Days go by...

I've been busy this week but I did get a few new pairs that I need to post about. I also sent a few others back. I'll blog this weekend, I promise. Maybe. Well, it depends on what we're doing for St. Patty's Day. I could be busy Saturday and extremely hungover on Sunday. That doesn't make for good blogging, IMO.

Talk at you all later!
-A

I'm always up for free stuff

I got an email yesterday from JustFab that discussed the upcoming Abbey Dawn collection. I completely ignored the email because they've been sending these out pretty regularly while preparing for this launch and if I read every email that lands in my inbox, I'd never have time for anything else. Then, last night, a friend told all of us to go and re-read the email...there were free credits given out in some of them. Lo-and-behold: I got a free credit. Whip Hoe! Of course the give away of free credits to some caused all sorts of drama on their facebook page. But here's the thing - the promo worked. I'm sitting here, coffee in hand, telling you about a collection that launches on the 13th ONLY because they gave me reason to do so. It's a little bit of marketing genius, no?

As for Avril Lavigne's Abbey Dawn collection, it appears that most of the stuff is similar in style to Iron Fist, and if the comfort is anywhere near the same, I'll buy the whole collection. ;) From the previews I've seen, there are at least 2 shoes and a bag that I want. Now, I have a spare credit to try it out. ;) They're still allowing everyone to sign up for early access on the 12th, so give it a shot. Maybe you'll find something you really like!

So, thank you JustFab for the free credit!

Now, I'm going to go sit by the front door and stalk the FedEx guy who will be delivering two pairs of Betsey Johnsons today. ;)

Happy Shopping!
-A

Gone Clubbin'

I got really lucky this month with the shoe clubs and had discounts and credits all over the place. Now that the fruits of my previous spending sprees have started to roll in, I thought I'd toss a few micro-reviews at you. Especially considering I still have 5 more pairs coming this week, including three (!) Betseys!

First up: Rozee from ShoeDazzle. I really wasn't expecting much from these. But I was pleasantly surprised. They fit well, true to size, and the colors are more vivid than the pictures suggest. They aren't stupid high either, which seems to be all everything else from ShoeDazzle is this month. My size 7's are right at 5" on the heel with a 1.5" platform. The straps sit a little oddly, but I'm thinking they'll settle once I've had them out of the box for a while. These really make me wish it would warm the hell up. I'm sick of winter! Squirrels like to run a frolic in cute sandals - not trudge in dull boots. :( I also got the Bullard bag from them this month. I like it, it's huge (I guess I should read the measurements - I'm smaller than those models), the color is a little less bright than online, and it had a few errant strings and glue marks but overall, I like it. It'll work for a few months until I find another, anyways.

Next: I fell absolutely in love with this color. These are Thomasina from JustFab in lilac. I'll be honest here - they aren't comfortable, and if you look not-so-closely, you can see glue between the vamp and platform. I haven't actually made up my mind on these yet. I may send them back. If not, it would only be because I love this color and can't find anything else I like in it. My "Elite" watch also came with this pair, so I kinda feel a tinge of guilt wanting to send these back. I know it's silly. I'm neurotic like that. I do have another pair coming from them that I got with a credit and also grabbed a restock of a pair of Iron Fists that I've been kicking myself for missing originally. That's 3 things from them in 3 days. I've never done that with them before. I don't know that I ever will again. Maybe this whole "Elite" thing took over my brain.

Finally: I got Chloe in turquoise from ShoeMint. Now, before you give me crap: I know I tore them a new one over the Edith fiasco. But these screamed at me. I can't leave screaming shoes alone, can I? (No, for the record, I cannot.) I was also trying to see if they were capable of redeeming themselves. (We'll get to that) These are 1/2 size down and are still too wide, but the length is just right. I'll have to toss an insert in them to help with the width. They are at least as comfortable as Edith and they aren't as heavy as the size of the heel and platform would suggest. The size 6.5 measures 5.5" with a 1.5" platform. As for ShoeMint, they use FedEx Smartpost for shipping which I hate with the intensity of a thousand suns. They have gotten their shipping notifications ironed out now though - so it's not a week after you receive your shoes before you find out they've shipped. Their stuff is still bland and boring for the most part and not worth the price tag they're putting on it. And their selection is minimal to say the least with most of it still available elsewhere under the Madden name. I don't think I'm quite ready to cancel yet, but I'm getting really close.

On that note, I'm about done with all the clubs all together. I've determined they just aren't worth it. I'm working on a long(er) windy post about that whole situation. I'm not going spoil it more than that.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go swim some laps and grab a bite to eat.

Happy Shopping!
-A

Tick Tock

Time is ticking down - remember to buy, skip or be charged(and receive a credit) at ShoeDazzle, ShoeMint, JustFab, Send The Trend, Stylemint, Jewelmint, BeautyMint, and whatever other clubs have popped up since last month. Go! Do it now! You've only got until Midnight tonight at all of them. Go! Run! Scram!

Also, Sole Society and Shoe Privee no longer run as buy, skip or be charged.

-A

If at first you don't succeed, buy them in another color.

About a month ago, I got a pair of Jessica Simpson Bendie sandals in "Deep Purple Kid Suede" in a size 7 from her website. I think I paid around $32 + shipping for them. Anywho, they came in and I hated them. They looked weird on my feet and they just had too much going on. So, I sold them to a sole sister.

Nope. Still don't like them.

Fast forward to last week. Jessica Simpson's website had the Bendies in the sale area for $21 + Shipping with the 50SALE code (which has since ended). I refused to believe that I could not own these shoes. So, I bought the "Blue Violet Kid Suede" in a 1/2 size down hoping that width was part of the issue. And you know what? I love them and they look so much better on me than the others. I'm so glad I took the risk.

Much Better.

The lesson here: if you really like the style of a pair of shoes, don't give up if the first pair you try doesn't work. Especially if they are real leather and super cheap.

As for Jessica Simpson's website, they redesigned and relaunched it last week and now it only has a couple of items and no sale section. I'm not very happy about this development - her site used to be a great source of unexpected (great) prices. I'm hoping they're still adding stuff and working out the bugs and that the site will be back to it's once great self.

It's Betsey's world - we're just privileged to live in it.

There's an app for that!

I have a note in my phone that lists all my current conquests and obsessions. As I'm sure you can guess, BJ is Betsey Johnson and not some naughty shoe company that performs wild sexual favors. (CL is Chinese Laundry - not the other CL). What I've realized is that most of this list has morphed into a sort of Betsey Johnson worship-list. Sure, there's a pair or two of other brands, but the list is predominately Betsey. Not only that, but there are other pairs that aren't actively being shopped for that if I ran across a good deal, I'd grab in a heartbeat. Diskkol, Diskko, Sita, Sitan, Haylie in other colors, etc. I'm not sure when this happened. The majority of my collection has been skewing towards Jessica Simpson for the last year and now, although I still LOVE her shoes (I've gotten 3 new pairs in the last week), it seems I don't covet any of her current stuff. But I have been drooling over Betsey's stuff. The two pairs I got this week only make me want more.

Neutral + bright color = gorgeous

First up: Dareah in blush multi. I got a smokin' deal on these at Streetmoda.com - they were $29.99 with code BD9963, which is usable once and takes 25% off your order. That's an unheard of price for Betsey's. And that's really the only reason I bought them. I couldn't pass the deal up, and though they've got tons of stuff at fantastic prices on their site, the colors I liked in most of them weren't available in my size. I'll admit, I wasn't that impressed with them when I opened the box. The color is more of a skin-tone nude than I was expecting. "Blush" means a pinkish tinted nude to me - these are not pinkish tinted. The pink and lace platform gives them a punch of color that I really like though so I thought I'd sleep on it. Then I tried them on, and these things feel like they were made for my feet. They're true to size for me, tinger friendly, and are mondo-padded on the inside. After walking around in them for a few minutes, I didn't want to take them off. I think I'm gonna grab the blue ones next. At that price, why not? The size 7 measures just over 5" on the back of the heel and the platform is not quite 1.5". I wore them for 13 hours and was on my feet for a good bit of that time and they felt great all the way to the end.

M-O-R-T-I-C-A: That's how it's spelled on the box

The other pair I got was a sleep-purchase that I wised up, cancelled, then regretted and re-ordered about an hour later. (That's how I roll) Mortica in black multi came home this week after months of me drooling over her. I used a Heels.com Groupon and basically got them at half price because of it. These are one of the rare pairs that made me gasp when I took them out of the box. I almost hugged Brown Santa when he delivered them. The floral fabric is yummy and the little skulls on the vamp are adorable - they've got little bows on their heads! The initial try on proved that they fit a little wide, but not unmanageable and are definitely true to length. I did have to put a ball-of-foot insert in them to keep me from sliding around because of the width though.

I am on a skull themed kick right now.

I wore them to work yesterday and did notice a few little issues with them. The fabric upper sits on a plastic mesh to strengthen it for sewing, and where that meets the interior of the shoe at the back of the heel, it rubs the ankle. I put a "Strappy Strip" back there and it stopped it without changing the fit. Moleskin would work well for this too. They're also very steep. A 5.5" heel with 1.5" platform (size 7) shouldn't feel this steep, but these do. My feet were tired after 10ish hours. That's still a full day at work, so they passed the wearable test though. Even with those issues, I love them and have the blush multi Mortica on my list too. I'm a firm believer in "If you love a shoe, buy it in every color!"

I've got a big shoe-week coming up with five (!) pairs being delivered. I'm sure I'll find one or two to discuss. ;) In the meantime, Happy Shopping!
-A

It's the 1st of the Month!

This month has proven to be much better than last month for the shoe clubs. For the most part. 

Bullard in teal

• ShoeDazzle went colorful. Very colorful. There are beautiful pinks, purples, greens, blues, etc. Unfortunately they also did a lot, and I mean A LOT, of orange. Which I hate. HATE! And their heels are still up through the roof. Oh, well, lucky for me, there was other stuff to choose from. However, instead of waiting for the 1st, I spent this week's Dazzle budget on Bullard when it was released on the 28th. It will be here Monday and I'm actually really really excited for this purse. I also have a credit that just cleared with them and am trying to decide between Tai and Rozee. (Free Shoes! Yay!) I'm open to suggestions. There are a few others I like but want to see real-world pics before I decide. Shoe Diet Score: It's intact, but I may binge a little later this month

• JustFab actually had a decent month for me. I can't remember the last time I got TWO things from them on the 1st. Maybe never, actually. I got Thomasina in lilac yesterday, which also triggered the shipment of my Elite watch. (Got that invitation last week, just in time to get the new showrooms a day early.) When those shipped, it gave me enough points for a free credit, which I turned around and used immediately on Marguerite in yellow.  Shoe Diet Score: Two pairs of shoes and a free watch for the price of one? Yes, please.

Chloe from ShoeMint

• ShoeMint once again release three shoes in a few colors each. All but one bored me to death. Chloe in turquoise is a gorgeous color in a cute style, so I grabbed them with my credit. I ordered 1/2 size down, on their recommendation, and HOPE they fit. The rest of the collection: Meh. Shoe Diet Score: Safe. I wouldn't have gotten the pair I did if I had to pull out the $$
• SoleSociety changed their format significantly this month. You no longer have to skip the month and won't be charged unless you buy something. Which is great, except their collection actually caused me to yawn. No joke. And the few things that crossed over into mildly-cute? Not worth $50. Shoe Diet Score: The wallet is safe. 

I was extremely disappointed last month, so today was a little bit of a relief.  I'll let you all know what I decide on Rozee/Tai from SD and will throw at least one review at you all from this stack of stuff.

And, I've got two new Betsey's to talk to you all about. Maybe tomorrow. Right now, I've got chicken that's trying to start a fire. Damned birds.

Happy 1st!
-A