Midnight Blues

I think I have a bit of an addiction to blue shoes lately. I went through a grey suede phase and now all I can see are blue shoes of all shades.

I love the deep dark shiny blue of these lillybee pumps. Wouldn't these look great with some bright or patterned (especially some black lace) tights for fall????

Hillary by lillybee at Simply Soles - $195

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit(s)
I'm still catching up with capturing the outfits I wear. It's been a crazy week at work so I've been hit or miss about it. On Wednesday I wore this new dress from Target. It's a modified trench/shirt dress with a neat seam and flare towards the bottom. Yesterday I wore my dressy denim pencil skirt with my aqua argyle cardigan over a paler aqua cami.



The pattern on the dress are these very graphic circles and I decided to wear my new lillibee Jessica peep-toe heels. The large stitching goes well with the pattern and the large buckle and peep-toe style matches the vintage-y yet modern style.



Yesterday I actually brought two pairs of shoes with me since I had a client meeting but was also going out later. For about half of the day I wore my pale aqua Mizrahi driving mocs from Target.



Then later I wore my Isaac Mizrahi slides (not from Target, but on sale from Zappos a million years ago). They are very delicate suede. My favorite part is the darker whip-stitching in aqua leather.







I used to buy a lot of these girly little slides but haven't really found many I like recently. Most of the ones I see coming out are heavier or a more somber color. Maybe it is switching from Florida. I like this style because they are so perfect in summer and great with dresses and skirts. I'm going to have to do a quick search and see if they really are disappearing or if I'm imagining it.

Parties, Patterns and Pyramids

Tonight we went to a housewarming party for dear friends of ours, one of whom is an amazing artist (check out her stuff!)

We brought one of our traditional gifts - Bread, Salt and Wine - which is taken from this scene in It's A Wonderful Life.

It's always great to get together with our friends especially when we meet new people that they bring to the mix. There is always great food, a few drinks and tons of dogs running around.

And then sometimes it turns into a human pyramid... not sure how that happened but I was in the middle.

This photo is by redwazzo to protect the somewhat innocent, including me.

I wore a grey fitted tee from Gap, a camel and grey floral patterned skirt, my Tiby Daisy flats and a new carved hairclip I got at the wedding I went to last weekend.

Now I'm home and tired and full up from all the yummy treats! Thanks to the host and hostess with the most-ess!

Innovations in Packaging

As I've mentioned before I've been helping out with the marketing of SimplySoles.com. The owner, Kassie, is a great person and I like seeing the industry from her perspective because I aspire to starting my own shoe line (shhh! Don't tell anyone) some day or maybe a brick & mortar shoe store in my town.

Kassie has included some great elements into her company's philosophy, such as recycling and giving back to the community. But now she's actually been looking to reduce her packaging and carbon footprint by creating a new way to ship the shoes she sells.



The ShoeShuttle is a very plush quilted two compartment bag with a drawstring ribbon closure. The shoes come from the manufacturer in the bags and then are shipped to you in a recycled cardboard box. I recently got a pair shipped to me and took pictures so you could see how it looks.

With most high-end designer shoes you will get a dust bag with your purchase. I love these bags because I carry my shoes to and from work rather than wearing them while I'm driving. I also use them when I travel to keep my shoes from getting nicked up in my suitcase.



This bag is far superior to any that I've seen to date. Not only is it much thicker and padded but it has two compartments. Usually I have to pull a bag from another pair of shoes so I can wrap each shoe individually (putting both shoes in one bag almost defeats the purpose in my opinion). I love that these are in one bag but individually protected.



I've been looking around to see if there are any other companies who are looking into new innovations in design and packaging. Obviously there has been a lot done with new materials such as vegan-friendly but I haven't seen any new box or packaging options. If anything I've seen boxes get more luxurious and branded.

Personally I keep all of my shoes in their original boxes (or buy/re-purpose a photo-holder box for instances such as with vintage shoes that don't have their boxes) because I have to stack my shoes. And also the boxes help with identification purposes for me. But I like the bag a lot for travel.



SimplySoles is starting with the incorporation of these bags for their own brand of shoes, lillybee, but will be asking the designers that they carry to incorporate the bags for their lines as well. The bag will soon be available for individual purchase as well and are $18.

Has anyone seen any packaging that they thought was innovative or that they really liked? And if you have any thoughts on the ShoeShuttles, let me know and I'll pass it along to Kassie.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
Finally, I get to wear some of my new shoes for this season. Plus a new shirt. For some reason I can't find my shirt on Old Navy's site or on Polyvore, so this will have to approximate. The color is the same but my shirt is a collarless polo with short sleeves. It was so comfy. I went neutral with a khaki skirt and brought a cropped denim jacket in case it was cold in the office.




The Focal Point
I've been waiting for a sunny day to wear these Bettye Muller slingbacks. The fabric is a pique, I think with a great botanical print. I like how the fabric is in the toe area too, although I don't want to get it messed up. It's too pretty.



I don't think I had a pair from this designer before but I really like them. They feel very solid and well made. I got them from Simply Soles. The colors are warm and a bit muted so they will go with kind of preppy-ish items as well as safari looks too.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
After the high heels, I wanted to wear something a little more comfy. I had not had an opportunity to try out the Tibi ballet flats, so I thought it would be a good day for them.

I wore a blue and grey argule sweater and a black pencil skirt. The grey flats, of course, and my Tahitian pearl necklace.



There is another sweet story behind my necklace. I should take a picture of it, because the setting is kind of hard to explain.

One of the stops on our honeymoon was St. Paul de Vence, a medieval village near Nice. We didn't really know how to get there but somehow we made our way. When we got there we were charmed by the different shops and restaurants, as well as the twisty cobblestone streets. The city also has an amazing cemetary and view.

This was the first stop on our honeymoon trip and we were enjoying visiting all of the artists and art galleries which are there. We came to this one tiny tiny store named Atelier Perles which was filled with Tahitian black pearls. Which I just adore.

Well, we were looking at all of the beautiful pieces when we spied this amazing pearl pendant in a case. The pearl was absolutely perfect and perfectly round - a deep glossy black with lots of blues and greens. The owner showed us how translucent it was by putting in a cup of water and letting the sun shine through it. The jewelry designer did not want to mar the pearl so the setting was made of a thin gold wire that kept it in place with its tension.

So, yes, I was all excited and basically in love with this pearl. We asked the cost of the pearl and the owner said X00. We thought, X00 francs, what a great deal. Then he said, no, dollars.

Yeah, we were young and ignorant, what do you want?

So, a little sadly, we put the pearl back and left the shop. As we walked through the town, I promise I wasn't moping about the pearl (the husband confirmed this). After a few minutes, he told me to stop and wait where I was for a second.

He then went back to the store and got me the pearl.

My Sweetie, he's a good one. Tell him I told you that. ; )

The Focal Point
I was looking for comfy shoes and boy, these are it.

The insole is very soft leather and the suede is very soft and delicate as well. And I love how the sheen of the mother-of-pearl buttons play off of the matte of the shoes.



They are nicely cut low on the sides as well. I can highly recommend them.

Store Focus: Simply Soles

I wanted to share with everyone a new online shoe store that I have recently found. SimplySoles.com, based out of Washington D.C. carries a number of great hard-to-find shoe designers as well as purses and accessories.



The founder, Kassie, is a new friend and I'm so excited for her and her company! I'm working with her to share the gorgeous shoes she carries so you'll probably see them on here from time to time. The good thing is I'm sure you won't mind because they are just so stylish.



Like these peep-toes from lillybee. I'm totally digging the cross-strap peep-toe and the oversized stitching. I would wear them with my dressy denim pencil skirt and a tight black top or maybe my vintage red trench.



Kassie's site features bios on each of the designer's she carries and has great customer service with free exchanges and returns. She's also teamed up with Suited for Change. When you order from SimplySoles and donate a pair of shoes in return, you'll get 10% off your next order. How great is that?

So check them out!

Luv,
Poochie

Slip into Summer

With all the amazing floral prints popping up on shoes everywhere it's hard to decide which ones to pick. They're all so gorgeous!

I am getting this pair of Bettye Muller slingback peeptoe heels named Coast.



The colors will go perfectly with my summer colors, especially the yellow accents in the pattern. Yellow is a color I can do in accents and accessories, not in big blocks, and this is perfect. Plus the chunkier heel has that kind of safari-ish vibe and will be great for running around work.

You can get a huge view by clicking on the picture or checking them out on SimplySoles.com.

Coast by Bettye Muller - $385 at SimplySoles.com

Cute as a Button

I knew that the Tibi line had a bunch of adorable clothes and prints but I was less familiar with their line of shoes. I've only seen them on Net-a-Porter and SimplySoles.

I just found these super cute ballet flats named Daisy. Perfect for Spring, they are grey suede and have this great button embellishment on the toe. Click on the image to get a close-up view.



I just got these last night and they are soooo soft and comfortable. And I'm a sucker for this shade of grey. Especially paired with yellow and pink. The mother-of-pearl buttons are shiny and just seem to glow. I'll probably wear them with a drapey t-shirt and jeans this weekend since it finally has warmed up a bit

Tibi Daisy Flats - $315 at SimplySoles.com