Halloween (Part I)

First of all: welcome to PhillyShoeFairy.com! Same great shoes, new virtual home. Now, down to business: Halloween. I love Halloween. I begin planning for Halloween in August. (I know. It’s unhealthy.) Costumes, candy, pumpkins, spookiness, crunchy leaves under your feet... to my mind, there is nothing better. Speaking of costumes, no costume is complete without the right shoes! On Friday I’ll look at some real costume shoes, but sometimes you want shoes that you can wear again in your real life. So if you’re being Dorothy, you might not want the classic square-heeled sequin shoe—you might want something like these! (What? I would wear these in my everyday life.) Satin heels, peep toes, platforms, and the classic little bow on the toe. This Dorothy has style! Whole sizes from 7-10; yours for $45 from Halloween Express.

Now Cinderella. There aren’t a lot of clear shoes out there that don’t make you look (1) like a pole dancer or (2) like an eighth grader going to winter formal, but these are lovely! This pair from Ellis has two straps covered in silver rhinestones and a nice little platform. And a five inch heel... no wonder Cinderella lost one while running away from the ball! It’s a wonder she could run at all. Available in whole sizes 7-12 (12!) for about $52 from Amazon.

Another classic: Cleopatra. Snake sandals probably aren’t so rewearable. These? Much more so!

The Ravenna by Sofft have a leather-lined footbed, cushioned footbed, and a zipper up the back and buckles around the ankles so you can adjust them. And apparently they are so comfortable you could not only run Egypt in them, you could run across Egypt in them. Also available in black for $80 from Zappos. 

Me? I’m being Sherlock Holmes. If you are too, and the awesome boots from Rocket Dog weren’t enough for you, how about these? The Morgann by Rampage is a nice flat (easy for chasing after criminals!) with a fabulous patent leather bow on the toe. Black and white is just so crisp, isn’t it? Find them at DSW for $40.

Stay tuned: on Friday, costume shoes so wickedly awesome you can’t wear them every day!

Back to School

Labor Day is over, and you know what that means: back to school! Ahhh... new backpacks, new books, new pens (can you tell I’m a bit of a nerd?). But don’t forget—new shoes! Let’s get into some school spirit, shall we? College-style! Ready, and:

“T” for Temple, “U” U-ni-versity! Fight, fight, fight! For the Cherry and the White, for the Cherry and the White, we’ll fight, fight, fight!

The Marika by Ivanka Trump have cherry and white written all over them! A half-inch platform, 4.5-inch heel, patent leather... just beautiful. On sale for $112.50 from Zappos.

Fight on, Pennsylvania! Put the ball across that line. Fight you Pennsylvanians! There it goes across this time. Red and blue we’re with you and we’re cheering for your men. So it’s fight, fight, fight Pennsylvania—fight on for Penn!

The Diane by Report are burgundy and blue suede and patent leather, with a 5-inch heel and 1.75-inch platform. Find them at Macy’s for just under $75.

Fight, fight, fight, fight; fight on, Explorers; fight on for L.S.U. Give ‘em “L,” give ‘em “A,” give ‘em “S-A-L-L-E.” So fight on to victory! I ADORE these! The Caskade by Nina has a navy satin and gold mesh upper, blue jewels at the toe, a shiny gold four-inch heel, T-strap, and leather lining. Also available in black/silver, burgundy/gold, and brown/silver for just under $100; yours from Zappos. My current school!


Fight on for Drexel, we’ve got the stuff we need to win this game. We’re gonna fight on for Drexel; take the Dragon on to fame. Fight on for Drexel, the gold and blue is on another spree. We’re gonna fight, fight, fight, fight for Drexel U, on to victory!

The Knot is made of blue suede (or black or red) with a one-inch platform and 4.5-inch heel. And I sort of love how the swirls are reminiscent of Mario’s undulating shape! (Mario’s the dragon.) Find them at Nine West for $99.

And my alma mater! “V” for Villanova, “V” for Victory, “B” for Blue and “W” for White—for the Blue and the White we will fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight for Villanova, fight for Victory; for we’re out to win the fray, Villanova leads the way, with a capital “V” for Victory!

The Olé by Kate Spade New York have a four-inch braided wedge, grosgrain ribbon around the ankle, and a blue and white rickrack toe. And the zigzags kind of look like V’s! Woo, Villanova! Yours for $225 from Nordstrom.

Oh, and St. Joe’s, I guess. Shake your tail feather. Et cetera.

The Porsha by Rampage has a polka dot upper, cushioned insole, and three-inch heel. Also available in zebra patent, black floral, and pink floral (the dots are cutest, though!) from DSW for under $20!