I was browsing the Saks sale and came across all of these B Brian Atwood shoes on sale so wanted to share as after I got my pumps at the Nordstrom anniversary sale, I got lots of questions about fit and comfort of these pumps.
I got mine in my regular size 5, however they run slightly big so I have to wear them with Foot Petals
to make them fit a bit tighter. They also run narrow. Comfort wise, I’d give them about a 6 out of 10. They are a bit stiff and they aren’t the most comfortable but the platform in front does help. But if you are like me and are okay with a little discomfort, they are really pretty on and I absolutely love the height they give me! (Mine are also on sale at Nordstrom)
They are a great price now so if you missed them on the anniversary sale, you can get them in these 3 colors.
They also have quite a few pairs of boots on sale. I’m eyeing these two. I love the sparkles on the heel of the flat boot! The cap toe boots look great, however, I have to try them on as knee high boots usually hit me in a weird place because they never account for shorty legs like mine.
These are on sale too! I always try these on when I see them at Nordstrom. 🙂 I love how sparkly they are. I always say if I was getting married again, these are the shoes that I would be wearing. They’re even prettier in person, they sparkle so much!
I’ve done a few posts/videos on how to care for your shoes and handbags and I mainly still use the same products. Now that it’s becoming rainy season again, it’s really important to remember to re-spray your leather and suede so that it’s protected from the weather.
I do get a lot of questions regarding leather care and I’m really not an expert either so am always looking out for good tips. I recently got these leather care tips from Professional Leather Cleaners Association and thought they were helpful so wanted to pass them along. This is helpful for all your leather goods; clothes, shoes and handbags.
Leather ages gracefully and can last a lifetime with the proper care right from the start;
Always hang leather garments on wide or padded hangers to maintain their shape. Use shoetrees in footwear and stuff empty handbags with tissue to help retain their shape.
Never store leather goods in plastic or other non-breathable covers. This will cause leather to become dry.
Allow wet or damp leather to air-dry naturally away from any direct heat source. Leather can be treated with a conditioner to restore flexibility while suede can be brushed with a terry towel to restore its look.
In winter, promptly remove salt deposits from garments and footwear by sponging with water; follow with the above treatment for wet or damp leather.
Avoid very humid and dry environments as well as direct sunlight.
Do not use waxes, silicone products or other leather preparations that will impair a garment’s ability to breathe.
Wrinkles should hang out. If ironing is desired, set iron on rayon setting, use heavy brown wrapping paper as a pressing cloth on right side of the garment and a quick hand to prevent overheating and shine.
Avoid spraying perfumes or hair sprays while wearing your garment and do not apply pins, adhesive badges or tape. Wearing a scarf at the neckline will help keep hair and body oil away from the collar.
Hems may be fixed with a tiny amount of rubber cement. For best results, see a leather care professional.
All products formulated for at-home use should be tested on an inconspicuous part of the garment.
For more information about the PLCA and to find a professional leather cleaner near you, go to their website at: www.professionalleathercleaners.org.
Go to my post here for my video on how to care for your shoes – resoling and cleaning
Hopefully some of these tips help! I know how important it is since we tend to spend a good amount on our leather items so want to keep them looking great for a long time.
The products that I use and recommend are the Garde’ Rain & Stain Repellant which does a great job of protecting from the rain. Just remember to re-spray your items every few months or so or depending on how bad the weather is when you took it out. And to keep it looking like new I use the Apple Brand – Leather Conditioner Care which I’ve used on most all my bags and shoes and it definitely cleans them up and keeps them pretty looking!
I did some research on The Purse Forum and it looks like a lot of the Chanel girls recommend the Meltonian Leather Lotion. I haven’t used it myself yet but based on TPF recommendations it definitely seems like a good one to use as well.
This post is not sponsored, just thought it would be helpful!
I’m a bootie lover. I mean I live in Seattle, I need all the boots I can get to get me through the next 9 months of rain and more rain. I tend to like booties rather than tall boots as I find that they are more versatile. And I also have a harder time finding tall boots to fit my legs but booties are much easier to find. Loving the platform of the Alejandro Igelmo and the B Brian Atwood booties. The lower cut on the ankle tends to look better on me since I have short legs so I tend to go for these. Although the Jean – Michael Cazabat booties are a bit taller, I love the zipper and cap toe details. They also come in tweed which is gorgeous.
My first love will always be pumps. In the past few years have accumulated quite the collection of round toe pumps but am now loving the pointy toes. I adore the shape of the Alice + Olivia pumps, now to decide which ones to get, the glitter or the snakeskin? I love them both! Am also wanting more printed shoes and how darling are the Kate Spade polka dots? (They also come in black and white!) The Tory Burch leopard pumps would go with practically any of my fall outfits.
Also wanted to mention that my B Brian Atwood pumps that I got in the summer are available in a few differentcolors. I love these and may take advantage of the 20% off right now and get them in the glitter version. Also, if I was getting married again, I would totally wear the rhinestone covered ones, aren’t they so pretty!
They brought back my favorite booties that I wear all fall/winter, the Rag & Bone Lovell booties and they are Friends & Family eligible! See the lookbook here and also on me here.
Now to narrow down my shopping cart… Decisions, decisions.
If you watched my last video, you got to go shopping with me during the designer shoe pre-sale, so here’s the follow up video of what I bought! I ended up buying a few pairs on a different date as well so there will be a few pairs that you haven’t seen yet, except of course if you are on my facebook you saw a sneak peek 🙂
The Haul!
Here’s just one of them!
Watch the video to see the rest of my Shoe Sale haul!
Miu Miu Mary Jane Pumps – my color is sold out, get them here in black or gray on sale. These pretty metallic mary janes are also on sale. And gorgeous blush color with a bow! So cute. Too bad they don’t have my size left.
YSL Tribtoo (shorter heel) – not on sale but these are the same style.
YSL Tribtoo (high heel) – same style but not on sale. The captoe Triptoos are on sale in Gray and Nude.
I would so appreciate you subscribing to my channel and “liking” my video, obviously if you liked it! 🙂 I will try to make more videos, suggestions always welcome!
I got a call from my shoe sales associate at Nordstrom that he had the list for the designer pre-sale (select designers will be going on sale on Black Friday and the rest of the brands will follow in the upcoming weeks) so I stopped by and tried on lots of pretty shoes and pre-saled a few 🙂 I actually shot a little video of my shoe shopping trip so come back tomorrow for that! Here’s a sneak peak at what I tried on!
I couldn’t leave Nordstrom without checking out the handbag department. While I did put a bag on pre-sale (this Marc Jacobs bag in metallic navy) I saw and fell in love with this Proenza Schouler bag that is now high on my wishlist!
What I’m Wearing: Trovata Cardigan | Forever 21 top | Rag & Bone jeans | Prada booties | t+j Designs jewelry (take 25% off your order with code THANKS)
Madewell just opened up a store in Bellevue and they sent me a postcard last week to come in and get 20% off my purchase so OF COURSE I had to stop in while I was there. 🙂 When I do shopping posts, I’m often asked about sizing and what size I bought so I’m including that info below and hope that helps if you guys decide to get these items as well.
My absolute favorites jeans are the Madewell legging jeans so I got another pair as my other ones are so well worn that they are a bit too baggy in the knees for my liking. I also got the henley as it was a good winter staple to wear underneath sweaters. It’s full price online but in stores it was $34.50. The Soft Silk Boyshirt went on my “wishlist” because I didn’t want to spend that much on a blouse for now, but I absolutely love the fit and the color. Both tops are an XS and run true to size. The jeans fit true to size. They are a nice thick but still stretchy denim. The length is too long but I just roll them under and it does the trick until I can make it to my tailor to get them hemmed.
J Crew was my next stop and I saw that they were doing 20% off sweaters so had to try on a few that I’ve been eyeing. Oh but I just noticed that they are now doing 25% off all orders over $150 online so make sure to take advantage of that! (and of course the 4% cashback from ebates!)
Heart Me Sweater on the left is the size XS and the right is XXS.
I recently discovered that I’ve been wearing the wrong size at J Crew all along! I used to think that the XS was fine until I tried on an XXS and realized that it fit much better. I just had this perception that “I’m not that small, I would never be an XXS” and didn’t even bother trying it on until I didn’t have a choice when they ran out of XS in a sweater I wanted. I’m such an advocate of wearing your correct size but I was letting my own mindset hold me back from actually even trying on a different size. Anyway, as you can see the length is a bit shorter in the XXS which I don’t like as much but I do like the fit on the sides and shoulder better. Since I have a short torso, baggy sides make me look a lot bigger in the midsection so I try to avoid that. The sweater is SO cute but a huge con is that it’s mostly wool with only a tiny bit of cashmere so it’s itchy. I’m going to try to layer it with a shirt underneath and see how I like it. If it’s too itchy, it’s going back as I can’t stand wearing itchy sweaters for long periods of time. Oh and I ended up getting the camel one but now seeing these pictures, I might like the navy one better so if I keep it, I may exchange the color.
The Honeycomb Sweater is a prime example in the XS being slightly too big and making me look a lot boxier. I felt the knit was a bit too chunky on me anyway so didn’t bother trying it in a different size. I already own two pairs of Minnie pants and thought I loved them but then wore one of them recently and felt they were weird on me. Again, it dawned on me that I possibly bought the wrong size and sure enough I tried on the Minnie Pant in this really pretty red in a 00 and they fit perfectly. I do want to point out that I’m typically a 0 in every other brand so I think that J Crew is definitely doing some vanity sizing. If you are like me and typically go for your regular size at J Crew, I suggest sizing down just to see, you may find out that you are like me and are buying the wrong size!
I absolutely LOVE the Wynter sweater. The stripes and the sequins are such a great combo! It may be my favorite buy of the whole shopping trip. It’s the same as the Heart Me sweater in that it’s a bit itchy so I’m debating on it as well, however because I love the sequins it’s closer on the “keeping” side 🙂 They don’t have this color combo online so check out the stores, mine still had a ton left.
Sorry for my distracting RuMe bag in the back there, I should have moved it out of the photos but I didn’t notice until now. I always shop with a reusuable bag and stores love me for not having to use one of their bags and I love that I’m not wasting a paper bag!
I’m a bit shopped out so will be skipping the malls and such for Black Friday but will definitely be seeing what sales will be popping up online. How about you? Do you like fighting the Black Friday crowds to get the amazing bargains? Or would you rather sit at home and shop online like me? Let me know what you guys get, I love seeing the fun stuff that everyone gets during the sale season!
I love getting emails from readers who have recently invested in their first pair of designer shoes or are about to take the plunge. I’m just as excited as they are! Obviously you know that I’m all about investing in nice shoes, even if you don’t have a whole wardrobe of designer shoes, having just one or two to mix into your every day wardrobe is so worth it. I get a lot of skeptical people too who wonder if I only buy designer shoes for the name or if they really are that much more comfortable. I’m not going to tell you that it’s like your walking on fluffy clouds of comfort, I mean most my heels are 4 inches or higher, of course it’s going to hurt BUT the difference between 4 inch inexpensive heels and 4 inch expensive heels is huge. I don’t even know how to explain it but it’s one of those things that after you’ve worn designer heels for awhile you can really feel the difference, especially with the fit of the shoe. I find that my designer heels mold to my feet whereas cheap heels make your feet mold to the shoe. (Which pretty much can’t happen and that is what creates the blisters and the rubbing on cheap heels.) Also, the inside of cheap shoes are mostly made of man made materials so the material will always be a bit stiffer and more uncomfortable to wear. I’m not saying that all non-designer shoes are uncomfortable and all designer shoes are comfortable. There’s no way to classify them as that, it’s just that there IS a difference between the quality and the comfort. I have some Louboutins that hurt like hell but that’s mainly due to the angle of the arch, not the shoe itself. And I’ve worn cheap shoes that hurt like hell because I was basically walking on plastic that rubbed against my heel and created a nasty blister. And I mean really, maybe my feet are just a bit pickier and they can feel the difference whereas some people can’t. I don’t have a definitive answer, I just know that there is a difference to me and that’s why I invest in nice shoes. Investing in nice shoes also means taking care of them since out of everything we own, shoes get beat up the most and when you’re spending that much money on shoes, you want to make sure that they last! I’ve literally worn some heels down so that the heel tap has disintegrated and I was walking on the nail in the heel so I know about wearing down your shoes. Ever since I discovered ways to take care of my shoes, I’ve never had that problem again.
I put together a video showing you the ways that I take care of my heels and how I make them last a bit longer. One tip that I didn’t mention in the video is to try not to wear your shoes back to back days. With leather shoes, they need the time to breathe and mold back to their regular shape. If you wear them too often and for too long, they can get misshapen and end up getting stretched out.
Just wanted to show you my shoes that have been resoled next to the ones that haven’t. As you can see, you can get the red zip soles that match perfectly to the Louboutin red if you are concerned about the color match.
And here I’ve added a pair that just has the regular black zip sole on it. It’s all the same, just different colors. I’ve never seen anything other than the black or the red so not sure if they could’ve done something to match the color of the Gucci soles. I don’t mind though, it’s just the bottom of your shoe, not many people will see it!
Two common questions I get is “How do you walk in heels all the time?!” and “Do you have any tips for wearing high heel shoes?” I’ve been writing back individually but thought since it was such a common question that I’d just write a post for it! These tips aren’t ground breaking or anything, I’m sure you can find tips if you google for it as well, but here’s just some tips of how I manage to walk in heels all day long.
Practice makes perfect
I’ve been wearing heels since I was a teenager so my feet have been thoroughly trained to be in heels. In fact, they are so used to being in heels that when I wear flats, I am clumsier and tend to fall over my feet or hurt myself. I also get foot cramps when I wear flats. Odd but true! If you are just starting out, don’t immediately go for the stilletos. Get some heels between 2-3 inches and preferably with a bit of a thicker heel and wear them around the house. (these would be great) Wear them when you are cooking, wear them when you are doing your makeup, when you are vacuuming, walk up and down the stairs, etc… You don’t need to even get dressed up, just walk around and wear them in your sweats, nobody will see you but if you wear them during normal activities without leaving the house, you will get a lot more used to them and not feel foolish because nobody will see you practicing. I do this when I’m breaking my shoes in and it helps a lot in that aspect as well.
Does it fit?
Nothing looks worse than a girl who’s wearing shoes that are too big or too small and you can see them visibly struggling to walk in them. I wear different sizes with different brands and even within the same designer I can go up or down a half size so make sure that you are wearing the size that fits your foot and not just the size that you “usually” wear. To help with sizing you can also get insoles. I really like these Dr. Scholl’s For Her Open Shoe Insoles or if you don’t want the whole insole I also recommend the Foot Petals Tip Toes. I buy these in bulk and put them in so many of my shoes. They make my foot stay in place and not slip to the front like so many super high heels can make your foot do. It also makes the front pad of the shoe much cushier and comfortable to walk in. You can also buy the variety pack that will cover each part of the shoe that you may be affected by.
When you are buying shoes, walk around the shoe department in them and make sure that your heel doesn’t pop out or it’s not squeezing your toes or the sides of your feet. All of that will stay the same once you buy them and take them home. Don’t think that shoes will stretch because most of the time they won’t stretch enough and they’ll still be too tight to wear. Nobody likes to wear too tight shoes. Well, I sure don’t and I think most people wouldn’t either. If they are a bit loose and the half size down is too small, ask the sales associate if you can see how it fits with an insole or a foot pad. Most often they will have temporary foot pads that you can put in your shoe to see if it will help. I know for sure Nordstrom has them and will put a few in your shoe box for free! They aren’t as good as foot petals but good for a temporary fix.
Walk slowly and take small steps
I admit, I’m a fast walker but like I said I am pretty experienced with heels so I’m so used to walking in heels. However when I wear super high 5 inch heels like my Louboutin Bianca pumps, I have to walk pretty slowly. I always warn my husband that I will be especially slow on the days that I wear them. There’s just no getting around it. Walking slow is much better than trying to keep your normal pace and then falling on your face. Don’t feel silly for walking slow or taking small steps. I mean don’t walk abnormally slow (if you do, you may need more practice) but look around you, there’s always a ton of people walking slow and you probably don’t stare at them weird or anything do you? So ignore your own self conscious feeling of “dang people are probably staring at me because I’m so slow” and just take your time walking. If you have to go up or down stairs, always hold on to the handrail or your significant other to keep steady. It sounds silly but I’ve seen people take tumbles because they didn’t have anything to hold onto but if you are wearing heels, you have a higher chance of slipping or getting your footing wrong when going down stairs. I’ve taken a few tumbles myself that the handrail has helped me from making into an embarrassing situation!
Always carry flats with you
When I know I’ll be walking a lot, I always carry a bigger handbag and put a pair of flats in there. I have a ton of shoe bags from all my shoes so I just put a pair of flats in a shoe bag to keep my handbag contents from getting dirty. Then when I’ve been on my feet for a couple of hours and I need to give them a rest, I’ll just slip on my flats, put my heels in the shoe bag and my feet are back to being comfy! There are even flats out there like these Dr. Scholl’s Fast Flats that are foldable flats and are really compact to keep in your handbag. I haven’t tried them just yet but seems like a good concept.
Keep blisters away!
People always wonder if I get blisters from walking in heels all day long but I never do. Ever since I started investing in high end shoes, I have never gotten a blister from a shoe. I think it’s the way the shoe is made and the materials inside the shoe. For cheaper shoes, you may get synthetic materials inside the shoe which after your foot has rubbed up against it for an hour or two, it just can’t be comfortable. Whereas for designer shoes, the entire insole as well as the inner lining is made from genuine leather which is softer to your feet and molds better than the synthetic materials. If you are getting blisters from the inside of your shoes, put your shoes on and note where you think they might start rubbing and stick little bandaids there or you can also get some moleskin padding as well if you want to cut out custom sizes.
That’s it for my tips! The only thing that I want to reiterate is to practice and practice some more! That’s the only way that your feet will get used to being at a strange angle for long periods of time. If you practice enough you might end up like me and have to train your feet to wear flats 🙂
My next guide will be on how to take care of your designer heels as that’s another question I get a lot! And now, a few of my picks from the spring collection of my favorite shoe designers.
Christian Louboutin Pigalle 120 studded denim pumps
If you are a beginner, I advise I against these ones! The heel height plus the small toe box makes for only experienced stilletto wearers. Aren’t they amazing though?!
Christian Louboutin Bibi Pumps
With the thicker heel, these are great for the super high heel look but a bit more on the comfortable side. I’ve actually tried these on and can vouch for their comfort!
Dior ‘Cannage’ Buckle Pump
The strap in front like these helps to keep your foot in and more stable. I actually just bought these the other day! Adore them but they are very high so not for the beginners either!
Miu Miu Suede multi-strap sandals
And having a platform in front is definitely helpful with balancing out the high heels. I love these sandals, they just scream “springtime!” to me!
Hope my tips helped and next thing you know you’ll be dancing the night away in your 4 inch heels without wanting to kick them off and throwing them in the trash!
I buy these in bulk and put them in so many of my shoes. They make my foot stay in place and not slip to the front like so many super high heels can make your foot do. It also makes the front pad of the shoe much cushier and comfortable to walk in. You can also buy the
