We Are Giving Away a Pair of Designer Shoes in 2011!

2011 Christian Louboutin Spring Collection

2011 Jimmy Choo Resort Collection

2011 Jimmy Choo Spring Collection

2011 Christian Louboutin Fall Collection

What would you do for a free pair of Jimmy Choos? Or Christian Louboutins? Well, it turns out that you may not have to do much! We are holding a

Designer Shoe Giveaway Contest!!!

Yes, you read it right…we will be giving away one pair of designer shoes later this year to the winner of our contest! Woo hoo! Free Shoes!

So, what do you have to do to get these shoes anyway??? Well, let me tell you…All you have to do is submit your shoe story to us! It’s that simple! We are looking for the best shoe stories from shoe lovers like you. We are not looking for a specific type of shoe story, but we want interesting, true, unique-to-you shoe stories.

Tell us why you love shoes!

Tell us when you realized you were a shoe addict!

Tell us why you became a shoe lover in the first place!

Tell us whatever you want to share about you and your lovely shoes!

You can even tell us a funny story of one day when your shoes turned on you…or one time when you made a fool of yourself in your favorite shoes (hey, at least you looked good doing it! haha!)…or once when you cried yourself to sleep because you accidentally ruined your favorite pair of shoes… 😦

I think you get the point. 🙂

Now, here are the rules:

1. Email your story to Dr.Michele.TheShoeExpert@gmail.com with “My Shoe Story” in the subject line

2. Your story should be a true story, unique to you

3. Your story should be a story, not a sentence! There is no word limit, but a paragraph or two would be great.

4. Include your contact info (first name, last name, email address) at the end of the story so that we may contact you if you win

5. Include a statement at the end of the story that reads “The Shoe Expert has my permission to reprint my shoe story, or a version of it, in The Shoe Expert’s blog, website, or other publication.”

6. Deadline for submission is December 15, 2011 at midnight (PST)

The winner will be hand-picked by Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert! May the best, most interesting, most unique shoe-tastic story win Be sure that your shoe story is submitted before our deadline to be eligible to win. The contest ends at midnight (PST) on Dec. 15, 2011. The winner will be announced on Dec. 31, 2011, making one shoe lover’s New Year’s celebration one to remember!

I can’t wait to read your shoe stories! 🙂

Good luck!

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!” 

Do You Organize Your Shoes Like Oprah Does?

Well, how do you organize your shoes anyway? Do you line them up by color or style? Are all of your boots in one area, work shoes in another area, and party shoes in yet another area? Or do you arrange them by heel height? Maybe you separate them according to season, what you would wear in the summer vs. winter…

Or maybe you organize them like Oprah–according to pain! What??? Yes, Oprah has a Pain-O-Meter, where she organizes her shoes according to how much pain they cause her feet, or by how long she can wear them until the pain is just too much and then they have to come them off.

Oprah wearing Manolo Blahnik slingbacks on her show

 Her Pain-O-Meter goes like this:

1. Indefinitely: Shoes that she can wear at home everyday, especially after a long day of being on her feet at work (for Oprah, it’s her Prada flats!)

2. All Day: Shoes that she can wear at work, all day (Oprah’s Manolo Blahniks as pictured above)

3. One Hour: Shoes that she can wear for her entire show

4. Ten Minutes: Shoes that she can wear between commercial breaks while taping her show

5. One Minute: Shoes that can only be worn from the door to the car and then she has to sit down quickly

5. Zero Minutes: Shoes that hurt as soon as she put them on AND caused her so much pain that she had to see her doctor afterward 

Well, however you arrange your shoes, as long as your closet doesn’t look like this you’re doing OK!

Just a few shoe care tips for you:

First of all, we pay good money for our shoes, don’t we? So why would we throw them on the floor in a big pile and let them get crushed, bent, and dirty? It doesn’t make any sense when you put it like that, does it? Shoes will last longer and look better if you store them properly. For the best, most expensive shoes you own, store them in their original box (if possible), in the shoe bag that comes with them, or in a plastic shoe storage box (which is very inexpensive and found easily in department stores like Target or other online stores).

Next, if you have the luxury and the space for shoe shelves, that is another good choice! I have a small closet, so I made my own shoe shelves in the bottom of my closet with easy DIY shelving systems (again, easily found at Target or other online stores).

And finally, if you have no room at all in your closet for shoe boxes or shoe shelves, at least get the under the bed shoe organizer! It’s clear plastic which allows you to see all of your shoes for easy selection and no wasting time searching for shoes, protects your shoes from dust, it has dividers to protect your shoes from getting squished by your other shoes, and it zippers all the way around which protects your shoes from dust and moisture.

Protect those precious shoes!!! 🙂

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!” 

Christian Louboutin Shoes At Risk For Being Confiscated! Come on, TSA! Really???

Have you heard the latest TSA controversy this week? Yep, TSA is threatening to confiscate Christian Louboutin spiked shoes, claiming they could be a “weapon.” Well, TSA, there are a lot of things that could be weapons in a maniac’s hands…are we going to confiscate all of those things too? A laptop could be a weapon if you hit someone over the head with it…a regular high heel shoe could take an eye out if you really want to…an ipod headphone wire could be used for a number of things…I’m sure you get my point!

And if the TSA weren’t already controversial enough with the inappropriate groping of women and children, the ridiculous refusal to allow some mothers to take their breast milk onto their flight, and of course the racial profiling…now they have to mess with our shoes! Come on, TSA! Get a life and leave our shoes alone!

Who’s with me on this one?

What woman (or man, in some cases) is going to spend close to a thousand or more bucks on Christian Louboutins, walk through an airport in them, wear them on their flight, and then use them like a terrorist’s weapon? Puh-lease! Check out some of these spiked shoes and their price tags!

Christian Louboutin spiked peep toe pump $700 at Bluefly.com

Christian Louboutin men's velvet spiked flats $995 at Saks Fifth Avenue

Christian Louboutin spiked leather boots $1077 at Neiman Marcus

Here is an actual photo of the TSA in action, harassing Taz Arnold (artist, designer, producer, A.K.A. Ti$a) and his Christian Louboutins:

( Twitpic photo taken be @tAzArnold )

TSA should pay more attention to the actual criminals and leave the shoes out of it!

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!”

Dr. Oz Describes the Three Worst Shoes for Your Feet

Dr. Oz says “UGGs Are Bad For Your Feet”

On his television show on Jan. 5, 2011, Dr. Oz said that shearling boots like UGGs have two main problems.  First, they give virtually no  support to your feet, so your feet flop around around inside.  He suggested a solution for this problem:  to place orthotics in the boots to add extra arch support. Sound familiar? I blogged about that very thing recently in my “If You Love UGGs, You’re Going to Love Them Even More Now!” blog post, adding that using a shearling foot insert with a shearling boot feels super warm and comfy.  Dr. Oz also suggests that the second problem with UGGs is that they can make your feet hot and sweaty. And if peopole wear them without socks, it can lead to foot fungus.  A simple remedy to fix this problem is to wear 100% cotton socks, wicking socks, and / or use a topical  antiperspirant foot medication.

Dr. Oz says “Thigh High Boots Are Bad For Your Feet” 

Dr. Oz said that thigh high leather boots can compress a nerve that is located near the upper outside of your calf, just below the knee joint, especially if the boots are very tight. This comression can potentially paralyze your nerve, which can make it impossible for you to flex your foot upwards.  He suggests that you consider over the knee leather boots with a zipper or a tie which allows  you to loosen them, at least when you are seated for long periods of time.  

Dr. Oz says “Flats Are Bad For Your Feet”

Dr. Oz said that, believe it or not, flats are bad for your feet.  Some of the new flat shoes available to women, including flat gladiator sandals and ballet flats, separate your foot from the pavement by only about 1/8 of an inch.  Plus, you often have to struggle and strain your foot muscles to keep your foot balanced on the shoe because there is little to no support.  If you can bend the shoe in half, then it is not a shoe that you want to walk long distances in or stand in for long periods of time.  Some of the medical problems that result from wearing flat shoes include shin splints and plantar fasciitis.  Instead, Dr. Oz said we should wear shoes with at least 1″ heels.

As a podiatrist, I have to agree with Dr. Oz. Here is my summary of his shoe analysis:

1. UGGs are too flat, need an arch support, and should be worn with socks.

2. Thigh high boots or anything that compresses the peroneal nerve should be avoided.

3. Super flat flats and shoes that bend in half have don’t have enough support for your feet.

Good job, Dr. Oz!

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!”

Don’t Waste Money on Shoes that Don’t Fit Properly! Shoe Fitting Tips for You!

My Coach shoes fit perfect and I love them!

As most of you know by now, I’m a podiatrist which makes me both a shoe expert and a foot expert, and in this blog I like to mix the fun, fashionable side of shoes with the medical, educational side of shoes…so today let’s talk about getting that proper fit. Who wants to pay good money for shoes  (especially the designer ones!) that don’t fit right. I mean, come on! How many of us have purchased shoes that were just a little tight in the store, expecting them to stretch out or break in later? Yeah, I know…it usually doesn’t work! Then we’re left with shoes that hurt! And sometimes we love those shoes so much (or spent so much on them!) that we still wear them, knowing that they are going to hurt our feet. Ouch! Or we wear them out, only to take them off later and come home barefoot because they hurt so much! Gross.

Please take the “shoe fitting tips” below to heart and don’t walk around in pain or looking like this:

Or like this (it’s not a good look!):

Look at how Ashley Olson squeezes her toes into this pointy, narrow shoe (ouchy!):

And then there’s Paris Hilton’s size 11 feet and her bunions squeezed into too narrow shoes:

Or Victoria Beckham’s bunions hanging over the edge of her sandals:

We can’t leave out the barefoot walkers after a night out in painful shoes:

Or the ones (like Britney Spears) who take their painful shoes off and can’t even walk barefoot due to pain:

Ok, I think you get the point! 🙂 Here is an excerpt from my website www.elmontefootdoctor.com talking about Getting a Proper Fit:

“Everything from serious foot disorders to more common foot and ankle conditions can be exacerbated by inappropriate, poor quality, and/or ill-fitting shoes. Any podiatrist will tell you that a quality, properly fitted shoes pay big dividends for your feet—now and in the future.

The most important quality to look for in shoes is durable construction that will protect your feet and keep them comfortable. Shoes that do not fit properly can cause bunions, corns, calluses, hammertoes and other disabling foot disorders.

The Fitting

Here are some tips to help reduce the risk of foot problems when shopping for shoes:

• Don’t force your feet into a pair of shoes in order to conform to the shape of the shoe. The shoe needs to conform to the shape of your foot.
• Fit new shoes to your largest foot. Most people have one foot larger than the other.
• Have both feet measured every time you purchase shoes. Foot size may increase as you get older.
• If the shoes feel too tight, don’t buy them. There is no such thing as a “break-in period.”
• Many high-heeled shoes have a pointed or narrow toe box that crowds the toes and forces them into an unnatural triangular shape. As heel height increases, the pressure under the ball of the foot may double, placing greater pressure on the forefoot as it is forced into the pointed toe box.
• Shoes should be fitted carefully to your heel as well as your toes.
• Sizes vary among shoe brands and styles. Judge a shoe by how it fits on your foot, not by the marked size.
• There should be a half-inch of space from the end of your longest toe to the end of the shoe.
• Try on new shoes at the end of the day. Your feet normally swell and become larger after standing or sitting during the day, which makes for a better fit.
• Be sure to try on both shoes. Walk around the shoe store in the shoes to make sure they fit well and feel comfortable.
• When the shoe is on your foot, you should be able to freely wiggle your toes.”

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!” 

Got Any Shoe Years Resolutions?

So now that we’re well into the first week of the new year, how many of us are keeping up with your New Years Resolutions? Hopefully, most of us!

Tell me something else, did you make any Shoe Years Resolutions? Yes, there is such a term. No, I did not make it up. People all around the web have made their shoe years resolutions, and here are some of the top ones I have come up  with as a shoe expert and a foot doctor. 🙂 

1. To buy more shoes!

(photo courtesy of ShoeDazzle)

2. To buy less shoes!

3. To buy better quality shoes instead of cheap ones that break or tear easily!

4. To buy at least one pair of designer shoes! 🙂

5. To buy shoes that fit properly and stop trying to squeeze my big feet into shoes that are one or two sizes too small! (Ouch!)

6. To stop wearing shoes that have my toes or heel hanging off the edge! (Not a good look!)

7. To rotate my shoes more and not get stuck in a rut wearing the same old shoes over and over again!

8. To clean my closet and get rid of the ones I know I’ll never wear again! (And donate them to Soles4Souls of course!)

9. To work out more and put those running shoes to good use!

10. To stop wearing flip-flops 24/7 just because I can! Instead, I vow to wear shoes that are appropriate for the occasion!

11. Runners: To stop running in shoes after they are worn out! I vow to keep track of the mileage on my shoes!

12. Parents: To check my children’s shoes and feet every month or two for a proper fit since their feet can grow quickly if they hit a growth spurt!  (Especially important for babies and toddlers who can’t tell you when it hurts!)

13. Parents again: To buy new shoes for my children every 3-6 months, not once every school year, even if they seem to fit well, because they wear out quickly! (Often times they wear out before they outgrow them!)

14. Parents again: To stop blaming my children for being tough on their shoes! Hey parents, it’s not your kids’ fault that their shoes wear out so quickly…it just happens. It’s a fact. Accept it. And then go buy them some new shoes! 

15. Husbands, boyfriends, significant others: To buy wonderful, beautiful, sexy shoes for the lovely lady in my life…because just about all women love shoes!!! (Hint, hint!) 😉

Do any of these sound familiar??? Think about it…maybe at least one of them is for you! 🙂

Once again, Happy Shoe Year, shoe lovers!!!

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!”

Wild, Crazy, Outrageous Shoes of 2010 (Part II)

This is part 2 of my “wild, crazy, outrageous shoes worn on the runways in 2010” blog post, but they are not crazy in that we don’t want to wear them! On the contrary…although these shoes may be a little too high or too embellished or too colorful for some of us for everyday use (like me! I don’t think I could perform surgery in them!), these shoes surely inspired many of the shoes that were for sale in the stores this year. The styles were definitely a hit with the women buying shoes…from the wedges to the platforms to the strappy ankle boots…these shoes were incredible on and off the runways!

Wild, crazy, outrageous or not, I think I love all of them! 🙂

Burberry Spring Summer 2010 Collection

 

Christian Soriano Fall 2010 Collection

 

Christian Louboutin Spring 2010 Collection

 

Balenciaga Fall 2010 Collection

 

Rodarte Fall 2010 Collection

 

Alexander Wang Spring-Summer 2010 Collection

 

Christian Soriano Spring 2010 Collection

 

Rick Owens Spring-Summer 2010 Collection

 

Christian Louboutin Spring-Summer 2010 Collection

 

Marc Jacobs Spring 2010 Collection

 

Versace 2010 Collection

So just like I asked you in the last post, tell me something: Do you like them?

Or do you love them like I do?

And would you wear them?

If so, which ones?

Just my two cents on these wild, crazy, outrageous runway shoes: my favorites are the white satin Burberry ankle booties, the Alexander Wang animal print wedges, the Rick Owens grey striped strappy open toe shoes,  and the rest of them! Would I wear them? Probably!!! 🙂

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!” 

Wild, Crazy, Outrageous Shoes of 2010 (Part I)

As the new year begins and we look back on the fashion and styles that came out in 2010, we can surely remember some wild and crazy shoes (as well as clothes, but we’re just talking shoes here). And as I stated in my last blog post, the runway shoes are always a little wilder and crazier than the versions sold in the stores. But regardless of the show-stopping looks on the runways, we can admit that some of the shoes shown below are pretty outrageous!

Tell me something: would you wear any of them? Which ones? I’d love to hear this!

I have to give these lobster-claw shaped ‘Armadillo’ shoes from the Alexander McQueen Spring-Summer 2010 Collection the first position here! With all the attention these shoes received when Lady Gaga wore them, they made some big headlines!  

 

The second headline making shoe in 2010 would have to be the mohawk pump in electric blue from the YSL Fall 2010 Collection. It was also made into a boot:

 

What about third place for these extra high platform open toe pom pom booties from the John Galliano Fall 2010 Collection?

 

What do you think about these boots from the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2010 Collection? Hmmm…Interesting…

 

What about these platform shoes from the Miu Miu Spring 2010 Collection? That’s a lot of detailing and embellishments in one shoe!

 

Yep, Alexander McQueen made the list twice! Check out these fantasy themed super high platform shoes from the Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 Collection! Wow!

 

Well, if I can do it to Alexander McQueen, I can do it to John Galliano who also makes this list twice! 🙂 What do you think of these platform pumps with stacked pearl heels and (again) alot of detailing shoes from the John Galliano Spring-Summer 2010 Collection?

 

Well, we have to have at least one fur covered open toe ankle boot in this list! There were many to choose from but, these are from the Roberto Cavalli 2010 Collection.

 

Well as long as we’re talking about fur covered booties, what do you think of these white ones from the Raphael Young Fall 2010 Collection? The black platform ankle booties are also an honorable mention, so I included both of them. 🙂

 

Yeah, I’m stuck on fur. Last but not least, the eskimo boots from the Chanel Fall 2010 Collection with an acrylic heel have to be included. There is no doubt that these boots inspired many of the furry boots we’ve seen on the streets this year.

Just my two cents on these outrageous runway shoes: my favorites are the electric blue YSL mohawk pumps (which incidentally I have seen in hot pink and black as well) and the Chanel eskimo boots! Would I wear them? Umm…yes! Would I wear the other ones? Not sure about that!

(This is part 1 since there were so many wild shoes this year, I had to make it a two-part post! Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2!)

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!” 

Happy Shoe Year, Shoe Lovers!!!

(photo courtesy of Running With Heels)

I wanted to wish all of my shoe lovers who read and support my blog a happy, successful, abundant 2011 while it is still January 1st (at least here on the west coast it is)!!!

When it comes to shoes, I wish all of you a wonderful shoe experience! May all of your shoes look beautiful and be comfortable! (I am working on helping this shoe wish for all of us shoe lovers to come true…stay tuned for details in 2011! And stay tuned for our “Designer Shoe Giveaway in 2011″…details will be posted later this month!)

Happy New Year, shoe lovers!!!

Dedicated to your foot health and to your shoes in 2011,

Dr. Michele, The Shoe Expert

“All Shoes, All the Time!”