The retail version of these black lace court shoes by Valentino is available now at Nieman Marcus:

However,  on the retail pricing issue, these hit a more negative note.

So, are these retailing for $1000, $2000, or even $3000?

Nay, I say.

These babies will run you a cool $4700 – plus shipping.

Ouch.

Are these pretty?

Yes.

Unique?

Certainly.

Are they nearly 5K worth of all that?

Not in this shoeblogger’s humble opinion.

What do you think?

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Saks Fifth Avenue

Patrick Cox turns 47 today.

Patrick is a Canadian born designer who at 19 produced his first pair of shoes for Loucas Kleanthous, a Toronto based designer.  Loucas encouraged Patrick to go to design school.  Not one to let his studies get in the way of his education, Patrick, through his partying,  made friends with Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano who were rising fashion stars at the time. Vivienne had him design the shoes for her Clint Eastwood collection in 1984 and designed the shoes for Galliano’s Fallen Angels collection in 1986 and continued to work with Galliano for six years.  I tried to find photos of those two collections but failed.   

He designed the prototype for Vivienne Westwood’s shoes that tripped up Naomi Campbell on the Paris Catwalk  in 1993. 

Here are more Patrick Cox shoes for you, via PatrickCox.com.

Leli

Dorothy

Tiziana

In 2008 he sold most of  his company to “Fast” Eddie Davenport because the recession hit the business hard, then in 2009 there was talk about litigation.  I hope Mr. Cox is able to salvage his company.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Saks Fifth Avenue

August 2009.  At the September Issue Premier in New York wearing watercolor floral  Thakoon dress and  Prada (I think) shoes.

October 2009 wearing a gladiator-ish studded dress from the  Prada Fall 2009  with Prada sandals.  I love the red lips. 

August 2010. At the MOCA 30th Anniversary Gala wearing Prada from the Spring 2010 line,  shoes fron the same collection.  These shoes have that clear Lucite heel. This is probably the most amazing skirt around. 

February 2010 at the BAFTAs  in Vionnet dress, YSL shoes.  This is the second Vionnet dress Carey has worn.  She wore a gorgeous red dress  and nude Vionnet pumps on October 2009 for the premier of An Education in London.  Galligator told us abut this design house a few months ago. 

Apparently Anna Wintour has taken a liking to Carey.  The story Carey tells is that,  ”Anna said I should wear short for the Oscars. I was like, ‘No that is so not what I had in my head when I was six years old!’

For the Oscars, she went long, even with a train. (I guess not everyone does what Ms. Wintour says.)  She wore a Prada dress with Prada sandals.   The dress got mixed reviews.  I think she looked great. 

This is what she wears on her day off.  This photo was taken the day after the Oscars.  Trapeze smock, brown jersey pants and black ballet shoes.  Just the right outfit for Los Angeles.

 It will be fun to what she and Tiina decide for the Costume Institute Gala and Cannes.  It will undoubtably be beautiful.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Saks Fifth Avenue

I would LOVE the Gaultier shoes from his Fall Couture line, but that isn’t going to happen.

So I decided to see what endless had for a substitute.

Miss Mooz Full House Sandals $95 at endless.com 

Moda Spana Pamper $75 

Moda also had a green platform pump that was made of the same green leather.  They are really cute.

Harajuku Lovers Avallon $100 

Isn’t the little heart on the heel adorable?

John Fluevog Pearl Hart $208

Fluevog always offers a funky taste to his high quality shoes.  I love them.

For those who just can’t bring themselves to wear a REALLY green shoe, here is an olive green boot that is nice. 

Eric Michael Soho $130

The following is what I ordered.  I hope they fit properly because I really need a green shoe for next year.

Miz Mooz Waverly $95 at endless 

So if you are going out, have a pint of green beer.  I am staying home and will be serving a Guinness Beef Stew and Irish Soda Bread. (We had corned and cabbage last year.)   Dinner is at 6:30, so come by.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Saks Fifth Avenue

 Jean Paul Gaultier with Lily Cole.

It had a 60’s Avengers  look complete with furled umbrella, bowler hats and lots of leather.  Love it.

I am a natural redhead who looks great in brown, tangerine and rust. When I saw this outfit I started making a mental list of how I could re-create this look for myself.  It is smashing. 

Here are the shoes Gaultier put with these outfits.

I saved the best for last.   How gorgeous are these boots.  I would wear these every day if I owned them. 

(Images Style.com)

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Saks Fifth Avenue

Pointy toe shoes are returning, so dust off your Guess “Carrie” shoes because we will be seeing more pointy toes in the future.

Prada

Valentino.  There was a flat and a kitten heel also presented in this collection.

Louis Vuitton

While stilettoes were seen, typically  if the heel was high - especially boots -then it was a chunky heel.  I love the stability chunky heels offer.  Can you imagine tottering around in the above Vuitton shoes if  the heel was pencil thin?

Alexander Wang

Fendi

Erdem – love the print on these boots.

Not many wedges were seen, so I am guessing we will be seeing those phased out over the next couple of years.

Kenzo

Bottega Veneta featured this wedge on all the shoes.

Dries Van Noten.  I LOVE this half wedge.

With the retro girly-fication of the styles  no tough girl platforms were necessary.

Marc Jacobs

Dolce Gabbana

Carolina Herrera

Lanvin (Arguably the best line of the season.)

But lots of platforms were presented.

Christian Louboutin for Phillip Lim

Michael Kors

Burberry Prorsum

Brian Atwood for Victoria Beckham.

There must have been 10 different colors of this shoe because Mrs. Beckham likes to match her shoes to her dress.  These shoes are nice but nothing to hyper-ventilate over.  Her dresses were nice, wearable, and pretty.

Over the knee boots will be around for a while.  We saw over the knee boots in several presentations.  Since this is the fall season, we should not be surprised.

Burberry Prorsum presented some of the season’s favorite boots.

Roberto Cavalli

Statement shoes were everywhere.

If you are a chiropractor, you NEED these shoes.

Dsquared

Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte

Louise Goldin

Chanel.  Notice the ice heel.

Chanel’s show, in my opinion was one of the goofiest ideas I think I have ever seen.  Uncle Karl shipped a glacier from Sweden to Paris, had it sculpted it for the runway, put it on a swimming pool type platform,  then the models walked through about an inch of melting glacier water.  He presented some beautiful suits, IF you could see past the heinous fake fur that accompanied these outfits.  Global warming, glaciers melting, save the furry animals was the message of this show.  Here’s the thing. 1) Lagerfield  used more fur in Fendi than virtually any other collection, so why use cheap looking fake fur with Chanel.  2) The carbon footprint of this show was massive and the power it took to present this show could have powered a small country.  (Here is where I usually go off on my global-warming-leadership-hypocrasy tirade, but I won’t because you came here to see shoes.)

OK,  I rarely look at purses, but I WANT THIS PURSE.

Forgive me for this long post, but there were so many beautiful shoes, and even more beautiful outfits.  I wanted to show them all to you but that isn’t possible.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Vivre.com

For our beloved readers who have not entered the Johnston & Murphy Spring Shoe Giveaway yet, there is no better time than NOW since today is your last chance to do so.   All you need to do is tell us your favorite shoe from the spring collection over here and you’ll be entered to win.

Now, I had the opportunity to try on these Johnston & Murphy’s riding boots (full disclosure:  I have J&M to thank for the opportunity but the assessment is my own).  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised, so much so that I’m going to shell out to get these in black as well.

Even though J&M is relatively new to women’s footwear, their experience in crafting footwear is evident.  I’m judging this on a few fronts.

AESTHETICS: First off, the boot looks great.  For me, even if a shoe is super comfy, if the shoe is ugly that’s a deal breaker.   This  riding boot is pretty timeless and what I consider to be a staple for your wardrobe, especially since it is easy to pair this for skinny jeans and a loose sweater.  I also like the ever so small heel since I need as much lift as possible.

FIT: Now I have fairly large calves so I have a hard time fitting into many tall boots.  This wasn’t a problem either because of the back zipper.  My main word of caution is that the boots absolutely will not fit those who have wide calves.

COMFORT : Ohh laa laa – these boots are super comfortable.  On my first outing, with baby and stroller in tow, I totally forgot that I was wearing brand new boots.  They didn’t require any breaking in.  Each J&M shoe has memory foam built into the insole so that might explain why I was so comfortable.  In fact, J&M has a ‘Walk Test’ guarantee where you can try on shoes for 10 days.  If you aren’t satisfied, you can bring the worn shoes back for a full refund.  Now, this guarantee isn’t available for women (from what I can tell) but I hope this will change.  The heel that I previously mentioned also gives me a bit of arch support.

QUALITY:  The leather is also pretty buttery and soft.   With tall boots, you need to be able to flex and I was happy that the leather wasn’t stiff as a board.

Anyways, enough already.  Why don’t you give Johnston & Murphy a try and enter the Spring Shoe Giveaway over here. Who knows, you might even get lucky on St. Patrick’s Day.

ShoeBlog’s Latest Shoe Giveaway:

The kensiegirl shoes will follow a fall color palette inspired by the kensiegirl apparel collection and will retail for a mere $49 to $59. According to the press release, “The collection will be launched to the trade at FFANY in June 2009, and will be available for purchase in department and key independent retailers beginning in October 2009.”

But you can enjoy these fab Kensie shoes right now at Macy’s and Zappos.

I’ve searched high and low for the attached shoes and I’ve come up empty handed.  I don’t know what else to try…so I’m trying you all!  I joined your forum and love your blog…it’s given me several ideas to date.

Do you happen to know what makes these shoes and where I might find them?

Any help or guidance, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jenn

Luckily for Jenn, this shoe was tickling my memory.   It is definitely similar to styles that we saw being produced by many designers last spring; blending cage and gladiator sandal styles with a zip-front and high heel.  After a little bit more investigation to jog my memory, these are eerily similar to the (now out of stock)  Christian Louboutin ‘Zipette’ that was available for sale last spring and the prior fall (2008-2009).  That double platform has been favored by Christian Louboutin for several seasons now.

Unfortunately, these are past-season shoes which will make purchasing an original Louboutin style a challenge and test of personal patience (which can pay off, if time is not an issue for you).

On a positive note, there are several designers producing similar, zip-front, caged gladiator sandals for the upcoming spring 2010 season.

The original Louboutin Zipette has long since sold out of luxury retailers such as Saks and Neiman Marcus. So, now it’s up to Jenn. Does she wants to pursue a Louboutin aftermarket shoe-quest? Or would she prefer a to look at similar, but not identical, offerings that are currently available from several other brands?

I have rounded up several alternatives if she is looking for a style to wear this spring, since a Louboutin quest can take months or years.

Velvet Angels ‘Mondrian’ platform sandal $189.66 $294.95 at Endless.com

Jessica Simpson ‘Stelana’ $75 $87.95 at Zappos.com & Endless.com

Steve Madden ‘Hitower’ $99.95 at Zappos.com, Stevemadden.com & Endless.com

Promiscuous ‘Social’ $76.23 $100 at Zappos.com

BCBG Max Azria ‘Aceline’ $ 140.0 $250 at Endless.com & $147 at Zappos.com

Promiscuous ‘Enraptured’ $106.60 $139 at Zappos.com

We hope that his helps Jenn out in her quest for her perfect high-heeled cage gladiator.

• One word of caution for Jenn if she decides to go the auction/aftermarket route:  There are numerous Louboutin counterfeiters out there these days.  If you find something in your size claiming to be the Louboutin Zipette at auction  online, please be sure to have them authenticated, so that you can be confident in your purchase.

ShoeBlog’s Latest Shoe Giveaway:

The shoes in Paris seemed to fall into one of two categories: boring boots or impossibly weird abstraction/comical portrayals. These photos are via nymag.com since I was sadly not there to witness Paris.

What is up with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s critter kookers?

Hussein Chalayan, meanwhile, gave us grandma-on-acid legwear with men’s shoes. Etrange!

The legwear matched the neckwear. Do you remember ER, Endoplasmic Reticulum, from freshman biology? That’s what this stuff looks like to me. Where are the ribosomes? Is this organelle going to swallow us whole?

At Givenchy, red, black and laceups with hexagonal buttons were the rage. Some of these boots were pretty but with so much red? Red pants and red tights with red shoes seems a bit much, especially in this shade.

At Gaultier, weird, gauche Asian-influenced style ruled. Sure, the Chinese slipper with ballet lacings inside the platform is innovative, but the colors are so outlandish and the shapes are such an eyesore, I cringed all the way through looking at these. And what modern woman really wants to look like a raver candy-colored geisha/elf on acid?

We see what you are going for here, Gaultier, and we just want to let you know that you need to go back to the drawing board and erase some of the cheese. It looks like you stole your fabric from the discount bin at Chinatown’s worst shop and threw some sweatpants made from dishtowels on over dollar store tights.

Some of the others at Gaultier weren’t QUITE as appalling but were still generally a tad bit frightening, especially when combined with horridly ugly pants meant to show off the socks and shoes.

Have we noticed that every single model’s feet are too big for the shoes? Inside the closed-toe shoes, the models’ toes must be aching! I heard that a lot of these ubertall models wear size 10 or 11 shoes! No wonder they can’t find shoes their size!

Chloe didn’t show us any love with weird bootie boots emblazoned with their name. Nothing to be proud about, these horsey moonboots.

Miu Miu did something playful but doubtful in its show. It looks like Minnie Mouse’s ears and bow have been folded over this foot! This is too hot for summer and will get wet in winter. Perhaps with a different fabric like leather?

Sonia Rykiel to the rescue. She had at least one lovely pair of shoes, though they weren’t avant-garde in any way and should’ve been a larger size for this model, whose heel sticks out awkwardly. Why can’t her Target collection have shoes like this instead of just weird stripey clown sweaters no fashion-loving Frenchwoman would ever wear?

She also had some kooky jewels on some ugly shoes (which, although they were the same shape as the above beauties, seem to be horribly and quickly made, with wrinkles and uneven stitches).

Maybe next time we’ll see some things that strike wonder and fancy with their innovation instead of just strangeness and confusion. Until the spring shows!

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Saks Fifth Avenue