The cast members of The Real Housewives franchise on Bravo are each quite different in their own way, but if there is one common denominator among the women, it’s that they all love shoes.  And, more often than not, they like to get their footwear fix from Christian Louboutin (as discussed in several of my previous posts).  So, it’s no surprise that we saw plenty of red soles flashing on the The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion for Season 3.  After all, when you have some explainin’ to do for all of your antics during the season, you must have your best power pumps on.  What I didn’t know, however, is that host Andy Cohen also has a thing for shoes.  On Watch What Happens Live, he let us in on a little tradition where he selects his favorite pair of shoes from those worn by the Housewives during the reunion taping.  And, according to this video footage, Andy is all about sparkly and rock ‘n’ roll styles, making him a man after my own heart for sure.  You can see all of the shoes up close in the video, but here’s a rundown of what the ladies wore:

Kandi Burruss wore the Christian Louboutin Miss Fast booties with spike detail.  These were available at Saks for $1,095 at Saks, but are now sold out.

Phaedra Parks wore the Christian Louboutin Ambertina, available for $895 at Barney’s, but only a couple of sizes are left.

NeNe Leakes wore the Christian Louboutin Pigalili in gold.  The silver version is available in limited sizes for $3,545 at Christian Louboutin.

Kim Zolciak wore a nude version of the Christian Louboutin Pigalle spiked pump, like this one in denim.  I don’t see the nude pair for sale online.

Sheree Whitfield wore these $895 Christian Louboutin Maggie heels, which are also sold out.

Cynthia Bailey was the only one not in Louboutins.  She wore a YSL platform pump that appears to be this metallic silver version, available for $895 at YSL.

Andy’s favorite pair was Phaedra’s Ambertina sandal.  Of course, we can’t all splurge like the Housewives do, so I tracked down some shoes that have similar elements, but at a much lower price.  Here’s what I found:

BCBGeneration Flossy boots on sale for $51.99 at Shoemall (originally $129.95).  Act by today and use coupon code SAVE25 for 25% off $25 or more and you’ll score them for just $38.99 (expires 2/23/11).

Fever Raven for $250 at Fever Shoes.

Wild Pair Celeste for $80 at Amazon or for the same price at Bakers.

Betsey Johnson Ice in gold glitter for $85 at Zappos.

Sam Edelman Lorissa spikes heel in nude for $200 at Karmaloop.  Apply coupon code OHSNAP to get 15% off $75, making them $170 (expires 2/28/11).

Paris Hilton Patty for $59.95 at DSW.  Members get free shipping with coupon code SHIPR (expires 3/21/11)

Steve Madden Fantasha for $99.95 at Steve Madden.  Coupon code rmn15f takes 15% off and gives free shipping, making them $84.96 (expiration unknown).

Real Housewives photos from bravotv.com

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Snooki of MTV Jersey Shore fame appeared on Late Show with David Letterman last Thursday night (2/11/11) to promote her latest ventures, including her best-selling book A Shore Thing, her line of Snooki slippers and, indirectly perhaps, her flashing light up shoes:

I have to give a shout out to my dear Dad for alerting me to these shoes after he spotted them on the show (thanks Pa!) and David Letterman most definitely took notice of them too - it’s hard not to when the shoes feature eye-catching rows of flashing LED colored lights.  Jimmy Choo also did a light up shoe with their Jimmy Choo Zap that originally retailed for nearly $2,500 (now $1,247.50 at Jimmy Choo), but the Nina Shostopper bootie retails for $149.95 and is currently on sale for $97.95 with free shipping at Zappos:

It comes in red or black and you can actually turn the lights off if desired using a button on the sole of the shoe.  These shoes are a novelty and definitely aren’t made for every occasion, but they are tailor-made for being seen while tearing up the dance floor - and when you go out wearing heels that light up, you must own it.

Update: The black pair at Zappos is now $104.97, while the red pair is down to $85.

Images from Late Show with David Letterman

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Jennifer Lopez apparently doesn’t compliment people on their shoes very often - something she admitted herself on American Idol last night during the San Francsco auditions - but the shoes worn by Idol hopeful Julie Zorrilla, whose family came to the U.S. from Colombia, drew praise from the super-stylish star.  Jennifer loved her gold glitter heels and her singing voice, all of which translated to a golden ticket to Hollywood for Julie.  We’ve seen a lot of stand-out sparkly shoes on TV lately, like Adrienne’s pair on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, so the ongoing “glitter/rhinestone/crystal/anything shiny” trend on shoes still seems to be reigning supreme.  To find your own pair of gold platform pumps, much like the JLo-approved pair worn by Julie, try these styles:

The Aldo Gones gold glitter heel with ankle strap appears to be the exact shoe worn on the show.  You can get these at Aldo for $80.  Coupon code 298416447 takes 10% off your order (expiration unknown).  Here are a few more options without the ankle strap:

Steve Madden Caryssa in gold glitter for $129.95 at Steve Madden.  Coupon code rmn15f takes 15% off and gives free shipping, making them $110.46 (expiration unknown).  Get a better price at Piperlime, where they are $89.99 with free shipping, but few sizes are left.

Victoria G for $85 with free shipping at Bakers.

Mossimo Viviana for $29.99 at Target.

Image from USAToday

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I’m not that into football, generally speaking, but I do find the Super Bowl entertaining.  It’s a great excuse to eat something extra-yummy and one of the only times I ever pay attention to commercials, plus I like to see who performs the national anthem and the half-time show.  The actual game?  Meh.  But, this year, I had to take note of the shoes that took part in the big event (and not just football cleats).  Here’s what was on my radar:

Christina Aguilera has been catching major flack around the web for flubbing the lyrics while performing the national anthem pre-game, but she did score points for her choice of footwear.  She wore the fab Christian Louboutin Calypso pumps, seen here at Coolspotters.  These crystal-encrusted beauties are gorgeous, but appear to be unavailable online.  For something affordable and somewhat similar in look overall, try these:

The Penny Loves Kenny Tetra for $89.99 with free shipping at Heels.com.  It also comes in several other color options (no red), some of which are very limited in size options.

The Paris Hilton Electra in black/black or black/brown on sale for $62.30 (regularly $89) at Macys.  The same style is also available in three color options at Heels.com for $89.99.

Fergie rocked out with the Black Eyed Peas during half time in these tall lace-up wedge boots, a look that was football inspired, as noted on the Fergie Shoes Facebook page.  Despite some sound issues, which always seem to be prevalent given the acoustics at stadiums, I enjoyed the show.  I’m not sure of the designer of her boots, but here’s another pair that has many of the same elements, minus the white-colored laces:

The Type Z Nora boot in black or brown on sale for $90.30 (MSRP $169) at 6pm.

Of course, you can always look to Fergie’s own shoe line for some rocker inspiration.  The Fergie Battlefield over-the-knee boot is available for $99 (regularly $159) at Fergie Shoes.

Finally, we have Kim Kardashian, who hawked for Skechers Shape-Ups during the Super Bowl commercials in one of her latest product endorsements.  Is it just me, or does it seem like the overtly sexual ad may have spoken more to the male audience rather than the intended female target for the shoes she was wearing?  I’m also not sure that Kim has ever worn these kind of shoes in real life, rather than utilizing a hot personal trainer, but whatevs.  If you want to find her black and pink Shape-Ups from the commercial, you can get a good price at Endless.  The Shape Ups Kinetix Response is on sale for $60 (regularly $100) with free 2-day shipping, but it has pink shoe laces rather than black.  You can also get the Skechers Shape-Ups SRT Kinetix with black laces, as in the ad, for $99.99 at Famous Footwear.

Images from NFL.com and Huffington Post

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If you paid attention to the fashion on display at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this month, you no doubt took note of Helena Bonham Carter and her unusual getup, which included the same shoe being worn in different colors on each foot.  Carter, who is known for her quirky style, definitely made a statement with her outfit choice, but she also landed on some worst-dressed lists in the process.  At the same time, many people admire her bold approach to fashion and the fact that she stays true to her own sense of style, even if it isn’t conventional.  Helena tells People, “Why not wear mismatching shoes? Who says we can’t? I was just having fun.  For me, fashion is all about fantasy and putting unlikely things together. That’s what I love. I genuinely love dressing up.”  I totally agree and, although I’m not running out to try the mismatched shoe look for myself yet, I do find it an intriguing concept.  Of course, it would require buying two pairs of the same shoes to pull it off, although I’m bringing this up today because I ran across a style that totally reminds me of the half and half aesthetic of Helena’s shoes at the Globes, but in just one pair.  Here’s what I mean:

This is the Poetic Licence Summer Bloom heel.  These brightly-colored heels caught my attention at first glance, but at first I didn’t realize that they are one color on one side and a different color on the other.  This is the other side:

They also have a cool ombre heel and even more contrasting colors on the platform and the flower detail.  It all seems like an unlikely combo, but I’m loving the overall effect.

You can find these bright, spring-ready shoes at Endless for $129 with free overnight shipping.  They are also eligible for the current promotion that takes 20% off select new styles $100 or more, so that drops them to $103.20 (expiration unknown).  There are seven color options to choose from and some even have a solid color on one side and a print on the other, making the difference between the two sides even more distinct.  So, with these, you can take a cue from Helena’s style and have some fun mixing it up.

Now I’m just trying to figure out which color combo I like best.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Photo from Peoplestylewatch.com

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If you watched the finale of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills last night, you know that the drama and shenanigans reached new heights in this episode, particularly at Taylor’s birthday party.  More accurately, it reached a frenzy (I’m looking at you Kim and Kyle.  Sisters 4-eva, ladies), but just in time for an extra-juicy reunion.  Amidst the chaos, there was Adrienne Maloof, the voice of reason, and her gorgeous shoes.  Everyone at Taylor’s party was complimenting her on her sparkly Gianmarco Lorenzi Disco Ball shoes (pictured above), which they dubbed “Dorothy” shoes.  If you want the exact style for yourself, follow these instructions carefully:  Go to Gregory’s Shoes.  Drop $2,795.  Sqeal with delight.  Game over.

Update: Here’s the silver version available for the same price at Gregory’s.  They also have similar black pair for $2,995.

If you don’t have the funds, you might check out this look-alike version:

I saw this style on Luux.com.  It’s the Fever Tiff and it comes in gold, brown or black for $275.  There are sizes available in the black version now and a couple left in brown with more on the way at the end of the month.  If you like the gold version, it is currently sold out with more coming in February.

Update: Another close lookalike from Fever, the Fever Ramona for $275.

For something less similar, but still hella sparkly, try one of these shoes:

Steve Madden Scandall in gold glitter for $109.95 at Steve Madden.  Apply coupon code rmn15f (expiration unknown) to get 15% off and free shipping, making them $93.46. Also check for your size at 6pm, where they are just $59.97 with $6.95 for shipping, but few sizes are left.

Another Steve Madden pair, the SM Karro for $59.95 at DSW.  Members get free shipping with coupon code SHIPR until 3/21/11.  You can also find the same style in what looks like a different glitter color for $47.97 at 6pm.

The Enzo Angiolini Sully for $88.95 at Nordstrom.

Have a great weekend!

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I mentioned in my last post that Jeffrey Campbell tends to draw inspiration from high-end designers for some of their styles, but I never expected to see the Jeffrey Campbell Salvatore (pictured above).  I noticed this shoe at Solestruck over the weekend and it definitely caught me by surprise because this shoe happens to be a near-replica of a shoe from way back in the archives of shoe history and one that I recognized from a post I did before:

If you haven’t seen this shoe, here’s a little history: It’s the ‘Rainbow’ shoe from famous shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo, who created this style in 1938 during The Great Depression.  He made these for Judy Garland (note: click 1930-1940 at the link to see the shoe), in an apparent nod to her “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” song from The Wizard of Oz (he also made her ruby slippers!).  They are currently on display at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence, Italy and were remade in 2010 as part of Ferragamo’s Creations, a limited-edition line of shoes by Ferragamo (which is still a family-run company) that replicated shoes from early in the company’s archives.  The year 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of the death of Salvatore Ferragamo in 1960 and, in addition to reissuing select shoes that he made, Ferragamo also had a special exhibition at the Salvatore Feragamo Museum to commemorate the event.

It’s amazing to me that shoes as modern-looking as the Rainbow were made over 70 years ago, but Ferragamo was definitely a man ahead of his time.  He is credited as being the original creator of many shoe styles that are widely worn and imitated today: wedge heels, platform heels, metal-reinforced stiletto heels (made famous by Marilyn Monroe), cage heels and many more can all be traced back to his work.  He paved the way for making shoes with materials other than leather, like cork, metal wire, raffia and wood and he also made strides in the area of shoe comfort, studying anatomy and finding that arch support was key.  He held over 350 patents for his many inventions and we all enjoy the fruits of his labor and discoveries to this day.  He is a true shoe pioneer and you can see more detail on his history here.

Back to the Jeffrey Campbell Salvatore.  This Ferragamo knockoff, also available in a nude version in addition to the gold pair at the top, was just posted for sale for $184.95 at Solestruck on Saturday and it sold out in a mere two days.  Given the history of this shoe and its uniqueness, it’s not hard to see why.  It was quite a bold move for JC to produce a look-alike version for an iconic shoe like this, but when you think about Salvatore’s many innovations in the area of shoes, you come to the conclusion that almost any shoes available now are inspired by him in one way or another.  For that, we owe a big thanks to Ferragamo and his legacy, which is still going strong today.

Update: Urban Outfitters has a couple sizes in this shoe with a white upper for $199.  It’s now known as the Jeffrey Campbell Groovy (sold out).  Update 5/18/11: Lori’s Shoes has the Jeffrey Campbell Gidget for $152.  It has the same rainbow platform with a nude leather thong style on the upper.

Ferragamo images from museoferragamo.it/

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