Mandy Bourgeois Boheme

How much do I love the gorgeous “Mandy” from Bourgeois Boheme?  The brushed silver buckle is fab – a great modern twist.  And of course, Bourgeois Boheme is all about “fashion with compassion”, so you can feel good about these shoes – they’re vegan, ethically produced, and eco-friendly.  Currently on sale for half price – that’s £18.00 – the only bummer is that they only have it left in two sizes, UK 3 & 4 (that’s a Cdn 5 & 6)…too small for me or I would totally be ordering a pair of these classy flats!  Hopefully they do another production run.

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I totally covet these super fun pink and red vegan flats from UK-based Beyond Skin.  Ethically hand-made in Spain, animal-friendly, and 25% off to boot!  One of many gorgeous pairs on the site.  They’re still running a huge up to 50% off sale, so I am going to have to try hard to restrain myself!

miz_moozSpotted on twitter: get 30% off shoes at http://jbandme.com/shoes when you use the code: stiletto.

Check out the gorgeous “Miz Mooz Sensi Shoe” on the left – love!  They almost look like they’re made of wood.  Unfortunately the jbandme site doesn’t state the materials the shoes are made from, so I don’t know if these classy numbers are veg-friendly or not (my spidey sense says probably not).

I wish all companies would identify the materials used to make the shoes they sell so consumers can make an informed decision about what they’re buying.  The site has a number of super cute shoes that I absolutely covet, so I’m going to email the company to see what’s what.

veganchic shoesI had whittled down my cart to these four lovely pairs of shoes for the VeganChic sale, decided to sleep on it…and then completely flaked and forgot…and now the sale is over.  Whoops!  Well that’s one way to save money!  Lol.

Anyway, as much as I wanted to give them a loving home (especially the second pair – made with eco-friendly materials!) I really do have to pare down my collection.  I haven’t taken a count lately, but I’m guessing I’m up at 65 or 70 pairs by now…it’s just too much.  I have shoes stacked in the closet, tucked under the bed, filling an old bookshelf, piled on shoe racks and mats, and randomly scattered in every room in the apartment.  Madness!

I think before I let myself bring home any more shoes, I should go through every pair I have and see what I can let go.  I’ve already sent a couple of pairs to the thrift store.  It’s no easy task, parting with shoes, but I mean c’mon…I still have my highschool prom shoes!  Even if they weren’t now a size and a half too small, they’re super fug 90s white wedge sandals, yikes.  So yeah, definitely time to take a shoe inventory and get ruthless.

Vegan ChicMy all time favourite veg shoe store, Vegetarian Shoes and Bags, has just changed its name to Vegan Chic.  To celebrate this less cumbersome new moniker they’re offering cruelty-free shoppers 10% off anything on their site until tomorrow – February 27th. Just enter the coupon code “VEGANCHIC10” when you’re checking out to get 10% off your order.

You know I love this company but they are my total achilles heel.  Every time I swear that I won’t buy anymore shoes – no more! – there’s a newsletter from them winking at me in my inbox.  And a sale of any kind enables me to do the simple psychological gymnastics to justify the purchase.  I swear I am going to end up like Carrie Bradshaw with no money (check) but lots of shoes (check).  The only difference is that my drug of choice is cute veg shoes rather than Manolos, and they don’t cost enough to equal a down payment on a Manhattan apartment.

Right now I have four pairs of gorgeous shoes in my Vegan Chic cart, but I’m going to sleep on it and decide tomorrow.  May I dream of self-restraint! (…but they’re sooooo cute.  And three of them are brown!  And my closet is woefully deficient of brown shoes for someone who wears so much brown.  And those linen one with the flowers!  Total love.  See, I’m hopeless.)

I’ve been meaning to write this post forever!  This past summer I got an email from Danielle of Solestruck shoes, saying that they liked my blog and wanted to send me a “complementary” pair of shoes, no strings attached.  This was new territory to me and I was wowed.  So I chatted with her about their selection of vegetarian shoes (she was super helpful), quickly fell in love with many, and ended up picking this totally swoonworthy pair black and white polka dot Betsy Johnson shoes.  (They have a flower-patterned rubber sole to make them non-slip – how awesome is that.)betsey-johnson

But oh no!  No sooner had my order gone in that a wrench was thrown into the works.  Danielle was told by the higher-ups that they couldn’t do the shoe blog promo outside of the US because of shipping costs.  She was so, SO apologetic, and I was a little bummed.  But I thought hey, maybe there’s a way to make this work.  So we figured out a plan where I bought another fabulous pair of shoes from their site, and paid shipping on both pairs.  The international shipping cost $74 for two pair of shoes – yikes!  (Hello, I think someone forgot cross-border shoe shopping when they negotiated NAFTA!)

Next wrench: the website says that all customs, taxes and duties are included in this cost, so you can bet I was not thrilled when I went to FedEx to pick up the shoes and had to pay them $30 in duty.  I told Solestruck and they were very surprised – it was a FedEx error and it has never happened before.  FedEx told them that they would refund the charges (although I never found it on my statement…but FedEx is not exactly known for not being a sucking black hole of red tape).

Anyhow, all is well that ends well.  The shoes arrived, they were beautiful, they fit perfectly, and they were quite comfortable.  The only thing I regret is that I can’t buy more of their fabulous shoes!  With the international shipping cost and the FedEx screw up (hopefully an isolated incident), I can’t afford to shop there.  (Plus, I swear I am not buying any more shoes – honest!)  But if you live in the US, I would definitely recommend this place, for the following reasons:

1. Free shipping in the US.

2. HUGE selection of fabulous shoes in a well-organized website.

3. Lots of vegetarian shoe options – Danielle mentioned that shoe brands Rocket Dog, Reef, Baby Phat, Betsey Johnson, and BC Footwear tend to have more vegetarian options, and shoe materials are generally identified on the site.

4. Great customer service from super nice, friendly people.

Plus, when I was emailing with Danielle, she told me about how the company was trying to find ways to be more eco-friendly.  Corporate responsibility, great shoes, nice folks – what more can a shoe lover ask for?:)

sexyshoesOnline UK retailer of sexy shoes, the aptly named SexyShoes.co.uk, asked me to review their website.  Note: I have never purchased from their site.  SexyShoes currently only ships to places in the EU, so us North Americans are out of luck.

On to the review.  The SexyShoes site is organized into a number of very detailed categories to help customers find just what they’re looking for:

Christmas Shoes, High Heels, Stilettos, Peep Toe Shoes, Court Shoes, Pointed Shoes, Mules, Sling Back Shoes, Strappy Shoes, Ankle Strap Shoes, Lace Up Leg, Flats, Fetish, Thigh High Boots, Knee High Boots, Ankle Boots, Platform Shoes, Thigh High Boots, Knee High Boots, Ankle Boots, Platform Shoes, and Gothic.

There isn’t currently a category or search key on the site for vegetarian shoes, and it’s difficult to tell from the descriptions on each product’s page.  Sometimes the shoes will identify that they’re satin or PVC upper, but the sole and insole material isn’t identified.

I chatted with someone from SexyShoes about this, and she thanked me for the suggestion to identify a category of vegetarian shoes on the site and said she’d look into it.  I always appreciate when businesses are open to exploring these kinds of things.

Now onto the shoes themselves.  The selection at SexyShoes ranges from classic stuff that you could wear to work, to erotic numbers to knock off the socks of that special someone, (or maybe a combination of both, if your special someone is the boss!)

sexyshoessequinMy favourite pair on the site is the “Seduce” gold sequined pump, in the “Christmas Shoes” section (they also come in silver and black).  Nevermind Christmas, I think these shoes would look absolutely fab any time of year.  Classic pump shape with a fun twist.  You could wear them to glam up an otherwise subdued outfit, or really up the sparkle factor for a night on the town.  Definitely my pick.

They also sell some darling flats, like the black and white polkadotted “Daisy.”  And the white double-strap Mary Jane, “Sassy,” are absolutely button cute (I imagine they’d do double-duty accessorizing a great outfit by day and serving as fun role-play shoes by night…nurse, milkmaid, candystrip(p)er…) :) sexyshoespolkadot

sexyshoesmj

SexyShoes also offers a selection of shoes that are available for next day delivery, which is sorted by size for quick impulse shopping.  I think that’s a fun feature for people who either need a pair quickly for a certain occasion, or even for someone who would like to surprise their partner with a hot pair of shoes on a whim (and let’s not forget retail therapy!).

kimkardishanKim Kardashian must not have ever been a member of Columbia House, because she’s decided that it’s a good idea to start a shoes-by-mail company, ShoeDazzle, that operates under the same model.

Ahh, Columbia House.  I remember thinking that it would be a totally awesome deal.  Buying CDs at the mall was like sooooo expensive… But it takes a level of organizational skill that my teenaged brain had not yet developed to avoid being sent the dreaded (and usually awful) album of the month.  There was a lot of ‘return to sender’ mailing happening.  And, I had exhausted all of the non-sucky albums in their catalogue after my initial order.  I tried to combat this with optimism, thinking that I could expand my musical repertoire by randomly picking a few interesting-looking albums each order.  That’s how I wound up with the Skinny Puppy 12 inch anthology.  But I digress.

Lets think about how this model will apply to footwear.  Kim’s “monthly membership society” will charge you $39 and send you an “extraordinary” pair of shoes, each month, chosen for you by her and her army of “fashion experts.”

To start, you take a fashion survey, to help the computer robot experts determine which shoes you’d like best.  I thought that was a neat idea.  Of course, when it gets to the part when you give demographic information, things get amusing.  For example, this question (which I thought I would put in super girlie PINK!):

In your free time, you like to: (pick one)

  • Go to a movie
  • Meet friends
  • Talk on the phone
  • Work out
  • Go shopping

Like, omg, I like to go shopping and talk on the phone!!1  Do shoe-lovers not read books? (or um, fritter away their hours on the internet?)  I’m just saying, some options outside of the total teenage bimbo stereotypes would maybe be a little more representative.

I looked at the “gorgeous” shoes they offered up as an example of the fabulousness slated to come your way should you subscribe, I can honestly say that only two of the lot don’t strike me as absolutely, heinously fug.  I would not wear most of these if my life depended on it.  They’re the oh-crap-I-got-a-Celine-Dion-belts-out-holiday-carols-album Columbia House equivalent, in shoes.

A new pair of shoes each month for only 39 bucks sounds good in theory, but I think it’ll have the same shortcomings as Colombia House:  people are busy and forgetful.  If they forget to cancel on a fug shoe month, too bad.  If they end up not liking the shoes that come to them, they have to go to the trouble of boxing them up and mailing them back.  Not to mention that it completely erases the fun and theraputic process of shoe shopping from life.  Nope, I think I’ll stick with my spontaneous shoe therapy, thanks.

I’ve just stumbled upon a fabulous blog called “Behind the Seams: The Ethical Style Blog.”  Love it!

From their “about” page:

There’s no universal prescription in creating an ethical wardrobe. For some fashionistas, finding organic and recycled textiles is paramount, while for others high-quality clothes that last are all-important. Some people are concerned about workers’ rights and fair trade, and other people seek out clothes made locally.

All of this is why fashion ethics can mean many different things to different people. As with personal style, a consumer’s conscience has to be individually tailored.

long-sock1I was thrilled to see a post on eco-friendly thigh-high socks.  I have been trying to wear heels and skirts to work more often, but fell off the wagon with the cold weather.  To be honest, I loathe tights.  They and their nylon brethren are just so horrendously uncomfortable.  Who wants to tug at a pair of torture-contraption tights all day, struggling to keep them from slowly running off with their panties.  Let’s not even get started on the mechanics of using the washroom with a skirt and tights.  So yeah, thigh-highs are definitely my preference.

I will definitely be trying out these cute and comfy-looking recycled cotton thigh-highs by Sock Dreams, and the rest of their eco-friendly collection looks pretty rad too.

This week I received an email from TOMS shoes, a company that donates one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes purchased:

Since its beginning in May 2006 TOMS has given over 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 pairs in South Africa. In 2008 TOMS plans to give 200,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world. The TOMS community events and Shoe Drops allows TOMS supporters and enthusiasts to be a part of the One for One movement.

If you ever needed a reason to feel good about consumerism, here it is folks.  Also, their shoes look absolutely comfy and fabulous, and they have a lot of vegan selections. Check it out!

One pair that is particularly timely for those folks contemplating the upcoming US election is the Vote TOMS Shoes:

Check out TOMS on FacebookYouTube, and the TOMS Shoe Blog.