Jellypop Shoes at LuckyFabb Conference!

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http://my.friend.vu/6866_0027
Jellypop Shoes Shoot!

Heels for Flat Feet

One of my good friends has struggled with her love affair with high heels.  Unfortunately, her flat feet syndrome keeps her from being able to really enjoy the happiness wearing high heels brings us.  She’s asked me to help her find heels for flat feet.  PROJECT! :)

So, not being flat-footed myself and not being an orthopedic doctor, or trained in that field in any way, I’ll give this my best shot.  In the research I’ve been able to find, it seems there is no cure at the moment.  There’s lots of stuff being done for a pill in the future but as for right now, I’m sorry ladies, it’s just not in the cards.  Some say that wearing heels makes it worse, and some even say that it’s the cause of flat feet.  There’s no research that really shows that, and most people have it since birth.  It’s possible your arches can fall over time, but that isn’t always attributed to wearing the fabulous heels. 

The other thing too is that there are no existing heels for flat feet situations.  This news totally bummed me out.  I actually do feel sadness when someone wants to bask in the glamorous splendor of beautiful heels.  I understand that joy and happiness.  I really do…. So someone being physically denied that, well just makes my shoe-filled heart sad.

But in accepting the challenge, and really wanting to help my girl, I think that there is a combination of things that can help.  Firstly, I think that these foot massages  you can give yourself are a great idea, even if you DON’T have flat feet, this looks and feels yummy when I tried it. :) I think doing some type of this stretching and massaging at your desk in a rather discreet way during the day will help you be able to make it through the “walking parts” of your day.  Also, getting custom-molded inserts is another helper.  I know you all probably already have them, so I’m likely preaching to the choir here.  But again, I’m not saying it’s going to get you doing the marathon 14-hour work day in them, but just that it will help tolerate them better.  The other thing is that you’re going to have carry around your flats with you so you can switch them out.  These are a compact and comfy option.   I’d hate to see you crawling to your car or subway stop at the end of the day. 

None of these suggestions will make your pains of wearing heels with flat feet go away, but I really think that they will give you a little less pain, or at least a little more tolerance and more of a real opportunity to wear them. If you have any better suggestions, I’d love to have you share!  :)

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The Webster At Target

Photo Courtesy of Target

I’ve been mildly intrigued by this whole “The Shops at Target” that has been peppered through rather cryptic commercials since January.  Of course I adore the bright colors but didn’t feel that the fashions were so moving that I should look into it further.  AND THEN, I got my May issue of Lucky only to be moved to the point of cyberstalking Target.  These ADORABLE wedges were featured in the Style Spy section as the $30 shoe you can’t live without!  And when Lucky says it, you KNOW its true!!

I’ve been combing the Target webpages trying to get more information on these wedges.  So not only was I able to find these sweet ankle strap gold linen cap toe melon orange canvas platform wedges, retailing for $29.99, I ALSO found the flats and the wedges in The Webster Palm Print, also for $29.99. 

And to my Mad Men pleasure, I discovered the entire The Webster at Target line.  The Palm Print has been cleverly styled to create an entire retro-fabulous line of Womens’, Mens’ and Kiddies’ clothes and accessories.  You may not have been able to do the summer vacation in Miami in 1964, but this line will style you up like you just stepped out of the time machine from there.  Simply put:  IT'S. ADORABLE.  The dresses come in such a range of shapes, there’s one for every body type.  The entire feel and design of the line tickles my art deco architectural loving bone.  *SWOON*

Now you may not get your summer vacation of your dream but you can certainly look like it in The Webster for Target collection.  The best part about it, is that it’s all on a Target budget.  Does it really get better than that?  The line launches on May 6^th so now the real question is, what’s going to be your strategy to get your hands on it?  I got mine ready! ;)

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Springing in the Rain

In this late Spring rain, I’ve had to rediscover my rainboots.  And while I love my zippy ones, these have me praying for more rain so I can sport them all over town.  The ‘Gabby’ is the latest design from our go-to wellies haven, Hunter.  I’m swooning over the great style that the combination of the high heel, lacing, and hardware has given to the classic rainboot.

They are just such genius really.  They have a fantastic design for rainboots.  The boot only goes up half way up your calf, about 9” high.  This is great for a lot of reasons.  For one, this is a perfect option for ladies with the larger calves that don’t normally get to fit into the classic Hunters, or most other knee high rainboots.  Another benefit is that being that they’re lower on the leg, you can get them off and on with much more ease.  This is great if you change them out at your cubicle.  You don’t run the risk of toppling over and giving your coworkers a fun clip to YouTube. ;) 

Like all other Hunters, they have insane traction.  The fact that these are 4” heels has not changed their commitment to traction in the rain.  The heel is SOLID.  It’s square and it has great gripping traction.  They’re better than a new set of tires!  Unlike the regular wellies, these have a little more cushioning on the plant of your foot which makes them utterly great to wear. They come in really fantastic colors that go great with just about any of your raincoats.   When you’ve already got to deal with the rain, the ‘Gabby’ will have you springing in the rain. (And the name choice is not too bad either ;) )

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The ‘You’re Making Me Love Wedges Even Though I Hate Wedges’ Wedges

I’m a complete Wedge lover.  I see them as tying together the best of both worlds, heels + flats.  Having a heel (with a platform) gives you long gams and flats give you the stability and help for the endurance long working days push you to have.  However, many ladies find that wedges are just plain ugly.  Comments like “old lady shoes” come to mind.  And I guess there are wedges out there that help add to your age, not to your leg length, but you can pretty much say that about any shoe.  That’s why you love me!  I help you find the ones that make you look as fabulous on the outside as you are on the inside. ;)  When my barista tells me she hates wedges, I take it as a challenge.  And that’s a challenge I am more than happy to take!  When I found these ‘Dixson’ suede platform wedges at Nine West, I knew these were going to give my barista something to think about. 

First of all, I just love them.  They’re sexy!  Nothing here reads old lady shoes. ;)  The high 1 ½” platform and 3 ½” heel totaling 5” helps you be the towering force you already are to reckon with.  The sole of the wedge has super grippy rubber to make you “stick the landing” even when wobbling through sidewalk cracks and cobblestone crosswalks.  And instead of avoiding the subway grates, you walk towards them with total defiance because you’re happy to show them how these wedges were made for walkin’.

What makes this wedge sexy is the way the heel of the wedge is curved in.  It’s almost like a real heel but without going too far into that wedge with a drawn heel on it.  Just like all of us beautiful ladies, it’s our soft and defined curves that make the boys want us more.  And as for my barista wedge doubter, she said, “Wow, you’re making me love wedges even though I hate wedges.”  Mission accomplished!

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What Would Project Runway All Stars Shoe? (#WWPRS) Neiman MONDO Approved!

The Project Runway All Stars season has come to an end, crowning it’s All Star winner last night.  And while I didn’t do an All-Stars What Would Project Runway Shoe?  blog series for it, I’ve been watching it religiously because I adored the All Stars crew.  I was fortunate enough to meet many of the All Stars at Fashion’s Night Out a couple years back in the Big Apple.  These designers, aside from being insanely talented, are just completely wonderful sweethearts who’s passion for fashion is so deep, it’s contagious.  *swoon*

So here’s your spoiler alert!

Last night’s winner who received Project Runway’s largest prize package yet, was none other than Denver’s best, Mondo Guerrero.  And I honestly cannot be happier.  I do think that Austin and Michael put out really fantastic collections, and what made it so hard was that while being so incredible, they were so different so it’s really hard to choose which collection was the overall best.  Tommy Hilfiger’s comment about Mondo’s Therapy collection being ‘60’s meets 80’s was so very on point, and probably why I am drawn to it so much.  It marries the best of my two favorite eras.

Even though Mondo won me over with his Calavera/Day of the Dead inspired runway in Season 8, he’s grown leaps and bounds with this entire season and his final runway for All Stars.  Because of how cohesive his black and white color palette was, I immediately thought of the Yves Saint Laurant Tribtoo cap toe pump in the black patent and red suede to pair with his divine designs.  From the first opening look he opened his show with, Mondo’s ability to make clothes wearable for the real working girl is apparent.  The Tribtoo’s Spring update is perfectly in line with the mod color blocking trend.  This shoe is so great for the gal sporting Mondo’s collection because it’s got enough classic lines and traditional conservatism with the black darted crescent toe and pump style that it balances out the red suede pop that has to be inherent in your sass, leaving you looking refined but alive among the stuffy suits at work.

The 4 ¼” heel seems towering to be able to pull off for a long work day but the Tribtoo has a 1 ¼” platform bringing the actual heel to a 3” height that’s much more doable for all the running from meeting to meeting.  The wide leg pants move just enough to let the red peek out from underneath.  And man, talk about making your gams go the distance in the mini dress with these.   Because they aren’t showing “too much” skin, you can pull off wearing the Tribtoos with the mini dress without looking being mistaken for that other kind of working girl. ;)   

These are not what you call budget friendly, rather they're an investment piece. ;)  But like Isaac Mizrahi said last night, you really can’t spend enough on your hair and your shoes, Daaarling!  And I definitely couldn’t agree more. ;)

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Loafin’ Around

As you all have figured out by now, flats are not quite my first shoe choice, regardless of the occasion.  However, in pondering the new fun bright colors of Spring, I came across these adorable penny loafers at Old Navy.  The whole penny loafer vibe brings me back to my old Catholic school days with the plaid uniforms and crisp white blouses.  The fond memories of making a mess while dying Easter eggs and Girl Scout cookie season remind me of why Spring is so fun and so happy.  These loafers hit that mark completely.

They come in three colors, yellow, navy and cognac brown.  I had to get the navy since I’ve found navy flats rather hard to pin down.  I was really excited about how well these fit.  Far too often I find flats that make a really large gap on the sides of my foot when I take a step…. That’s the sign of an ill-fitting shoe.  These didn’t give me that.  They only have whole sizes so in trying them on, it was the gap that determined the smaller size was for me.  They have a little cushioning on the soles making them really rather comfy.  They were perfect for my Sunday flea market shopping. ;)

Some other bonuses about these, are their super budget friendly $29.94 price tag, they’re vegan friendly for all my ladies who are dedicated to the vegan lifestyle, AND, best of all, no smelly or sweaty feet after a whole day of walking around. :)

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