Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

If you love shoes, check out my specialty blog, CHIC SHOE REVIEW, at http://chicshoereview.blogspot.com.  I review fabulous shoes (and some not-so-fabulous ones also).  I give each pair a 1-5 star rating and explain my rating. 

I love shoes, and on Chic Shoe Review I give you my honest evaluation of each pair of shoes posted.  Hope you find it helpful and entertaining.  Let me know if you have questions or comments.  If you would like me to review a pair of shoes from your company, please email me at cs.stylelife@yahoo.com with details. 

Thank you, and have a fabulous day every day.

COLE, WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO?

If you've been paying any attention to my Twitter, you'll have learned that Cole Haan and I are on a first name basis.
He makes shoes in my size, and for that reason alone, Cole and I are BFFs.

But tonight Cole has upset me.
His new Air Delfina Back Zip Wedges are $198 and their price tag is pissing me off a little.

 Dammit Cole.

I'm afraid to wait for a sale or an eBay score on these...
But alas, the cheap ass in me must.
There is NO WAY in HELL I am paying retail for these beautiful (and HIGHLY COMFORTABLE) casual wedges.

AND they come in 5 other friggin' colors too.

Sheesh!

--sad.

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DOLCE VITA FOR TARGET REVIEWS

I had an off morning/afternoon before my long night of work began, thanks to the four inches of snow that flew in while I was driving home from work last night, so I decided to take my little sister-cousin with me to Target.

I was looking for this dress, but my Target was lacking in their dress selections today (no bueno).

Instead I wondered over to the shoe racks and tried on the new spring Dolce Vita for Target wedges.

 

Dolce Vita for Target:

(the entire line)

The Wedges pictured above:

here and here

PROS:
So, absolutely, ridiculously COMFORTABLE!!!
Highly walkable--easy as pie to trek around in.
Price--for Dolce Vita

CONS:
For the size 11's I tried on I found them to be a little too lose in the all the straps--Maybe size down a HALF a size--I could still walk comfortably in the 11's, but I would have preferred the straps be a little more snug to my feet. As a size 11, I don't get that option--10.5 never shows its face in Target, especially for their designer lines. :(
Price--for Target
I feel like the 'cork-like' material on the dark wedges looks too cheap--although these are my favorite of the two pairs.
My toes look even more freakishly long in both of these... lol, sorry, I just had to include that here... I think it qualifies as a con.


I'll probably SKIP these (unless they go on a CRAZY sale--under $15--and they have my size when they do), but I recommend, if you HAVE TO HAVE these, to try them on IN STORE first, or you might be SORELY disappointed when you get these in the mail.

WHEELING AND DEALING

Wheeling and Dealing is what I do.
It is second nature.
It's in my blood.
I am woman, hear me roar...

okay, too much.

Sorry

Thanks to my god given ability to haggle I managed to score these suckers from Kohl's:

for an amazing price of $4.27, down from their original retail price of $79.99 .

Here the lowdown on my online/over the phone shopping spree:

I would like to mention that midway through my online purchase (because these shoes are only available ONLINE and NOT in store) I noticed that including the cost of Shipping/Handling would add an extra $9.00 to my order. Well I wasn't having ANY OF THAT NONSENSE... so I called a Kohls rep and told him my issue: These shoes are only available ONLINE and I couldn't find any valid coupon codes for Free Shipping, and since I couldn't just go to the store to get my shoes, I was forced to order them online... would it be possible to get the shipping/handling price removed? Thanks to the nice guy on the phone I got the Shipping/Handling waived and my order was reduced! YAY!

Who knows how long it will take for my shoes to finally arrive but for $4.27, I think that they are worth the wait.

Does anyone else have the INSANE shopping luck/skill that I have?!

DO you have any good retail/sale stories or tips?

Or is it just me!?

JeezLouise I love shopping :)

BLACK BOOTIE--KINDA LIKE BLACK BEARD THE PIRATE... BUT NOT.

FOUND and FELL IN LOVE with these:

Banana Republic

Corgie Open-Toe Zipper Bootie

However, I did not fall in love with the price tag:

$140

I decided to browse through the regular shoe sites and was lucky enough to fing a few alternatives:

Nordstrom

Trouve Alliance Wedge Bootie

$119.95

Piperlime

Boutique 9 Alynda

$79.99

Zappos

Carlos by Carlos Santana Versa

$69.97

(I don't know how long this shoe--in my size will last--
but I'm pretty sure this is the closest I'll get to a cheaper knock-off of the shoe from Banana Republic)

I'm definitely a fan of options one and three, more so than the second that I found...

I prefer wedges to regular heels any day. Wedges are far easier for me to walk in--plus when you add 3 or 4 additional inches to a 6'ft tall blond, you want to make walking as easy as possible. 

DRESS DILEMMA & A TARGET SCORE!!!

Hey there favorites, as many of you know I'm going back to MD on Friday for two weddings, one of which I'm the MOH :) Hollar!

Well as of this evening I have plenty of outfit ideas, nothing quite packed--instead piled everywhere in my room, and a dress dilemma.

I have absolutely NO clue what to wear to the first wedding that I am going to--for my rugby coach. And then, I have NO CLUE what to wear for Stacey's rehearsal dinner. Therefore, I have decided that I need to enlist in the aid of my fashionable, and brutally honest bloggers... YOU PEOPLE!

I took pictures, and have options for shoes, I just HAVE NO CLUE as to what should be my final choice [for both events]...

HELP!
[pretty please, with a cherry on top--and NOT a maraschino one, but a good one, a fresh one; right off the tree with the seed still in it--mmm]

So here I go:
[But first: HUGE, HUGE DISCLAIMER: My mirrors were totally messy when I took these photos--Don't Judge--It's been a busy week and I've been working doubles... ugh]






Option 1: Purple Strapless Target Merona Dress
[purchased YESTERDAY--I tweeted about the fabulous find--for 9.98!]

This dress I definitely do not want to wear to the rehearsal dinner. I called Stacey tonight and she told me that she is wearing a purple sundress and I don't want to wear the same color as her. She's the bride--I know it's not the wedding day, but still. That's tacky.
NEVER Ever, wear the same color as the bride; it's her day/week/moment, no one elses. That is just my personal opinion... and although Stacey told me that I could wear it, I just would feel rude if I did.
But I do love this dress. I found it randomly hanging in the hats and scarfs isle at Target yesterday. I decided to just take a look, saw the clearance price, hesitated on the size because it is a 10 and I've been a SOLID 12 for too long to remember.
I took the risk (i.e. the stress of trying on a dress you know is too small and getting frustrated with you, your weight, and the damn clothes) and I kicked ass because the sucker FIT!! And it was the ONLY one left in the store. They had others in different colors, but this was the only one in its color and the only one on clearance. Yay me! And Yay to luck.
I picked up the wedges that I'd mentioned here a few months ago... the Merona (Target) brand that was a cheap/steal knockoff for the Franco Sarto wedges. Well these babies FINALLY went on sale, and I ended up getting a $5 off coupon for another pair of shoes in the process. I HIGHLY recommend these shoes. They still have other colors in stock (black, blue, and pink--I got the brown/tan--both online and in stores--I'm very tempted to go back and get the black ones) and they are ridiculously comfortable! Plus they go great with the dress!

Option 2: Black Calvin Klein Dress

I like this dress a lot. (Plus it's a size 10 as well, and a score from Marshalls--under $30)
I also like the fact that I have 3 shoe options for this dress. I tried on my new wedges, my eBay scored Nine West heels (look at those heels--I love them!), and my ruffled flats from Payless with this dress and all go well with it. I especially like the flats with this dress option only because Stacey, her fiance, and the best man and I are all around the same height... meaning that I could wear my flats and not tower over everyone at the rehearsal dinner / rehearsal for the wedding.


Option 3: Black Strapless H&M Dress

This dress is definitely my go-to LBD. I wore it for graduation, Sum's bachelorette party last summer, I've also worn it out to an anniversary dinner with my ex... it is most assuredly a staple in my wardrobe. I remember when I purchased it last spring/early summer: my goal was to go into H&M and not spend more than $40 on a dress. I found this one and completely lucked out--in the sense that it has been very, very helpful in times of a "What Do I Wear?" crisis/meltdown.
Did I also mention that it has POCKETS.
That was just an added perk after I bought it. Love, Love, LOVE.



Option 4: Red One-Shoulder Limited Dress

This red one-shoulder dress is from The Limited. I actually picked it up this January with Stacey specifically for her rehearsal dinner... But now I'm not so sure.
It was originally $100+, but I found it marked down to $24 and then found out that it was on clearance for an additional 75% off! Talk about a steal. I might have mentioned it on the blog before... not 100% sure on that though.
I do love the one-shoulder aspect of this dress and the architecture of the fabric on the bust, but something is holding me back on it... I'm just not quite sure what it is. It might just be the fact that it's a RED dress and I'm not too keen on red [bad junior prom dress experience--long story--scarred for life/partially responsible for me not going to my senior prom].


Anywho, that is my dilemma.
Help me ladies and gents!
I need honest opinions and I need them fast. The first wedding (for my coach) is THIS Saturday and the rehearsal dinner is next Thursday.

Be Brutally honest... just don't make a girl cry.

Thanks!!!

SHOE REVIEW: COPYCAT TARGET vs. FRANCO SARTO

Thursday I mentioned the copycat Target wedges of the Franco Sarto wedges that I liked...

Franco Sarto [$78.95] (Target) Merona [$26.99]
(left) (right)

Thursday evening I tried on the black pair of Merona wedges. Although the quality of leather and of the Merona shoe are MOST DEFINITELY not better than the Franco Sarto heels (as Mr.A just pointed out to me), the Target brand heels are UBER comfy... and seem like they would hold up to a little wear and tear.

Even with my broken pinky toe the shoes were comfy!

I definitely recommend the Target heels if you are feeling the recession like so many of us are these days! They fit true to size... and if you are like me (blessed with GINORMOUS feet) Target offers up to size 11 (as does Franco Sarto).


**The only downside... No black heels for the Franco Sarto heels.

:(

CRUSING HARD

I told you I was in the midst of a WEDGE-fest...

I've been in shoe browsing/daydreaming heaven lately... I'm trying to re-adjust my current job situation, and I am in NO PLACE what-so-ever to spend ANY money on shoes! Especially on heels that I rarely wear.

If you know me, you know how much of a shoe hard on I get, then I wear the shoes a total of 5 times and they end up stashed away in my closet... it's bad. Really.

BUT I really, really want to branch out.

I want to break free... so to speak and get a cute casual pair of heeled sandals, or nice pumps, or something other than FLATS and BOOTS... that OVERTAKE my closet.

Mr.A comment the other day when I wore flip-flops (woo-hoo 56 degree weather!) that it was strange not seeing me in a pair of boots since I wear them ALL the TIME! :)

So here are a few of my shoe pics... some of my shoe crushes... eh... it's just some my shoe hard-ons for the moment:

:)

Lauren Ralph Lauren Skylar Sandal - $47.98
Jones New York Lagoon Platform Pumps -- $59.95

Aerosoles Plushing Bride -- $69.00

Nine West Entire Sandal -- $78.95

Ann Taylor LOFT Wide Strap Wedge -- $79.50

Nine West Guinevere T-Strap Wedge -- $78.95

Also, I found a pair of Franco Sarto heels that I like... BUT then found a pair of Target knock-offs on their website! Both sites offer different colors! :)

Yay! Found a deal!

Franco Sarto [$78.95] Merona [$26.99]

(left) (right)

SALES, STEALS & DEALS

Here is a new little feature I am going to try out...

SALES, STEALS & DEALS

I get bored throughout the day and find tid-bits all around the internet that I think some of you out there might like.

Lately I've been on this wedge kick. I have been browsing like crazy for a pair of wedge heels, in my size GINORMOUS of course, specifically for Stacey's wedding, and for casual/nice outfits for this spring/summer.

PLUS, with Mr.A being in the 6'4" range I've been wanting to try out a pair of heels with him ;) [but that is only after my stupid broken toe/sprained ankle heals... I tried to squeeze into the new pair of NineWest heels that I got from eBay yesterday. WHAT A JOKE! I could barely stand. My foot was in Ridiculous amounts of pain].

I stumbled across this pair of Pelle Moda wedges on Lori's Shoes and then went looking for a cheaper/knock off pair.

Pelle Moda
[$112.00]

I wound up going to endless.com and found these three similar babies which all happen to be near identical to one another AND are all CHEAPER than the Pelle Moda wedges.

BCBGeneration
[$79.95]
Wanted
[$33.81]
J Renee
[$49.47]

All of the lower priced wedges come in various colors: Black, White, Orange, Brown, Stone, Green, Fuchsia, etc... Only the Pelle Modas come in Black or Beige.

**********************UPDATE*************************

Found two more VERY similar pairs over on Amazon:

Bandolino
[$69.00]
Ralph Lauren
[$46.35]