Sarenza UK introduces wide-calf boots collection from French brand Castaluna

Who doesn't love boots? They look great with jeans, dresses, and skirts and quickly become a wardrobe fave this time of year! Sarenza has a great selection of boots and shoes in many sizes and fittings. And now they have introduced a selection of wide calf boots from Castuluna.  Castaluna create fantastic urban styled boots in good quality leather to offer both style and comfort. Plus Size and Tall takes a look…

I LOVE the Finley boot. This boot is in a tan brown with lace up detailing and a corduroy top. The sole is flat and reminiscent of dessert boots which I loved so much in the early 80's! They are great wide calf boots with a calf circumference of 50cm. They are ￡186.00 and available in sizes 4 to 9.5. They are also in grey. They would look great with leggings or skinny jeans AND with skirts and dresses. A similar boot is the Mildred which is an ankle length boot in the same style but with wedge heels of 6cm. These boots are available in the same colours and sizes for ￡126.70.

The Kingsbery boot is very simple yet stylish with a chunky heel of 9cm, stitched detailing across the foot, a side zip, and shaped boot top. These boots are ideal wide calf boots with a calf circumference of 52cm. They are available in sizes 5 to 9.5 and cost ￡186.00. This boot is available in black or camel.

The final boot available from Castaluna at Sarenza is the Fierce ankle boot which has a 70's look with a 9cm heel and buckle detailing around the ankle. The leather is style to have a slightly worn look. These boots would look fantastic with jeans and are available in grey, black, and tan. They are in sizes 4 to 9.5 at ￡126.70.

Behind the seams of fashion collaborations

Designing clothes can be considered an art form. Shopping can be considered therapeutic. Whether they serve  a purpose of modesty or one of self-expression, clothes are an important part of every person's life.

According to Get Rich Slowly, an online financial blog, the average American spends about $1881 on clothes each year. A Gucci silk dress is $1990 at Saks Fifth Avenue. That is $109 over the yearly budget of the average American. Consequently, purchasing certain name-brand clothing can break one's budget. Thanks to recent collaborations with common stores, one can dress like a celebrity while sticking to the budget of an everyday bargain hunter.

The collaboration of women's clothing brands, Versace and H&M, has created a unique fall collection found in H&M stores. The collection features many leather pieces with hardware detailing, brightly colored dresses, island prints and animal patterns. The collection is daring and edgy. Although some may be willing to pay $149 to $299 for a single dress, the collection overall is still too expensive for many.

Payless Shoe Source features designers such as Christian Siriano, Lela Rose, Isabel Toledo and Silvia Tcherassi. Shoes and accessories in these collections are more affordable for the typical shopper, ranging from $11 to $69. Green, faux alligator skin flats, chunky wedge sandals and laser cut pumps are all stand out shoes from the four featured designers. The collections have both heeled and flat shoes to fashionably fit the needs of a multitude of lifestyles.

Target Corp. has offered various designer brand clothing under their GO: International Collection. The collections pieces do not go over $100, making the clothing affordable for the average shopper. The styles diverge, however attractiveness is a staple to the collection. Missoni, another brand of clothing, housewares, luggage and more found in Target stores, caused a shopping frenzy that crashed the Target website earlier this year.

Kohl's and Sears have also participated in the trend by offering collections designed by celebrities. LC Lauren Conrad collection can be found at Kohl's, featuring girly clothing with floral prints, delicate fabrics and floral prints. The Kardashian Kollection, sold at Sears, consists of dark colors, animal print and glam touches. Both lines are reasonably priced and can be found on sale often.

Typically when designer and retail stores join forces, the result is something appealing and unique. If certain distributers made price more cohesive with the average shopper's budget, designer collaborations would be a fantastic addition to any closet.

Putting your best foot forward

GLAMMED-UP fashionistas sighed and drooled over shelves of candy-colored footwear at the recent unveiling of Primadonna's latest collection. From pencil-thin stilettos to printed flats and patent oxfords, the new line is touted to have something that would suit every personality.

Models worked the runway, showing off four distinct styles. The edgy “Lady Rebel” is all about animal-print heels, wedge booties, and fierce-looking platforms. There's nothing dainty about this bold and chunky collection, but there's plenty of attitude.

Described as bohemian/hippie-inspired, “Wanderlust” is actually a more sedate reworking of the vibrant and nonconformist look that captures the free-spirit lifestyle. The peep-toe pumps are classic pieces that can easily complete a business suit. More daring statements include the retro chic wedge heels in fire-engine red and cobalt blue. For a boho vibe, captoe boat shoes and rainbow strap slip-ons get the thumbs-up.

“Sassy and Classy” is a mixed bag that would cover most style preferences. Wedge and platform sandals in subdued colors add oomph to any outfit. Printed ballet flats look demure but won't put you to sleep. Ankle-strap heels in jewel tones exude a fun and feminine appeal.

But the evening's delightful surprise was the “Lady Dapper” collection, an androgynous selection that includes two-toned oxfords—flats and wedges—and a sexy mannish loafer.

During the launch, held at New World Hotel, Primadonna also announced its newest endorser, the so-called Box Office Queen Anne Curtis. Curtis introduced the company's web site (www.primadonna.com.ph) which features a self-test for identifying the right shoe style. It's part of the campaign to promote the brand's philosophy, “Different Shoe for a Different You.”

Get Winter Shoes For $100 or Less at the Matt Bernson Sale

The Matt Bernson sale is definitely worth a stop. Current and past season shoes all available at steep discounts, and since Bernson never does sales online or in stores, this might be your one chance to snag those wedges for just $60.

The sale is divided on two floors, with Fall 2012 stock on the first floor and older styles on the floor below. Sizes 5-11 are all on hand, but 11's are scarce and 7-8 are most plentiful. Boots, heels, and wedges are all priced at $60, as are "non-ballet flats," whatever that means. Sandals, wedge sandals, and ballet flats are now $40, and shearling pieces are $100. We think your best bet is a pair of wedges. Pony hair cheetah, lace up olive green suede, and quilted leather are all available, but we fell hardest for the grey suede with a blade heel.

There are tons of Waverly cap-toe ballet flats available in a variety of colors. The staff expect these to be a hot seller, along with the shearling double zip boots. Braided and gladiator style sandals are plentiful. Wedge sandals also seemed a popular choice with last night's preview crowd.

Matt Bernson sales tend to attract huge throngs of shoppers, so today might be packed. But staff said they will be replenishing as the sale goes on, since they have more stock than space to sell it. They also mentioned that some styles would be exclusively sold on Friday and Saturday. This one might be worth a second trip!

When we stopped to chat with Berson himself, the designer said that he's excited about his favorite shoe, the St. Jeunet, finally being on sale. "I designed it in Fall 2010 for my wife to bike around Paris in, but absolutely no stores bought it. They said it was too forward—but I think now is the time!"

Berson also told us about the space, which after the sample sale is over will become the new Matt Bernson HQ. Construction starts on Monday, converting the first floor in to And since the company is moving, they cleared out their old inventory, meaning even more shoes for you to snap up.

This Boot Will Solve Your Comfortable but Cute Shoe Dilemma

NY-based footwear brand 80%20 Shoes has quickly developed a cult following for consistently producing edgy but wearable styles that are distinctly crafted and insanely comfortable. The story behind the name comes from designer Ce Ce Chin's theory that the majority of people wear shoes—a category that takes up only twenty percent of our wardrobe (unless you're Anna Dello Russo)—eighty percent of the time. In other words, footwear is a major part of your daily look, so options should be a'plenty. This is where Chin steps in.

While 80%20 Shoes offers tons of options that accommodate footwear's new sensible height, we're big fans of their Seanne lace-up booties, which come in this cool calf-hair herringbone (pictured) or kiwi fawn print. They provide sneaker-like comfort, are reasonably priced ($189 a pop), and perfect for city-dwelling with a bit of height, thanks to a hidden 4" wedge. Shop this style and more 80%20 offerings here.

Best Foot Forward

As we enter the holiday season with its great gobs of merchandise on display, I find that one item alone is still capable of tempting me. Fashion cycles may come and go, and I may grow weary of shopping in all other respects, but when it comes to shoes, I remain passionately acquisitive. To paraphrase Dr. Johnson, “To be tired of shoes is to be tired of life.”

Since I am not alone in my shoe fetish, I have concluded that shoes are emblematic of something more than themselves. They are an index to civilization. After all, at its origins, the shoe had no pretensions beyond protection of the foot from the vagaries of temperature and terrain. In medieval times, foot coverings were mostly rags and strips of leather, sometimes abetted by a thick wooden overshoe, the patten, which raised the wearer above the mud and muck. With so much else to face — plague, famine, mud — people back then weren’t in the best position to pay attention to their shoes.

But society has evolved, and shoes along with it. To those who find an interest in shoes to be frivolous, my response is: “Get out of the Middle Ages!” One of the signs of the Renaissance, that rebirth of learning and culture, was the advent of a life for shoes. The era saw the introduction of the chopine, the platform shoe, to which the 1970s owes so much of its tacky charm. In the 1500s, two-part shoes appeared, with stiff soles, supple leather tops, and heels that were attached rather than added as secondary parts. If you want to see true shoe mania, check out the footgear in the court of Louis XIV. The Sun King was a fashion nut, and “Louis heels” became the rage, at first more for men than women. Louis decreed that only aristocrats could wear talon rouges (red heels), in a Louboutin-ish move avant la lettre. Eventually, women followed Louis’ lead and exaggerated the form, taking the heels to greater and greater heights. At one point, women’s heels were so high that wearers had to balance themselves with canes, Given that hair was also big and dresses cumbersome, one can imagine that simple activities — walking from room to room, no less going to the bathroom — would have been an ordeal.

You can feel a revolution brewing just looking at the shoes that followed from Louis XIV’s fashion mania. Marie Antoinette is said to have gone to the guillotine in two-inch heels — even in the face of death, she couldn’t abide wearing flats. Napoleon banned high heels, presumably owing to their aristocratic associations, though also, possibly, to avoid looking like a pigmy in proximity to a fashionable lady. In America, Puritans condemned heels as seductive accessories of the devil (the heel said to resemble a cloven hoof), and decreed that any woman wearing them should be tried as a witch.

Nowadays, shoes are less linked to class, politics, and religion — though vestiges of these things linger. If you wear Birkenstocks, let’s face it, we know all we need to know about you. You can get a nice-looking pair of shoes for peanuts at Payless, but a shoe aficionado can tell that they’re cheap at a glance and put an end to your upwardly mobile aspirations. Better to go to Loehmann’s or the DSW sales rack, where you may find a pair of Manolos drastically reduced, even if a size too small. Most women will weather serious pain — if not guillotining or burning at the stake — if the shoes are nice enough.

Some people (mostly men) don’t understand what other people (mostly women) see in shoes, so let me explain for the uninitiated.

To begin, shoes are, despite being subject to fashionable trends, timeless accessories in their connection to a portion of the anatomy that remains largely unchanged once it has reached maturity. (This is not counting the half-size increments that occur with the birth of a child and that, in my case at least, appear to reverse themselves as time passes. Twenty years after my last child was born, my foot has begun to inch back to its original size; I figure that if I can tough it out to the age of 90, I will fit into the shoes I wore to my junior high school dance.)

The point here is that, unlike the body’s torso and that even more unforgiving arena, the face, which remind us of time’s sickle whenever we look in the mirror, the foot does not rub our nose in our mortality. As a result, shoes can be purchased without putting the aging body into view, a fact capitalized on in shoe stores where the mirrors reach only to mid-calf. In this, shoes have a kinship with jewelry, another item that doesn’t take physical change into account. One of the reasons why jewelry is such a popular gift from husbands to wives is that the men can simply point and purchase. Shoes are a bit more complicated since they involve remembering the recipient’s size. (I do know a man who buys his wife shoes for her birthday, but, then, he’s a very smart lawyer who can remember that she’s a size 7.5 and likes anything from Charles Jourdan.)

Shoes are a profound accessory for additional reasons. They represent the foundation, literally speaking, of the self. They support us as we go to and fro in our daily lives, and can facilitate or impede that movement. It may seem that ease and comfort would be the desired attributes here, but not necessarily. In movement, as with other endeavors, difficulty can have its advantages.  Sometimes a careful, high-heeled step can empower, while a fast, sneakered walk can diminish. Does one want to be regal or ragtag? Shoes are the costumes not just of the feet but of the persona that inhabits them.

If it's retro, it's hot for the holidays

Urban Outfitters is bringing back Polaroids and Super 35 mm movie cameras.

Toys "R" Us is rerunning a television ad it aired in the '80s.

And retailers from Zappos to Forever 21 are stocking up on clothes and accessories from the 1960s and '70s.

Shopping has gone retro — again — this holiday season, with Lincoln Logs at Kohl's and turntables at Target. Macy's is stocking a cotton-candy machine with old-fashioned flair, while JCPenney is whipping out the Whoopee Cushion.

"It's retro-a-rama out there, to use a retro phrase," said Kit Yarrow, a professor of business and psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. "People are looking for a safe haven these days, and anything retro feels warm and safe in these roller-coaster times."

Yarrow recently received an invitation to a 1970s-themed party that came with ideas on how to dress for it.

"What struck me," she said, "is the suggestions are exactly what's in stores today: maxi dresses, flowing skirts, gobs of jewelry, platform shoes and tight pants."

In retail, everything old can be new again. That includes nostalgia.

"There is never a time when we have no retro products," said Brooke Hyden, the style expert for Zappos.com. "But the trends right now are really drawing from the past, so we have an especially large collection this season. The '70s look is so hot right now, and we have a lot of Boho-'70s looks, 1970s ponchos, Mad Men-inspired dresses, and 1980s Fair Isle sweaters."

Hyden said people are particularly nostalgic around the holidays.

Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at the NPD Group, a marketing research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y., explained part of the appeal.

"Parents love to harken back to the simpler times of their childhood," he said, "and share the memories with their children."

But it's no passing fad, said Colleen Chapin, founder of Houston-based Hometown Favorites, an online store founded in 1996 to sell hard-to-find candy and other foods from decades past. Business has grown each year, Chapin said, first with baby boomers as key customers. Today, she added, more people in their 30s and 40s are ordering.

The music industry is selling nostalgia like never before, said Fred Allred, owner of AllRecords at 3211 Edloe in the Highland Village area. He has recently gotten in stock boxed gift sets, compilations or reissues for the Beach Boys, Ray Charles and Billy Joel.

"You listen to something you haven't heard in a long time, and it takes you right back," Allred said.

Kohl's has an array of retro clothes and such products for kids as miniature retro-style kitchens and the Morgan Cycle Retro Tricycle, spokeswoman Andrea Glatfelter said.

At Macy's, some gifts combine nostalgia with new technology, said spokeswoman Melissa Goff. For example, the Nostalgia Electrics Retro Series Cotton Candy Machine is shaped like a 1950s jukebox.

Toys "R" Us decided to bring back its 1980s TV ad as a way to create an emotional connection with parents and their kids and remind parents of their own feelings about Toys "R" Us products when they were children, said company spokeswoman Adrienne O'Hara. The commercial includes the Toys "R" Us jingle from that era.

Music and nostalgia are made for each other, Yarrow said.

"Our brain processes music differently than any other stimuli," she said. "We primarily ‘feel' music memories whereas we primarily ‘think' other kinds of memories. Marketers can get a ‘rub-off' effect by pairing the emotion created by retro music with new products."

Zduriencik looking for offense, key help

Two things you can count on as baseball's annual Winter Meetings play out this week at the luxurious Hilton Anatole hotel just north of downtown Dallas: There'll be plenty of rumors and news coming out of the Big D ... and Mariners.com will be there to keep you informed.

The meetings open Monday, when agents and front-office brass from all 30 Major League clubs converge under the same roof to wheel and deal for four straight days, culminating with the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday morning.

There will be no shortage of hot topics this year, with Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Jose Reyes topping the available free-agent list and an interesting international market emerging, with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish and Cuban refugee outfielder Yoenis Cespedes expected to become available shortly.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik has said he'll at least look into Fielder's situation as agent Scott Boras begins playing out that scenario. Zduriencik certainly is on the hunt for offensive help -- whether at designated hitter, left field or third base -- and Seattle also is in the market for a veteran starting pitcher, left-handed reliever and backup shortstop.

Not all those needs will be filled at the Winter Meetings, but Zduriencik and his team will surely set the wheels in motion on several fronts.

Manager Eric Wedge will hold a press conference Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. PT and we'll bring you his thoughts as he prepares for his second season at the Mariners helm.

In a new feature, Mariners.com will post a video interview with Zduriencik as he answers some of your own reader questions one day during the Meetings.

And Mariners fans should be interested in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday morning as Seattle has the third selection before the Meetings break up and everyone heads home.

It'll be four straight days of Hot Stove talk and questions. Let us know who you'd target if you were in Zduriencik's shoes. What position upgrade would be your biggest priority? Is this the time to trade Brandon League for offensive help, or do you hang on to your All-Star closer?

Knowing Mike Carp can fill one of the roles, would you rather sign a veteran left fielder or a proven DH, and who would you pursue? Do you put all your eggs in the Fielder basket and be willing to wait and see how that played out while other free agents go off the board, or do you try to fill multiple needs with smaller moves? Are you OK with the kids at third base or is that a position of need?

Those are the kind of talks going on in Zduriencik's suite at the Hilton Anatole this week. Go ahead and start your own discussion right here and then check back over the next four days and we'll let you know what the latest word is from Dallas.

Shoes Made from a CT Lexus Hybrid?

The name "Lexus" automatically evokes images of sleek lines, a luxurious ride, and a motor

that purrs like a kitten. But the luxury auto manufacturer has recently made a foray into

the realm of women's footwear...kind of.

Lexus recently challenged four innovative designers to create wearable, fashionable works

of art from a dismantled Lexus CT hybrid (a car that's already 90% recyclable). Among the

creations, which included, “The Valve Collection” aka a bracelet made of valve lifters,

crank bearings, and hose clamps; and the “Nomadic Sanctuary” trench coat, shorts, and

clutch, which are constructed of floor mats and leather seat covers, we found “The Luna

Shoe” by Alejandro Ingelmo. This wedge with a space-age edge was constructed of armrest

leather trim and clear plastic tubing!

The shoes along with the other pieces will be on display today and tomorrow at the Art

Basel Miami Beach in Miami, Fla., and will be sold at a private auction during the event.

All proceeds will benefit the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund.

But if you can't make it to Miami (the ShoesTV team will be there in spirit!) you can check

out the pieces in Vogue's January 2012 issue where they will be used as part of a six-page

advertisement.

Marni next to design for H&M

Following in the footsteps of the runaway success of its collaboration with Versace earlier this month, Swedish retail giant H&M has announced its next big-name link-up.

Fans of the Milan-based label Marni will be marking 8 March 2012 in their diaries to be first in the queue when the boho-luxe designs drop into 260 stores worldwide.

Like its collaborative predecessor Versace, Marni is famed for its use of print - though where the former trades in baroque glamour, Marni offers playful, craft-based designs. Where the Italian labels do greatly depart is their signature silhouette - Marni is known for its crisply cut, demure and oversized pieces while Versace specialises in body-conscious, va-va-voom glamour.

The collection for H&M will revisit the favourite pieces of Marni's founder and creative director, Consuelo Castiglioni.

"As always, I love juxtaposing prints and colours, mixing modern tribal with Bauhaus graphic, adding sporty utilitarian elements," Castiglioni said.

The signature silhouette of Marni - founded in 1994 by Swiss-born Castiglioni - provides a relaxed working wardrobe for its customers, thanks to full-pleated skirts and dresses, cropped trousers and jacquard knits.

There is a bold use of print and colour - referencing African inspiration and geometric designs - on a range of fabrics from silk to crisp cotton poplin. The collection will include jewellery, shoes, bags and scarves.

Men, too, will have the chance to buy into the brand at a fraction of the price. The menswear offering will be a more relaxed take on the staples. The use of print for men will be subtle - a lining of a suit or a contrast detail on a shirt - while the silhouette will remain a modern and relaxed take on the classics inherent within the brand's DNA.

"Marni has such a modern touch with everything they do, mixing prints and accessories in a playful but chic way," said Margareta van den Bosch, creative adviser for H&M.

"It's fantastic to see how Castiglioni co-ordinates her designs, matching new combinations of print and colour, with such incredible craftsmanship behind every piece".

H.H. Brown Heralds Heritage

The Heritage Shoe Group at H.H. Brown is preparing for the future by looking to its past.

“When the economy is tough, people return to things they can relate to,” said James Rowley, SVP and GM of Heritage.

To capitalize on consumer interest in retro looks, the group in 2009 launched Vintage Shoe Co., a men's and women's brand focused on reviving styles from H.H. Brown's 100-year-old archives. Heritage also has seen its iconic Kork-Ease and Walk-Over brands return to the spotlight.

As a result, Rowley said sales at the division are up 90 percent to date compared with a year ago, and that momentum is expected to continue into 2012.

The men's Walk-Over label, dating back to the mid-1700s, came under the H.H. Brown umbrella in 1991. Its nod to the past, particularly its offering of traditional bucks and saddles, is connecting with men across a wide age spectrum.

Rowley said younger, fashion-driven customers are buying styles such as the Derby 100, a classic buck from the 1970s with new, colorful outsoles that were introduced in spring '11. “We have the classics, and then can update or put a twist on [them],” he said.

It's not just U.S. consumers who have jumped on the Americana trend. Rowley said 60 percent of Walk-Over's business is done in Japan and Italy.

For Kork-Ease, which launched in the 1950s and was acquired in 2009, the Ava sandal remains a signature look. The crisscross banded style on a covered wedge debuted in the 1970s, and its recent popularity has spawned a series of companion shoes that now represent 25 percent of the brand's overall business. One of the updated versions features an exposed cork bottom.

“In all three brands, everyone wears [the shoes] differently,” said John Robbins, director of marketing. “[They] mean different things to [each one].”

Vintage Shoe's authentic combat styles have caught the attention of celebrities such as Adam Levine, who has been spotted wearing the Nathaniel jump boot, and “True Blood” actor Joe Manganiello, who picked up the Isaac tanker boot. Ready-to-wear designer Nicholas K. is also a fan and has used the boots in his last three runway collections.

Kork-Ease, too, has received a nod from celebrities and designers. “Modern Family” mom Claire, played by Julie Bowen, has worn the brand on the show, and designer Mara Hoffman selected Kork-Ease for her resort '12 collection during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami.

“The brands have their own rich heritage,” said Tom McClaskie, designer for Heritage Shoe Group. “Our job is to enhance that for the modern customer. We bring the real deal to life.”

Beyond period styling, the brands in the group promote American manufacturing, which is proving to be a strong selling point. All Walk-Over and Vintage product is made exclusively in H.H. Brown's factory in Pennsylvania. A collection of higher-end Kork-Ease products will also be produced there for spring '12. In all, about 20 percent of the group's footwear is made in the U.S., and that share is expected to double within the next two years.

“Heritage is important because it's a trend,” said Rowley, “but ‘made in the U.S.' is a selling feature. People are starting to care about [that]. It has added value.”

American-made product appeals to Eliza Perez, co-owner of Soles 384 in Mill Valley, Calif., who carries the Vintage line. She said the company's domestic sourcing is a key selling point on the floor. “Vintage ties in nicely with the artisan handmade look of the shoes [we carry],” she said. “We're also trying to feature brands made in the U.S., which is rare today.”

Gretchen Plummer, co-owner of Johnny Soles in Portland, Ore., agreed: “Customers ask for [domestically made footwear],” she said. “[Consumers] have seen the fallout of [goods] not being made in the U.S. And [H.H. Brown is] an old U.S. shoe company whose quality and styles are hard to beat.”

Wedges are fashionable and healthier for your feet

Wedges, a type of platform shoe, has come back into style since the 1930' s created by the Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo. Wedges returned in 2006. Heels made of cork and wrapped in rope were one style option. Both straps and ankle wraps were choices to secure wedges to feet.

"I love wedges and I'd wear them with skinny jeans or a long dress," said senior Lexxy Yango.

Girls often wear high heels to make their legs look longer, make their bodies look thinner and to improve their posture. Wedge heels offer way more support than high heels do and balance is way easier, with less amount of falls than high heels generate. Wedge heels also offer more arch support, reducing foot and ankle problems.

Wedges are not expensive unless they are designer shoes. You can purchase wedges online or at stores that include Nine West, Nordstrom, Nordstrom's Rack, DSW, Bakers, and Steve Madden. If wedges are a certain brand, the prices will be higher. The cheapest wedges you can probably find are on sale at Aldo or even Forever 21 starting at $30.

Wedges come in every variety of color that you can imagine, starting from the simplest darkest colors to the funkiest brightest colors. You can wear wedges for special occasions as well as for a normal day at school, and whenever you do choose to wear them, they will be comfortable. 

Wedges are worth buying because they will last for a long time; you can wear them with many different outfits. They are fashionable and healthier for your feet.

Campus Launches Soft Walk

Campus, one of the leading shoe brands has launched 'Soft Walk' -comfortable and casual ladies footwear brand in the market. This range is ideal for daily foot care in the winter.

'Soft Walk' has been specially designed to take proper care of foot from the cold weather by providing comfort and warmth. The range offers the unique proposition of comfort and quality at affordable prices.

The elegant and stylish footwear range has variety of attractive designs and easy to mix and match colors, which provides plenty of choices to choose from according to one's requirements. All the materials used in this range are used after severe lab testing so that it doesn't harm the feet of women.

"Apart from the stylish design, it is very important that the footwear should always be comfortable as well. Soft Walk is an ideal choice as it provides warmth and daily care in winter season", said, Mr. H.K. Agarwal, Managing Director, Campus Shoes.

The shoes come in the sizes of 4,5,6,7 and 8 and available in the price range of 299/- to 399/-. The range is available at all leading shoe stores nationally.

The One Where We Plan the Hen Do

Ken gets married next May and I am delighted to be her Matron of Honour.

So on Saturday, with my recently ordered dress in hand, I met at Hen Do HQ, (Ken's Mum's flat), with the other bridesmaids, who are Barbie and Ken's sister Tracy Turnip, (Barbie's cousin is also a bridesmaid but couldn't make it).

The dress was tried on and declared a success! We will need a panel at the back to accommodate Morecambe and Wise but that's nothing new. When I see people on TV wanting breast enlargements I want to scream, "Come a try and week with my puppies. Then tell me you'll pay thousands of pounds for chronic back ache and clothes that never fit properly"!

Anyway Ken and her Mum were dispatched "up the town" and like the three witches of Macbeth we plotted and schemed over our cauldron of evil intent!

The Cava flowed and so did the ideas. In the end they're not all that evil, but they are very, very funny. Three days and nights of debauched partying at Bognor Regis Butlins next February will provide some amazing blogs I can assure you. If they have free WIFI in any of the Burger bars there then I'll blog live from the event!

Hubby and Ken had persuaded me to stay over so I could have a few drinks and enjoy the night out planned after the plotting had finished.

I'm so glad I did. Not only did I get to watch a bit of Strictly instead of In the Night Garden while we munched pizza and got ready together in that "Let me do your make up. Can I borrow your eyeliner? Do I wear this top or the new one?" way that girls do, which I really miss, but I also got to experience Felixstowe on a Saturday night!

We started off at a very sedate bar and I re-hydrated on a couple of lime and sodas after I was informed by Ken's Mum that we'd polished off 8 bottles of Cava between us that afternoon (and Ken was an hour and half behind)!

Then we moved on to watch a band at a pub further down the sea front.

The pub was hot and sweaty.

The band were loud and sweaty.

The beer was warm and sweaty.

I must be getting old because I like a drink to experience the pleasure of that drink. So for example a G&T should come in a tumbler with ice and lemon. Not tepid and in a finger print stained half pint glass! This was the kind of place where the experience is to get it down your neck with as little fuss possible, the sole aim being getting so drunk you stop noticing how much your shoes are sticking to the carpet!

That pub is what it is though and I was having a great time. The band were good, doping covers of Snow Patrol, White Stripes and Kings of Leon and similar stuff so musically I was happy.

A fight broke out between a couple of women and their blokes waded in to join them. Ken was concerned I was ok as I hate stuff like that but I was trying to have a trunk and see who started it!

The night moved on and we were having a dance as the band were cranking it up when I spotted a women in a very short red dress with white spots all over it. Weird! I looked up. There was another. And another. And another. They had small black ears. One had even blacked her nose over.

Nine Minnie Mouses (or should that be Minnie Mice), on a hen do, had come in the pub and were dancing to the band!

Sneak of the Week: Isabel Marant

French designer Isabel Marant had fashionistas feeling shoe envy for her Bekket sneaker, which has been sited on Beyonce and Kate Bosworth. But unfortunately, the popular shoe is sold out! ShoesTV, however, has found a new love this week: Marant's latest sneaker--the Willow.

The Willow, like the Bekket, is a platform sneaker that features three Velcro straps (hello 80's!), a two-inch hidden wedge heel, and groovy multi-color accents. The sneaker is available now for pre-order at Barney's for $760 and ships out in February 2012. Hop to it!

Our Man in Miami: An Evening with John Sayles

Story, baby. That's where we come from, that's where we'll go, that's what we are. It was also both subject and predicate for last Thursday night's "Evening" at O Cinema. Why? Because the man of the hour has made his name telling story—in film and in fiction and in fact. Hell, when it comes to John Sayles, story is the nothing but.

The evening began with a screening of Sayles' Amigo, and ended with me interviewing the director before the sold-out house. I say interview, but really it was more akin to me summoning a few sparkable Qs and allowing the story-mad iconoclast to regale the crowd with some elaborate As. I'd say "Jack London," and Sayles would be off on a tour that covered everything from the Klondike to box cars and boxing. I'd mention Gentleman Jim Corbett, and Sayles would come back not just with nuggets of the pugilist's wild life; he'd link it clear through to the "unforgivably black" world champ Jack Johnson. No matter what I brought up, Sayles saw a way to see, feel, and share its narrative. After a while, it was all I could do to wedge in an occasional "amazing."

My good pal Irvine Welsh, who's hard at work on a prequel to his landmark Trainspotting, and who himself is no stranger to story, got word I'd be facing off with Sayles and gave me a nice way to start off the tete-a-tete. "That guy is a true legend and a genius and my ultimate hero in cinema. And I'm not in the slightest bit embarrassed if you tell him that."

Despite being one of the most enthusiastic and supportive creatives I've ever met, Welsh doesn't offer praise without damn good cause. Furthermore, as anyone who's read any of his books well knows, he's a formidable talent. For someone of Welsh's stature to wax so breathlessly is unequivocal proof that Sayles is considered a giant among storytellers. Of course, my fine friend's worthy words were by no means the first time a mighty mind spilled superlatives over Sayles; they will hardly be the last.  

Also in attendance that night at O Cinema was none other William Kennedy, who's been known to walk a wily narrative beat of his own. The Man from Albany, who was in town for the Miami Book Fair promoting his terrific Chango's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes, had breakfast with Sayles earlier in the day, and it must've been some meal. You could say Kennedy's presence at the screening was kinda like gettin' the nod from a sage, a remarkable instance by any definition. While Sayles may have been honored (how could he not be?), he also seemed to take it in stride. I'm guessing here, but it's likely Sayles sees Kennedy as both a peer (as he should), and as another thread in the great big story in the sky.

Like Sayles, who covered the Cuban exile experience in Los Gusanos, and makes it through Cuba in his monumental A Moment in the Sun, Kennedy seems to have a thing for our region. While Chango's Beads sidles up to Castro, Sayles' Moment goes all the way back to the Spanish-American War. Both masters have an uncanny knack at making history (read: story) come alive, no matter what the period. And to have been in the room such titans was an honor I'll be dining out on for some time to come. Then again, it only stands to damn good reason that two storytellers would leave me with such a kickass story to tell.

ARE YOUR SHOES KILLING YOUR FEET?

WOMEN'S feet have increased by a size and a half in the past 20 years but our desire to squeeze them into damaging fashion footwear has been unchanged for centuries.

The potential for problems is enormous.

A quarter of all the bones in the human body are found in our feet and on average we'll walk around 100,000 miles in our lifetime.

That's the equivalent of four times around the Equator.

However Dr Tariq Khan, a consultant podiatrist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, has some simple tricks and tips that will allow you to wear your favourite heels without causing lasting damage.

If you have a wobble-board practise for an hour or so in the week before you wear them to strengthen your ankles and reduce the risk of sprains.

Alternatively if you own a pair of MBT-style exercise shoes wear them to and from work.

Don't overdo it though as Dr Khan says wearing these too often can throw out your posture.

On the night before your party give your feet a spa-style pampering by soaking in warm, salty water and then removing dry skin and massaging with moisturiser.

“Make sure nails are short so they don't press into the toes in narrow shoes,” says Dr Khan.

Slip into fold-up pumps for the journey home after your party but make sure they have a sturdy sole.

Once home soak your feet in salty water for 10 minutes to reduce any swelling or inflammation.

Here Dr Khan explains how different styles affect our feet.

KILLER HEELS

Firm fashion favourites because heels alter body posture pushing the chest out and making the bottom curvier. But that also makes them the worst possible choice for our feet.

“The ball of the foot absorbs the full weight of the body which can cause a huge range of problems including bunions, inflammation resulting in nerve damage, numbness and pain,” he says.

Styles with pointed toes force the big toe towards the others which over time causes a permanent distortion called a hallux valgus, better known as a bunion. High heels also make the calf muscles shorten and lose elasticity.

SOLE-UTION: Vary heel heights and look for styles with a slightly thicker heel to reduce pressure. Boots Bunion Straighteners, ￡15.31, will help realign the toe.

BALLET PUMPS

“Very flat shoes can put a strain on the back of the legs and ankles because they overstretch the calf muscle,” Dr Khan says. Thin soles also provide little arch support so the foot can easily roll in as the heel strikes the ground. Podiatrists call this over pronation.

SOLE-UTION: Avoid wearing pumps for long periods or look for styles with a heel of around 1.5in. Use a heel pad, such as Carnation's Advanced Pressure Relief Heel Pad, ￡2.79, to ease pressure on the calf muscles.

FLIP FLOPS

Flip flops provide so little support they allow the layer of fat under the heel to spread sideways causing pressure that can make skin crack.

Dr Khan says: “Because flip flops are flat they can cause painful pulling on the Achilles tendon. The thin soles of flip flops also provide inadequate cushioning often resulting in arch and heel pain or even shin splints.”

They also alter the way we walk. Flip flop fans don't bring their toes up as much during the leg's swing phase resulting in a larger ankle angle and shorter strike length.

Dr Khan says: “This repeated motion can result in problems from the foot up into the hips.”

SOLE-UTION: Use a moisturising cream with a high percentage of urea such as Scholl Cracked Heel Express Stick, ￡7.14. Wear cushioned inserts for shock absorption such as Boots Gorgeous Feet flip flop cushions, ￡4.99.

WEDGES

High wedges can affect your balance and sprains are more likely because the foot is held firmly in the shoe.

But Dr Khan says: “It's not all bad. The thick rigid sole limits motion across the foot and the wedge heel means pressure is spread throughout the whole step.”

SOLE-UTION: Stick to wedges of no more than 1.5in.

From clogs to weather-beaters, stride through the season in style

With winter just steps away, it's time to put your best foot forward in boots with snow-stopping style.

Style standouts include knee-high equestrian riding boots and mid-shaft lace-ups in gleaming leather, flat-soled suede knee cappers and even more substantial weather-beaters.

“Laced booties are all the rage this season. Whether on a wedge or stacked on a heel, this vintage turned modern look is offered in styles that are as edgy or romantic as you wish,” says Ingrid Muroff, a Montreal-based vice-president of operations at La Canadienne.

Many of the latest boot styles manage to marry style with practicality, so that you can look good while staying toasty.

“Don't sacrifice style for comfort … look for a boot that's multifunctional and think about dressing for different occasions by purchasing a boot that can be dressed up or down,” suggests Trisha LaBelle, the head of Rockport's women's division in Canton, Massachusetts.

Boots that can be dressed up and down for different occasions include those trimmed with real or faux fur and shearling.

Boots fashioned from mixed materials such as rubber, quilted nylon, leather and suede are also riding high.

Platform soled numbers range from dressy single- soled styles to those with more substantial lug soles.

Heel heights extend from flat and low-heeled rubber soles, built with traction to take on ice and snow, to wedge, stacked leather and wooden clog-like heels that are tall on style.

“This season we're seeing loads of wooden clog and wedge heels,” says Josie Pietroniro, a Canadian senior sales executive for Ugg Australia.

Distressed, smooth, suede and manmade leather are all on tap. Convertible fur and sweater-like sock cuffs that fold over, or snap on or off the tops of boots, are stylish novelties that are found on many styles of winter boots.

Colours start with basic black but options of gray and brown give black a run for the money. Muted shades of dark green, burgundy, rust, camel and a few brightly saturated shades such as mustard, amethyst and red also come into play.

Patterned boots, including those adorned with checks, snowflakes, swirling ombre patterns and animal prints, are popular, as are those given texture with embossed snake print and mock crocodile materials.

Exposed zippers, buckles, wrap-around straps and studs are among the hardware novelties found on some boot styles.

If you're seeking boots that will walk you through winter in warmth and style, those made of natural materials can help to keep your feet dry while allowing your feet to “breathe.” Switching from boots to shoes while indoors and allowing boots to dry thoroughly after each wearing also helps, as can treating your dry boots with waterproofing spray after every few wearings.

If ice and slippery conditions are factors in your neck of the woods, boots with an outer sole made of a softer grade of rubber generally offers greater traction.

Feet suffer for high-heel fashion

Women will suffer for fashion and images of them walking barefoot with high heels in hand from Melbourne Cup and Perth Racing events are testament to the price our feet can pay for looking fabulous.

Even style icon Sarah Jessica Parker - the woman famous for her Manolo Blahnik stilettos in Sex and the City - reportedly advised fashion followers going to the Melbourne Cup to "slip the heels off under the table" whenever the chance arose because "heels are not our friend".

Yet apart from the 1970s when some women shunned heels along with bras, high heels have survived the generations to come out even higher as a fashion necessity.

Head of the famous Italian fashion house Donatella Versace reportedly was more concerned about giving up her high heels as required while undergoing rehabilitation for a cocaine addiction in 2004 than she was about the withdrawing from the drug.

"She said 'I can give up anything but not my high heels'," Italian Vogue editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani told Newsweek magazine.

And as fashion outlets spruik the beginning of the party season and the need for heels as an accessory that will, among other claims, "lengthen legs and enhance height", podiatrists are pointing out the perils.

Wearing high heels for extended periods of time could contribute to multiple foot complications, said University of WA's Associate Professor of podiatric medicine Virginia Bower.

The big problem created by wearing high-heel shoes was abnormal weight distribution, she said.

Instead of the foot bearing the weight of the body in the heel and the ball of the foot, all the weight fell on to the ball of the foot when wearing high heels, especially narrow, pointy-toed shoes.

The increased pressure could make corns and callouses develop on the ball of the foot, increase the likelihood of developing ingrown toenails, bunions and hammertoes and contribute to neuroma, a painful thickening of the nerve between the toe bones.

Acute injuries, such as sprained ankles from falls could be another risk, Professor Bower said.

In some habitual heel wearers the calf and Achilles muscles could shorten into a tighter position leading to strain and an increased risk of tendonitis or tendon rupture when reverting to walking in a flat shoe or barefoot. Foot problems typically started to present for women in their 40s, with pain limiting their ability to function, she said.

She rarely sees younger women with foot problems. Although they were still likely to experience soreness, corns and blisters from ill-fitting fashionably high heels, their younger bodies were more resilient and able to repair.

"Most foot conditions are chronic and develop over a period of time," Professor Bower said.

As we age our joints, ligaments and tendons loosen and the foot will lengthen slightly and incrementally because it is no longer toned. The fat pad under the heel and ball of the foot that cushions the foot from birth declines and the bones and joints become more prominent.

The older foot, with less naturally occurring support and padding, was therefore at an increased risk of problems from wearing high heels, she said.

She warned parents to resist pleas from their young daughters to buy from a growing range of high- heeled children's shoes marketed specifically to young girls.

Forcing a young foot into the unnatural position created by a heel could change the way the bones and joints developed, she said, likening it to Chinese foot binding that permanently altered the anatomy of the foot.

Heels could also put stress and strain on the lower part of the spine because body weight was thrown forward.

Churchlands Regenerate physiotherapist Adam Floyd said the position of the foot in high-heel users forced the pelvis into an anterior tilt that was the same as standing bending backwards and as such compressed the lower joints of the spine. In the long term this might encourage slackening of the tummy muscles and compromise core stability, he said.

Mr Floyd said high heels could also potentially contribute to problems further up the spine and into the neck and cause headaches.

According to Professor Bower, although we all know heels are not ideal footwear, as long as they remain fashionable women would continue to wear them. The lesson to be learnt was about getting the balance right between fashion and function.

She advised wearing appropriate footwear for the occasion and reserving heels for special occasions. If heels were necessary for the office, she suggested changing to a flat shoe when sitting at a desk or when commuting to and from work.
"Ultimately, if they are part of your daily wardrobe for long periods of time, that's when they become a problem. If you save them for just going out of an evening, then it is not such a critical issue," Professor Bower said.

Titleist launch new Vokey Design SM4 wedges

Titleist have launched their newest Vokey wedge, the SM4 wedge, aimed at reclaiming some of the spin lost following the change of groove regulations in 2010.

The new Vokey wedge, called the SM4 because it is the 4th generation of Spin Milled wedge, features a new configuration with 17 grooves on the face with each one precisely milled right to the edge of the R&A's legal limit.

In fact, so close is each groove to the conforming limits of geometry edge radius that each one has to be individually inspected after it has been milled before it leaves the factory to go on sale.

Titleist say they undertook a painstaking R&D project to enhance the spin limits as close as possible to pre-2010 levels and the 17-groove configuration and design produced the best results - with more than 1,200 RPM reclaimed compared to Titleist's first conforming groove after the new regulations.

Elsewhere, the heads have been inspired by the shape of the original 200 series and offers 21 loft and bounce combinations and five different sole grinds Bob Vokey has developed over the years working with the best players in the world.

They are cast from 8620 carbon steel also feature a heat-treated face, which increases durability on the face and the groove edges, retaining more spin for longer. Wedges have also been designed progressively to ensure that different lofts are designed to do different jobs on the course.

 “Seventeen scorelines gives us more teeth on the ball, but it doesn’t impart so much spin that you lose versatility and shot control when accessing a middle to back pin,” said Vokey.  “I honestly think this pattern strikes a perfect balance.  At first, when the new groove regulations were announced, most folks were very reactive and wanted to hold on to every rpm of spin they could get.  The new SM4 groove allows the player to play high spinning shots with a controlled trajectory, or hit a shot with controlled spin and precise roll-out.

“I consider wedges a distinct set of clubs. We offer 10 different wedge lofts from 46 to 64 degrees.  Your pitching wedge should have a different shape, topline, bounce and leading edge than your lob wedge because you’re asking each club to perform very different jobs.  This is where CAD has been so valuable.  It allows us to produce a series or set of wedges that progress perfectly from loft to loft.”

The wedges are available in Oil Can, Black Nickel and Tour Chrome finishes and have an RRP of ￡102 per club.

Lunchtime buy: Miss Selfridge Wonder black embellished wedge

As we enter the Christmas party season, the search has officially begun for the shoe that will see us through all the different party dresses and dancefloors that we're sure to be encountering.

And we've found it: let us introduce to you the Wonder wedge from Miss Selfridge – a truly wonderous pair of shoes!

The shape of the shoe and the height of the heel deliver the perfect leg-lengthening solution that we look for in a shoe, which is a bonus for ensuring that our shorter hemlines on our Christmas party dresses remain flattering.

Plus, the wedge heel is known for being more comfortable than your standard stiletto platform, and comfort is something that we know we'll be thankful for as we dance into the early hours!

Then, of course, there's the embellishment – it's simply stunning. With intricate gems that will capture the disco lights fantastically, this is the ultimate finish to the ultimate party shoe.

What's more, they'll go with everything, from black skinny jeans and a simple top to let them shine in all their glory, to the Christmas party dresses you'll be wearing over the next few weeks.

Women spreading deadly E coli germs with handbags and smartphones

When you set your handbag down indoors – on your kitchen counter, on a coffee table or in a closet – you are carrying what scientists call “a major tote for microbes.” Prevention magazine reported “the worst place to set your handbag is the kitchen counter” after researchers swabs showed “up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms;” while a third of women's bags “tested positive for fecal bacteria.” In turn, Prevention noted how “a woman's carryall gets parked in some nasty spots,” such as the floor of the bus, beneath the restaurant table, and even on the floor of a public bathroom.

In turn, women are advised by health experts to “put your bag in a drawer” or anywhere away from where food is being prepared or eaten. Also, don't let young children “touch” your handbag or smartphone that's been out in public, due to the same types of bacteria that's found on public toilet seats.

Exposure to germs at an all-time high, due to funky lifestyles

When women enter a bathroom stall and set down their handbag – without thinking about the germs waiting to catch a ride home with them – they usually take the middle stalls. That's not wise, states Prevention magazine that states “the worst stall to pick is the one in the middle.”

In turn, women are carrying all manner of ills from touching “germy toilet and bathroom handles,” and then from placing their handbags on the floor; while also texting and making calls while on the toilet.

“I hate to do it, but when I use a public ladies room I just go a bit nuts with the precautions one must take these days. I put my handbag on the hook and then take out antibacterial wet-wipes to cleanse the stall door, and then to wipe my iPhone after calling someone,” explains Jan, a Eugene local who said she's sick and tired of “getting stuff out in public.”

Moreover, Jan explains what while she's washing her hands after going to the bathroom she recites the song “Happy Birthday” to herself two times before stopping the washing of her hands.

“My friend is a nurse and she tells me that the number one thing I can do out in public is to ‘really' wash my hands after using a bathroom and before eating out. Funny, but I see a lot of hurried women these days that don't have a clue; they leave the stall texting or taking clearly on their phones while forgetting to wash their hands. It's gross,” Jan asserted.

Smartphones filthy dirty, called dangerous carriers of E coli bacteria

You're doing your business in a bathroom stall, and you overhear the person next to you talking on their cell phone; can you image them touching themselves and then touching their smartphone, asks a student here who said she's “grossed out.”

A new British study states that “one in every six cellphones is contaminated with fecal matter.” It's not news that both cellphones and smartphones contain fecal matter. After all, it's known that more than 96 percent of Americans own cell or smartphones and they touch both the phones and “other stuff” all throughout their day.

In fact, a college student here in Eugene says “I'm grossed out when in the ladies room and I overhear phone chat in the stalls. Can you image them touching themselves and then touching their phones and then shaking hands with someone.”

Eckywoobee scores again

It's an unusual name for a sports cafe and one that  instantly demands attention.

It sounds like something out of a futuristic science-fiction movie, but owners Shalina Johan and her brother Shazman Suhaimi said they wanted a quirky name for their sports cafe.

It was their mum Haskie Hussain who came up with the  name four years ago.

The restaurant, however, is not new as its original outlet in Taman Tun Dr Ismail owned by the duo's  father Johan Adam Wong and Haskie, which had garnered a loyal following, had to be relocated because the building's owners wanted it back.

Thus, the new saga of  ‘Eckywoobee The Sports? Cafe' began at Solaris Dutamas in Jalan Dutamas 1 when the duo were handed the reins in running the restaurant.

It  has not lost any of its loyal customers because of its  good food and great ambience. Indeed, it has garnered new customers.

“Eckywoobee is a place for the younger crowd to chill out. We have a lot of many football enthusiasts coming here,” said Shalina, the manager of  the cafe.

One is gob-smacked the moment one steps foot into the cafe. Hockey sticks, badminton racquets, F1 and football items, tennis racquets, roller blades, a  boomerang, golf clubs, rugby collectiblessuch as jerseys, a bowling jersey signed by Shalin Zulkifli and Azidi Ameran, a dart board and ice-skating shoes,  among others, are just some of the many interesting sports paraphernalia that vie for attention displayed on the walls of the outlet.

Why, even a go-kart is up on the wall.  There is also foosball table for those who want to have  a go at the popular game while the chefs whip up their order.

EPL football matches, F1 and other popular sports are also shown on large-screen TVs. As for the food, it's delicious.

“We used to serve more local than Western food in TTDI, but now our focus is on Western food,” said Shalina.

Try its Ice-skating Diva (poached dory fish topped with Ecky's famous cream sauce), Swedish Team (meatballs cooked in brown sauce accompanied by fries and fruit jam),  Row The River Thames  — Fish & Chips ( dory fish fillet in batter that is deep-fried to crispy golden brown and served with garden greens and topped with tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon) or Ecky's Wingers (half-a-dozen deep-fried chicken wings).

At its English Corner, you can order dishes such as Granny's English Gourmet Pie (oven-hot beef pot pie).

There is no shortage of variety here.

There's the Spaghetti Aglio E' Olio Chicken (31-centimetre-long chicken hot dog with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, yoghurt sauce, mustard and fries) for instance.

Then there's the homemade cheese burger served with fries.

The more-than-a-mouthful 200g juicy burger is scrumptious as is its pizza — a rich, thick crust beef pizza, full of beef pepperoni, capsicums and olives.

But the best dish must be its Down Under Favourite dish.

Imagine tucking into three pieces of lamb chops served with mashed potatoes and  sauteed vegetables of broccoli and baby carrots, and mint sauce.

The lamb chops  are marinated in olive oil, English mustard, rosemary, thyme, garlic, among others,  then placed in a chiller for two days before they are pan-fried until they start to brown.

Then they are grilled for another 15 minutes. You  just have to savour this dish to realise why it's a crowd-puller.

Its huge 500gm porterhouse steak  will have you salivating the way Fred Flintstone looks forward to a big,  juicy steak!

Be streetwise in high style

If you're anything like me you'll love the look of sky high heels, but you struggle with the fact that they're not always comfortable enough to wear for extended periods.

Most women prefer wedge  heels. They're super cute for summer and you can wear them forever without pain.

But what exactly is a  wedge heel?

On most shoes, the shoe heel sits under only the heel of the foot, but a wedge heel runs under the whole foot, from the back of the shoe to the middle or front.

HEALTH  BENEFITS

Women wear heels to make the legs look longer and the body thinner, and to improve  posture.

Wedge heels offer more support than stilettos or other high heels. Balance is easier on a wedge, reducing the number of falls that occasionally can happen in high heels.

Wedges offer arch support that reduces foot and ankle  problems.

PROS AND CONS

Height ranges from a slight raise in the heel to several inches.

Worldly and eye-catching, wedges have a cosmopolitan look about them.

They look great with nearly anything.

They add definition and  shape to heavy ankles, making them appear thinner.

On the downside, wedge heels are still heels, with all their pitfalls. So don't be fooled into thinking you can run a marathon in them.

The shoe can look a little clunky, especially when paired with tight-fitting  clothing.

Thick wedge heels will make really skinny ankles appear even thinner.

HISTORY OF THE WEDGE

Wedges have been around since the 1930s.

The first ones didn't have a distinct heel and had cellophane straps.

Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo created the first wedge shoe – the orthopaedic wedge in 1935 and the wedge heel in 1936.

He used cork and wood because of a  leather and rubber shortage. Cork was the more popular option as it was  lighter, as well as sturdy and durable.

Wedges grew in popularity during World War II because of the unavailability of leather and rubber in the US, as  these were needed for the war effort. But the fashion of the time called for height. Wedges offer height and are easier to walk in than skinny heels. Shoulder pads added to the illusion of height and wedges reached up to five inches during this period.

The wedge heel resurfaced in the 1970s.  Designs were louder, more colourful and outrageous. One design  even allowed for a goldfish to live in the heel!

In the 70s both men and women wore platform wedges, unlike during World War II  when it was strictly a women's  fashion – these days men shouldn't be caught dead in platforms.

In the 1990s both regular platform sneakers and wedge platform sneakers were around. The high wedge sneakers could be seen on celebs such as the British pop band the Spice Girls.

Thank God this era has  passed. Those sky high takkies  were rather nasty,  even though I'm guilty of falling for the  trend too.

The wedge returned in the summer of 2006. Heels made of cork and wrapped in rope  were one style option.

Both straps and ankle wraps were used to secure the wedges to the feet. Flip-flop wedges with a small heel,  combined the two styles.

And this year we're loving the espadril wedge – weaved roped soles. Über stylish for the girl on the go.

Doug Flutie's Hail Mary has nothing on Sunday's comebacks

So, were you watching?

No need to eyeball the Nielsens, really, because the answer has been borne out over time. When the PGA Tour season meanders sleepily into the Fall Season, then off to Asia for a couple of semi-official events in the wee hours, most fans have long since channeled their attention toward football, or perhaps, their pillows.

Let us be the first to rub it in, though we had to rub our eyes to earn the right to say it.

All you missed were 2011's best Hail Mary finishes, fare that Doug Flutie and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson would have found hair-raising on their best heave-it-and-hope days.

For merit and global impact, Charl Schwartzel's consecutive birdies on the last four holes to win the Masters was the chart-topper of the season. No winner had ever birdied the final four holes of a major championship in the television era. The fan thunderclap shook windowpanes at the Augusta National clubhouse.

But for sheer doggedness and determination, the Month of Sundays at the end of the PGA Tour season cannot be topped for volume or volatility. In successive final rounds, as every stat and gut instinct screamed that the eventual winners were dead and buried, they saved the best for last.

Of the six lowest final-round scores recorded by winners during the PGA Tour play, five were recorded in the last five starts, almost uniformly by players facing Sunday odds that straddled the border of absurdity and impossibility.

The flash fireworks truly began with Ben Crane lying on his back before the final round of the McGladrey Classic, four weeks ago. All year, he had grumbled and groused about why his season had been so disappointing compared to his breakthrough, two-victory year of 2010.

As he was lying in the workout area, limbering up, it occurred to him that he could glean as much from his train wrecks as triumphs, and he turned to his trainer, upbeat for the first time in weeks. Call it an epiphany.

"After basically complaining all year, for the first time all season, I said, 'You know what? It's been a great year, because I have learned so much,'" Crane recalled this week.

So did we. Like, it ain't over until every improbable arithmetic possibility has been exhausted. If not euthanized.

Just inside the top 10 heading into the final round, Crane was an insurmountable eight strokes off the lead with 11 holes to play at Sea Island when an entire season of wrongs went right. In the most incredible 150-minute span of his career, Crane didn't just get hot, he got nuclear.

He birdied eight of his next 10 holes and closed with a 7-under 63, which matched the lowest score by a winner all season relative to par, after he dispatched Webb Simpson in a playoff.

That distinction lasted ... seven days. Is there an echo in here?

In a fashion, Bryce Molder started the Sunday onslaught a week before Crane's comeback, at the Frys.com Open, with a closing 7-under 64, though it was mostly overlooked because of the 90-minute playoff that ensued with Briny Baird. In recording his first victory, Molder birdied five of his last 10 holes in regulation.

A month later, that feat elicited yawns by comparison.

One week after Crane's comeback, world No. 1 Luke Donald played in the official season finale at Disney World in a last-ditch attempt to win the PGA Tour money title and secure support for a Player of the Year bid. Donald also was on the cusp of rigor mortis at the midpoint of the final round in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

In what seemed a killing blow, he sloppily bogeyed the par-5 eighth hole at Disney to fall to T10, five strokes off the lead with 10 holes left to play. A couple of us who were following his threesome hustled back into the media center to, you know, watch the guys who still had a chance to win the title. Bad decision. It wasn't over by a long shot, much less a short wedge.

In a defining moment of his career, Donald recorded birdies on the first six holes on the back nine to finish with an 8-under 64, the lowest Sunday round by a winner all season relative to par. After freely admitting all week that he needed to win the official-money finale to have any real shot at postseason chrome, Donald won by two strokes -- effectively picking up seven shots in 10 incredible holes.

This Fantasyland fare just doesn't happen, especially not in consecutive weeks.

It's raining men, hallelujah!

The show (sponsored by L'Oréal) featured 10 designers, and also featured less preferential treatment as VIP's (except VVIP's) were asked to line up in order to enter the venue in an orderly fashion. The first one in line said he had stayed put in his place for over an hour, determined to get the best seat in the house.

It could have been easily been dubbed as the most-awaited show of PFW but it might also be the due to the show's being the finale and guests being somewhat testosterone deprived for the entire week.

Following are capsule descriptions of each designer's presentation:

Aries Lagat -- Kicked off the show and used leopard prints, suede and leatherette for low-crotch pants, nun-like veils, a man-skirt and a man-dress. Not sure what he was going for but it was cohesive.

Chris Jasler -- He got some ooh's and ahh's for his denim jackets that can be converted into jeans. The collection looked like the love child of an outlaw motorcycle club member and Japanese rock star. Wedge-heeled shoes were seen on the models, along with studs, floral prints and colorful gemstones.

Dodjie Batu -- There was some Chanel channeling going on with the tweed-like material and knit elbow pads on the suits. Models also carried woven tote bags.

Drei Soriano -- Using light brown hues, the collection conjured a sort of Texan, Native-American vibe which included lace-up sandals.

Edgar Buyan -- Resort wear you can spot from a mile away. He used square shoulders, paisley prints, and embroidery and eyelet detailing.

Jesson Capuchino -- He brought the beach and the breeze at the runway. A predominantly white collection of classic pieces and Havana hats.

Jinggo Inoncillo -- Casual and a bit sporty in yellow gold and chocolate brown, with accents of blue.

Odelon Simpao -- A high-end casual look. The collection featured suits, sports coat and cropped pants, in brown hues.

Ronan Opiña -- Classic cuts paired with overpowering prints. He incorporated square shoulders and prints -- stripes, checks, florals, and a camouflage print.

Shanon Pamaong -- Clean, crisp white trousers paired with vests and blazers. She played with lines and kept it monochromatic.

Recap: 'Project Accessory' - 'Sole Searching'

Initially I had some serious reservations about "Project Accessory." A necklace wandering down a runway isn't quite as captivating (or easy to see) as an entire outfit, no matter how large your TV screen. The other issue I had with the concept was shoemaking. Having taken a shoemaking class, I can say that making a shoe -- a shoe that isn't crippling or dangerous, at least -- is no easy task. Several producers have already tried to make a version of "Project Runway" focused on footwear and failed (one show was sponsored by a well-known design house). Shoes are just plain tricky, and the issue then becomes -- do you penalize a designer with a great idea (and who doesn't usually design shoes) for crappy execution when they probably wouldn't be starting off in the footwear realm in the "real world" anyway? Is that fair? What about pitting a designer with metalworking experience against one who has a handbag background on a jewelry design challege? Is it realistic to think one designer has mastered all these skill sets? Fashion is obviously apples and apples, but lumping all accessories into one category is not. Naturally, I did not have high hopes for "Project Accessory."

Last week's debut also disappointed, though for other reasons. While I agreed that Cotrice's corset-style belt was a bomb and her T-shirt design was too busy, I liked her chandelier necklace and bracelet. As for Brian's ugly, fuzzy belt, it looked like it had been yanked out of a moving blanket -- and more importantly, it committed the cardinal sin of making the model look fat. And yet, a few (thankfully, not all) of the judges loved it. I'm putting my faith in Kenneth Cole to be the voice of reason on the judges' panel.

This week, our designers find themselves at the Swarovski Crystallized store with Richard Chai and Eva, who inform them that they must grab (they only have ten minutes, to grab is apt) a piece of jewelry and create two other accessories to complement it -- one being A SHOE. This should be interesting.

James, being the only one shoe designer (!) on the show, is pretty sure he has an advantage. I'm pretty sure he does, too. Surprisingly, though, everyone whips out their masking tape to make a pattern on their lasts, so I'm wondering if there was a quick tutorial on this or if James simply clued everyone in. A few designers mention they're able to use a stiletto heel provided to them, so that makes things easier. Still, Nicolina can't believe James is being so helpful to everyone, as she wouldn't be, and I have to say, I'm surprised, too. Get tough, James!

Right off the bat, I have to say -- I love Brian's studded wedge heel. He seems to know exactly what he's doing as well, and I'm beginning to think that horrible belt was an aberration. Or I hope it was. Nina tells him she would buy his shoes, and while we haven't seen the finished product yet, I might be down with that, too.

While Shea and James make goo-goo eyes at one another in the workroom, things aren't going so swimmingly for some of the other designers. Kelly wants to make a stacked heel. For someone who hasn't made shoes before, and has to make shoes in two stinkin' days, this seems awfully ambitious. Nicolina seems overwhelmed. But then, Nicolina always seems overwhelmed. She also has crazy eyes. I suspect we will be seeing plenty of crazy from her later.

Eva drops in to play the role of Tim Gunn. Sigh. I miss Tim! Anyway, Eva tells Nicolina to make sure her second accessory ties into her necklace. She tells David to hustle, as he hasn't started on his shoes. She urges Kelly to work with her stacked heel. We don't see any other conversations. Eva is obviously smart, but she doesn't have the warmth and connection with the designers we get with Tim.

As expected, Nicolina begins freaking out full-bore. There's a collective effort to encourage Kelly to do her best, though increasingly I suspect her best isn't good enough. Yellow shoes? With a Victorian necklace? David tries to keep Nicolina from jumping out a window. I think this is a very real possibility.

Molly Sims invites the designers down to the runway. She's trying to be Heidi, but she'd be better off just being herself. Go ahead and smile, Molly, we won't hold it against you.

The ultimate Richmond guide to women’s fall fashion

Fall is all about festive activities and fabulous fashion. Now that the summer weather has finally subsided, it’s time to spruce up your closet with some trendy fall pieces. Many trends stay the same year to year but there are always new additions to the usual bunch. Here are some of the important ones.

One of the biggest fashion trends for women that has been carried on through the seasons is the androgynous menswear look. Structured blazers, shirts with collars, bow ties, trousers and saddle shoes are all must have items for this look. American Apparel in Carytown carries a great selection of items to create a menswear inspired outfit, especially saddle shoes.

Mixing prints and patterns is a super fun trend that’s been seen all over the runways as well as on the streets of RVA. There are many variations on this trend, for example: try mixing horizontal stripes and vertical stripes together, or try two totally different prints like florals and polka dots. Need Supply Co has lots of printed items to help you get this bold look.

Another big trend for Fall 2011 is color blocking. This was huge during the spring/summer and has continued to be an easy and chic look for fall. Try pairing jewel tones together or go for a more monochromatic color blocking look like this ensemble from Indigo Avenue Clothes in Carytown.

Also to go along with the color blocking look, colored denim can been seen on everyone this fall from style bloggers to fashion editors. Pair yours with a plain colored t shirt or if you aren’t feeling daring enough to color block, pair some with a neutral colored top and shoes. Urban Outfitters in Short Pump Town Center has a great selection of denim in all different styles and colors.

Speaking of colors, shades of orange and red are must have colors for your autumn wardrobe. Wear a tan and black ensemble and throw on a red bag for a pop of color, or try an orange sweater with some jeans for an effortless chic look. Need Supply Co has some great orange and red sweaters to help add a little color to your closet.

No matter what your look is boots are, and always will be, a must have for your fall wardrobe. But this year there are a couple of specific styles you should consider investing in.
Wedges are the new heel. They give you much better support than a spike heel and are functional, yet stylish. This black hidden wedge bootie and tan suede bootie are both available at Need Supply Co.

Some other great boot options for fall are: combat, cowboy, and desert boots. These classic options below are available at Indigo Avenue Clothes in Carytown.

The last item every Richmond girl needs to look super stylish this fall is a fantastic coat. One popular option made fashionable by style stars such as Rachel Zoe, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Anna Wintour is a faux fur coat.

For a less extreme option try a coat with a fur lined collar or sleeves, like this one available at H&M. Either one will help you look super stylish and will keep you super warm!!

Another trendy option is a cape!! Capes are very popular this fall and you can find them at several stores in Richmond. This gorgeous red cape is from American Apparel in Carytown. Capes are great because they keep you warm without being too bulky.

Always remember these three things when shopping for new clothes: invest in items that fit well, buy clothes that you are comfortable in and that fit your personal style, and always be confident in your look!! Don’t stress when shopping, fashion is fun so be bold and try one of these fantastic looks for fall!!

Race day regalia should be fun

Only days to go until the fiesta of fashion hits town with New Zealand Cup and Show Week. For some carefree sparkle follow our form guide with some top tips from Lindauer's official style ambassador, Colin Mathura-Jeffree.

Comfort: Guys you have to realise that you and your look have to last the whole day. Your main objective is to look as close to the moment you arrived to the moment you leave. And that is affected by everything, from what you wear, to what you drink.

Co-ordinate: Race wear evokes ensemble styling - create a complete set of looks that relate to each other. From the hat, to the hair style, to your gloves to your shoes. Even your partner is part of your look. This is a wonderful opportunity to be the Beckhams for the day, so throw caution to the wind and make the most of it.

Colour: Do not be afraid of colour. At the races you can be outlandish with colour, and match colours you would never normally dream of. Step out of your comfort zone, but remember to be current. While this is your chance to be flamboyant and fashionable, avoid 80s apparel. But equally, avoid too much black. People will think you're going from the races to a funeral.

Contemporary: The moment people say, "Only head pieces are in" or "Only wide- brimmed hats are in" you can be almost certain they are referring to last season, so be one step ahead by being original. Have your own theme and your own idea that will justify your look. But please, don't take yourself too seriously. Creating your race day regalia should be fun, think high fashion. Be the King or the Queen of the ball and bring a look to the races that is original now, and that everyone will enjoy.

Charm: You must always be charming and hold yourself together. Enjoy the Lindauer, but don't over indulge in food and alcohol. Have fun by acting like the sophisticated movie star you look and feel like.

Insider tips

Hats: Take your hat to the hairdresser to ensure the hat fits the do. Don't wear big hats past 6.30pm. If you are left with hat hair, ruffle from the roots up. Or have a fascinator in your bag.
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Shoes: Women should put heel-stoppers on stilettos or wear chunky or wedge heels. Men must polish shoes and boots (and they might note that brown shoes/ boots are now all the go).

Makeup: A swish of lip-gloss keeps makeup looking fresh.

Weather protection: Dress in (removable/addable) layers. Add a collapsible umbrella to your bag, in a pale colour suitable for rain or sun.

Grooming: Peep toe shoes and open sandals should reveal a perfect pedicure. Pearly polishes are in.

Makeup wipes remove food drops, wine dribbles and lipstick smudges.

Dress standards: It's OK to wear sunglasses, even if it's raining - it is the races. Ties on men are optional, as are hats on women. Singlets and jandals are never ever an option. Neither is a formal ball gown.

Cheats: When your budget won't stretch to a new bag try this Chanel-inspired look. Thread velvet ribbon through a gold chain and then parcel up your bag leaving a long loop on one end.

Don't miss:

* Best Dressed at the Races in the Lindauer Tent at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 8 with categories ranging from high fashion to more quirky body art. The best dressed lady wins her height in Lindauer magnums, among other treats.

* Fashion in the Field on Saturday, November 12, at Riccarton Racecourse. The winner receives a trip for two to London and the best-dressed man wins two tickets to Brisbane.

Fashion trends in fall footwear

There's no shortage of boot styles for women this fall. Leg lengths range from ankle to over-the-knee and heels from low to stiletto.

For a change, low heels are the season's big twist.

"The new boots are comfortable," said Jonesy Gilbert Wood, manager of N2 Shoes, a shoe store on Frazier Avenue. "Though high-heeled boots are still around, they are no longer the must-have style."

In past years, low-heeled boots have been hard to find, with the exception of cowboy boots, rider boots and Uggs, three styles characterized by moderate heel heights.

"Not too long ago, the shoes that were 'good' for your feet were very unattractive," Wood said. "That's no longer the case. Today's boots are extremely stylish. I used to be all about fashion and would wear shoes regardless if they were comfortable or not. Now that I am a mother, I want comfort. So I'm very glad that today's shoes -- and boots -- are very cute and extremely comfortable."

Arlene Goldstein, vice president of trend merchandising and fashion direction for Belk department stores, said wedge-heel boots may be the easiest wardrobe update. They're both comfortable and contemporary.

"[Wedges are] very modern whether in a short or long boot," she said. "All the varied heights are popular."

She also suggested looking for interesting materials, "especially the rustic leathers that look aged and detailing."

And what about Uggs?

"Uggs are still in, especially for the weekend look," Goldstein said. "California girls wear them year-round with mini skirts."

Rider boots, which are tall with low heels, are still fashionable too, Wood said. "They've very stylish and equally as comfortable."

LF Stores Fall 2011 Lookbook

It's time to give your wardrobe a blast with some of the most innovative and cutting edge looks. Enjoy a whole new fashion experience, dare to be unique and get ready to impress everyone with your appearances! Just take a peek at the latest LF Stores Fall 2011 Lookbook and you'll undoubtedly find some extremely inspiring combos for you to showcase your uber-cool personal style.

Well known for its modern, fresh and original approach to fashion, the famous brand brings once again a particular, different lookbook for all trendsetters who want to update their wardrobes with this season's hottest trends. Boho chic ensembles and a fab '70s vibe characterize the LF Stores fall 2011 lookbook.

Featuring beautiful designs, colors and fabrics, the collection also introduces a new special group of limited edition shoes from LF X Senso and LF X Jeffrey Campbell specially designed for the fall/winter 2011-2012 season. The collaboration between LF and Jeffrey Campbell resulted into the attention-grabbing hiker wedge booties, while the one between LF and Senso brought the short, flat ankle boot with zipper trim.

Denim, leather, knits, animal and Navajo prints, sequins, studs, and a myriad of wow-worthy accessories that will make any outfit complete, look no further as LF Stores has you covered. It seems that this season's LF girl is ready to unleash and reveal her inner animal with a wide range of prints including leopard, cheetah, and python.
The LF Stores fall 2011 lookbook features oh-so-daring combos for all fashion addicts who aim for a surplus of style this season. Think oversized, grandpa wooly and lurex slinky cardigans, patch shorts, beaded tops, snap flares, cozy sweaters, cheetah printed shirts, denim and leather jackets, coats, flirty mini skirts and dresses, backpack and messenger bags.

When it comes to jewelry, more is more this fall according to LF Stores. There are earthy essentials, heavy metal, pops of neon, and layers of charms. Make a bold statement with a gold nugget necklace in neon lime and neon pink or with silver bead bracelets with neon fuchsia tassel. You can stay 'down to earth' and choose natural bead stretchy bracelets with assorted charms, braid bracelets with feathers, Aztec patch front yoke chambray, tribal pendant or elephant charm bead necklaces, feather ear cuffs, and tribal mask or beaded rosary bracelets. Or, make a statement wearing starry moon and silver cross charm necklaces, embossed vintage silver bangles, silver skull layering bracelets, or black and white braille bead bracelets.

Chanel Sandals – Clemence Poesy

Today Shoebunny introduces Clemence Poesy wearing Chanel python sandals.
This is style “G25565 X02200 60836″ from the Chanel spring/summer 2007 collection. In 2007 Shoebunny was one of the first – if not the very first – to spot these sandals on celebs.
Other celebs wearing these Chanel sandals include James King, Christy Turlington, Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Sienna Miller, Mischa Barton, Keira Knightley, Elle MacPherson, and Claire Danes. The wedge style was spotted on the lovely Kylie Minogue.

The In-betweeners

My favourite thing in my wardrobe these days is a work of sheer passion created by Namrata Joshipura. It is a woolen coat as light as a feather, yet laden with large embroidered red roses, reminding me of Chinese lanterns or Russian Baroque at once.

But this coat must wait for cooler climes. What we are looking to wear now are layers, structures that are somewhere free and elsewhere tailored, closed shoes, pants, tones of oranges and berries. This is not yet winter or festive, it's the wonderful point of just-there.

In summers we wear whites, florals and pastels and wedge heels. In winters, there jewel tones or the omniscient black in silks and finer threads. But it's the trans-seasonal wardrobe that's most challenging to put together. It's never about a look, but a style aesthetic that's mixed and teamed to maximize its versatility.

It is a cocktail sari, a spangled chiffon dress, a cashmere coat over linen trousers, or a navy button-down playsuit — these are our new staples.

Three hours from Mumbai, in Pune, from where I write this, my aunt at 75 greets me in the morning with a steaming cuppa. She wears trousers, always trousers, a block-print shirt from Anokhi and a powder-blue sleeveless jacket that's only lightly quilted, a gift from her US-based son. It's at least eight degrees cooler than Mumbai, but not yet cold.

Last week's Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week saw an amalgamation of trends and textures, even though the season they were aiming to sell was Spring Summer. Vineet Bahl was inspired by Persian aesthetics with linear patterns and block prints, in shades of off-whites, blacks, burgundy and washed-out blues. Stoles muffled necks and aprons were loosely tied at the back.

... contd.

Daily Fashion Deals

A roundup of daily online fashion and home décor deals.

MYHABIT

French Connection returns to the Daily Deals page with a sale at MYHABIT until Thursday morning, October 27. Women's summer and fall dresses and shirts start at a paltry $15 and go up to $148 for a leather jacket.

Gilt Groupe

Another returning brand to this page is Calvin Klein, with a collection for sale at Gilt Groupe until Tuesday night, October 25. The brand, known for its clean lines and powerful use of black and gray, has women's clothing ranging from $119 to $999.

Rue La La

There is nothing hotter than a man in a well-cut coat—it can turn a mediocre outfit into a powerful, fashionable one. Cole Haan men's coats start at $179.90 and go up to $399.90, and are on sale until Wednesday morning, October 26. Ladies aren't left in the cold either—women's coats are from $119.90 to a jaw-dropping $1,099.90 for a Shearling jacket.

Haute Look

BCBGMAXAZRIA shoes and purses are on sale until Wednesday morning, October 26. Prices range from $49 for a clutch to $262 for a knee-high wedge boot.

Lucky Brand has men's wear on sale until Wednesday morning, October 26, with prices from $12 for a graphic tee to $52 for a pea coat. Of course, jeans are on sale too.

Little $: Stock up on shirts - $15 for a women's French Connection shirt at MYHABIT, and men's Lucky Brand tees start at $12 at Haute Look.

Big $$$: With shipping and handling, you'll be dropping over $1k for Calvin Klein women's clothes at Gilt Groupe. Alternatively, you could pick up a Shearling Cole Haan jacket at Rue La La.

The Thick End of the Wedg

THERE is a town near Alicante in Spain called Elche. They make shoes there. The other reason it is famous is that it is the last palm grove left in Europe — there were once about 250 000 trees but now there are just around 10 000.



And they are the real deal — Phoenix palms. They were planted by the Moors as a defensive line against the Catholics about 800 years ago. The palms lining the streets of Cannes and a host of Arabian capitals (and some modern casinos around the world) are from Elche.



Like many Spanish cities, local political power drifts between the socialists and the conservatives, and they have very instructive attitudes to the palm trees. The socialists (at least when I was a correspondent in Spain 20 years ago) tended to want to preserve the trees. If there was one in your garden you couldn’t cut it down, no matter how much you disliked it. The conservatives (in those days the socialists still called them fascists as they were the modern remnant of Gen Franco’s movement) thought the best way to protect the trees was to sell them, which I presume was why so many were dug up.



When I was there the socialists were in power. People used to dig up trees at night and speed them to the nearest port and ship them to clients around the world. The socialists were outraged. People were jailed.



But it was clear then that the conservatives were right. The only way to maintain the grove was to allow people to sell their trees, and so it has proven to be. It encouraged new plantings and fiercer protection of the existing grove. Even today, if you want to line the entrance to your new hotel with the greatest palms of all you would look first to the trees in Elche. A good one could cost $20000.



Commercialising rather than merely preserving endangered species has to be the way forward. I still get irritated when people refer to newspapers as "dead tree" editions. They could not be more wrong. Some 10% of the world’s forests produce timber for the paper industry. If there wasn’t one who would pay for their upkeep? Who would bother planting trees if they could not be sold? If 10% of the world’s forests were suddenly to die it would be regarded as an environmental catastrophe, but that is exactly what so many clever clogs wish upon newspapers.



Of course, the ultimate South African lesson is how we approach the preservation of endangered wildlife. If we commercialised and harvested rhino horns, we would save the species. It may not sit well at polite dinner tables, but it is the absolute truth. Left to the do-gooders, no matter how they spend on tracking and policing, our rhino are toast.

Ode to Jeffrey Campbell

Think you have an obsession for Jeffrey Campbell shoes? Well so does everyone else! The streets have spoken and JC shoes are the talk of the town. Worn by everyone ranging from pre teen to adults, this sudden outbreak of JC shoes has taken over. JC shoes are known for their outrageous creative designs and extreme comfort. It's no surprise these delights have been featured on tons of sites, blogs and magazines --not to mention Facebook fan pages dedicated to our favorite shoe brand. To own a great shoe is to know the shoe itself. Are you constantly finding yourself purchasing shoes for the brand itself? No sense of comfort, not durable, and after multiple usages they're tossed to the back of your closet? Why not get your money's worth and go with Jeffery Campbell?

Where will your first destination be in the 'Meeker' black suede boots by Jeffrey Capmbell? We love simple suede and classic wedge look. The hidden wooden detail adds a bit of spice, while the triangle detailing just seals the deal!

Although the name of these interesting wedges are 'The Boomerang' don't expect to receive these glamorous wedges back if tossed in the air!

'The Tardy' platform boot was created for the bad ass in us all. Durable for the cold weather yet stylish enough for everyday wear! And the fire hydrant red color just adds to the edge of these killer boots.

At last the classic, popular Jeffrey Campbell 'Lita' boot! Although these boots are measured to have a 5 inch heel these boots are perfect for beginner heel walkers or any woman who loves comfort. Bloggers, photographers and hipsters love these shoes --expect to see Lita all year around.