Firebird Festival

It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year: the Firebird Festival!  The good people of Phoenixville have built their ginormous wooden bird and are prepared to burn it down, after a day’s worth of dance and music performances and storytelling and shopping.  (And a parade!  With drummers and torches and everything.)  If you’ve never gone, you should at least once in your life—it’s pretty awesome to see the bird go up in flames.

And while a little rain may have made the ground soft and I don’t actually recommend wearing these shoes to the festival, they remind me an awful lot of fire so I find them appropriate for today:

Ooh, how devilish, with the black flames licking up the five-inch heels on these red patent leather babies.  And can we talk about the platform for a second?  I sort of love how it splits like that—so graphic.  They also come in black patent leather and gold or pewter leopard-print patent leather, which are cool, but the red is just too good.  Your choice from Costumes 4 Less for $96.

Ooh, I love these.  The Western by Gianvito Rossi is flames in a subtle way: a swirling cut out of red metallic leather lined with a clear PVC window.  They’re actually supposed to be an homage to the classic design of the cowboy boot (which would make these the coolest cowboy boots EVER).  But you have to admit, they still have an air of fire around them!  They’ll cost you a hot $995 at Lyst.

Okay, so the Teeze 27 by Bordello is a little less subtle than the Western, but you know, sometimes obvious has its place too.  Obvious, as in red rhinestone flames up the 1.75-inch platform and at the tip of the 5.75-inch heels.  Yep, obvious!  Also available as red on gold, but I sort of liked the red on black for the nighttime Firebird Festival.  Either way, they’re $116 at Shoebuy (whole sizes only).

Go—I promise you that you won’t regret it!  Festivities begin at 3 PM!

Sales this weekend:

Aerosoles: Extra 20% off already-reduced styles

Bakers: 20% off two pairs; 30% off three or more pairs

Lord & Taylor: 20% off almost everything with savings pass or code READY

Macy's: Take an extra 25% off with code GIFT

Payless: Holiday dress shoes up to half off

Steve Madden: 20% off $75; 25% off $100 with code MERRY

Philly Fringe

It’s time to get your theater on: the Fringe Festival is here!  Actually, this year the Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe have merged, so it’s technically FringeArts.  (Don’t ask me.  I keep an eye on this stuff, but I was never entirely sure about this two-different-things thing.)

But anyway!  There’s a lot of awesome stuff happening between now and September 22, so you should pick your shoes and get a move on!  Like Hush Now Sweet High Heels and Oak.  It’s got shoes right in the title!  Brian Sanders premieres his newest dance sensation involving high heels, nursery rhymes, and the black hole of memory at the 23rd Street Armory. An enormous dead oak tree stands next to a sand dune, and an adult’s bedroom, all game for the mystical playfulness of the dancers. Expect raw physical daring, striking imagery, live music, and a “sweet” in-your-face attitude.

The Bezel has the playfulness and sweetness in the pink, and the wood in the heel!  Just look at the gorgeous striped wood in the 4.5-inch heel—GORgeous.  The gold detailing up the front is a nice touch too!  Also available in a bronze metallic, though the prices are different—these pink ones’ll run you $63 at Nine West.

Bathtub Moby Dick delivers what it promises: a man reads Melville's novel and begins a journey towards madness in his bathtub. With every page he turns, he begins to believe he is aboard the Pequod and seeks revenge against the Whale. Set in an apartment Renegade creates an immersive audience experience.

Just in case there’s splashing!  The Zenia Whales Rain Boots by Merona will keep your feet dry with its rubber outer decorated with a pod of cheery whales.  I like the lighter blue details at the sole and at the top of the 11-inch shaft (shaft circumference is 14 inches).  Yours from Target for $30.

I also have to put in a good word for Chlamydia dell'Arte: MORE Sex-Ed Burlesque.  I have seen two other incarnations of the show (once I went in a feather boa!) since my genius co-worker is one of the brains behind it.  It is smart, funny, sexy, and an all-around good time, but the girls are promising more dancing!  More singing!  More fan dancing and striptease!  More hilarious burlesque about all things sex!  Come for the titillation, stay for the education, as the ladies say.

Did I mention fan dancing?!

The Siren by Bordello is so perfect—it’s even the color of Gigi’s fans.  Not to mention the red rhinestones on the small platform, slingback, and heel (nice and solid—good for dancing!)—this shoe was made to be on a stage.  Also available in pink, but… no.  Find them at Shoebuy for $80 (whole sizes only!).

The festival runs through September 22.  Hush Now Sweet High Heels and Oak has shows tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Bathtub Moby Dick has 10 performances between now and the end of the festival, pretty much daily.  Chlamydia dell'Arte: MORE Sex-Ed Burlesque opens tonight and has five more shows through September 19.  If these don’t tickle your fancy, well, there are about a hundred others to choose from!

American Spirits

Time to get your flapper on!  The National Constitution Center has a new exhibit just open that bring the story of Prohibition to life.  You know what that means: booze and flappers!  In the “spirit” (ha ha!), here are some shoes straight out of the Roaring Twenties.

Let’s start with a T strap in a classic, lipstick-red patent leather.  The Shelby2 by Gabriella Rocha has some really lovely stitching curving up around the heel and the toe.  It comes in a ton of colors (gray!  grape!  burgundy!  nude!  camel, which is slightly different than nude!), has a three-inch heel, and can be found on Zappos for $56.

There’s something so “gangster moll” about the black and white on the Staci by J. Renee, isn’t there?  A 2.75-inch heel, contrast “T” up the front, and sass to spare.  Yours for $76 from Shoebuy.

The Maebry by RSVP is a lovely two-tone, with gray up front and black around the back and up the 3.75-inch heel.  And look at the hints of metallic trim!  So chic.  Also available in navy/black and latte/black; your choice for $49 from 6pm.

Of course I was going to finish with something completely covered in glitter!  The Violette by Bordello is all glittered out (in gold, silver, green, purple, red, teal, blue, black, or pink), with a rhinestone buckle at the ankle to finish the look.  So fun for the holidays!  Find them all on Overstock (whole sizes only) for $49.

Go and kick up your heels at the new exhibit, which runs through the end of April.  They’re having a ton of events, too—there are two on Thursday alone!  It should be a “roaring” (ha ha!) good time.

The Vagina Monologues

So I’m in a play this weekend!  If you have nothing to do tonight or tomorrow afternoon, why not come out to Drexel and see The Vagina Monologues?  Don’t worry, I’m not going to post vagina-y shoes.  (What would that be, anyway?)  But the cast is wearing pink and black, so here are some pink and black shoes!

The Boston by DV by Dolce Vita is a black suede pump with a 4.5-inch heel and contrasting one-inch platform.  So very sleek!  Also available in blue with a black platform and gray with a rose platform; all from Shoes.com for $94.

The Apple Juice Flat by Sugar has a graphic black-and-pink (or green, or gray) stripe print, with a bold buckle at the toe.  A rubber sole, too, so you don’t slip!  Pick up yours from DSW for $40.

The Bella by Bordello is a peep-toe pump with a five-inch heel and a pink and black satin rose at the toe.  It’s covered in black lace and has a kind of dual platform: a pink hidden platform and a lace outer platform (totaling 1.25 inches).  Yours from Amazon for $56.

A classic!  The Bondi by Airwalk has a canvas upper (this lovely pink, but also in black or a really nice teal), padded insole, and rubber non-marking sole.  Pick up yours from Payless for $20.

Fierce!  The Lori WP has a satin upper with shiny stones, textured 5.5-inch wedge—and look at that about 1.5-inch platform!  Wow!  Also available in black; get yours from Bakers for $90.

Performances are tonight at 8:00 and tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 in the Mitchell Auditorium of the Bossone Research Center at 3140 Market Street.  It’s kind of cool—the cast is made up of undergrads, grad students, faculty, and staff, women of all ages and races coming together to put on the Monologues.  Tickets are $5 for students (all students! not just Drexel) and $10 for the general public—all proceeds go to help the women of Haiti and (closer to home) Dawn’s Place.

Sales this weekend:
Aerosoles: 15% off all full-priced items
Lord & Taylor: 15% off regular and sale shoes with sales pass or promo code STYLE.  Have a Lord & Taylor card?  Take an additional 10% off with code STYLEPLUS
Nine West: Up to 30% off round-toe styles
Payless: Spring preview sale