First a brief rant--skip below the fold if you want:
I went to Shoemania today (one of the big shoe stores in NYC) to track down the Nicole Kindle oxfords I got in a half size smaller. I got there, tried them on, liked them, and was all ready to buy them...until the cashier rung them up at $100. I asked her why they were $67 on their website but $100 in the store, and she explained that the online prices were different, but you had to pay tax + shipping. I gently reminded her that there IS no tax on any clothing under $110, and shipping surely wouldn't bridge the $33 gap...but she told me they wouldn't match the price. So I told her I'd just get them somewhere else, and she said "ok, no problem."
...honestly, I have a lot of sympathy for small businesses trying to compete with places like Zappos and Amazon, but my sympathy has a limit. I wasn't asking them to match someone else's price--I was asking them to match THEIR OWN price! If they had just done that, they would have made a sale. I ended up ordering them from Piperlime even though they were more expensive (even with a coupon), just because I knew for the extra $13 I could probably count on their customer service.
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Ok...now on to the part that will probably actually interest you:
After that situation I was very grumpy because I was hoping to wear those shoes to the Philadelphia gathering tomorrow. I decided to go to the Rack to see if my Kenna T jacket miraculously showed up, but alas, as expected, it did not. As usual, I didn't find anything there for myself. But I did find a few recommended YLF (and Maya approved) items:
-Steve Madden "Haviland" OTK boots
-Steven "Sabra" OTK boots--in abundance.
-MIA Sargeant booties in white
-Cream Fidjis
-Theory tuxedo jacket, down to $129. I'm not sure if it's the one Angie has but it was gorgeous nonetheless
-Turquoise cowboy boots. I don't remember the brand, nor do I particularly like them, but I know a lot of YLFers would.
I was trying on a pair of boots there when a woman came up to me and said "I just tried those on and had the same problem--too big around the leg." We proceeded to commiserate with each other about our skinny calves for about 15 minutes. Eventually I pointed her to the Haviland boots and they seemed to fit her well, but she said they were too tall. I reassured her they looked good on her, but I don't know if she believed me or not. Anyway, she had smaller calves than me and they fit her well FWIW.
Anyway, she recommended I try DSW because she heard they had a massive boot event going on. So, having found nothing at the Rack (yet again), I decided to give it a shot. And I did indeed find boots--but I'm being tight-lipped until after the gathering. They are so beyond killer that I want them to get the kind of opening ceremony they deserve. Everything else I have bought to date is going back, except those oxfords. These boots are better than everything else I bought combined.
That said, I saw LOTS of Frye boots, as well as the Nine West Cleeos in black suede.
http://www.dsw.com/shoe/nine+w.....Ref=SEARCH
I normally am not a suede fan, but I actually kind of like these in suede. It seems more becoming of the style somehow. More Elfish.
The Fryes are not online, nor is the pair that I got. There were tons of great boots though. Definitely check it out in store if you can.
That's it!
