<p>NMinn, I’m still thinking about orange shoes :)</p>
<p>Nina (the official brand of Miss Universe) lets you design your own shoe:</p>
<p>[How</a> to Design Your Own Shoes](<a href=“http://ninashoes.com/how-to-design-your-own-shoes---1324]How”>http://ninashoes.com/how-to-design-your-own-shoes---1324)</p>
<p>I wonder if orange is a color option?</p>
<p>NorthMinn - Thank you! And just remind me about orange shoes come January and I will also pick up the hunt:).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I really wish there WAS a correlation between price and quality. My kids have daydreamed of $75 t-shirts from the Juicy store and I’ve seen some of them start to split at the seams in the store!</p>
<p>How was holiday shopping for everyone? I cannot say enough about Zappos. It saved me. Hit by a really bad case of food poisoning a few days before Christmas and could absolutely not get to a store, wrap, let alone mail packages. Thank goodness everyone loves shoes and Zappos makes it so easy. If only they wrapped . . .</p>
<p>sewhappy - sorry to hear about that. 
I love Zappos! And their clearance site, 6pm, has increadible deals.</p>
<p>DH is VERY thankful for online shopping. When he went to Costco to get the thingy he wanted to get for me, it was already sold out. Plan B, i.e. the link that I forwarded to him, came in very handy. 
The gift came in packaged in a shiny box ready for giving, which DH really appreciated.</p>
<p>Now, if NM can actually locate the item I just ordered from their online clearance sale, I’d be very happy! They keep sending me “oops” e-mails followed by “oh, we found it” emails.</p>
<p>Bunsen,</p>
<p>Please share what you are coveting from N-M. Your taste is distinctive and beautiful - inquiring minds what to know!</p>
<p>…and the thingy from Costco in the shiny box…?</p>
<p>I finally broke down and bought one of the Costco cashmere wrap/scarves you recommended, Bunsen. I got hot pink and it’s so cheery on our rainy days. That was a Christmas present from H to me. (I bought my own presents this year: the scarf, a bright pink cashmere hoody from L.L. Bean, and a pink Steiff teddy bear. You can guess my favorite color.)</p>
<p>Awww, shucks. Thanks, ladies. I’ve learned a lot from the fashion pros posting in this thread. The NM thing was nothing special - just a leather jacket to replace the one that will most likely depart to BOS next month. The price seemed to be right, so it sold out quickly, and now it does not come up on the NM site, so I can’t find a link to post, and NM keeps playing the e-mail games.</p>
<p>The shiny box, OTOH, contained something really, really special - a French-made silk scarf (I wish it came from Costco :D). The item that DH really wanted to get for me was a fresh-water pearl necklace, which, of course, sold out like hotcakes. When he cautiously asked me if I liked the gift, I told him that I would get more mileage out of the scarf than a pearl necklace. It made his day!</p>
<p>Bookiemom, I’m glad to hear that you like your Coscto scarf. I have two - a salmon and a light blue, and I love them! I restored them to their initial beauty several times by washing them in my front loader on gentle cycle without heat, drying on a towel, and gentle ironing. FYI - if someone wants to get a(nother) Costco wrap or a cashmere sweater, Costco is CLEARING them out. The $50 pashminas are now $30, but the color choices are quite limited. Also, as recently seen at Costco in Kirkland, WA: a $89 Marc New York ladies leather jackets (XS or L only), which originally was selling for $140 at Costco (more elsewhere).</p>
<p>Will have to brave the Costco hordes and fight for one of those scarves. I got my son a really nice Michael Kors wool jacket at Costco last fall. At the time I thought, scruffy son will never wear this - way too polished looking but he seems to never take it off. We don’t let him wear it at the dinner table. It’s really well made and I think was about $80.</p>
<p>My big present this year sort of threw me - Burberry parka and a Burberry scarf (the big one!). It was really a sweet gift from my husband but it threw me - I’m not that preppy but have gradually begun to wear it and am appreciating the great construction. I’m more of a vivid color scarf type so the Burberry scarf is a real departure for me. Must say there really are grades of quality in cashmere. It’s just ridiculously soft and delicious to wrap up in.</p>
<p>The gift I’m actually enjoying most is a sweater my husband brought me from a business trip to Paris. A little black Anges B. sweater. It’s cashmere and fairly form fitting with a really nice neck that is sort of a wrap with a collar that stands up. I just love it. </p>
<p>Everyone seems delighted with their Zappos shoes. I have taken to keeping everyone’s favorite styles and sizes on my Blackberry so in between bouts of stomach flu nausea, I just ordered everyone’s gift from my phone under a ton of blankets. The big lesson learned - everyone love’s a new pair of sneakers!</p>
<p>My husband got me boots for Christmas. Ralph Lauren - black. I’d have preferred brown, but I like the way they look and amazingly they seem to be comfortable. I can’t believe they fit perfectly! Shoes never fit my fat feet. I just hate, hate, hate buying shoes and had mentioned that I’d looked at boots at Lord and Taylors but couldn’t face the crowds. I looked briefly again a couple of weeks later and had the same reaction, so I am a happy camper.</p>
<p>He also got me a paisley shawl/wrap from the Travelsmith catalog. <a href=“http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=15718&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C250%2C281&iProductID=15718&sortBy=0[/url]”>http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=15718&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C250%2C281&iProductID=15718&sortBy=0</a> It came paired with a silk blouse. I sent him a link and said, I like the shawl, but don’t need the blouse. He gave me both. Men! The blouse is fine though, so I’ll keep it and probably wear it as part of a New Year’s Dance outfit.</p>
<p>For the holidays my guys took me to the local running shoe place where they do all sorts of measurements, which involves standing on some gizmo that shows a pressure sensitive picture of your feet taht lights up in multi-colors so you can see arch sizes, how you stand, etc, and then a video of you running on a treadmill so they can check for over/under pronation, etc. Then they bring out shoes that are made for your type of feet. I got a pair of very comfy adidas (10% discount for DH being a member of the track club) but wil order any replacement 9should I need them… I don’t exactly… ahem… work out/run as much as I should and I suspect these will last a while) BUT- I did order another pair of asics for my DH (he wears them out very fast) through Zappos right after we came back from the running store. Thanks to someone on CC I got registered as a “VIP” zappos account holder, which offers free overnight shipping. Ordered them on Sunday (IIRC) and they were at our door at 7am Tuesday morning!</p>
<p>I was able to obtain a shopping fix by accompanying S on a forced-march expedition to outfit himself for his upcoming internship. He was told by his contact at the State Department that he would receive information about the dress code a week before arriving in DC!! Not being able to wait that long, we took advantage of a buy one get one free promotion at Men’s Wearhouse. He is now the proud possessor of two nice wool jackets (he already owned the navy blazer), one a gray with subtle windowpane (Joseph Aboud) and the other an olive/brown (Calvin Klein), 4 pairs of nice 3-season wool gabardine dress slacks (two different charcoals, one black, one tan, 3 with pleated fronts and cuffs and one flat with no cuff), 6 new dress shirts (2 white, 2 ecru, 1 blue, and 1 gray for when he is adventurous), 2 new belts (one black, one brown), 2 pairs of simple dress shoes (one black, one brown), and a couple of new ties that go very well with the above and are different from the rest of those he owns. We were assisted by the store manager, who did a great job of educating S re dressing in a manner appropriate for a young man in a conservative professional environment: what to wear with what and what NOT to wear with what, the fact that his pants would be worn at the waist rather than at the hips, etc. All of which was imparted in a way that was both authoritative and amusing. S took it all in. If <em>I</em> had told him half of this he would have scoffed. I was very pleasantly surprised by the place, although I gather that their suit collection may not be as good. (I am praying devoutly that S does not need a suit for this, because the only one he owns is a cheap black number purchased 6 years ago to stand in for a tux at concerts. At some point he WASHED the pants. Need I say more…)</p>
<p>Recently S has become a bit of a clotheshorse, although his idea of dressing well is to wear a navy alpaca cardigan from Brooks–originally $400 but purchased at the outlet store for a mere $86–with a t shirt and striped shorts or jeans that have passed the point of decrepitude and entered the realm of compost. He’s very into cardigans. I suggested to him that he refrain from wearing the dry-clean-only ones in locations such as the frat basement, from whence they are likely to emerge reeking of beer. Or worse.</p>
<p>jym - never say never 
My first pair of Brooks Glycerins (given to me by my friend as a Christmas gift 4 years ago) sat by the front door for 3 years and was rarely used… My next pair lasted less than 6 months, and now I’m on my 4th pair.</p>
<p>mathmom, what a great gift - I love RL shoes and boots. Very well made and comfy. Enjoy! Inspired by your post, I had to look at the RL website, and found what I’ve been looking for - a dark brown suede pump with both reasonable heel height and price (and if I paint the soles red, they will look very much like the $600 chocolate Louboutins ;))!
[Cala</a> Suede Heel](<a href=“http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4391326&cp=2943768.2018029&ab=ln_nodivision_cs8_shoes&pg=3&parentPage=family]Cala”>http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4391326&cp=2943768.2018029&ab=ln_nodivision_cs8_shoes&pg=3&parentPage=family)</p>
<p>It looks like I’m about to waste major $$ on RL website because they have DH’s favorite polos on sale, too, with additional 25% off! Consolation, your son might want to check that site, too.</p>
<p>BB…those shoes are an additional 25% off of the $49.99!!! They look wonderful!</p>
<p>NMinn, at $37.50 they definitely look better for my wallet than the $600 Louboutins My quest for dark brown suede pumps seems to be over. And my “preppy guy” DH will be getting a couple of his favorite RL polo shirts. His old ones have a few holes here and there because he likes to give hugs to our kitties (the cats, however, do not appreciate his affection and try to claw their way out :)).</p>
<p>Random post alert…</p>
<p>Is anyone particularly knowledgable when it comes to boots? Boots seem to be very “in” this year, but I have no idea how to go about buying the right pair. I am 5’2", and I don’t know if I should be going for taller boots or shorter boots (some of my friends have bought short cowboy boots or other short heeled boots, but I think a short boot would just cut my leg off and make me look shorter). Any advice? Thanks in advance! : -)</p>
<p>Jambaby -</p>
<p>It really depends how you are going to wear them - with pants or a skirt? Dressy or with jeans?</p>
<p>If I was limited to one pair of boots (horrors!), I would buy a knee high, 3-1/2" heel pair in black suede. The pull-on, stretch suede type is very flattering, fits most calf widths and wears beautifully. If you don’t wear heels, an alternative would be a flat, riding boot style in smooth black leather. I would avoid mid-calf, over the knee and other styles that can look awkward unless worn with the right outfit.</p>
<p>[Manolo</a> Blahnik<em>-</em>Stretch Suede Boot<em>-</em>Neiman Marcus](<a href=“http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod102900006&eItemId=prod102900006&cmCat=search&searchType=MAIN&parentId=&icid=&rte=search.jhtml%253FN%253D0%2526Ntt%253Dstretch%252Bsuede%2526_requestid%253D9703]Manolo”>http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod102900006&eItemId=prod102900006&cmCat=search&searchType=MAIN&parentId=&icid=&rte=search.jhtml%253FN%253D0%2526Ntt%253Dstretch%252Bsuede%2526_requestid%253D9703)</p>
<p>An alternative heel:</p>
<p>[Stuart</a> Weitzman Legging Black Suede - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways](<a href=“Stuart weitzman legging black suede stuart + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com”>Stuart weitzman legging black suede + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com)</p>
<p>A riding boot:</p>
<p>[Halima</a> Calfskin Riding Boot - Lauren Shoes * Shoes - RalphLauren.com](<a href=“http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4391319&fbn=Division|Women|See+All&pg=2&f=PAD%2FDivision%2FWomen&kw=boots&parentPage=search]Halima”>http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4391319&fbn=Division|Women|See+All&pg=2&f=PAD%2FDivision%2FWomen&kw=boots&parentPage=search)</p>
<p>If you are looking for a very casual boot, these are nice:</p>
<p>[Belle</a> by Sigerson Morrison BM4147 Black Suede - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways](<a href=“Belle by sigerson morrison bm4147 black suede belle + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com”>Belle by sigerson morrison bm4147 black suede + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com)</p>
<p>Good luck on the boot quest, Jambaby. I’ve tried and tried and have concluded I’m just not a boot kind of gal. I like my older beat up Danskos with wool socks for city walking in the snow. Good traction and seem to keep my toes warm no matter what. No claims to looking good, though. I just feel as if I’m in a costume when I wear boots. But I admire them on others. It may be that my feet are extremely small and boots just don’t translate well on my frame? I’m also not very tall and it seems as if the tall boot look works best on a long legged tall person? I have a couple pair of shoes that look like boots when worn with pants though.</p>
<p>Thanks for the boot input! sewhappy, I agree with you - I really like the look of boots on other people, but I don’t know if they are for me. And it seems like I usually just see the “skinny jeans tucked into boots” combo (I’m a senior in college and that look is pretty ubiquitous), and I think you have to be tall to pull that off. I plan to look around on Zappos anyway, so we will see… lol. : -)</p>
<p>jambaby, we always welcome random questions on this thread! </p>
<p>Here is a short article from Overstock on boot styles would look best on petite ladies:</p>
<p>[Best</a> Boots for Petite Women| Overstock.com](<a href=“Overstock.com: Online Shopping - Bedding, Furniture, Electronics, Jewelry, Clothing & more”>Overstock.com: Online Shopping - Bedding, Furniture, Electronics, Jewelry, Clothing & more)</p>
<p>I’m 5’ 6", so technically I’m not petite, but I look for similar leg-elongating qualities in my boots. I also use Zappos. Since Zappos has such a generous return policy, I buy N pairs at a time, try them on in the comfort of my own home, and vote the losers off my closet shelf. Zappos usually ends up with N-1 or N-2 returns. :)</p>