Etsy Playlist: Hunting for Handmade

Leather/Herringbone Ruffled Spats for High Heels. $96

Herringbone Spats with Brass Buttons $92

I am absolutely in love with these made to order spats from Ashes and Empires. Not only are they killer in the style department but they also can vary your shoe wardrobe instantly! These shoe accessories are styled with leather and menswear fabrics such as herringbone but have a feminine touch with ruffles. Each pair is one size with adjustable lacing in the back.

Love Indie Shoe Designer: 80%20

I've been a big fan of 80%20 ever since I met super-cute designer Ce Ce Chin at a shoe show. I started my affair with a pair of hidden wedge booties with fringe (wore them through rain and snow and they're still perfect). Infatuation turned to love when I got my hidden wedge sneakers trimmed in metallic (they made my legs looks svelte in shorts all summer). Now I'm trying to decide on a new pair.

Maybe these hot retro 80's boots (top) or some patent wedge booties to get me through another long NYC winter (bottom).






















Check out how cute Katie White, the lead singer of the Ting Tings, looks in hers. She even tells Elle UK that 80%20 is her favorite shoe designer. (photo, The Independent)

Love the Look: Tell Me About It, Stud...

2007 is the year of the stud. From Spring through Fall, these luxury labels added some edge to their collections by punking up their accessories lines.

Burberry Studded Bag



















Balenciaga Studded Wedge



















Dolce and Gabbana Studded Heels...















...and Spikey Peep Toes



















Christian Louboutin Studded Boot



















Gigi Favela "Sonya" Punkie Studs ($360. in, left to right, white gold, black or turquoise. Limited quantities available. Get yours now at Unsung)

Unsung Debuts: Gigi Favela Shoes

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when Monica Favela George walked into our showroom with a suitcase full of shoes. I know I take the shoe fettish to new heights but, unlike other questionable impulse buys I have made (the militant beret or the faux fur jacket reminiscent of JLo) my shoe purchases are always without regret. I love my shoes; I have an amazing collection--the kind that makes women at the semi-annual Bergdorf's shoe sales stare at my feet helplessly amid their piles of Loubutins and Chloes. So when Monica showed us the samples from her first collection of Gigi Favelas--a collection packed with color, textures and attitide--we were the first to place personal orders. Now they're here directly from Italy, and my addiction is sated for a bit. Quantities are limited, ladies, so get on our email list for a reminder about the Gigi Favela trunk show at Unsung on March 8.

The first pair of Gigi Favelas I acquired: