. But the biggest — and most pleasant — surprise is the price: most shoes cost about …$215 U.S. dollars, which is an incredible bargain for bespoke shoes.”

While Keds and Converse have been allowing shoppers to customize their kicks with color, print and style choices, self-directed dress shoes and heels have been the sole property of footwear designers. That’s changing.

One style possibility at Dream Heels

According to Luxist, Canadian company Dream Heels is offering novice designers/shoe lovers a chance to custom-create styles. “The designs are shown on the Dream Heels Web site and can be voted on. Each month a winning design is chosen. The creator receives $250 and a $250 Dream Heels gift certificate,” explains Luxist.

So far, all of the Dream Heels styles are the same — a pump — but the designs vary wildly from a rainbow stripe to a peacock print. Currently, 25 designs are in contention.

Finally, Glamour Magazine’s Slave to Fashion blog recently posted that “Online shoe retailer Zappos.com has teamed up with Steve Madden for Sole Search, a design competition that gives aspiring Louboutins a chance to share their towering vision with the world.” Aspiring designers can create a design from scratch or by using a downloadable Steve Madden template.

The Lauper, a popular design in Steve Madden's Sole Search competition

So far over 1800 entries have been submitted and there’s still another month of the competition. Check out the competition, review designs (the Lauper got raves like “These boots r amazing & so cool. I love them! I would love to have a pair!” — in fact, most reviews seem to be supportive) and submit your own ideas.

The grand prize: Steve Madden himself will select one of the three first prize winners’ designs (determined by votes on the Zappos site) to be produced and sold online at Zappos.com/Steve-Madden. There’s also a $500 Zappos.com gift card and a $500 Steve Madden gift card. Nice.

Reebok Pump on the Rise

Reebok threw a kickin party to celebrate 20 years of the pump last week. While it was easy to be wooed by the towering pro athlete presence of hosts Emmitt Smith and Dominique Wilkins, as well as the open bar and mini Pop Burgers, I’m all about the Pump.

To start, one of the new limited edition Pump X styles, designed by Boston sneaker retailer, Bodega, was sold via lottery this week to keep collectors from camping out in front of the store.

Reebok, whose entire staff was decked out in new retro versions of the custom fit shoe at the party, made sure to decorate the place in 90’s Pump posters that reminded me; the pump wasn’t just a basketball shoe. It was a tennis trainer, worn by great Michael Chang. It was also a running shoe, an aerobics shoe, a football shoe, the list goes on.

And now it’s a limited edition. Here are a few of my favorite designs from it’s exclusive 20th anniversary partnerships.

These work boot style sneakers are from Saint Alfred in Chicago.

The aforementioned Outback from Bodega.

A sleek, dark color combo from Huf in San Francisco.

A few more, displayed behind glass at the party, but not including the Parisian boutique, Colette’s design, covered by our trendspotter Alli, last week.

And the definitive Michael Chang poster. Just because I love the 90’s-ness of it.

Spit and Polish

At a party hosted recently by friends, I found myself in the kitchen (where else?), with a group of men and among the suspect and somewhat expected line-up of footwear . . . scruffy Converse, Campers, dodgy loafers and non-descript lace-ups (it was a casual affair), we spied one of our friends, the Italian – surprise, surprise, sporting the most sleek and uber glossy shoes from Prada.

The Italian's Pradas

No baggy boy jeans and worn sneakers for this guy. Oh no! He looked slinky and sharp in a slim-fitting shirt, beautifully cut trousers and those to-die-for Pradas! Given that he hails from somewhere near Milan rather than Islington I guess its to be expected, but never before have a pair of shoes drawn so much attention from the species from Mars, each one admiring them and oohing and ahing like they were peeking under the bonnet of a vintage Porsche.

Admittedly, the Pradas were new, having been no further afield than the floorboards of Number 3o. But I kid you not, those shoes were so shiny I could see my own reflection in them (not a good thing given the amount of alcohol I’d consumed by that point), and the luster of them against the pedestrian footwear worn by everyone else prompted the thought . . . is the art of shoe polishing dying on its feet?

Well Olga Berluti, creative director of the men’s luxury shoemaker Berluti, doesn’t think so. Olga’s credentials extend beyond her hand-made shoes for the likes of Andy Warhol and John F. Kennedy, to a shoe-cleaning club she has established for her favorite clients. The ‘Swann Club‘ is a gathering where the members come to ‘dine and shine’ and indulge in a highly meticulous shoe polishing ritual to the music of Vivaldi and Wagner, involving iced spring water, Venetian linen sheets, pots of coloured wax, chianti and vintage champagne.

Mention shoe shining generally and most people think of the military – where having anything less than a mirror finish to your boots is likely to result in a court martial. Or a bygone era, when a tin of wax polish was an essential for shining gents’ shoes on a Sunday evening. All my friends acknowledge having watched their fathers and grandfathers polish their shoes regularly, but few admit to rummaging around in the under stairs cupboard in search of a rusty tin of Kiwi, an old sports sock and a well worn horse-hair brush inherited from a long deceased relly, on a quest to return their now scuffed and scratched ‘best’ leather shoes to their former glory. Not quite the same league as The Swann Club!

But what is it about our generation that has caused a decline in the art of shoe shining? One which Asda, the Wal-Mart-owned UK supermarket chain, claim is dramatic and upstoppable. Well, we’re a lazy bunch and we’d rather be indulging in 101 things on a Sunday evening than applying a bit of elbow grease to our leather uppers. Modern footwear is far more low maintenance than brogues and loafers and many of us don’t actually know how to clean our shoes using old-style polish and a frenzy of buffing, opting instead for timesaving wipes that are growing in popularity. In our consumerist society, we’re not about ‘make do and mend’ as it was for our forefathers, and the preservation and longevity of shoes just isn’t important when its easy and relatively cheap to replace worn out pairs, or those we simply no longer like.

And a final thought for the rare beasts who today believe in the importance of a parade-ground finish – is it strictly men? Would the fairer sex be caught spitting on a duster, applying a good level of elbow grease and buffing to a shine . . . or do we reserve that ceremony exclusively for our thighs?

For advice on how to achieve the perfect shoe shine, go to ‘ask andy about clothes.’

Masquerading, Mayhem and Matching Shoes

 

A beautiful, brilliant friend is throwing a masquerade ball for Halloween this year. Guests will be donning grand dresses and suits with masks that spark the imagination. Best of all, it’s a surprisingly pressure-free way to dress up.

If you’re stressing over an original, cool and sexy costume concept without crossing the slutty line (we like to stay just shy) start with that dress in your closet–the one you sigh over every week but only had the chance to wear once (No, we are not counting the time you put it on to eat ice cream and watch 27 Dresses). Then run out for some coordinating shoes at Payless and hit the nearest Hallowen pop-up store or make your own matching mask. Soon you’ll be masquerading as your spectactular self.

Here are some looks to inspire your inner mistress.

Refined in Red

Pair this red lacey creation with ladylike d’orsay rosettes and admirers will come running.

Dark and Daring

Gentlemen callers will swoon over a decadent swan in satin t-strap sandals.

 

Prim Pierrot

You may look like a sad clown, but these oxfords will keep you happy.

Golden Goddess

Perhaps “Style Goddess” is a better title for any lady donning this golden Venetian mask and the Christian Siriano for Payless Carolina Pump.

 

 

 

Celebrity Shoes: The Motherload

While I enjoy reporting on celeb-fueled footwear lines, this Fall’s offerings are less of the occasional mention and more of a full-on deluge of A lister-backed collections. So here’s a roundup of who’s designing what and when shoppers can expect to test drive the star-powered shoes:

1. Nitrolicious reported that singer Beyoncé will launch the Sasha Fierce (Beyoncé’s alter-ego) for Deréon Collection. Beyoncé’s mom/mamanger Tina Knowles described the line to WWD as “edgier and trendier;” in addition to outerwear, handbags, lingerie, jewelry and eyewear look for “heavily studded shoes.”

Sasha Fierce for Deréon

According to Style Guru, the line, which launched in September for back-to-school shopping (because what 9th grader doesn’t need heavily studded heels?), “comes at a very affordable price ranging from $25 to $75 and is available at Macy’s and Dillard’s.”

2. It its Oct. 23 issue, New York Magazine’s fashion blog The Cut revealed that, on the heels of Heidi Klum’s dropped jewelry line, the Project Runway host will launch a 48-style show collection for Fall 2010. (Or, says StyleNews, the collection will “be the first to hit stores in February 2010 and will include everything from sky-high stilettos to tall boots.”) Writes the blogger, “The inspiration is the same as every celebrity’s with a fashion line — what’s currently in her closet.”

Louis Vuitton's 2009 Spicy Sandal, worn by Klum

The project, according to  WWD, is a collaboration with “Modern Vintage and Majestic Mills co-founders Rick and Brian Cytrynbaum.”

3. In all the excitement about the launch of the Olsen Twins’ Olsenboye line of J.C. Penny (they’re promoting it in a cupcake truck!), has Mary-Kate and Ashley’s other project — the Elizabeth and James line — fallen under the radar? Say it isn’t so! Nitrolicious previewed the 2009 Elizabeth and James footwear collection, pronouncing it “so amazing.” Pictured here, the lace-up flat ankle boots, available at Saks.

Elizabeth and James ankle boot

4. Paris Hilton frenemy Nicole Richie is to (says blogger Fantastictoe) partner “with Modern Vintage shoes and Earnest Sewn jeans. Richie will add a line of around 20 shoe styles to her House of Harlow 1960 label for spring of 2010.”

5. Black Eyed Pea Fergie’s shoe line, launched in Spring of 2009 through endless.com, is offering up fall and winter looks like a shearling-lined boot and a magenta suede peep-toe. Blogger Fergie Freak writes, “Recently, I have been asked about where to get some of the fabulous shoes Fergie has been seen performing in. Well, it turns out that they are part of her own line of shoes. She’s come out with a lot of new styles for the fall.” (A poll on Beauty Xpose’s Foot Fetish Friday showed that voters were evenly divided when it came to the hotness or notness of the singer’s spring footwear.)

Fergie's magenta kid suede heel

Animal Planet: Caring Can Begin with Your Footwear

In my experience, we can judge humanity largely on how they treat – and interact – with animals.

Case in point:

VeganChic.com

If you are dating a man who has no animals, wants no animals, and shuns your animals – pretty likely, he will not anytime soon want to be making babies with you.

In fact, I’ve seen studies where serial killers have been researched based on their childhood activities – and in many cases, they mistreated or downright abused animals.

This summer, I was visiting a former friend, and she related a story to me about how her BFF had recently owned a puppy. Apparently, after living in her home for the duration of a year, the puppy got a little bit wild and they tried to return it – the store wouldn’t take it back… so they abandoned the defenseless animal at a fire hydrant in the middle of the night and drove away.

“Isn’t that hilarious???” my former friend asked me.

“Uh, no…” I responded. I was repulsed.

That was the last time I saw that friend. A few days later, she “disposed” of me in very much the same way her friend had disposed of the puppy. Ultimately, people who have disregard for others simply have disregard for others…puppy or person. And that is why sociopaths start off by nailing puppies to walls, and men who do not like kittens ultimately ain’t going to be your baby-daddy.

While I’m not saying that my love and appreciation for our furry friends has limited my enjoyment of, say, leather, or the occasional late-night buffalo burger, I will say I’d never ever disrespect any living, breathing creature with feelings – I’d treat them with all the love and care any of God’s creatures deserve – no matter if they get a little inconvenient for me at times.

That said, I am blown away at the level of cuteness found in vegan footwear these days – take my new pink patent peep-toes, $32.99, from VeganChic.com. Consideration comes in all forms, to all degrees, but if I can exhibit a little bit of species-consciousness at the same time I’m showing off my pedicure…why wouldn’t I?

Spoilt for Choice

It’s that time of year again.  The days are getting shorter, the nights are drawing in, the British summer’s been and gone – all 16 days of it – and we’re already suffering from Christmas creep!

So hurrah for the new Autumn, Winter 09 season.

Autumn/Winter 09 Knitwear

Textured, snuggly, sloppy and sleek knits to lust after; coats in a multitude of guises; hot, hot, hot accessories and the most intoxicating footwear I’ve seen forever!

With such an amazing array of fabulous fashion trends on offer this season, where does one begin to choose iconic new footwear staples?  From the department store meccas to the quirky shoe boutiques across the capital, acres of stunning shoe and boot displays are heaving with a mix of lusciously sexy opulence (mouth-watering colours, sumptuous textures, delicious intricacy) and edgy full-on ‘gloth’ drama (buckles, studs, distressed leather) a la Marilyn Manson.

 

Kurt Geiger's 'Skittle' boots

Boots are everywhere and with a plethora of designs from ankle-biting shoeboots through to lady-garden grazing thigh-highs, and everything in between, its hard to imagine owning any outfit that won’t pair beautifully with one of this season’s trends.

With my particular passion for boots, I’ve already discovered how brilliantly my recessionista wardrobe can be stretched with the addition of one pair of shoeboots . . . soft dove grey with towering heels from Kurt Geiger and my long sought-after Fiorentini+Baker biker boots.

 

Okay, so the biker boots have been on my wish-list ever since ‘im indoors bought the male version about 3 years ago.  At the time it seemed so wrong to be sporting ‘his and hers’ – just a little too ‘Posh and Becks’ – but now he’s moved on to John Varvatos Converse and rebonded with a particularly beaten-up old pair of Belstaffs, I feel I can now legitimately possess my very own pair of F+B ‘Eternitys’.

 

Celebs do F+B 'Eternitys'

And yes, they may be a little last season, or the season before, or even the one before that, but as they brilliantly transcend most other classic biker boots in their very existence years after launching, and since they help me carry off ‘left-bank effortless casual chic’ or ’stormtrooper goth’ as my father referred to me the other day, (he may remember stormtroopers, but I’m not entirely sure he knows what a goth is!)  I think they are THE best choice for Autumn/Winter 09.

 

 

Shoe of the Month Club

When a friend of mine, a confessed shoe addict, feverishly posted a link to Shoe Dazzle on her Facebook page, I was intrigued. And a little frightened. It’s just that the site (a shoe club that functions much like those ubiquitous CD clubs of the 90s) sounds too good to be true.

An offering from Shoe Dazzle

You take a survey. A team of expert stylists (apparently including reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who launched the online business) make personalized recommendations and then once a month (for the monthly membership fee of $39) you receive a new pair of shoes.

First off, how can an online survey detect my very individual taste in shoes? And second, for $39 am I buying a whole lotta pleather?

Well, according to About.Com’s Plus-Size Fashion, yes on both counts. “While the shoes were synthetic, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised, due to the price.” But: “Despite the fact that the shoes were not leather, they were carefully stitched and molded, and did not give the impression of cheap or inexpensive footwear, which is extremely important to me.”

More Shoe Dazzle selections

Other members also seem not to mind the synthetic material. Cyndi, a commenter on Upscale Swagger writes, “I am a Shoe Dazzler…great looking shoes, well made for faux leather, brillant idea Kimmy, Shoe of the Month club!”

Actually — and maybe surprisingly for a Web-based club run by a celebutante  who posed nude and released a workout DVD before launching her shoe service — the clammor of Shoe Dazzle is mostly positive.

Actually — and maybe surprisingly for a Web-based club run by a celebutante  who posed nude and released a workout DVD before launching her shoe service — the clammor of Shoe Dazzle is mostly positive.

Splendicity: “Remember when I mentioned I was shopping over at Shoe Dazzle? I got my package of awesome grey sky-high heels, and I thought that you might like to hear about what I thought. . . besides the fact that they were, um, awesome!”

Don’t like your monthly options? Choose the “skip a month” option and you’re not charged. But shoppers seem happy with the picks offered up based on how they answer a series of deep-reaching, soul-tapping questions (hint: Who’s style do you prefer, The Olsen Twins, Beyonce or Posh Spice?).

The cagey Marchesa

Blogger Plush Junkie seemed slightly flummoxed by her September choices, writing, “Here are the five styles of shoes that I was sent from my personal shoe stylists at Shoe Dazzle this month. Not sure if any of these are really doing it for me…” but then boldly admitting, “I am seriously drawn to the Marchesa and its eerie similarity to the YSL Cage heels that are hot right now.”

Maybe, just maybe, those expert stylists have found a way to tap our shoe psyches after all.

Tess Tuesday: Let the Wild Rumpus Begin

To be honest, we haven’t been this excited for a cultural event…

Since, well, since maybe ever.

And while we’ve determined that it’s impossible (or at the very least, certainly inadvisable) to actually become a wild thing…

That doesn’t mean you can’t, from time to time, pretend.  After all, aren’t fur (or faux) vests already an it item this fall?

You pair one of those babies with a pair of these babies…

And you’re good to go. And growl, if you want to.