Yes. We have worn our beloved shoes down to the pin that holds the tip of the heel to the heel shaft.

Not knowing what else to do, we walk around on the balls of our feet for the remainder of the day hoping our fellow shoe lovers don’t hear (or at least recognize) that embarrassing sound!

We suffer through the day and make it home. But now what? Do we retip, repair or replace?

Retip

To my surprise, there are quite a few do-it-yourself retipping products. This is a great way to quickly repair our heels!

High Heel Healers ($9.95/kit)

A tip repair tool kit that includes various pads, a filing board and glue. Contained in a drawstring pouch, this kit would fit in our purse or desk!

New Heel Tips ($5.95/pair)

Purchase abrasion resistant replacement heel tips in various shapes, sizes and colors. We will need a pair of pliers and a hammer for this DIY project.

GoGo Heel ($6.50/pair)

For those of us that don’t want to use tools, there is the Quick Tips® Instant Heel Cap by GoGo Heel. Simply attach a new cap over the old heel tip using a no-residue, self-fusing band. Unfortunately, Quick Tips is a temporary solution and will only protect the heel until we can get to a shoe repair shop.

Repair

In my opinion, having a cobbler professionally repair our heels for $7.50/pair (or more) is worth every penny! I’ve had several pairs retipped and have never had retip a pair more than once!

Replace

While we never need an excuse to go shoe shopping, it is nice NOT to have to buy yet another pair of black leather pumps. If we can repair our go-to shoes and keep them around for the rest of the season, doesn’t that free up our ‘shoe budget’ for a new, more fun pair of shoes? I think so!

Happy Shoeing!

When I was six months pregnant, I could barely get my feet into shoes…much less 4” heels! So congrats to these beautiful women for stylishly dress their baby bumps and walking in their sky high heels!

I know of a few other mamas that were able to wear heels while pregnant. How did you gals do it?!

Happy Shoeing!

Living outside of Boulder (where there is an unwritten rule against wearing stilettos) and working from home, I now have quite a selection of flats (gasp!). But I am searching for something more fun. I am seeking a cute, summer wedge.

Typically, I am not a wedge girl. I have a really hard time walking in heavy, clunky wedge heels. Ironically, I am much more stable in 4+” stilettos than I am in wedges.

That said, I on the hunt for the perfect wedge.

I found it once. It was the summer of 2007, and I stumbled upon the Hollywood Ending shoe by BC Footwear. I immediately fell in love with it!

It was a retro-inspired peep-toe wedge with polka dots and a tiny bow. The manageable 2 3/4″ wedge heel was made out of synthetic (almost rubber-like) material so it felt like a taller gym shoe! It was perhaps the perfect wedge. Correction. It was the perfect wedge.

I loved this shoe so much, I bought two pairs in case I ruined the white heel!

BC Footwear has since designed some similar shoes (Milkshake, Sprint, Three’s Company, and even this season’s Break the Ice), but nothing compares to the Hollywood Ending.

Here’s hoping for a Hollywood ending to this situation! Off to shop…

Happy Shoeing!

But shoe designers have taken rock ‘n’ roll to the next level! Metal is no longer on the heel…but on the shoe itself! And while I truly appreciate and admire these designs…even I would be afraid to wear them. I could see myself ripping up my legs and possibly inflicting damage on others! Ha ha!

If you are ever in a mood to kick some serious a**… perhaps slip your feet in some of these!

Pumps with studs.

Pumps with spikes.

Pumps with serious attitude.

Here’s to you SM who wore heels with spikes on NYE! You go, girl!

Happy Shoeing!

Since its inception in 1981, GUESS has grown to become one of the most widely recognized shoe brands. GUESS shoes are designed to have a cool and casual appearance that can be dressed up or down and worn for any occasion. GUESS shoes offer a vast selection of silhouettes and heel heights. GUESS is synonymous with glamorous style at an affordable price.

Found at discount retail and online stores, like DSW, Zappos.com, 6pm.com, GUESS shoes are almost always on sale or available with a store discount.

You can also find some great deals on GUESS.com. Today, there are 27 pairs of GUESS shoes on sale for less than $50.00!

Happy Shoeing!
Happy Shopping!
Happy Me…I’m off to GUESS.com! Nine pairs are just not enough!

The goal of these classes is two-fold: to teach women how to walk in their favorite heels “without looking highly uncomfortable and awkward” and to strengthen abdominal  muscles, backs and legs so that they are “more reliable when it comes to wearing high heels.”

A few thoughts.

1. This isn’t new. Some gyms have been offering this type of workout since 2008.
2. A personal opinion. If women need to go to a class to learn how to walk in their shoes, they probably should have purchased kitten heels before diving into stilettos.
3. A professional’s opinion (by Trina Altman at yogatuneup.com). Your exercise routine should not reinforce the postural positions you do all day long. So if you slump over your computer all day, you probably shouldn’t hunch over your spin bike at night. And if you walk in heels all day, you probably shouldn’t go to a class that reinforces a tucked pelvis and pointed toes.
4. A closing question. Isn’t walking in heels workout enough? For those career-crusaders and high-heeled mamas, isn’t walking to the car, bus or other transportation, dropping the kids off at daycare, climbing the stairs (multiple times a day), walking to meetings, going to the grocery store and then picking the kiddos back up at school ALL IN HEELS enough of a workout? I say yes! (But perhaps that’s just my excuse for not going to the gym! Haha!)

Happy Shoeing!

After my daughter and I dropped the boys off to ski the high country today, we visited one of my favorite mountain stores! Slopeside Cowboy in Breckenridge, CO.

Their collection of handcrafted boots is breathtaking. Hundreds of cowboy boots that combine vintage Old Western charm with contemporary styling. Uniquely displayed from floor to ceiling, the boots at Slopeside Cowboy are some of the most colorful, intricate and remarkable boots I’ve ever seen!

One pair in particular caught my attention.

Knowing literally nothing about cowboy boots, I inquired about the price.  The woman (who I believe owns the store) answered, “My, you have quite an eye. You picked out the most expensive pair of boots in here. These Luchesse boots are listed at $2,600, but I can give you a 10% discount.”

Choke. Cough. Laugh.

“Wow! That’s just a tad out of my price range.”

After catching my breath, I continued to admire the pair, but at a much farther distance…especially with my 18 month old in tow!

But do not despair, I found several other pairs in my price range. Unfortunately, I walked out empty-handed; but I will be back, Slopeside Cowboy!

Happy Shoeing!

After a successful first year, they decided to host a similar event in 2012. They solicited new and gently used shoes from across the world. Receiving an overwhelming response, they auctioned off more than 500 pairs of shoes to 550 guests and raised more than $19,000 for two Canadian charities!

After such positive feedback, they are now planning Stilettos for the Cure 2013. This year’s event will benefit the Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre and the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness.

And they are once again soliciting new and gently used heels. So if you have a pair to spare, considering donating it to Stilettos for the Cure.

For more information, visit www.stilettosforthecure.com.

Happy Shoeing!

Take, for example, Suri Cruise who was wearing makeup, fur and heels at the age of five! UGH! Even Manolo Blahnik doesn’t approve of high heels at five! Katie has since come to her senses…divorcing Tom AND stripping Suri of her designer dudes and heels.

But what do you do if your little girl WANTS to wear high heels? How soon is too soon? When does dress-up become dangerous?

I ask because my 18-month old daughter recently received a pair of Snow White heels (which were on clearance at Walmart for $2) from Mimi. At first, both my mom and I were hesitant to open them and give them to her. Was it too soon? Would she hurt herself?

It was her brother’s birthday (and she turned 18 months the same day), so we decided to go ahead and let her open a gift, too.

OMG!

As soon as the box was open, she pulled off her socks and slipped her feet into the heels as if she already knew what to do. She confidently walked back and forth as if she were on a runway. On the carpet. On the hardwood floors. She didn’t fall or falter ONCE! When one heel accidentally fell off, she balanced on the other heel while gently slipping the other foot back into the shoe!

WHAT!?!

This is a little girl who has trouble keeping her balance in bare feet…much less running shoes. How was she doing this?

We were dumbfounded. Speechless. Amazed. Amused. And concerned.

Had we just opened Pandora’s box?

Thankfully, her heels have not become an obsession. She wears them maybe once a week…barefoot, with footed jammies, or with socks!

As she flawlessly struts her stuff down the hall and back again, I silently cheer to myself, ‘You go, girl!’ as I don’t want my little girl to grow up too fast!

Lakefront Brewery tours, Festa Italiana, the Lakefront Art Festival, Lulu chips and blue cheese dipping sauce, brunch at Trocadero, Hi Hat martinis, Mac at Balzac, spilling beers and eating pickle spears at Palomino, At Random’s Peanut Butter Cup, Rubin’s Furniture, Third Ward Gallery Night (and Day), good friends, my family…the list goes on and on and on and on. (And I’m stopping now before the water in my eyes turns to tears!)

And I cannot forget the unforgettable Mr. Shoe!

Mr. Shoe is a hole-in-the-wall, East Side shoe store that sells a variety of shoes at crazy low prices. And when I say variety, I mean variety – men’s shoes, running shoes, pumps, flats and exotic/stripper shoes that come in larger sizes for those that like to cross dress!

I would often walk out of there with 3 or 4 new pairs of shoes for $50! While I did not invest in the exotic footwear, some may claim the shoes I bought from Mr. Shoe were indeed exotic. Great patterns, cheap material, and a LOT of fun to wear!

And today, ladies and gents, I found my new Mr. Shoe! Angels – a crazy cheap shoe store in the Flat Irons Mall! I bought two pair of awesome shoes (pictured in this post) for $30!

These aren’t wear-to-the-office shoes (that is, unless you work from home! )…but they are lets-have-a-good-time-Friday-night shoes!

So excited! Thanks for introducing me to Angels , CW!

Happy Shoeing!

p.s. Mr. Shoe now has two locations AND an online store for anyone interested in exotic shoes! Ha ha! Unfortunately, the prices are not as cheap as they once were!