Getting back into the swing of things

I've had a very rough and stressful couple of weeks, but I've gotten tons of new stuff to show you and talk about. I promise to try to start getting caught up this week.

You got me on my knees, Layla

I'm really digging Sole Society right now. I've gotten a few pairs from them in the last month and have yet to be disappointed in quality or service. I've not been disappointed in price, either, but that's mainly because I've had coupons, codes, and credits, and I can't say no to a good deal.

They're a little less red, and a little more purple than here.

One of the things that I love about Sole Society is that they are often rebadged Jessica Simpson and BCBGeneration shoes for significantly less. That is the case with these, too. These are sold by Sole Society as Layla, but they were originally sold as the Jessica Simpson Beijo. Beijo originally retailed for about $100 but Layla was $60 before my store credit on Sole Society. They're real suede, super comfortable, and the colors are just gorgeous. These are available with a gray leather upper and blue/black platform, as well as the a turquoise suede with a black/gold platform.

I like these enough that I momentarily considered one of the other colors, but decided against it since they're so distinct. And, I've got almost as many blue shoes as pink, which is quite the feat.

If you aren't already a member of Sole Society, I highly recommend them. They're owned by Nordstrom so they will always have higher end stuff than the other clubs. They, as of right now, still use UPS to ship to your door and returns are super easy if you have an issue. They also have a good referral program, which means that I would LOVE if you'd use my link to sign up. There are no discounts for first time buyers right now, but that usually changes mid-month, and I'll put that code here for all of you to use.

A dot-dot here and a dot-dot there...

Aren't these just the most adorable things you've ever seen? They're polka dots. On satin. And it's irresistible.

These are Kacie from Sole Society. From what I can tell, as with most Sole Society shoes, they're rebadged designer shoes. In this case, they are the Jessica Simpson Oscar. They fit exactly like those, which mean they have ample toe room and so I wear a 6.5 in them. They're a little stretchy and plenty wide. They also come in a patent orange and patent nude. I'll admit I'm a little worried about the durability of the satin, but I don't wear most of my shoes very many times, so I think they'll be fine.

If you aren't a member of Sole Society, please consider using my link to sign up - http://www.solesociety.com/invite/cid/c4550861/

The Purple Giant

I love the "Edith" Mary-Janes I got from Shoemint back around Christmas. They're gorgeous, real suede, and freaky tall. I said then that if they had them in other colors, I'd buy them all. In fact, I searched for their doppelganger, the Steve Madden "Viktoree", in purple in my size for months and never found them.

Then, JustFab released "Payson"in purple, tangerine, and nude. I didn't think much of them to begin with, honestly. Then as girls started getting them, the consensus was that they are Edith/Viktoree, but in faux suede. And the pictures of them made me swoon.

I had a credit and decided to take a chance on them. I really wasn't expecting to like them all that much since they're not the 'real deal'. They have the same sizing recommendation as Edith to go up 1/2 size, but I stuck with the 7 and took my chances since my 7.5 Edith's have stretched after multiple wears. These are a little tight, but not unwearable, and they're a soft enough material that I'm happy I didn't go up any further in size. If you are even remotely wide, go up at least 1/2 size. Maybe a full size, and let the strap hold you in.

I gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised. Very much so. The color is gorgeous and the faux suede is one of the better I've seen! They don't feel anywhere near their 6" height either. There is a little bit of rippling in the fabric on the platforms, but it's not noticeable unless you're inspecting closely them like I do when I take them out of the box. I'm extremely pleased with these and thrilled that I gave them a shot. Now, I just have to wait for it to cool off enough for me to wear closed toes.

They've since released "Nikita" in gray, black, and leopard and they're the same shoe, too. The gray are next on my list. If you get the chance or have the money, I highly recommend you try one of these for yourself.

Why fight it?

I don't know why I even bother fighting it anymore. Every time I get my mind set on a pair of shoes, no amount of trying to talk myself out of them will work. I knew from the first time I saw these in Shoemint's sale section that I was going to end up with them. Pointy toes and all.

In person, they're not quite as egg shell of a finish, and more of just a plain ol' leather, but the blue is still amazing. And the leather is really really soft. They run smaller than my normal pointy toe sizing and I had to exchange the original 6.5 for a 7 so that I could add an insert for padding. They are 4" with no platform and they feel a little steeper than that even.

Before I'd ordered these, I was worried about pastels in August, when I should have really been worried about closed toe anythings in August because it has been scorching here since June and there's no sign of it letting up. So, these are being set aside until it gets cooler and my feet won't scream as much at being in locked up in full coverage shoes.

I'm still not a huge fan of pointy toes, but I'm more and more willing to consider them.

****DEAL ALERT****

Heels.com has another Living Social deal: Pay $50 and get $100 in credit!!!! I got one and you can, too! Then, once you get yours, try to get 3 friends to buy one, too and you'll get your free. That means $100 in credit for $0.00! And it's running for nearly 2 weeks, so you have time to sweet talk some other girls into buying it on your link. :)

Here's my link if you want to get it: https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/443148?ref=conf-jp&rpi=78028080

September Shoe Club Roundup

Fall, and boots, are the big headlines for September in all the shoe clubs. Even though we, and most of the country, are still experiencing decidely summer temps, the world of fashion must move forward. And forward means cold weather. More suede, rich colors, boots, and fur.

JustFab stuck with trends this month.

JustFab released an awesome selection of boots and booties early this month, on the 30th of August, to coincide with their Labor Day Sale. Since I really went overboard on boots last year, I am only allowing myself to fill in the gaps that I missed. Which is very sad, because a LOT of their boots are ahhhmaaaaziiiing!!!. They also stayed with current trends and released cap toes pumps, super tall platforms, and animal prints/textures. All in all, it's a nice collection, and several things got added to my wish list over there.

Can YOU tell what the pattern is?

Shoemint also stuck with suede and boots, but to everyone's dismay, their already over-priced club got even more expensive when they released their boots at up to $120 a pair. For a club. I don't care if they're designed by God himself and hand sewn by virgin shoe fairies, you cannot expect to sell for that price in a club. Also, I have a tech quibble with their selection this month. There is a suede wedge with some type of studs on the back of the shoe that look interesting. At least they would, if they had actually taken a picture of the back of the shoe so that you could see the pattern. Gah!!!! At least they didn't appear to end their sale on the 1st, like they'd said. There are still some great deals in that section on their site.

This seems to be the majority of what ShoeDazzle released in pumps.

ShoeDazzle. Oh, ShoeDazzle, where do I begin? First of all, it doesn't appear that they released very much new stuff. It seems they're moving towards the Sole Society model and releasing throughout the month instead of all on the 1st. (For example, I bought two new releases earlier this week, and my "August" purchases were all actually released in July.) I seriously only found about 5 new pumps - and a big chunk of them have that silly metal heel and spikes or studs. One of them is real suede, and they kept them at $39.95. That's impressive considering I expected the 'real' stuff to jump in price. What I didn't expect to go up so much in price was their boots. Most of them are now $44.95 and $49.95, including some pairs that are rereleases from last year that were $39.95 then. Considering that domestic shipping is now only free in certain circumstances, this tells me, yet again, that they're having financial difficulties, and are trying everything they can to increase revenue. (Hilariously, JustFab is making sure that everyone knows their boots are still $39.95 in their sale and all their ads. "Every Item $39.95! Even Boots!")

I have left Sole Society out of this round up since they now release one pair per day instead of everything on the first of the month. I kinda like this model, BUT, it's making it hard for me to spend any of my credit money with them because I'm always afraid I'm going to miss something I love by one day. They've had several pairs that I have drooled over lately, so that's a very real possibility.

Since all four of these clubs are still running sales through tomorrow at least, you should definitely be shopping! Go! Don't miss the deals!

-A