Summer is officially here, and even though we might not be ready to ditch our beloved ankle boots,  pointy toe heels and flat espadrilles we’re finding that with the assortment of colors everywhere its easy to find a nice, cute, cheap  yet chic pair of wedges from some of our favorite brands and online retailers.

PROMISE = These Island Yellow shoes is a 5 1/2 inch espadrille wedge with yellow straps and a tan woven upper. $49.99

TOPSHOP= These super comfy Wyatt Print Peep Espadrilles are the perfect wear-all day sandals because of the low heel height. 3 inches to be exact. Was £50.00 Now £30.00

ASOS = Even those these ASOS Pansy Mary Jane Platforms With Raffia Wedge Heel are 5 inches high, don’t be fooled, the fact that its a wedge makes walking super comfortable. Can go well with an all white ensemble. NOW $53.44

RIVER ISLAND = It’s like a floral bouquet to your feet.
super high. super colorful and looks super chic.
blue floral print canvas platform wedge sandals.
Upper Canvas, Sole Plastic. £69.99

JEFFERY CAMPBELL = If you’re into something really psychedelic then these pair of Jeffrey Campbell
Zag Platform Wedge – Desert Stripe are right up your alley.  $175.00

Click on images for larger details.

One vintage place that I still consider a hidden gem, is Guerrisol Paris. It’s one of my best places to shop for thrift and vintage in Paris because its the only thrift store that doesn’t give a damn about carrying what’s in style or even trendy.

They just hang what they want, and you can leave with a bag of clothes for under 30 Euros!

I went to the one at Place de Clichy last week, and walked away with three blazers and a pair of pants. The blazers were 3 Euros each! Much cheaper than anything I  buy in Freep Star in the Marais ( unless you have the patience to dig through the 1 euro bill bin thats upstairs in the badly lit tiny cluster).

Be aware, because this is more of a Thrift shop rather than Vintage shop, don’t expect the selection to be pre-scanned for your shopping pleasure.

So you’ll occasionally see the “who in da heck would buy that!?” item here and there. But whatever, don’t judge, get what you want and move on. I’ve yet to be disappointed.

Net-a-porter is having a massive sale ( not yet open to international buyers) and as much as I’ve tried to resist the urge, I find myself constantly clicking back to the site. So for once and all, here is my list of items on sale that I want to get ( might not even get any of it). But I have to get it out of my head, and hey you might like some of them too, so get your shopping on. Share the love tell your friends!

The shopping list from left to right:

ALAÏA
Leopard-print calf hair ankle boots
Was $2,225 Now $1,112.50

CHURCH’S
Burwood perforated leather brogues
Was $440 Now $220

DION LEE
Silk-crepe blazer
Was $1,020 Now $612

GIVENCHY
Leather wedge boots
Was $940 Now $564

ISABEL MARANT
Gava cotton-raffia and leather pumps
Was $820 Now $492

JIL SANDER
Light-weight taffeta parka
Was $1,875 Now $1,312.50

LD TUTTLE
The Grip open-back leather boots
Was $550 Now $275

RAPHAEL YOUNG
Multi-strap leather ankle boots
Was $1,025 Now $512.50

SEE BY CHLOÉ
Derby lace-up leather boots
Was $415 Now $249

STELLA MCCARTNEY
Cotton-poplin coat
Was $1,165 Now $582.50

THEYSKENS’ THEORY
Leather ankle boots
Was $645 Now $322.50

ALEXANDER WANG
Dakota cutout lace-up ankle boots
Was $650 Now $325

Buy them for only £ 38.00 UK = $62.00 U.S. dollars

What a better way to beat the Monday blues than with a cool sale on some shoes?

See what the Chloe boots look like here on Net a porter’s website, they also look like the Chloe Kimberly without the heels.

*inexpensive.

Be still my heart, while my brain calculates how to get these BALENCIAGAs into my life!

Here I’ve done a bit of leg work and picked 5 of my favorite nude shoes under $50 You can’t beat that! More money left for the drinks on the girls night out, right?

1 - $24.80 on Forever21 – Simple and perfect to pair with jeans and a summer skirt.

2 - $48.30 on Macys.com -INC International Concepts Shoes, Babette Pumps, was $69.00

3 - $33.00 on lulus.com – These Bamboo Magarita Nude Patent Keyhole Platform Slingbacks remind me of these pair of Sergio Rossi. Very classy with a tiny peep hole.

4 – $44.83 on asos.com – ASOS POCKET Court Shoe in a different shade of nude called Dark Nude. I would rather this shade as I have a darker skin tone, and it would give the illusion of lengthen my legs.

5 – $39.50 on torrid.com – These System Nude Patent Leather heels come in a wide width , isn’t that great?

We had a good time at the in-laws but I was starting to feel a bit paranoid, like Debra in Everybody Loves Raymond, if you know what I mean.

Another good news, is that I’ve made it through my 30 day shopping challenge!

So I took the opportunity to escape from my hubby and kid to hop on over to H&M Les Halles, and I forgot that the Conscious Collection was in store.

But its was a pleasant surprise, because I ended up walking away with this LWD, little white dress, for 19 euros!

I mean I was looking around like a bandit – thinking ” Did they make a pricing error?”…

Anyways, the collection is perfect for summer, lots of white, recyclable and organic fabrics and reasonable prices ( after all it is H&M we’re talking about here).

I also bought these cute colorful mix of neon yellow, pink and black socks. Thank God socks and sandals are trendy right now, because let me tell you all a little secret; I hate my toes! Yes, I said it. So I’ll be mixing these up this summer a bit.

And this little make-up pouch was too cute not to get- I can never have enough.

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When I got back from shopping, I found out there’s a party tonight downstairs in my building for a L’Ecole de Re-Looking ( Make-Over / Styling School) that just opened on the 1st floor. The woman who invited me was like ” We’re having a party, we’ll be making some noise, but feel free to stop by!”  In my head I was thinking “OMG I hope they don’t get a live band”.

Anyways, out of boredom and shear curiosity ( and partially I was feeling in the mood to dress up) I forced my son into being my chaperon and we took an elevator ride downstairs.

So I was reading K is for Kinky yesterday, and I was totally feeling her post about how she dresses “around” her hair, basically its the pivotal point in her entire “look”. I feel the same way because I have locks and my hair is a bit “untamed” which I love, so to neaten my look, I’m always ( well most times) impeccably dressed in some killer heels. They lift your ass, force you to stand straight and also makes people look “up to you”! haha

I think it was Coco Chanel who said  ”A woman with good shoes is never ugly. They are the last touch of elegance”

I can’t agree more!

My entire hallway is dedicated to two bookshelf worth of shoes ( thnx to IKEA) – most of them are not designer shoes, just stuff I’ve found along the way in honing my own personal style. Many are from discount retailers like Marshalls, Daffys, H&M and Neimans Rack.  Very few are Lanvin, YSL and Pierre Hardy.

I am my shoes and my shoes are me. I love to mix high end with vintage, trends with classics and designer with retail brands.

I simply could no live like my husband does with less than 10 pairs of shoes!

I would die!

Yes that might sound superficial, but I don’t care. I’m careful with my money, I take care of my financial responsibilities, I work hard and I do not live above my means.

I’m a reasonable shoe addict, and every woman deserves a guilty pleasure.

HERE ARE a few OF MY FAVE WOMEN WITH A SICK SHOE GAME:

Actually, I think a big part of my love for shoes came from my mother who loves fashion and is still one of the best dressed women I know.

Another part of my shoe love psychoanalysis goes back to my childhood when I would wear my sister’s shoes, because I would always destroy mines so quickly, and my parents budget couldn’t keep up with my speed of destruction.

WHO ARE YOUR SHOE ICONS?

Famous for his modern take on jet-set glamour. Loved by celebrities, supermodels, and London’s fashion elite. Today, Matthew Williamson debuts his exclusive new collection for Impulse at Macy’s.

Shop online at macys.com/impulse

Model from the ad is Dree Hemingway

On a side note: I’m kind of in love with this mustard leather jacket, but the sleeves looks cropped, and I have super long limbs! So I need to hurry up and decide before they sell out.  What do you guys think?  Let me know if you’fe seen it, touched it, tried it on in the store?

I took the liberty of being nosey and poked around a bit. Here are some of my overall thoughts on the new online shopping experience from Miu Miu.

• Very clean multi-country website
• Rich editorial/ descriptive content
• Separate Category “Fashion Show Selection” seems to be a curated list of “favorites” and “must-haves” – great idea!
• Good use of maximizing space on every page – From the introductory page all the way to  the checkout page
• Clear and zoomable product photos
• Clothes shown both ON and Off models – ie both as bare “product” type shots and as more “body” type shots
• Visibility of number of items in shopping bag, at all times via icon in top right hand corner
• Use of the standard Filter options like “Material” “Size” and “Color” – Except , no use of filter for “Price” (perhaps because when you buy Miu Miu your expected not to care about the price? after all it is a luxury brand.)
• Website only available in English and Italian - Despite the fact that you’ve already selected your country in advance. For example if you say you’re in France, French is not given as a language option.
• Lacking in Social shopping experience – no “share” or “like” buttons were to be found anywhere!

OVERALL -
A good straight to the point website that maintains the “luxury” of the Miu Miu brand that integrates “some” of the best online practices. But fails to take into consideration the global scope of the consumer market ( non English and Italian speaking consumers) as well as there was a major lacking in the integration of Social Media tools.
Could increase language choice. Every product could have a name ( all skirts are not made equal! Would be nice to see some imagination like they do for the lookbooks.)
Must add social media buttons.

ALSO – I actually tried to purchase two items and it wouldnt allow me ( as of Sat April 9th) , so they might want to look into that.

Hope that this was an insightful look at the new e-shop by Miu Miu from an insiders perspective. Let me know your thoughts.

xoxo