Harajuku Lovers has apparently taken a page from Betsey Johnson and Beverly Feldman and gone from cute and casual to feminine and fabulous.

Perhaps, with LAMB shoes following the trend of increased prices that we have seen in more established luxury brands (Last spring, LAMB shoes were around $400, this spring some styles were near the  $700 mark), Gwen’s Harajuku Lovers brand is expanding to include club-worthy shoe styles at college-friendly prices? After all, it makes sense to establish a recession-resistant middle ground when the pricing on your flagship brand starts outrunning the budgets of your primary customer base.

Here are several favorites from Harajuku Lover’s new look:

Harajuku Lovers ‘Laila’ $80 at Zappos

Too bad I can’t successfully wear yellow.

This is a wonderfully vibrant spring style. And those heart details at the vamp and buckle are all girl!

Harajuku Lovers ‘Liberty’ $90 $73 at Zappos.com

With top canvas and rope details, these just might have fellow blogger trainingheels cringing in horror.  But, I’m pretty sure these are perfect for gals that love a casual sandal that can successfully dress up a pair of jeans as wekk as a fun and flirty summer sun-dress.

Harajuku Lovers ‘Paley’ $100 at Zappos.com

These red-hot penny-loafers are my absolute favorite -  conservative, but not at all stodgy or demure. I love a classic style with a sexy twist.

And look at this, much like Betsey Johnson, the soles are also part of the whole playful package:

Super Cute! How’s that for ‘secret soles‘.

There are several more Harajuku Lovers styles available that I haven’t shown here.  And, while I might miss the cute canvas casuals that were available last year, I love that some of the LAMB attitude is now available at Harajuku prices.

Because, however much I love shoes, I love not going into debt for them even more.  With prices ranging from $70-$100, these fun heels are accessible on most shoe-maven’s budgets.  Plus, imagine the prices if you run across them on sale.  Now that’s something to get excited over.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Vivre.com

Volatile USA’s ‘Nobu’ ($74.99 @ volatileusa.com; the Nobu is also available at shoes.com, Zappos & Endless)

They are a great spring-summer sandal in one of this season’s more popular colors - turquoise. These also have an appealing organic design that really works with a spring wardrobe; particularly if you are like me and have a lot of cooler tones in your wardrobe.

These sandals are available in whole sizes 6-10 B US sizing (37-41 EU). Sizing was my first challenge. As a size 7.5 medium who prefers a lot of toe room, the choice on whether to try a 7 or 8 is the first challenge I encountered.   So, I actually tried a size 7 in the turquoise, and a size 8 in black suede.

The good news is that both sizes adjust fairly well in that the buckled slingback and suede material allow for a lot of fine-tuning and comfort on the initial fit. However, the size 7 had more than enough space to accommodate my anything-but narrow size 7.5 feet.  And, while sometimes slingbacks feel like the strap is about to slip off your ankle, these stayed secure through multiple wearings.

How comfortable are they? Well, they did have a brief breaking-in period of about 2-3 wearings of 2-5 hours each.  Each wearing was successively more comfortable than the last; there were no blisters thanks to the soft suede and roomy shape, but I did get a bit of a workout re-learning how to walk on a platform wedge; these have an almost 1″ lift under the toe and about a 4″ overall lift at the heel.  The footbed it lightly cushioned, and after several wearings, this padding started to form to the shape of my arch - an absolute necessity if you have a higher arch like I do.  If you are not ‘blessed’ with high arches, you may have little or no break-in period with these.

Here are some pictures of how these bamboo-wrapped wedges actually look on the foot:

(Yes, I need a pedicure - fast!)

The turquoise color really is fabulous!

You can see here that the size 7 in turquoise is definitely roomy enough for those of us who normally wear a 7.5. And, while it looks like my pinky toe is trying to escape, it never has. The straps and cutouts are placed perfectly to avoid that happening on my feet.

You can see in this next picture that the size 8 is super roomy. I would definitely think someone who is an 8-8.5 would have no problem with this size working for them.

(If you feel the need to put on your sunglasses to view these, I understand - I really am quite naturally pale.  My hubby has joked that since I don’t tan, I actually bleach in the sunlight. But, I digress).

If I have piqued your interest at all, you can find many other styles of  ‘Very Volatile’ shoes at volatileusa, zappos, endless, and shoes.com.

I have to admit, that although Volatile shoes are a well-known regional brand in the areas such as the Southeastern United States (A ‘go-to’ for wedges, flip-flops, and animal prints), I was unfamiliar with them before I stumbled across them several months ago.

As a brand, Volatile has competitive pricing, current styling, and reasonable comfort.  This is particularly remarkable in the current climate of ridiculously rising shoe prices. This makes Volatile shoes a nice value, particularly for ladies on a budget.

And, if you can get both comfort and style on a reasonable budget, I’m all for that.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Vivre.com

Perenially outrageous, tasteless, naughty, funny Vice Magazine has a series called “Wear Dare” where friends dress one another horribly for kicks.

This is what I would make my best friend wear if we were on the challenge, a giraffe on one foot and maybe a pig on the other, although she loves pigs and thinks they’re adorable, so she might be okay with one foot. (When she was young, her mother asked her why she liked pigs so much and she famously said: “Because it looks like they’re wearing high heels!”)

On top, I think I would have my best friend wear an assortment of hot pink and animal prints. Maybe we would have to take it back to our childhood: a Hypercolor t-shirt with a leopard print jacket, a zebra print skirt, a wide alligator belt, neon scrunchies in her hair, neon scrunchy socks, a mink stole, a Davy Crockett fur hat and that hideous Coach bag that came out a while ago (the one pictured below looks like an imitation to me, but it’ll do), since my idea of a nightmare is someone who wears various animal prints at once. It’s an outfit destined somewhere between opera lady and bag lady!

Normally, this galpal and I love to get dressed up before heading out for an evening, but this would be mortifying and hilarious, and I don’t think I could get her out the door in this getup without some incentive. Pick us to do the next “Friends Don’t Let Friends Dress Friends,” Vice, and help us spice up our tasteful lives with some downright awful taste!

All right, bestie, I know you’re reading this, so what shoes and outfit would you have me wear? I’m bracing myself and ready for awfulness of a magnitude unknown to ShoeBlog readers thus far. Gold and fuschia high heels? Green vinyl thigh high boots? Clogs? Crocs? VANS???

And dear readers, what would you make your bestie wear if you were having fun for the night? I dare you to wear each other’s heinous taste picks in public!

Fresh from my email to your computer….. Piperlime is having a one-day 20% off pumps sale*.

Just enter the code “PUMPS” at checkout.

Happy Shopping!

* Offer valid online on Piperlime merchandise from 12:01am ET through 11:59pm ET on July 9, 2009 in the US only. Discount applies to regular-price merchandise in the Pumps category only, not on sale or final sale items, any other site categories, Giftcards, packaging, applicable taxes, or shipping and handling charges. Offer not valid on the following select brands: Belle by Sigerson Morrison, Botkier, Donald J Pliner, Emilio Pucci, Giuseppe Zanotti, Marc by Marc Jacobs and See by Chloe. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. No adjustments on previous purchases. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts including Gap Inc. employee discount.

Authentic Shops:


Zappos.com

Vivre.com

How cute are they!  Love her dress.  Want to touch his jacket.

The dresses were elegant, the details on the shoes were wonderful.  I fully expect to see these on red carpets next year.

Here’s the dress.

Here’s the shoe.  Do you love it or what?!

More of the shoes that walked the Valentino runway. 

Usually with Couture, one maybe two different pairs are introduced.  Six or seven distinctly different pair shoes were offered.   I can’t wait to see Penelope Cruz wearing Valentino shoes.

Well, okay, not feet, but ankles, and how important it is to treat them well and keep them healthy by doing exercises. Watch this video below for more and treat those ankles well, you’ll need them to carry you through your years in your craziest stilettos!

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Vivre.com

I can’t even focus on the boots because of all that pink straw.

This looks like a high school photoshop project.  Step 1: Insert tent.  Step 2: Insert fence.  Step 3: Insert horse. Then color leg wraps pink.  Step 4: Insert Britney Spears.   Odd.  Just odd.

Anyways, Kohls is offering a half off sale on their Candies shoes.  Here is what is offered.  Phyliss for $30.00 in black, pink and white.

Gabriella for $28

Drue Dress Pump $25

and finally, because we all know just how much trainingheels loves cork:

Flora for $25

The Pamela Wedge for $24

Most people, including doctors and podiatrists, seem to be skeptical about Fitflops changing your body, but at this point, I’m willing to give it a try. Any more comments or recent findings out there? I assume a lot more people have been trying them since it’s now warm outside. What do you think of them? If they’re not changing your leg physique, are they at least ubercomfortable and helpful for plantar fasciitis?

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Vivre.com

While you’re at it, check out Bloomingdale’s shoes on sale for under $150.

The difference was that the models were “half” dressed.

I would imagine real world clients will combine tops and skirts from these different outfits for real world wear.  I can’t wait to see how Charleze Theron wears this look on the Red Carpet.

Here are close ups of the shoes.    Note the sparkly hose. 

The embelishments,  make me think of old  girdle connectors.   I can’t tell you how many times I watched my mother squeeze into her girdle and hook her stockings with those little dealies.  

My favorite pair is below.

I love the hand work detail of couture.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Vivre.com