a material girl stuck in a not-so-material work world

9.26.2006

Oh Deer! shoes

Thanks to paz, a couple months ago I discovered that there were shoes besides Louboutins that had red soles.

I've looked for Oh Deer shoes at Nordstrom, and Macy's and haven't been able to find them to try on.

So today I finally bought some at Zappos. With free returns, I've got nothing to lose, right?


I did follow the commenters' advice and ordered an 8, which is a half size up from my norm. We'll see.

They were $113.95 on Zappos, but with their 110% of the difference price policy, I got them for $87.59 because I found them for $89.99 on this site.


Update: 10/1/06 - Unfortunately, these shoes were not for me. The size 8 was too big (so much for following the advice on Zappos!), but that was just the beginning - the peep toe was too small for my feet - my toes are not that long, so it looked weird. The front part of the shoe is small, so my feet looked all scrunched up and my legs looked not-so-good. It's a beautiful shoe, just not for me! Loooove the red bottoms though!!

9.21.2006

Hmmm... I kinda like this sweater jacket


It's gray. It's a sweater jacket. Both are big for fall.
I wonder how it would look on... [$60 on Bluefly]

Runway at Maxx, and shoes

I've been spending lots of money on other areas of my life, and I decided I've gotta come up with some cheaper option for fall shoes.

Yesterday, I stopped by TJ Maxx and checked out their Runway at Maxx stuff. It was designated with signs and balloons. Clothes-wise, there were about 8 or so (picked-over) racks of higher-end stuff (Ralph Lauren, several Kenneth Cole leather jackets (all size XL), and some brands I'd never heard of). They also had several shelves full of jeans (Yanuk, Seven, etc.). Overall, I was unimpressed. Until I checked out the shoes - not exactly part of the "Runway at Maxx" section, but Stuart Weitzman, Cole Haan, Matisse, Via Spiga, oh my! Granted, most of the higher-end brand shoes left were larger sizes. There was a super-cute pair of black knee-high Cole Haan leather boots in my size (marked $150), but I have bigger calves, and alas they did not zip up.

What I found quite funny though, was the men's Runway at Maxx "section": One very small, very disheveled-looking rack with a few pairs of jeans and shirts crammed on it. Poor boys.

As always, TJ Maxx had the best selection of handbags. I love looking at handbags there.

Also, in my never ending quest for a pair of red-soled (ala Christian Loubitan) shoes - I did see that Chinese Laundry does this on some shoes as well (I saw a pair of black patent ones like those - $49.99 at Shoe Cents). They looked reeeaaally cheaply constructed. I really want to find a store where I can try on Oh Deer shoes.

In the end, I didn't buy anything for me. Probably a good thing.

9.14.2006

I heart Jessica's boots



Love these boots Jessica has on. They remind of the Coach ones I've been drooling over. [Source]

9.13.2006

Houston News

Clinton Kelly is coming to the Galleria Macy's on Sept 21!! Yay!!

The Runway at Maxx is coming to 2 Houston area TJ Maxx's. Including my favorite one, on West Gray.

It will feature "designer casual, career and evening wear, as well as shoes and handbags." Which will have the "same names that grace the runways of Paris, New York, Milan and other fashion capitals worldwide."

Sounds good to me. Can't wait to check it out!

[Thanks, ShopGirl]

Fall jackets

I've been wanting jackets that will look good with my brown & gray & rich colors wardrobe that I'm aiming for fall/winter. I have 3 corduroy jackets (in winter white, olive green-ish, and chocolate brown), and a lot of black jackets & coats. I want something a little nicer to wear to go out, as well as something to keep me warm. The only jackets I seem to be finding are corduroy, and I obviously don't need any more of those. Plus - corduroy is not really all that dressy.

So, I've been contemplating glen plaids. And I've found that it's hard to find a non-suity jacket. In NYC this week, I saw a couple I liked at the temporary UNI QLO for $60 each, but the arms were too big on them, and they looked faded (although it may have been the lighting). They did have super-cute corduroy jackets (love the gray), and a really cute dark denim jacket.

I also found a BCBG one at Dillard's (and again at Bloomingdale's). Even if the price tag didn't deter me ($200+), they still didn't have my size.

I also saw this DKNY $278 coat at Nordstrom's. Gorgeous.


And there's also my old standby - Gap. Their jackets always fit me well. They have this $88 green-ish one, but it looks a little frumpled to me (especially for the price!). Might have to check it out at the store.


Also, just saw this BCBGirls purse - very cute. Looks a little Marc Jacobs-ish.

Also, is it wrong that I saw a girl on the SATC tour wearing this (gorgeous blue) BCBG dress and couldn't remember if I had seen it at Forever 21 or the BCBG dept at Dillard's? By the way - thin clingy knits? Just say no. This girl had a good body, and it still showed EVERY bump. Not good.


9.05.2006

"Shoes of Death"

I have sworn many-a-time that I would never buy shoes over 3.25" - I can sense how tall a pair of shoes are when I put them on - and I know I can't walk very far for very long in them without my feet hurting. I also have a theory that Carlos Santana hates women. He makes some very cute shoes (and some really not cute ones), but they always have very high heels.

So what did I do? I fell in love with some chocolate brown Carlos Santana shoes - complete with a 3.5" heel.


I've looked at these $89 shoes a couple of times at Foley's/Macy's, but this weekend, I really wanted some brown heels to wear to go out. They didn't feel that bad when I tried them on, and the guy at Macy's offered to give me a (hush hush) 11% "international shopper" discount. So I bought them.

As I continued my shopping trip, I peeked in the window of the Naturalizer store, and saw the exact same shoe. ON SALE for $70. [The color says "bronze," but they are really dark brown - even darker than the CS ones, even though the pics don't show that]. This was a sign, I needed these shoes. And they were Naturalizer, so they're bound to be more comfortable than Carlos Santana - right?

Of course, they are not. I tried to protect myself with ball-of-foot cushions. The front strap was already a little tight, but I thought they might help. I wore them out to a couple bars on Sat night with my Pine IV jeans and a dark green strapless top. The first bar (sitting) was ok. The second bar (standing for an hour) was not. My toes felt like they were bleeding.

After recovering for the rest of the weekend, I brought them into work today. I wore different shoes for my long walk in, but I'm wearing them around the office, and they seem ok. I took out the cushions, too.

I'm also going to NYC this weekend (yay!), and I want to bring them, but I'm scared!