All the Gelt!

The first candle of Hanukkah will be lit tonight.  Ah, Hanukkah: the time of tasty latkes and everyone’s favorite top game, the dreidel.  You know the drill: roll a shin and put one piece of your foil-wrapped chocolate gelt in the pot; roll a nun and nothing happens and the next player spins; roll a hey and you take half the pot; roll a gimel and you take the entire pot.

Here’s hoping you get all the gelt this year!  If not, here are some coins for you (sadly, though, not chocolate):

The Maite Flat Sandal by GUESS by Marciano has silver coins dangling around the ankle strap and neatly ordered down the front of the foot.  The rest of the shoe is a silvery snakeskin they’re calling lime for some reason, though it’s also available in black.  Your choice from GUESS for $130.

These beauties are copies of a Jimmy Choo design, but for much cheaper.  (The quality… who knows?)  The gray python fabric covers the toebed and the stiletto heel, while purple braid winds its way up your foot and ends in multicolored tassels: green and blue on one foot, and red and purple on the other.  Yours for $90 on Ali Express.

Now that’s what I’m talking about!  The Gypsy by Funtasma is covered in clinking gold coins: two rows over the toe, and two around the ankle as well.  Just the sound of you coming in these is sure to make your dreidel opponents quiver in their boots!  Yours from Exotic High Heels for $37.

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish shoe fairies!

Philly Beer Week

It’s Philly Beer Week!  Hooray!  So much to do, so much to do…beer gardens, block parties, a luau, even a carnival!  So no matter how you take your beer, there’s an event for you this week.  Let’s see, what to order?  Here are some suggestions from local breweries:

Kilty Pleasure Scotch Ale by Philadelphia Brewing exhibits a subtle aroma of vanilla and boasts a rich six-malt body tempered by heather and hops.  Mmmmm.

The Preppy-03X by Funtasma is a kilty pleasure, all right!  The beautiful red plaid outer is very similar to that on the beer label, but this is topped with a black patent leather bow at the peep toe.  The heel is four inches, and an inch-high platform finishes the shoe.  Yours for $47 from Overstock.

In Troegs’ constant evolution as a brewery, they’ve developed an undying drive to meld the organic and the mechanical.  Perpetual IPA utilizes their hopback and dry-hopping to engineer a bold Imperial Pale Ale.  It features Bravo, Chinook and Mt. Hood hops in the boil, Mt. Hood and Nugget hops in the hopback, and is further dry-hopped with Citra and Cascade hops.

The organic and the mechanical meet in the Morgana by Hades—fur and machine.  It’s sort of steampunk-fabulous, isn’t it?  Four buckles at crazy angles up the sides, a beautiful metal-worked heel (five inches tall), tufts of brown fur all over… everywhere you look it’s something different.  Find them at Greater Medical for $163.

  

One of my favorites—Lancaster Milk Stout!  As one of few surviving examples the traditional English Sweet Stout, they are pleased to offer a dark ale bursting with roasted barley dryness, mellowed by addition with off non-fermentable lactose sugar, providing a minimal sweetness.

Moooo!  The Cow Print Pony Hair Slipper is just that: a smoking slipper in pony fabric, printed like cow hide.  It’s trimmed in black around the foot opening, and you can’t see it in this photo but there’s a stripe of red trim up the back of the ankle too, for a pop of color.  Yours for $340 from Del Toro.

 Cheers to all!  Happy Beer Week!

Over the Rainbow

When I was but a little Shoe Fairy, I apparently made my parents put The Wizard of Oz in the ol’ VCR just about every day.  Looking back, this probably had a lot to do with my love of shoes and sparkly things (but especially my love of sparkly shoes!).  I have a feeling that Deputy Shoe Fairy Nick may have a similar story in his background, but he gets to live the dream tonight in the red shoes himself!  His alter ego, Aida Snatchwell, is Dorothy in a drag-tastic production of Oz! Over the Rainbow, and his shoes are dreamy:

If you’re inspired to don a little ruby footwear of your own, here are some choices!

We ought to start with the classics, right?  Sequined body, geometric bow, sensible heel for walking all the way to the Emerald City… these look like Judy’s pair, all right!  And Etsy seller Princess Pumps has got the chops: they designed some shoes for the London production of Wicked!  Order a half size up and they can be yours for $110.

While you’re in the Princess Pumps store, check these out:

The heel is striped like the Wicked Witch of the East’s iconic socks!  Awesome.  These are a little taller than the first ones (gotta have room for stripes!), but have the same geometric bow.  This pair runs $125.

Sparkly, sensible slippers!  The Star-16G Flat by Funtasma is a basic round toe flat that is heel-to-toe red glitter.  (And topped with a little bow, too, because what ruby slipper can be without its bow?)  Also available in about 10 other colors—I’d recommend the green, if you’ll be in the Emerald City!  Yours for between $26 and $45 (depending on color) from Amazon.

If The Wizard of Oz was filmed today, who’s to say Dorothy wouldn’t be in a pair of these babies?  Those spikes would help keep away the wickeder elements of Oz, for sure!  The body is covered in rhinestones, spikes snake up the 5.5-inch high back, and a zipper up the side lets you in.  Reviews say they’re easy to walk in (must be the 1.6-inch platform) so step right up!  Yours for $87 from Milanoo.

Whichever your choice, they’re all magic (though I can’t guarantee their ability to get you home by clicking your heels!).

Oz! Over the Rainbow is tonight at 7:00 at Stewart Middle School (1315 W. Marshall Street, Norristown).  Tickets are $10 and proceeds go to help The Foundation for Hope.

Sales this weekend:

Lord & Taylor: Save 15% off regular price, sale, and clearance items with savings pass or promo code MAY

Macy's: 20-30% off select styles

Nine West: $20 off select styles

Payless: Summer preview sale

Seven Shoes (And One Poem) for Mom

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,

The Starla by Loeffler Randall is so beautiful... I can’t think of a more beautiful sandal!  It has a metallic gold leather upper, ties with a string dotted with glimmering stars, and is a little bit of celestial heaven on earth, wouldn’t you say?  It’s quite popular at Nordstrom (for $175), so if you’re not a 5.5, 6.5, 8, 10, or 10.5, you’re on the waiting list!

Hundreds of shells on the shore together,

So maybe these flip flops don’t have hundreds of shells, but there’s probably about 50—and starfish, too!  Since they’re from Café Press you can change the strap color from black to pink, blue, or orange; but any choice is still only $14.50!

Hundreds of birds that go singing by,

The Love Dove is gorgeous in shades of gold, black, and rose, with snakeskin straps (and slingback) and decorated with three beautiful birds.  It is one of those wonky heel-less heels, and is nearly six inches high, so watch out!  (It does have a two-inch platform, so that helps.)  Find them at Irregular Choice for $260.

Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.

Ahhh!  These lambie slippers are so cute!  But the cuteness isn’t the only thing that’s amazing: they are scented with lavender to relax you, AND they are microwavable, to make your toesies toasty warm!  Yours for $30 from BunnySlippers.com.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

Just like dewdrops on a spring lawn, yes?  These round-toe beauties by Pleaser are just covered in rhinestones of different sizes (down the five-inch heel, too!).  Also available in white, gold, blue, and fuchsia; your choice for $187 on Amazon.  Whole sizes only.

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,

I sort of love the Buzz-66 by Funtasma: the yellow and black stripes, the patent cap toe, the yellow-trimmed criss-cross straps, and I ADORE the little flower and bee at the 4.5-inch heel!  So cute!  Whole sizes only; yours for $40 from Costumes 4 Less.

Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

This is the glass slipper of wedges: a sky-blue jelly-type upper bedecked with a kaleidoscope of butterflies.  (Seriously, that’s what a group of butterflies is called.  Or is one of the options, anyway.)  It also comes in a deeper blue, a pink, or an unfortunate brown (brown?!); your choice for $69 from Light in the Box.

But only one mother the wide world over.

(Poem by George Cooper)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sales this weekend:

Aerosoles: Spring sale

Bakers: 40% off select styles and an extra 20% off already reduced items

Bloomingdales: Select shoes 25-40% off (plus an extra 15% with a Bloomie’s card)

Lord & Taylor: Save 20% off regular and sale items with code EXTRA

Macy’s: 10% off with code GIFT

Nine West: 30% off your entire purchase

Payless: Summer preview sale

Saks: Sneak peek sale up to 30% off

St. Patrick's Day!

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day!  I am part-Irish, giving me carte verte, if you will, but I believe that on St. Patrick’s Day everyone can be Irish if they want to be!  Wearing green, of course, is a must.  Don’t ignore your feet!

The Bardough by Nine West have a 5.25-inch wedge with 1.75-inch platform, woven in greens and white.  And speaking of weaving, look at all those straps!  Awesome.  Also available in six other combinations; find them on Endless for $99.

The Glitter Flat by Funtasma is all-over lime green awesomeness!  (Or regular green.  Or gold.  Or red.  I swear, these come in any color you could possibly want, and then three more.)  The lime green are about $33 from Amazon.

 The Patent Leather Point Toe Mary Jane by Manolo Blahnik is just that.  It has a 2.75-inch heel, and I love the little button at the strap!  Also available in blue; find them at Saks for $685.

The Electra by Nina is so very classic: apple green satin, a four-inch heel, a half-inch platform hidden under a peep-toe... I even enjoy all the gold on the inside, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!  Also available in fuchsia, gold, navy, black, grape, ivory, silver, red, and something called “powder sand.”  Yours from Nordstrom for $99.

And one last pair, for the leprechaun in all of us:

Covered in glitter!  Shamrocks at the toes!  Gold accents!  Not for the faint of heart, maybe, but neither is St. Patrick’s Day!  Yours for $36 from Party Supplies Delivered.

Whatever you’re planning to do tomorrow, may the luck o’ the Irish be with you and have a fabulous time!

Sales this weekend:

Sorry ladies; I’m still in Orlando.  You’re on your own until next weekend!