Hello Shoe Friends,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about shoes. This was a trying year and believe it or not, shoes were not a priority. There was some joy, but a lot of sorrow. I actually didn’t buy any shoes the first half of the year until I went on a shoe binge in August and bought 6 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of flip-flops. Maybe I’ll report on those some day soon. But for now, as I get reacquainted with the process of writing and adding an image to a post, I just wanted to share this picture I took at a shoe store in Downtown Los Angeles, on Broadway, more or less in the historic theater district. It’s just a big old Skechers shoe, as you can plainly see. It’s the biggest shoe I’ve seen since I saw that giant Red Wing boot at the Long Beach Grand Prix several years ago. I have fond memories as a kid going shopping with my mom in Downtown LA. I’d always want patent mary janes, of course, and she’d go get sewing supplies from a store called “Michael Levine.” I only remember the name because she had a yardstick from that fabric store. I wonder if that place is still in business. Anyway, I asked the salesgirl for permission to photograph the big shoe and she said that I was the first person to ever ask that. I guess that kind of makes me a shoe pioneer!

Amazappos. Zappazon?

The two companies with the Z in their names decided to get married yesterday. Zappos.com agreed to be acquired by Amazon.com for shares equaling approximately $807 million, plus an additional $40 million in cash and restricted stock to employees. This is the biggest purchase by Amazon ever, and is pretty significant since Zappos is one of the big players in the shoe/apparel market.

I sort of wonder what will happen to Endless.com, which we really liked over here at Shoe-n-Tell. Amazon says that they’ll continue to operate it, and Zappos has said that management on their end will continue to function normally. I would’ve thought that perhaps the nice functionality of Endless could somehow be rolled into the customer and community focused Zappos. Zappos is well known, but a bit clunky at times. I guess we’ll see how the shoes fall - but I can’t imagine that there won’t be at least a few reductions in the workforce.

Shoebuy.com is holding a special promotion for Dads & Grads. Using Google Checkout with you pay for your Shoebuy order, you can get $5 off of purchases of $30 or more. As usual, it doesn’t apply toward gift certs and there’s a limit of 1 coupon per customer. The promotion ends on June 21, 2009 at 5pm.

[Sorry, this Coupon expired on 06/21/09 - Click here to find more like this one.]

A reminder in case you’re looking to pick up shoes at Shoebuy and you don’t want to use the Ebill code mentioned below, they also have their standard $5 off of a $50 order coupon. I don’t believe this particular coupon expires and you only have to enter the code below when you checkout.

$5 off any order of $50 or more at Shoebuy.com plus Free Shipping! Simply enter ‘BUY5′ at checkout to redeem.

Just a quick note that Shoebuy has a promotion with EBillme where you can get $10 off of a 50 dollar or more purchase. The discount goes into your cart after you checkout. This promotion is good for another week, ending on March 17 of this year.

[Sorry, this Coupon expired on 03/17/09 - Click here to find more like this one.]

Here’s my friend’s cute baby showing off the new shoes she got (from me). I think she likes them and can wear them for a few more months.

Notice the pretty white flower applique where the mary jane buckle would normally go. Irresistible!

I get the feeling she may become a lifelong fan of mary janes.

Hello again! It’s been a while since I’ve written for S-n-T because life had other plans for me. Also truthfully, in this down-turned economy, I haven’t been buying many shoes. Happy birthday to me…I did acquire this pair recently, the Oh! Shoes - Women’s Joan Pump, with help from my friend Ken, who gave me an Amazon.com gift certificate. Thanks, Ken. You’re totally awesome!

I’d been intrigued by the Oh! shoes for a long time. Oh! claims to make “healthy heels for active women,” and their heels are patented and proven to lessen the pain of wearing heels. I must admit, the heels are pretty comfy. However, the raffia upper is hard and inflexible. If the raffia was more flexible, I could give the overall comfort a higher rating. Oh! Well!

Other facts:
Heel height: 3″, platform height: 1/2″ and made in Brazil.
Runs small, so 1/2 a size over your regular size should fit.

Oh! Shoes Joan Pump

read more…

Endless has a special going where you can get $25 off of a purchase of 125 dollars or more. And as usual, they have free shipping. I’m not sure which shoes these apply to actually - I know it’s only select ones but it seemed like there were a ton of shoes to choose from when I went to the site. Also, it doesn’t say how long this special lasts for - but I’m going to assume it’s just until the end of the year.

[Sorry, this Coupon expired on 12/30/08 - Click here to find more like this one.]

Continuing with the coupons, Shoebuy has a promotion where you can get 20 dollars off a purchase of 50 dollars or more. The catch is you have to pay with eBillme. I haven’t used the service before, but if you’re going to buy shoes it might be worth a look. The promotion is good until the end of this year. As usual ,it’s only good on participating brands and does not apply to gift certs.

[Sorry, this Coupon expired on 12/30/08 - Click here to find more like this one.]

OK, so we know the economy is down. People are REALLY looking around for a deal, so we’re going to try to post more coupons than shoe reviews in the future. This latest one is from Endless.com. You can save an immediate $10 if you purchase $60 or more of Robeez products from them. Robeez makes those soft-soled baby shoes that everyone’s familiar with. I’m not sure if this coupon has an expiration date on it. It didn’t seem like it, but for now we’re going to assume it’s good until after the holiday season push.

[Sorry, this Coupon expired on 12/30/08 - Click here to find more like this one.]

Foot Petals are a shoe lover’s dream come true. They cushion and pad just the right places to help you get the right fit and comfort level with your favorite shoes. The “Tip Toes,” shown on the left, protect the ball of your foot from slipping and sliding. The “Heavenly Heelz,” shown on the right, protect your heels from blisters and fill the extra space in shoes that run a little long. The adhesive backings really stay put. I got both in the rose color from Footpetals.com, on sale for only $4.95 each! Shipping was fast (from Long Beach, CA) and free and a little gift was also included in the package. Highly recommended. I love Foot Petals!

Fall is my favorite season, and it is definitely in the air! It was just over 100F last week here in Southern California, but this weekend has suddenly turned very brisk and fall-like, with temperatures hovering in the mid-60s and a bit of chill in the wind. It’s time to break out the cute Fall looks I’ve been thinking of all summer - classy plaids and corduroys in great textures, matched with shoes and tights in warm hues.

The Rockinn Wedge by Madden Girl in red is exactly what I have in mind. A timeless rounded toe with contrast stitching and a pair of cute, covered button accents, and the low wedge is perfect with any outfit. Wear these with a classy sweater, corduroy pencil skirt, mustard yellow colored tights and you are set to warm up the Fall with sass and style.