Magic Beyond the Gardens

Tomorrow night, one of the most unique sights in our city will be transformed into a twinkling wonderland of mirrors, full of excellent food and local spirits, good music and good friends.  Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens’ 2012 gala, “Magic Beyond the Gardens,” is going to be a night to remember.  Inspired by the gardens’ mirrored, mosaic walls, here’s a collection of shoes from Etsy that will have you shining the night away!

Maybe a wedge?

This magnificent shoe has round rhinestones all over its platform wedge, and more on the shoe body mixed with intricately placed mirrored pieces.  Look how closely they fit—like some kind of impossible, very sharp jigsaw puzzle.  These are from Etsy seller JSparkle (a local company!) for $300.

Prefer a flat?

Look, mirrored Chuck Taylors!  Who says you need to be in heels to be fabulous?  Each pair of gray Chucks includes over 250 pieces of mirror, and has over 100 crystals on each toe—packed with sparkle!  Find them from Etsy seller All Things Glam for $145.

There’s more to mirrors than silver, of course:

This one’s not for the faint of heart, but it sure reminds you of the Magic Gardens, doesn’t it?  It’s just covered every which way with small purple rhinestones, big purple and silver rhinestones, purple glitter, purple ruffles... if a Mardi Gras float was a person, she’d wear these.  And she’d be fabulous.  These are $175 from Etsy seller Shoes for Queens.

You know what we’re missing?  Spikes.

Sorry for the picture with the words all over it, but... holy spikes, Batman!  If Dorothy landed in some sort of punk rock Oz, maybe, and needed to use her shoes to kick the Wicked Witch instead of melting her with something so plain and boring as water...  *Snaps back into reality.*  These are really something.  And can be yours from Etsy seller Lina Joyce for $238.

There aren’t a lot of mirrored shoes out there that aren’t handmade by someone, but I did stumble upon one pair:

The No Prive Mosaic Slingback Pump by Christian Louboutin is almost like a bowl full of shiny jelly beans, so bright and springy.  It has a five-inch heel (red, of course) and one-inch platform, and is covered all over with reflective paillettes—even up the slingback!  That’s a little tough.  Yours from Neiman Marcus for $1995.

The shoes today were all a little pricy (though super fun to look at)—fortunately, tickets to the “Magic Beyond the Gardens” gala are only $75 each!  (Or $125 a pair.)  That’s a pretty good deal for what is guaranteed to be an extraordinary time.

Sales this weekend:

Bakers: 25% off all pumps and heels

Lord & Taylor: 20% off one pair, 25% off two pairs, 30% off three pairs or more

Macy’s: 20-30% off select styles, plus another 15% off and free shipping with code SAVE

Payless: Buy one, get one half off