My Fall Love

While exploring the streets of Barcelona and San Sebastian during a recent trip to Spain we encountered what felt like one Zara store every block. Right now there are 48 ZARA stores in United States. There are 329 in Spain. The usual toupes, browns, greens and neutrals were there in the typical semi-artistic sophisticated Spanish silloutte but what surprrised me was the shoe collection.

Every store seemed to have more than I have ever seen in the Zara stores in the US. Heeled boots, ankel boots, bluchers, platforms, wedges, stillettos, ballerina falts, sandals and they seemed to be well made. I fell in love with the plain toed brown leather bluchers for women. They were a perfect compliment to the Fall jewel tone tights I packed as well as reminding me of the color of Spanish cigars.

3 months later back in the States they are holding up pretty well- I am ready for the deep snow to melt so I can start wearing them again.

Warm Weather Classics

When I woke up this morning it was 6 degrees outside. My feet are layered under 2 pair of socks snuggled in a pair of boots. My mind wanders to summer, when my super white, super dry feet turn tan and lovely. If nothing else on my body turns golden the tops of my feet always will. I look in my closet to find a pair of my favorites.

My Ada Pleats Peep in Black are well worn, slightly roughed up, definitely in need of a fresh sole. The heel is only about 1.5 - 2 inches so one of the most comfortable city walking shoes shifting my weight ever so slightly. Around the toes 4 large pleats resemble petals and a very vintage look overall. Being all leather they do stretch, slightly more in the width. I was a little shocked to see that Frye makes them (known so well for their boots than their dainty peep toe heels.) I have had them for a year and a half now and still love them dressed up or dressed down. Whether dancing at a wedding in a dress or in jeans at a bar singing live band karaoke, I will never worry about hobbling home with blisters. I only wish Frye made some more vintage inspired shoes.

The Breaking Point

It snapped. I was strolling along in my new bright red sandals and all of a sudden could not take one step further. Painful to put any pressure on my foot, I hobbled around my vacation in Boulder, Colorado unable to figure out what had happened. I wasn't running, jumping, I wasn't drunk, nothing abnormal had happened. A bone had broken in the top of my foot that eventually two foot doctors later explained it like "a wine glass shattering when it barely taps something."

Sometimes you can find an old photograph of yourself and think wow, that feels like an entirely different person than me now, sometimes a pair of shoes can bring the same feeling. I bought these shoes at Shoe Market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2007. They are "Salt Water" sandals but that extremely hot summer the only salt water I would be walking in was rain mixing with sweat on the pavement. The sole is extremely rigid and inflexible but the actual shoe is very wide so its pretty comfortable. They actually sell the exact shoes to kids, so you feel like a little kid wallowing around.

I liked wallowing around, I liked to pretend to be carefree for a moment. I even stood up to the doctors for these shoes, saying no, it wasn't the shoes that broke my foot! I even wore them a couple more times after the break healed. And then, just like that my childhood was over. They broke me and I never showed them the ocean before I let them go.

Remembering When...

My first couple months in Real Estate I went home each night with new blisters. One hot sweaty late summer day (2008) after stepping off the curb wrong in Soho my ankle rolled and swelled to the size of a softball. It was time to buy some shoes that could take a beating.

These John Fluevog blue oxfords did just that. I walked to the store 2 blocks from my office on Broadway and Prince with my mother who was visiting. I was wearing gold oxfords with a hole in the sole of the shoe and enough said I thank my mom for this purchase.

Typically, I find Fluevog woman's shoes heavy. The high heels seem slightly inspired by Renaissance court jesters, slightly 1990's, the leather bulky but these blue oxfords were amazing and felt entirely different. The leather became as soft as skin, I never had to break them in, never got blisters, and received a million compliments. Okay, maybe the blue was like a clown shoe and matched my blackberry cover for a brief moment but these shoes were lucky. I made it through the worst Fall/ Winter recessions in Real Estate with money in savings. Replacement parts can be bought on Fluevog's website and their factory employees in Portugal and Poland work 8 hour days with 1 1/2 hr lunch break. Not bad, maybe I know what to do next.

If your Fall includes "out with the old", Please recycle...

From our Friends at IDEAL BITE (www.idealbite.com):

The Bite:

Is figuring out what to do with your used kicks a total mystery? Here's a clue: Donate your old footwear to a reuse or recycling program to save landfill space or help out someone in need. Nice work, gumshoe.

The Benefits:

• You'll create less waste while cleaning out your closet - Reuse-A-Shoe alone has kept more than 23 million pairs of shoes out of the dump.
• Every pair helps - gently worn shoes can outfit feet in the developing world, while shabby ones can be made into surfacing for things like tennis courts.

Wanna Try:

• Nike Reuse-A-Shoe - drop off any brand of ratty athletic shoes, and the company'll grind 'em up into surfaces for playgrounds, tennis courts, and tracks.
• Soles4Souls - donate used-but-useable pairs to people in developing countries by dropping your shoes off at a nearby drop spot, or shipping them.
• One World Running - donate near-new athletic shoes to cash-poor sports players.

Fall Preview! Jumping the gun with cooler weather!

Black Booties- Deconti from Aldo

$90 Size 39

Day 1 of wearing them I get locked INSIDE an apartment with a client. How a locked failed I have no clue but what I do know is that I felt braver, tougher, and far more bad-ass climbing out the back window and scaling down the fire escape in these heels. My client in her suit changed into tennis shoes that happened to be hidden away in her purse but in these puppies you never have to bring a more comfortable backup.

"Never before have your feet looked so small" my sister Virginia says after seeing my new booties for the first time. I agree, they do look abnormally small largely because of the giant cuff that folds from 3 inches above the ankle to almost skimming the ground covering all but a peep of the round toe and a flash of the heel.

Your foot will sit snug low in the shoe. The toes are not crowded. It may be the only boot I have ever felt comfortable wearing an anklet sock with. The perfect way to welcome Fall, to look hot effortlessly, or to accomplish the acts of a super hero!

Hello Dear Friend!

Brown Boots- Topshop
$145 size 40, Made in Spain

My new best friend who is ever so dainty and tough at the same time- how quickly we have so many memories together.

Day 1: I put them on with forest green tights, an over-sized grey T and a metal snake vintage belt my mom passed down to me. Before I could hear the kettle blow I was searching for Never-Never Land. Perfect! Where is my pixie dust!

I loved the structured fringe on the toe. I love that they fit like a glove from day one. The chocolate chip brown leather is thin and yes you can skip and dance in them. You wear them, they don't wear you type of thing. Compared to many boots they are very light. After wearing I don't have tired leg boot syndrome but they don't feel or look cheap- how your best friend should be!

The only complaint is from Snezan who couldn't take them off me without almost completely decapitating my foot at the ankle thanks to the fancy loop lacing Topshop employees have completed the look with (which i adore). As for me- well no complaints. I have worn them practically for a week now and I can say I equally love looking down at my cute shoes while riding on the back of the motorcycle or walking.