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!

Happy Birthday PSF!

Lots of things to celebrate this week: the city wasn’t washed away in torrential rain. Leaves are on the trees and flowers are blooming (finally).  And Philly Shoe Fairy turns three years old! Hooray!

There’s a party this weekend, of course (hope you’re coming!), and every party needs a good pair of party shoes.  Feast your eyes on this selection!

The Nadeah by ABS by Allen Schwartz is a beautiful teal pump with a round toe, but it’s the heel that’s special: four inches tall and covered in rhinestones!  It’s so sophisticated and rich, what with that deep color, like a peacock turned into a shoe. Gorg.  If you agree, pick up a pair at DSW for $65.

The Viv by Coloriffics is so ladylike: ivory lace, rhinestones, and I’m really digging how the fabric at the heel curves around towards the front.  It has a four-inch heel, and three-quarter-inch platform, and a zipper up the back to let you in.  Also available in black or nude; your choice for $125 from Zappos.

Wild!  The Hondola 3 by GUESS has cheetah pony material at the __-inch heel and _-inch platform, but the upper—the upper is gold glitter!  It has a peep toe, and interesting cutouts up the side of the foot towards the ankle.  I just love the shapes on this… and the glitter and the cheetah, too, of course!  Yours for $78 from Heels.com.

Ooh, rhinestones everywhere!  The Lulu by Benjamin Adams London is just covered in silver rhinestones.  There’s a five-inch heel and one-inch platform, and an adorable sort of almondy-round toe.  I think the toe might be my favorite part.  Which is saying a lot, considering the amount of rhinestones here.  Find them at Nordstrom for $449.

And the grand (and I do mean grand) finale:

It’s a party in a shoe if I’ve ever seen one! The 80^th Anniversary Glittery Feather Ankle-Wrap Sandal by Rene Caovilla is just fun everywhere: the bright pink, the glitter straps, the multi-colored feathers going every which way, the curlicue around the ankle… and don’t miss the glitter sole!  You have to admit, it’s fun as hell.  Yours for $1175 from Neiman Marcus.

So happy birthday, PSF!  Celebrate in style!

Sales this weekend:

Bare Feet Shoes: 10% off Sitewide with code SPRINGFEVER

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

Macy’s: Extra 25% off with code MOM

Payless: Buy one, get one half off

Happy Shoe Year!

Happy New Year, deputy shoe fairies!  I love the bright, shiny, fresh new start that the New Year brings.  You know what else it brings?  A new color of the year!  For 2014, I present the glorious pinky purple that is Pantone’s Radiant Orchid:

Love.  So here you go!  Deck yourself in the color of the New Year!

The Azelle is a little on the purple side, maybe, but it’s so fun!  I love the crystals all over it; I love the swirling cut of the vamp… I want to wear this to every party.  It has a 4.5-inch heel and a small platform underneath the peep toe, and is also available in black, but…black?  Come on.  Radiant Orchid.  Your choice for $60 from Nine West.

This shiny orchid beauty is the Laetitia by B Brian Atwood.  It’s a metallic snake!  Come on, that’s awesome.  Can I also say how I love the heel?  I love the shape it makes where it joins the shoe, and I really like the contrast of the black.  (That heel is 4.5 inches, by the way.)  The double ankle strap is a bit unusual!  Cool feature.  Find them at 6pm for $209.

Glitter flats! This pair by Pompili may be simple in silhouette, but not in materials: orchid glitter on the outside, trimmed in shiny orchid fabric and topped with a shiny orchid bow.  And silver on the inside, too!  These are all kind of fun.  Pick up a pair at Lyst for $45.

The Louie by Michael Antonio is an almond-toe pump with a body of orchid faux suede and a toe cap of black faux leather.  Classic and fun at the same time—not to mention on-trend!  The heel is 4.5 inches high, and there’s a hidden half-inch platform… and it comes in a ton of other colors!  Seriously, there are eight other choices.  (The black and yellow sort of reminds me of The Bride’s jumpsuit from Kill Bill.  But I digress.)  Your choice for $50 from Heels.com.

Oh god, I think I’m having a shoegasm.  The Embellished High Heel Ankle Tie Sandal by Rene Caovilla is magnificent beyond words.  Sure, the toe strap is simple, but the ankle… the ankle!  Rhinestones in blue and gold and purple (er, orchid), and the sole is all silver glitter!  If I could wear one pair of shoes for the rest of my life, it might be these.  They’re not out yet, but you can preorder them from Neiman Marcus for $1695.

This color makes me so happy.  I hope it brings you happiness in 2014 too!

Sales this weekend:

Sorry ladies; still on vacation!  Be back next week.

Oscar Night

The glamour, the jewels, the hair, the makeup… must be time for the Oscars!  Film’s biggest night is this Sunday, and you can be sure the starlets will be decked out to the nines.  (Maybe even the tens.)  Drool alert.  And even if you can’t see them under the sweeping hemlines, you know every woman is in an extraordinary pair of shoes.  Maybe something like these pairs of couture beauties I give you today!

The Cassiane by B Brian Atwood is a cascade of loveliness: gold metallic snake at the toe and up around the ankle, delicate gold chains down the front of the foot, a five-inch heel and a one-inch contrast platform.  A zipper up the back lets you in; find them at Shopbop for $425.

Oh god, they’re like Fabergé eggs you can wear on your feet!  The Jeweled Ankle-Wrap Platform Sandals by Rene Caovilla are blue suede sandals (trimmed with gold leather on the one-inch platform) with an elaborately jeweled crisscross up the front of the foot: blue and orange and green and red and purple, all in gold.  It also has a five-inch heel, but check out the sole—covered in silver glitter; Caovilla’s trademark.  Pick up a pair for $1365 at Neiman Marcus.

The Leaf-Embellished Wedge Sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti are so sculptural, with the gold leaves floating up the front on straps of black patent leather.  (And see those two buckles at the ankles?  Love!)  The body of the shoe is black suede, and while it is one of those heel-less heels, it looks more like a wedge (a 5.25-inch wedge, with a one-inch platform).  Yours for $1695 from Saks. 

The W12A313292-24 by Dsquared2 is too amazing for words: a body covered in silver glitter, a pointed toe, a 4.25-inch heel, and a chain of rhinestones from a handful of rhinestone flowers on the toe across the foot and up the outside.  To.  Die.  For.  Yours for $718 from Zappos Couture.

So grab some popcorn and settle in for a night of beautiful fashion—head to toe!

Sales this weekend:

Bakers: 40% off full price items, plus an extra 20% off sale items
Lord & Taylor: 20% off regular and sale and 25% off clearance with code FEB
Nordstrom: Shoe clearance-- save 33% or more