One of the worst things about this economy is not people losing their jobs, homes, etc, it’s that retailers are so damn freaked out that they have basically stopped carrying anything even slightly adventerous fashion-wise. Everything’s basic, basic, basic. In a recent visit to Brooklyn shoe boutique Soula, these purple patent pumps by Pour La Victoire stood out like a beacon of hope in a sea of boring brown and black shoes.

^^The thing that makes me especially happy is I noticed when I was searching for the brand’s web site is that even though it’s sold by many online retailers, no one I could see was offering this particular style. Ha!

If you are craving a pair of snuggly boots for winter but would rather have sex with your gross disgusting neighbor (you know the one) than put your feet in a pair of Ugg boots, these offerings from ShoFolk (the women’s part of U.K. brand Folk) are a nice option.

^^Cute, but I haven’t the slightest where you could by them, ’specially on my side of the pond.

The high versions are on the other side…

For Fall 08 there is no way you’ll fall into the trap of accumulating a plethora of black boots, like I have many times…the sneak peak at Michael Antonio Fall 08 assortments provides so many other stylish options! from L-R "Otani","Ollie","Olga"

Enjoy!

I will never lie to you and say that I’m a jock. I love certain sports and activities but for the most part,I envision the outfits.From  fishing to horseback riding I can get deep into the" Look".The Puma Black Label  Speedcat  Re-lux  boot is  a   great  example   of   how sports and fashion can meet tastefully.

The Puma Speedcat Re-Lux Boot available@ Puma NYC(212-334-7861)

via Style

There are few footwear designers whose creations can be considered works of Art…Nicholas Kirkwood from London is one of them.He challenges the traditional shapes of footwear while remainning sexy, current  and totally wearable..

Available at Browns

If there’s an old school footwear that makes me happy it’s Frye ,they have stayed true to who they are but have taken risks in the right direction.Here is a glimpse at their Spring 2009 line available soon at Heels.com

The Rodarte collection as shown at NY Fashion week had my heart soaring last week and I did a post featuring some backstage photography, which can be found here. I meant to post some images from the show but got a little busy. Yes, I’m late, but the show is deserving.

^^The only issue being that there are few that have the presence of personality to pull off wearing this.

Three more stunners on the other side.

All images Wire.com

If you don’t adore legendary lensman for the NY Times Bill Cunningham it’s probably only ’cause you don’t know who he is. He’s been doing his "On the Street" photography column for the paper forever, which is, hands down, the best part of the Time’s fashion coverage. This past week he did his totally on-point column on the piping-hot fashion trend of "spidery" high heels combined with short dresses. He also talks about the demise of handbags as the centerpiece of the outfit.  It’s a must-see.

^^"People who complain that there is no fashion and no style…they’re nuts!" –Bill Cunningham.

Fall shoe and boots sales are starting to heat up at Karmaloop so I asked buyer extraordinaire Dina to send me some jpegs of shoes that she thinks are gonna be big hits this fall. Get ‘em before they sell out!

^^Jeffrey Campbell Pila Boot: Look closely, these have little winglets.

Three more on the other side, including a fab pair of fur-capped, knee-high boots…

I popped by the ColetteXGap store earlier today to see what all the hype was about. There wasn’t tons of people in there–as you can see from the images–but the people who were there all seemed fairly fashionable. The space was smaller than I expected, as was the number of product offerings, but I’m guessing this is a quality over quantity situation. As well, there isn’t much there that’s cheap and some things, like a $24 bottle of blue nail polish, caused me some to mentally reach for my heart Frand-Sanford style. But oh well, it’s Colette so it’s worth it, right?

So what’s left? I’m told that certain things like the Longchamp bags are sold out and will NOT be returning. There’s less certainty about other items. For example, the Claw collabo tee was there and is now gone (sob!), but the women working the register weren’t positive if those would be restocked. They said there was a new shipment coming that evening, but they had no idea what it would include. And while it was quiet there on a Wednesday evening, no doubt it will get quite packed on the weekend. One employee told me that on the first day when she arrived there was a line around the block and it was still there when she left not long before closing.