how i found my shoes or: the benefit of having (half) asian feet

Choo-choo! These are not my shoes.


SPRING HAS SPRUNG, friends! There was so much hair tossing today because I am so joyful. I think my new pals on the subway really appreciated that.

The other exciting development here at JGM headquarters is that this bride-to-be has found her glass slippers. Obviously I shall make you wait until after the big day to share photos, but I will regale you with the fate that brought me and my heels together.

Are you hair-tossing from excitement yet?!

Ok.

My mother has been instructing me to buy wedding shoes for the past few months now, so that I have ample time to break them in, which is definitely good advice that I hadn't really been heeding. I'd gone to a few department stores (Bergdorf's, Saks: which has its own ZIP CODE for its shoe department) and boutiques (Choo, Louboutin), but really hadn't found anything that I felt like I could wear again. Look: if I'm gonna be dropping multiple Lincolns on a pair of heels, I want to wear them more than once. You can see my preliminary musings on the subject here.

As somewhat of a last ditch stop, I popped into Kleinfeld a few weeks ago to check out their shoe section. Fellow brides-to-be may not know this, but they actually have a pretty great selection of bridal shoes downstairs in the accessory department. Their costume jewelry and handbag collection is also nothing to sneeze at.

Now, at this point I figured I had seen every single shoe that may qualify as bridal, but, friends, I was mistaken. There, on highest shelf, were a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choos (I'll tell you that much) that seemed pretty much custom-made for my dress. But. They looked expensive.

I pulled down the sample pair and squinted through one eye at the price. What did I see? A big red sticker that said FINAL SALE. Another big red sticker that said LAST PAIR. And wouldn't you know, they fit my tiny, half-Filipino feet. I thought about the purchase for about 30 seconds and then pulled the trigger.

If we're being honest, are they the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever bought? No. And the heel is quite skinny, meaning when I stepped on carpet for the first time I looked very similar to Catherine O'Hara in that scene from Best In Show. But I've already foam-padded the inside of the straps (I'm partial to Foot Petals Strappy Strips) and am practicing walking in them around my apartment, so I'm hopeful by the big day I'll be struttin' like Victoria Beckham.

To be honest? They're gorgeous and if they really start to hurt, I'll go barefoot or bring another pair of heels that's an equal height. This is simply one of those scenarios where I just don't care. They are perfect.