Comfy Cute Shoes

Vince Camuto Shoe Design Contest

elainetam — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:04:22 +0000

I found out about Vince Camuto through a fashion blog. I was actually more attracted to his handbags than shoes, but while I was on his website, I found out about his shoe design contest. I can’t say how comfortable his shoes are, but they are definitely cute!

Privo Mosie: Comfy Cute Shoes For Work, Play or Party

elainetam — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:07:39 +0000

Source: Elaine Tam

Privo Mosie is one of my favorite comfy cute shoe buys this year. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought two pairs – the first one is in black and when it went on sale, I bought another pair in pewter.

Both colors are quite easy to wear. Black is a common shoe color, so you can get away with wearing it all the time. I wore it throughout the summer. Pewter, on the other hand, is the cuter of the two. In fact, it’s so cute that it catches attention. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it. However, if you want to wear it all the time, people would notice that you’re always wearing the same pairs of shoes.

If I were to pick the color I like more out of the two, I’d pick pewter. In pewter, you can see the design and details better. Most of the shoe upper is made of leather, but the toe box is actually made of mesh material. Also, the heel as well as some of the seams are made of plastic material, sewn on with pink stitching. In black, the design is not as obvious as you can see below:

Source: Zappos.com

Aside from the beautiful design, the Privo Mosie has an especially comfortable rubber sole with an EVA midsole that makes it function almost like a sneaker. It’s a shoe that you can wear to work, play or party.

I bought them at DSW, but they are also sold on Zappos.com. As always, I would recommend reading other reviews as everyone’s feet are different. My first pair took a couple of days to break into.

Design Sexy Shoes With Steve Madden & Zappos.com

elainetam — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:26:22 +0000

Source: Zappos.com

I found out about Steve Madden’s SOLE Search powered by Zappos.com through Shoeblog.com. The contest just started this Thursday, November 12 and already has over 500 submissions. Contestants can either draw a sketch, use a graphics software or use the Entry Editor available on the website to design an original shoe.

Three winners will be chosen to fly to Las Vegas, and then to New York City to pitch the shoe design to shoe designer, Steve Madden. Submissions end on Tuesday, December 29.

Below is a quick design I did using one of their shoe templates. To keep with the idea of comfy shoes, I picked the peep toe flats template. I then added the colors using Photoshop and then copied and pasted some flower Swarovski crystals on that I found through JewelrySupply.com, a place I used to get my jewelry supplies from when I attempted jewelry making.

Source: Elaine Tam

I found the selection available on their Entry Editor very limiting. I don’t think you can create a winning original design using just what’s there, but it’s a good place to start if you have no ideas. Even if you don’t plan on entering the contest, it’s still fun to play with the templates. Those templates can come in handy for arts and crafts or design work. There was a time a group of us designed individual shoe cards for a birthday girl using a template and writing our notes on the back. It was fun, creative, and thoughtful.

Anyhow, I would love to see your comfy cute shoe designs.

Feet Pain? What Are You Running (In Stilettos) For?

elainetam — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:04:18 +0000

Source: SCTNow.org

Stilettos are not exactly the type of shoes for running. Not only is it painful to your feet, it’s also hard to keep your balance while running. If you find yourself running in them, I hope it’s for a good cause.

On September 27, 2009, 318 people ran in stilettos for Stop Child Trafficking Now, breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people running in stilettos.

Stop Child Trafficking Now targets the source of child trafficking: predators who drive the sex industry everywhere in the world, including in your own local community. – SCTNow.org

The run’s tag line was ‘rescue a child with your sole’. It was pat of a nationwide campaign that raised a lot of awareness as well as generated funds to be used to prosecute child trafficking predators. The run took place by Lincoln Center in NYC in a course that was 80 meters or 263 feet. Participants included men as well as women. The criteria for the shoes were that the “stiletto” must be at least 7 centimeters or 2.75 inches high and no more than 1.5 centimeters or 1/2 inches wide at the tip.

The run happened on a rainy day, so I give them extra credit for running in slippery ground. There was at least one man there too, as you can see in the video below. The run was a success and the organization is planning to do it again next year. I do not own a pair of stilettos, but if I were to ever run in one, it better be for a good cause; otherwise, I’d do my runs in comfy shoes.