DSW Spring Shoe Savings This Weekend

I remember the first time I entered my favorite DSW Shoes. The store was brand new, shiny, well-stocked, two floors, and it was one of the most beautiful and overwhelming moments in my shopping career. I almost teared up. I couldn't actually buy anything until the third time I entered the store. My first couple of trips I just took in the footwear. I admired it, maybe caressed a few pairs of boots. Ahhhhh.

Get to a DSW near you this weekend, enjoy 30% off, and take in the shoe love. It's sandal time, fellow shoppers!

Purchased the Boots from 6pm.com...Finally

I'm happy to report that I solved my e-tailing checkout dilemma on 6pm.com and was able to give myself some boot love on this Valentine's Day.

The 6pm customer service people responded to my email about my proceed-to-checkout problems with the Jeffrey Campbell ankle boots approximately 26 hours after I sent it. I had to empty my shopping cart, log out, redo my account info, and start over. Annoying. But I'll take a little annoying for 49% off. (Original price--$146.95; sale price--$74.75; $6.95 flat fee shipping.)

I gotta tell you I'm fairly certain Cheapy is going to hate these boots. But I love the scrunchy '80s thing going on here, and they are the best shade of gray. (And I promise never to wear them with leggings and a Pat Benatar haircut.)

Update: One of 2 Gray Boots

Boots came.

I love.

Material Girl's This-Week-in-Shopping Wrap-up

I got the Rockport boots. The day after I blogged about them taking ever so long to arrive, my new boots were on my porch when I went home for lunch. I put them on and wore them the rest of the day and I love them. They fit perfectly and look good and they are crazy comfy (and not even crazy comfy for heels--just plain crazy comfy. I'm a Rockport fan.)

Emotional shopping at Anthropologie. Material Girl had a rough few days at work this week, so instead of emotional eating (there was an office rum cake and a food day calling my name) I and decided to do some emotional shopping. I went to Anthropologie and bought two things, one on sale, one full price. The full-price item was the coolest, most interesting little sweater that you can button a million ways and looks way better on than on-the-hanger. (Wackadoo Elisa on Project Runway would call it polymorphic judging from the SJP episode.) Buying this sweater gave me one of those all-too-rare and exciting and happy dressing room moments. I tried it on during my third trip in, and I hadn't yet found anything I loved or even liked. (I decided from now on I'm only buying things I love. Nothing I'm lukewarm about will be added to my bursting closet.) Then I put on the sweater and just got that vibe, sort of like when you're looking at apartments or houses or potential boyfriends--that vibe that says, oh yes, you two are meant to be together. I loved the look and the feel and the color and I love how I feel when I have it on. I am in love with this sweater. Every shopping trip should have such a moment. (However, I still stand by my post about about Antropologie's current ugly sweater collection.)

eBay hits and misses. You all know that Material Girl is an eBay addict. Throughout my years of purchasing garments and accessories through the site there have been some really good purchases and some not-so-great purchases. One should never buy something that one is not fairly convinced one will love just because no one else bid on it and it's cheap. Its like like buying something on clearance just because it's 75% off that you don't really need and does not really flatter you and you will never really wear. (Guilty!) This week I had two great purchases and two misses. First I got a black sequined J. Crew cardigan for $33.98. I had seen this in their catalog last year and I really wanted one, but it was expensive then it sold out. I got the eBay sweater in the mail today and it's gorgeous and fits me perfectly (and hopefully ends my current sequins phase). I also bought an off-white sequined angora shrug. It's not good. Not good at all. $5.99 plus shipping down the drain. Lastly, I won and auction for a vintage Bellestone handbag. Don't know if it's alligator or lizard or what, but it's a beauty and it's in near perfect condition and it was $31 plus shipping--a steal for pristine Bellestone. (I've wanted an exotic skin bag since my trip to Saks in L.A.) Lastly, I got a silk leopard print wrap dress. OK but not great. And billed as vintage but really Maggy London. $28.50 and disappointing. I really want a leopard wrap dress and I've been looking for a while. This is not the one.

Boots: They Rock My Footwear World

The other night I was hanging out in my dressing room with Cheapy, Cheapy Jr. and the cat--who, by the way, recently again peed on my gym bag. We were chatting and playing with dump trucks and pennies and having a good ol' family time. Then Cheapy got some miserly wild hair and he took inventory of all the boots in my closet. He counted 19 pairs. (He missed my snow boots and the two pairs of Uggs I only wear to yoga class.) Then he needed a Scotch.

I don't think that's excessive. Cheapy did. But here's the thing. I don't really like shoes. Stop laughing. What I mean is I don't like pumps and flats and things that aren't boots, sandals or slingbacks. Normal sort of shoes never seem to fit me correctly. I get blisters. It's generally not good. There are exceptions, of course. I love my green Camper pumps which are comfy enough to walk around New York in. And I've just about worn in a pair of cute bronze metallic flats I got a few winters ago. (In theory flats should be more comfy than heels. I find that's not generally the case. They ouch me up just about every time.)

But boots...Boots rock. Boots are cool. Boots are chic. Boots are tough. Boots are feminine. Boots are utilitarian. Boot go with everything. I wear them in summer, winter, spring and fall. I wear them with dresses, skirts, jeans and shorts. I wear them casual; I wear them dressy.

Twenty-two pairs of boots is not that many, really. I have five pairs of rain boots--tall, short, mid-calf and crazy-wellies. I have the aforementioned snow boots and Uggs. I have tall brown and tall black. I have a few pairs of ankle boots. I have flat boot, mid-heel boots, and high-heel boots. I have a weird hot pink suede pair I got in Paris while high on cheese (maybe I'll wear those this week). I've got pink lace up Timberlands that are good for any weather and any day when I want to have a footwear conversation with everyone who walks by. I have the magic Stuart Weitzman pair that get better every time I wear them.

What Cheapy doesn't understand it that one pair of boots does not go with every outfit. He forgets that Material Girl is a Girl and doesn't wear a button down shirt and khakis every day (oh the horror!). A Girl needs a boot wardrobe just as a girl needs a clothing wardrobe.

I'm currently coveting this pair of Frye Mildred Engineer boots in sapphire. Who has boots that color? That's fabulous. (I'd like to branch out beyond black, brown and pink. I want sapphire and cognac and merlot and olive green and a nice warm gray--maybe even something metallic.) My discretionary fund is spoken for with these beauties that are together tough and girly. Engineer boots with heels? That's brilliant!

The cat also recently peed in Cheapy's shoe closet, home of approximately 17 pairs of boring guy shoes, now stinkier than normal.

Stuart Weitzman Boots I Love

My best friend Lisa has lived in New York for the past 15 years or so, and last time she was in town she had on the best boots. They were sort of a dirty brown with tiny studs, perfect heel height and they looked great with everything. I've been coveting these boots ever since. I've been searching Zappos for something remotely similar. And of course I found nothing.

I just got back from a trip to New York for Donya's wedding. (My outfit worked out out fabulously by the way--I love the dress and the shoes didn't kill my feet nearly as much as I'd imagined they would.) I managed to sneak in a visit with Lisa and her husband (there was some karaoke) and she had on the same boots. And I still wanted them. She told me she had a spare pair in box at her apartment because she had seen them on sale for $100--and that they were Stuart Weitzman. (#1--that is a super bargain; #2--that's so smart!)

Tonight I've been clicking around on the ol PC and happened to do a little Googling for said SW boots. MSRP on these babies is $425-ish. I found them on Zappos for $272 but not in my size. Then I found them on Bluefly for $170--in 8.5! Had to buy them ladies. I hope Lisa's not mad I copied her. I would never do such a thing if we lived in the same city. I promise I won't ever bring them to NYC with me, Lis. You can't blame me for snapping them up.

Check Out the Overnight Shipping Deal at Amazon's Shoe Store

Endless is paying you, the shoe consumer, $5 to have your shoes delivered overnight. (Zappos, have your heard about this?)

I have yet to browse and thoroughly check out the selection. After a click or two I can tell you they offer more than 400 styles of boots.

The Perfect Boot I Cannot Have

It seems the item-out-of-my-grasp will be a recurring theme here at Material Girl HQ. Here's my latest shopping trial: I've found what just may be the perfect boot, one I've been on the lookout for for ages, trolling Zappos and Amazon, cruising any shoe department I happen by. I speak of a grey boot. One with a walkable heel. A lovely neutral that can go from season to season and match anything. If you ask me, grey should me the new black in footwear. The ubiquitous black boot is so dull. Don't get me wrong--it has it's time and place and every woman should have a black boot in both knee-high and ankle in her closet. But wouldn't it be nice to have a beautiful grey boot to wear with, say, a black dress, thus getting away from the black-from-head-to-toe without being too bold (with, say, a red boot).

But, alas, grey boots are hard to come buy. I've had my eye on two pairs I've found on Zappos. (They are currently sitting in my shopping cart). One, by Jessica Bennett, is a suede, not-quite- knee-high boot with a black wedge heel (currently selling for $129.02). I'm just not wild about suede. And I don't think I could wear grey suede in the spring. I like them but I don't love them.

The other pair is a ruched Jeffrey Campbell ankle boot (currently selling for $146.95). I love them and my husband hates them (not that his opinion matters all that much, but he does pay the AmEx bill). Plus an ankle boot with a skirt, I fear, would make me look shorter. And they are a bit '80s.

Then one happy Saturday the Anthropologie catalog arrived in my mail slot. And there it was: arguably the perfect grey boot. I love the distressed brown-grey leather, the stacked heel (not too high), the lacing up the back, the shape of the toe. I'm in love. My two issues: My discretionary fund is not currently able to support a boot purchase of $278 plus tax and shipping; and they are on backorder until early October.

[Material Girl sighs...]

This is a sad sad development in my shopping life. At least four times now I've been ready to take the plunge, halfway through the check out procedure. After all, they don't charge your credit card until they are ready to ship the product--I could always cancel the order between now and October. What if I don't order them now and I they sell out in 8.5? Fellow shoppers, what would you do?