…Because we care deeply for how you show your true (patriotic) colors, here’s a shoe for you for this 4th of July:

Christian Lacroix wicker platform wedge with rope ankle wrap, now on sale for $210 at Zappos. Ok, their French origin may make them a tad less patriotic, but I think the sale price compensates, n’est ce pas? Um, I mean, don’t you?

PS: Many thanks to our co-blogger Jitterbugbaby for suggesting the title of this post!

Or Elegandom, if you want. Whatever! Here’s Elie Saab (left) and Valentino (right):

Gray, elegant, shiny, no doubt gorgeous. But also a little…bored. Kinda…done. Don’t get me wrong, I would admire these shoes on someone else (not on myself, I couldn’t walk in these)–but I probably wouldn’t call them revolutionary. But yeah, yeah, they’re nice.

The feeling of recycled intensifies with the Jean-Paul Gaultier collection: sort of sassy, but a sass that has been done before and we know too well: shiny croc prints and buckles, ribbon-tied open-toed oxfords, neon-tights with strappy sandals:

Not terrible, no, noooo. But neither beautiful nor exciting, in my opinion. I think I’ll wait this round. Next, please!

Today’s Fall 08 couture shows included red carpet faves Chanel, Christian Lacroix, and Givenchy.

What did they bring us?

The Chanel show was a beautifully structured collection in shades of gray, black, and white. I’m not always a huge Karl Lagerfeld fan, but this particular blending of classic Chanel styling (sportswear, suiting, etc) and daring silhouettes hit me just right.

The shoes were variations on this one (and by variations, I mean differing shades of grey, black, and white to match the outfits):

Classic, elegant, with a slightly quirky heel. Not the most fantabulous, but nice.

Fantabulousness was brought full on at the Christian Lacroix show, where the maestro (or perhaps I should say matre) offered up a wild riot of fabric and color and pattern that includes a whole bunch of dresses and shoes that look like they’ve come out of a Velazquez painting.

The shoes definitely belong on royal feet. Dare I say they remind me of some of our previously posted Friday Shoe History Corner fashions? I do. I do dare. Plus, the array of excellent tights was fun to see. I’m coveting this red and white pair in particular.

And that leaves us the Givenchy show, which fell somewhere in between Chanel and Lacroix as far as color and pattern, and frankly has the least attractive clothes, in my opinion. But as you know, I’m a sucker for shoe accessories and for spats, and a whole slew of the Givenchy models had these fabulous gaiters/legwarmers going on. I would love me a pair of them. Except not those crazy stiped ones, please. In fact, that whole outfit makes me slightly dizzy.

If you haven’t already, this is your final chance to enter to win a $100 gift certificate to the WeddingPaperDivas or TinyPrints stationary websites. Incidentally, based on the number of entries so far, you’ve got a pretty good chance of winning. The odds aren’t quite as good as say, flipping a coin and having it land on the heads side, but you get my drift.

Think you don’t have any special occasions to use good paper? How about these suggestions.

According to the US census, the average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime. Make sure that your friends don’t lose your contact info in between all those moves.

Everyone has a birthday once a year right?

And we all love to give gifts.

Even though it might be too late to redeem a $100 gift certificate for the upcoming 4th of July party, eventually you’ll have another party at your house, right?

To enter, simply leave a comment on the original blog post by midnight tonight.

Authentic Shops:


Designer Shoes at Zappos.com

Charlize Theron is one of those actresses who seems to have a complete package. She’s definitely talented (I could barely recognize her in the role of a sympathetic serial killer in Monster), benevolent, looks like a super model, is dating the handsome Stuart Townsend, AND recent shots of her in various countries promoting the movie Hancock shows that she has great taste in shoes.

To wit, let’s start off Charlize’s shoe fashion bonanza at this week’s Hollywood premiere of Hancock. I love that she’s forgoes stilettos and paired the soft dress with romantic Giuseppe Zanotti sandals.

I couldn’t find the exact shoes online, but Zappos does have a similar Giuseppe Zanotti version with the same stone color available as a slide for $699.

If you prefer the same Zanotti style but not the color, it’s available at Zappos in white stone for $599.

Still another slightly cheaper option (though not by much) is the pink Giuseppe Zanotti t-strap, on sale at Endless in pink stone for $455. I would have preferred Charlize have worn either the white or pink colors with the light seafoam colored dress as there is less of a contrast in colors, but nonetheless I’ve still pretty satisfied.

And going further back to earlier premieres of Hancock, Charlize Theron glams it up at the German premiere wearing a black Christian Lacriox dress and Dior ankle booties, currently selling at Eluxury for $880.

Charlize Theron wearing Givenchy Gladiator ankle booties; Available at ShopBop for $995

Keeping with the current trend of ethnic and tribal prints, Charlize is wearing the Sigerson Morrison toe sandal (on sale for $315) and is accompanied by that scrumptious boyfriend, Stuart Townsend.

Charlize in a Balenciaga dress and black Louboutins ($540 at Saks). It might be the angle of the photo, but that’s some foot arch!

And finally, Charlize in a white Dior dress and beautiful bejeweled peep-toe animal print slingbacks (whew, say that all in one breathe). Shoe designer unknown…any ideas? At first, the animal print made me think Roberto Cavalli but the heel tip doesn’t seem to fit.

Photos from Celebutopia.net and TheFashionSpot