Do you want the shoe so badly you have to make it fit? How many shoe pads are too many, how many times can you stretch them? Can you only wear them into the restaurant, not out?
Cinderella had Prince Charming. We have Jimmy, Louie and Manolo. Highheels make our legs look longer, our butt higher, our clothes sexier. What’s your pain threshold? A recent survey showed 42% of women admitted they would wear shoes that hurt. We need to look good while sitting on that bar stool! And what do you think the drinks are for…numbing the pain!
Shoes have a history. From protection against hazardous weather, to diminutive Catherine de Medici wanting to appear taller & larger than life, shoes signify class, gender & sophistication.
Fit First
- Platform: takes the pressure off your toes and ball of your feet. Since Sandy chose form over function, she added this platform so as not to kill herself.
- Wedge: heel runs under the foot evenly providing balance & support
- Boots: Come in skins, trimmed in fur, leopard, jewels, zippers, a staple in our wardrobe. We think of boots as an investment. Would you rather have stock or boots?
Fit or Fracture
A little secret…I can’t wear five inch heels. I have a foot issue that screams no, don’t do it! So what’s a 5’2 inch girl to do. We have shoe choices. Designers like Paul Green, Thierry Rabotin, Aerosole & Easy Spirit provide comfort & style. Also flat jewel sandals are the rage for summer.
Notice the neutral nail polish perfect for long trips, can’t see the chips…love OPI Tickle My France-y
Wear Girls Tips: Hot Shoe Buys at Cool Prices
- Bergdorf Goodman: best department store for shoes, ever!
- Foot Candy: 4 locations, hot, sexy, shoes & boots for the shoe impaired
- Loehmanns: value ,value, value
- Nordstrom Rack: more value
- Zappos: most popular on line retailer for shoes. No charge for shipping & returning. Take 365 days to decide! Barbara’s favorite concept.
- Jeremy’s: shoes from Barney’s & Bergdorf’s at reduced prices. New or runway worn, might have to repair (see below) 2nd & South Park
- Arthur Berens: comfortable hot shoes (not an oxymoron) 222 Stockton
- Cole Haan: Special Nike Air really works, 324 Stockton
- Paolo Shoes: off beat and fun. On Fillmore and Hayes St
- The Walking Co. & Good Feet Stores: necessary for traversing cobblestones when balance preceeds the look
- SF Dancewear: whether ballet, salsa, swing, tango or tap is your dance of choice, this one stop shop will outfit you from head to toe. 659 Mission
- Naya: Can a shoe actually look good and feel good too? According to this environmentally friendly company, you can have it all. Cushions are not just for sleep, now you can also walk on them.
- Head Over Heels: Menlo Park high end shopping experience – global unique brands for the therapeutic indulgent moment
Wear Girls Shoe Fix?
- Shoe Craft: stumbled on this tiny sliver of a store next to a massage parlor near the tunnel at 441 Stockton St. Easy to miss. Reasonable for basic needs – shoe stretching, adding protective soles and replacing heels usually while you wait. A true value!
- Carlos Shoe Service: We love Carlos. Ask Sandy, she has encouraged him to do anything from making a shoe into a platform or shortening the heel so she can walk. 243 Third St
- Sole Survivor: If we insist on pain make Dr. Scholl your new BFF. Cut pads, add gel inserts, use moleskin plus padding and whatever else they sell. Look for their new “Fast Flats Foldable,” a ballet flat so pliable you can roll them up in your purse to get somewhere fast, can’t always run in those heels. Should own stock and a reserved parking space!
Express Yourself: Rent the Runway
If you have great shoes at great value – you need a hot dress. Value tip – want to wear the latest designers and not pay premium prices – Rent the Runway enables you to rent dresses for any occassion. All sizes and shipping available!
Wear Girls: Size Matters?
Carry your heels in our Wear2Where bag to any destination & do a quick switch. We always do this! Life is too short to wear tight shoes. So the question is, do you think it’s fashion first, comfort second or the reverse? You decide!!!
Tel Aviv: Let’s party down! How a city responds to danger and invasion for thousands of years. Pretty girls harnessed with automatic weapons are standing next to bars, clubs, & waterfront restaurants.
High Tech Head to Toe
Tel Aviv: A Mediterranean beach town resembling Miami Beach. The diamond cutting center of the world co- exists with art galleries and small narrow streets. High fashion and matzah merge seamlessly in ancient Jaffa.
Tel Aviv – Wear2Where Shopping
Holy Fashion
- He Beiyar- from local to European, high-end shopping area
- Basel Street– small & narrow, trendy stores and hip cafes
- Shenkin Street– Greenwich Village in feeling
- Gan HaHashmal– urban street chic
- North Dizengoff- so cool so hip
Yosef Peretz ( see Youtube video above) one of the 10 leading Israeli designers.
Great Leg
Enthusiastic Male Shoppers!
Wear2Where Dining
- Mul-Yam-only Michelin Star Restaurant in Israel
- Manata Ray-amazing seafood with views to match
- Comme IL Faux-trendy fusion
- Gilli-local seafood, right on the boardwalk
Jerusalem: only an hour away but center of the Universe. In the presence of the old city with its four divided sections, the Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Dome of the Rock and Davids Tomb. Clearly, a cultual experience not a superficial shopping experience.
Men and women pray in different sections of the wall, so sorry Sandy. Putting your wishes in the wall is sort of like an ancient E Harmony. Security everywhere but who knew fire power could be this cute!
Military in Action
Stay at the David Citadel and book a view room of the old city. Dine at the hotel on Thursday night where famed Chef Eric Attias serves his lavish ” Chefs Special Night” buffet or at chef owner’s Eucalyptus Restaurant, famous for his re- invented traditional techniques using local spices and herbs.
Haifa– SF sister city on the Med built on hills surrounded by water, and nearby wine country feels oddly at home. Ancient ruins, and the Golan Heights as backdrop, clearly not SF.
From the Dead to the Red to the Med I have Sea-n-Eilat
Life is tenuous. No timeline, No guarantees, No fairness. We are choosing to live it with hope, compassion, and a deep appreciation for humor.
I’m exhausted by this trip and I’m not on it. Too much adventure, nature, and history for me. I’ll take the big city with superficial shopping all day. Barbara’s historical advenure continues: How to pack for a two night side trip to Egypt.Should be an easy pack? No! Need a Valley of the Kings outfit, need King Tuts Tomb Couture: prepare for seriously hot & dusty. (Sweaty & Still Seductive)
- Big hat, lots of sunscreen, Easy Spirit Shoes which work all over the world. We love Easy Spirit Macy’s SF (we need stock in this company)
- Need nothing more than t- shirts and baggy cotton pants. Comfort is the fashion. Pity the poor local women and men who wear full length gowns.
- Black is the color for married ladies showing respect and protection. Tip for you Sandy, hot pink means you’re available!!! Oh Yea, it’s my favorite color how perfect!
- Travel Tips: From the Temples of Luxor and Karnak, to the Valley of the Kings & Tut’s Tomb once in a lifetime experience.
- Don’t miss this but consider passing the nightime light and sound show at Karnak Temple. (Sounds like twilight at Disneyland)
- Valley of the Kings: Hidden underground tombs of the Pharaohs Karnak Temple: Most important sanctuary of Ancient Egypt with ten temples, built over hundreds of years by a succession of ancient kings each attempting to outdo the other. (Does claustrophobia enhance the experience?)
NOT XO JET
Felt like Laura Croft in Tomb Raiders boarding the Petroleum Transport Service “private” plane to Cairo. Turned out to be a low speed, low altitude 4 prop plane older than RW! Expected caviar and champagne! ANKH- SCIOUS in Cairo. A 747 is too small for me would have needed a valium drip on that plane.
Cross your Chest
Checked into the Cairo Four Seasons, 28th floor with sweeping sunset views of the city and the Nile. The Ankh, the ancient key to life also symbolizes Egypt’s new awakening and revolution. People seem optimistic for the future. Expected long drive to the Pyramids but can see them from the highway. An easy walk from Pizza Hut (didn’t realize that Pizza Hut had such a world presence.)
Romancing the Stone
The Sphinx stands guard over the Great Pyramids of Giza. Nothing prepares you for the reality. Beware: Nothing can protect you from the aggressive vendors selling everything from scarves, alabaster, baseball caps, shirts, & trinkets. Saying no is only an invitation for them to show you something else. Finally came up with “Bought that,”(which you probably already did.) Best advice look invisible & keep walking. It sounds like Market Street in SF.
Wear2where Fashion in SF
It may not be as exotic as Egypt. But our favorite city has unique shopping opportunities as a result of its cultural diversity. Think Chinatown, North Beach, the Mission…
Wigs Anyone?
Do you need a wig, hair exptensions, 0r hair products? Beauty Supply Warehouse 1440 Fillmore has the most comprehensive hair products imaginable – and trust me it’s a cultural experience in that location.
Need beaded clutches – they look like Judith Leiber – not knock offs – SF designer. “Canton Bazaar” located on Grant Street in Chinatown.
Hand L With Care
Egyptian Headgear to SF Headgear
Bead It!
Perfect for Fillmore Street, Gap T-shirt keeps you cool
Head Lights
Carlos Shoe Service 343 3rd Street SF endures all my shoe challeneges. View Michael Kors Shoes I re-designed, purchased at Jeremy’s 2nd Street SF. Removed platform & lowered heel to a mere 4 inch. Also wearing Row Leggings, long sleeved white turtleneck (Loehman’s) lightweight cashmere sweater (my uniform.) Clearly not as fashion chic as Barbara is looking these days!!!
Shoe Slut for Sure!
Barb, don’t tell me you’re living in the Middle East otherwise this will be us. No plunging V necklines, No backless tops, No mini skirts, No Heels – I’m out!!!