SUMMER LOVE: Your Under-$100 Shoe Guide

A gorgeous shot from the Dune London S/S 2014 Campaign. Photo: Dune London.

Originally posted in The LOOK

If I had a dime for every time my husband told me I'm a shoe hoarder...just imagine all of the amazing shoes I could buy...sigh...Whether they're super strappy flat sandals or sky-high man-killers, I'm a total sucker for fierce footwear.

Summer is the perfect time to give our wallets a break with all of the affordable sandals in stores and luckily I've found plenty of ways to justify every pair. If you need a little help in this department the next time you're challenged on your 'need' for yet another pair (whether by your own conscience or by someone else) this little cheat sheet should help you out:

1) After so many months spent in socks and clunky boots, your poor feet need to breathe. Sandals are natural way to give your toes the oxygen they deserve. Note: I have exactly zero scientific studies to back this up.

2) Closed-toe loafers, boat shoes and slip-on sneakers are considered 'safety' footwear. You wouldn't want to slip while chasing after your little ones, would you?

3) You've spent all that hard-earned money on your pedicure. Sandals protect (and beautifully showcase) your investment so you can make the absolute most of your pedi potential.

4) Summer requires reaching higher places like that high cupboard where you keep your lemonade pitcher, the top bookshelf where you store your perfect barbecue cookbook and pruning errant branches off your wayward maple tree. Heels are kind of like a built-in stepladder, no?

5) Cute shoes = happy wives = happy husbands = happy lives. I'd say shoe shopping is a no-brainer, wouldn't you?

Check out my fav under-$100 summer shoe picks below. Don't say I didn't warn you...

SEE MY TOP SUMMER SHOE PICKS HERE...

SOLE MATES: Your Under-$100 Spring Shoe Guide

A pic from the Vince Camuto Spring '14 Campaign. Photo via Vince Camuto.

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

We are moving this weekend and if you haven't moved lately, let me remind you - don't. Just don't. The grass might look greener, but is slightly brighter grass worth the hours and hours of packing, back-breaking box-lifting and complete mid-life chaos? Simply pick up a pair of green-tinted glasses at Claire's (it's St. Patrick's Day on Monday so the timing couldn't be better) and promptly ban MLS from your web browser. It's too late for me - you still have time to save yourself. 

There is, however, a silver lining to this stormcloud of moving chaos; it's called inventory. After going through boxes, sifting through receipts and tearing apart my closet, I have confirmed the suspicions that my husband has had all along. I am, in fact, a shoe hoarder. Case in point:

You don't have to be a graphologist to see the frustration in my husband's handwriting on the moving boxes above. I believe the word 'sentimental' is actually in the shape of a furrowed eyebrow. I mean, sentimental shoes? Really? I do have all kinds of compelling justifications for that box - my kids' first baby shoes, my dad's old shoes, my first pair of pointe shoes, the heels I wore when my husband and I got married etc. etc. but of course, this is just one box of many including summer shoes, winter shoes, and 'vintage' shoes that I'm sure my daughter will love to wear one day. Oh, and then there are the boots - ski boots, winter boots, rain boots etc. etc. etc.  

It goes without saying that I am seriously smitten with shoes. But because we're moving, I have actually managed to give away a fair number of out-of-date, worn out kicks to (naturally) make way for some of spring's most covetable sandals, heels and ankle boots. And let me tell you, there are plenty to covet this spring.

Because it's always nice to buy anything for under $100 these days, I've focused this guide on all under-$100 shoes, perfect for wearing the very minute the snow melts...

READ MORE...

(Happy Friday! And please wish me luck with this shmove!)