ShoeSense

Purple Fever

I had a cute little outfit today--cream capris, deep purple tank top and a sheer white tunic on top, with a purple and green floral print. I had just received the tunic in the mail from La Redoute and I was dying to wear it (by the by, the rest of the order was less than fabulous: the pants didn't fit, and instead of the beautiful white and lavender full cotton skirt I had ordered, they sent the most hideous pair of yellow polyester trousers--brrrrrr! It felt wrong just to touch them! Not to mention, they had already cancelled a pair of linen pants I had initially ordered--out of stock. Oh well). However, the tunic showed promise and, indeed, looked tres chic with the top and over the capris.

(You can tell by now that this is going to be a long rant, right? So what--it's my blog, and I'll rant if I want to!)

The problem came with the shoes. I didn't feel like wearing something blah or safe (you know, a brown, a neutral, a white, the usual suspects). I felt like wearing....PURPLE! I wanted to be bold! And ultra-coordinated!

It is then, as I descended into the deepest, farthest entrails of my shoe closet, that I was confronted with this horrible truth: I have NOTHING that will RESEMBLE purple in terms of shoes. NOTHING.

And I LOVE purple.

Bwaaaaaahhhhh!

I had to settle for a pair of lime green wedges that spiced out the outfit well enough, but that got me thinking...boy, do I need a good pair of purple shoes! And I mean, purple. NOT lavender, magenta, fuchsia, pomegranate, burgundy, blush, plum, hot pink, or any shade of pink for that matter. I mean, purple. The real deal.

And of course, they have to be comfortable, stylish, well-constructed, preferrably but not necessarily made of leather, capable of being dressed up or down, and affordable.

To give you an idea of what I was looking for, here are two pairs that I think are too cute, though, tragically, they ran out of my size:
Vera Wang kitten heel purple satin pumps. Mucho adorable, and 75% off, but only a size 6.5 left. (Yes, I need a 10. In Vera Wang it's possible that I need a 10.5 or even an 11.)

Or something like these:
Miu Miu purple suede bow flats 40% off on Bluefly. Super-cute. Only a size 7 left. Oh, they were too expensive anyway. (I find the sour grapes technique tends to work, occasionally.)

So I did the logical thing to do: I proceeded to scour the Internets in search of a suitable pair of purple shoes. It's harder than you think! Not! Such! A! Popular! Color! Even harder to find comfortable purple shoes, although some were so cute I was willing to give them the lustful eye. Such as these Franco Sarto espadrilles, $58 on Zappos:
You know, if it weren't for all those reviews that ranked these wedges as Most Likely to End Up a Prop on "Saw III," I might have given them a chance.

I turned my purple stare into the world of the mid-heels, and what do I find? A few inimitable Etros! Alas, however, none are in my size, though, which makes me irritable because I've wanted a pair of Etro like, forever, and these jeweled satin slingbacks are kind of worth getting your tootsies scrunched for, plus they're 75% off:
I wouldn't mind being seen in these cute silk printed peep-toes, either (70% off):I know these suede Sigerson Morrison Mary-Janes are too high for me (2 3/4" heel), but boy, are they CUTE: That Sigerson Morrison sure knows purple. Look at these unusual purple patent Mary-Janes: That's hot stuff, right there. And in my size, too! But at a mere 37% off, they're still about $200, out of the budget for now. Sigh.

Now, if only they had these comfy and beautiful Marc Jacobs flats in my size:
I own the orange version, but that don't help me much at this point. I'm all covered in terms of orange. And green. And black. And white. And brown. And blue/turqoise. And burgundy. And red. And pink. But NOT PURPLE. Ugh.

Perhaps I should spring for these Pollini thong flats (75% off)?
Neh. Something feels off. I don't know what. I've looked and looked and what can I say--they're just not doing it for me. Sorry, fellows.

Neither are the following pairs, from Magdesians. One is a comfy slingback:
The other a two-toned wedge:
There's just a...oh I don't know...perhaps a granny vibe about them? (sorry, Liz!) Or perhaps I'm screwed up.

Moving on, these cute, cute Delman kitten heels seemed closer to hitting the spot:
However, at $225 on Shoes.com, they would be out of reach. Luckily, Bluefly has them (in my size, no less!) at 40% off that, which makes the whole deal a lot more negotiable. Still, there seems to be too much cleavage in the vamp for them to be truly comfortable. Oh, forget it.

I also have to admit that I was also temporarily tempted by these Kenneth Cole flats, which seem suitable for urban wear, plus a very affordable $40:
I'm not 100% sure about them, though. The purple is a little off.

Tired yet? I can assure you, not as tired as I am after scouring the internets for something decent in The Color Purple. After all that's said and done, however, I must remember my poor little feet, still riddled with heel and arch pain and having to walk mile after mile every day in the urban jungle. And that's when a tentative Holy Grail seems to materialize in the shape of the Dansko Lolita in a beautiful shade of purple:
At $90 (that's 22% off) they're not cheap, but relatively affordable, and the reviews are superb. I've always wanted to try a pair of Danskos but I was put off, you guessed it, by their general stockiness. However, I've seen this shoe in different colors on other girls' feet and they didn't look half bad. Plus, one raved to me about how comfortable they were, which, I must say, makes me partial to this model.

So what do you say, internets? Can you recommend a better pair of purple shoes? Should I go with the Danskos? Oh, the agony!

posted by Cristina Hanganu-Bresch @ 6:07 PM