The New Glass Slippers

One of the first shoes we grow up with is Cinderella’s glass slipper.  It’s an icon, a cultural phenomenon, the shoe every little girl dreams of.  (Also impractical.  Glass?  C’mon.)

You can’t blame shoe designers for wanting to take a crack at it.  And fortunately, to coincide with the opening of the new live-action movie Cinderella opening today, Disney asked nine famous shoe designers to give us their best glass slipper.  And boy, did they.

Nicholas Kirkwood gave us these pointed toe pumps.  The bow at the back is covered with rhinestones, and the heel and toe are capped in silver.  The zigzag cut at the toe isn’t my favorite, but I LOVE the sort of iridescent-lace-over-PVC he used for most of the vamp.  GENIUS.

Paul Andrew gives us this pair.  Another pointed toe, capped in metallic silver and adorned with two rows of pointed aurora borealis rhinestones.  PVC up to the heel, which is covered in glittering silver stones.

Jerome Rousseau sort of went in a different direction, almost taking inspiration from the night of the ball: a midnight blue glitter sandal, with a clear toe strap dotted with silver and gold balls, almost reminiscent of planets in the heavens.

René Caovilla gives us a shoe that looks more like Elsa than Cinderella, perhaps, but I bet it would look like glass on-screen.  Light blue fabric covered in sparkling crystals peaks around the heel and cap toe, and icy mountains of PVC dotted with crystals make up the rest of the vamp.

Salvatore Ferragamo goes very structural with his heel, like the Eiffel Tower, or the antenna on top of the Empire State Building.  His heel and toe are capped in black velvet, and the vamp is clear.

Oh, Charlotte Olympia, I’d know you anywhere.  She goes the all-clear route, which I give her major props for.  Can we also appreciate for a second how well the heel is done?  Usually with clear heels there’s an enormous screw at the top that ruins everything, and she made it so tiny.  Also, the heel looks nice and stable, without the need for one of the metal spikes that usually supports heels.  Well done.

Stuart Weitzman is the only one to give us a bootie.  His cap toe of crystals comes to a slight point up the front of the foot, then sprinkles out to only a scattering stones up the rest of the mesh vamp.  For the heel, he goes white satin.

Alexandre Birman gives us two colors of glitter: silver on the wavy strip encircling the foot, and light blue down the back of the heel.  The rest of the vamp is simple white satin.

And the winner?  (This wasn’t a contest, except in my brain.)  My vote goes to Jimmy Choo.

OH. MY. GOD.  Just look at it.  Take it in.  It’s…phenomenal.  The vamp and heel are covered with silver crystals of varying sizes, and at the pointed toe is this crystal explosion.  (Major kudos for actually including glass.)  Words fail me.

The sketches themselves are also things of real beauty, and worthy of hanging on a wall.  The shoes will be displayed at an exhibit at the Berlin Film Festival, and will also be on display in early March at Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store in New York City.  The only way to get a pair for yourselves, however, is probably via fairy godmother.

Sales this weekend:

Sorry ladies, I'm away on a business trip.  You'll have to search out the sales for yourselves!

University City Dining Days

If you’re looking for something a little more substantial than Center City Sips, you’re in luck: it’s University City Dining Days!  Now through next Sunday, almost 30 restaurants are offering dinner specials for $15, $25, or $35.  So grab a friend and go!

Maybe you want some gyoza (my fav!) and mushroom wontons, niku jaga and shio buta, and dorayaki at coZara:

These beautiful sandals are very reminiscent of traditional Japanese footwear, aren’t they?  The shoe base is shiny black lacquer, and the straps are floral-printed in nine different color choices.  Yours for $24 from Ali Express.

Feeling more like Mexican?  Head to Distrito for chicharrones and esquites, huarache de costillas and tacos de pollo, and brazo Gitano:

The Mexican Embroidered Pump by Nicholas Kirkwood is a pointed-toe pump embroidered in light blue, dark blue, red, orange, purple, yellow… they’re all here!  The 3.5-inch heel is covered in red patent leather, and it’s trimmed in red as well, which is a nice touch.  There’s a padded insole as well, to help you stay comfy!  Find them at Saks for $595.

How about Indian?  Head over to New Delhi for bhojia, channa masala, garlic naan, and kulfi:

This pair of traditional Indian shoes is beautifully beaded in such pretty colors, isn’t it?  Pink flowers, blue flowers, green flowers… and the rest of the body is pink!  This will look really pretty under jeans when fall comes too.  Yours for $35 from Light in the Box.

Hmm, now I’m hungry.  Here I come, University City!

Sales this weekend:

Aerosoles: Extra 25% off all sale items

Bakers: Summer sandal sale-- 2 pairs for $100

Call it Spring: Extra 40% off all sale items

Lord & Taylor: 15% off regular and sale items and 20% off clearance items with code SAVINGS

Macy's: 15% off all shoes with code DEALS

Payless: Clearance sale-- up to 60% off

Saks: Final sale-- up to 60% off designers

Steve Madden: 30% off all clearance with code SIZZLE

Bastille Day

Bonjour, ladies!  Now that we’ve celebrated our own country’s independence, it’s time to celebrate the independence of the country that helped us beat Great Britain in the Revolutionary War: France.  Happy Bastille Day, France!  We celebrate with a proud tradition of throwing Tastykakes off Eastern State Penitentiary.  

Let them eat cake, indeed.

So show your patriotic spirit with the colors of the French flag: bleu…

Aww, the Canary by ABS by Allan Schwartz really remind me of the Eiffel Tower!  Don’t they, with the shape of the T-strap up the front?  And the bow at the ankle strap!  I think I’m in freakin’ love.  Also available in black and silver, and I have to say—they’re all equally beautiful.  I don’t know how you’d pick.  Find them all at Macy’s for $90.

…blanc…

Très chic, non?  The Balance by Badgley Mischka is a white satin pump with delicately stitched embroidery, a pointed toe, and 4.5-inch heel.  (Look at the stitching up the heel!)  Simple, classic, feminine, and yours for $225 from Zappos.

…et rouge:

These Lace Pumps by Nicholas Kirkwood are so lovely—such a sheer floral lace!  A pointed cap toe and gold stiletto finish the look.  (Look at that skinny stiletto!  Four and a quarter inches.  And do shiny!)  Available at Saks for $780.

And one more:

Oh la la!  These flip flops are so perfect for the outdoor festival at Eastern State (if you ignore the fact that la Tour Eiffel went up in 1889, a hundred years after the storming of the Bastille! but anyway...).  The strap comes in pink, yellow, and blue in addition to black, but none really look right.  Stick with the black!  A steal for $18 from Café Press.

Happy Bastille Day, all!

Sales this weekend:
Bakers: Buy one pair of sandals, get the second half off
Bus Stop Boutique: Save the date: trunk show at the Hotel Monaco next Thursday at 6 PM!
Bakers: 30% off all sale shoes
Lord & Taylor: Save 20% with promo code TWENTY
Macy's: Shoe sale and clearance, 20-50% off
Payless: Summer sale-- up to half off
Saks: Designer sale-- up to 60% off

Restaurant Week

January: it’s cold, it’s dark... but hey, it’s Restaurant Week!  Go inside and warm up at one of Philly’s hottest restaurants.  There are over 120 restaurants participating—you could do lunch and dinner each day of Restaurant Week and still have missed a hundred places.  Better get eating! 

Why not enjoy seared duck breast with truffle parsnip puree, gnocchi with sweet potato, kale, and mushrooms, and warm spiced bread pudding with butter pecan ice cream and cranberry coulis under the pearl chandelier at XIX?

The Pearl Platform Satin Slingback by Nicholas Kirkwood is a vision: a beautiful peach satin peep-toe slingback with a 5.25-inch heel—and a one-inch pearl platform.  Look at that!  Those big pearly beads go all the way around the platform too.  Breathtaking—and it better be, for $995!  Just head to Neiman Marcus to pick up yours.

How about a selection of hors d’oeurves, braised beef and bleu cheese crostini, the risotto of the day, chicken pot pie, and a chocolate milkshake at Time?  (Yes, you get five courses.)

So I’m going a little literally with the idea of a clock with the Tesla-12 by Demonia, but they’re so cool!  Four-inch heels, three gears up the side, a sort of bee medallion on the front, a cute cut-out at the toe... oh, and the liner is printed with gears too.  Nice touch!  There’s a zipper up the inside to let you in.  Whole sizes only; yours for $60 from Shoecup. 

Maybe the Mexican chopped salad, winter squash soup, huarache de hongos, and vanilla flan at El Vez?

A little Day of the Dead-inspired!  The Bettie Satin Bow Day of the Dead Platform Heel Shoes by Pinup Couture is patent leather printed with flowers and cheery dancing skeletons with a black satin bow, a 4.5-inch heel, and a one-inch platform.  How I love the spirit of these!  Whole sizes only; find them at RebelGirlz for $63.

Perhaps you’re hungry for chicken and ginger dumplings, Chilean sea bass, and dim sum doughnuts under the peaceful gaze of Buddakan’s iconic golden Buddha?

The Get Down by Dirty Laundry are a beautifully simple gold flat with a delicate bow on the round toe.  And hey, they’re lined in pink!  Also available in black with light pink trim, red with tan trim, and silver—pick up a pair from Zappos for $40.

Wherever you go, eat a fabulous meal, have a fabulous time, and (as always) be your fabulous selves!

Restaurant Week runs through February 3 (though not on the Saturdays).  Hurry up and make your reservations already!  I don’t think you could go wrong, wherever you pick.