Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Yellow Suede

In May, I bought a pair of sandals on a whim. It was the first nice day in what seemed like 3 years. I was taking a vacation day. The sandals were blue and architectural. And sexy. But it was not meant to be.

Everytime I tried them on (with the objective to wear them that day), I noted signs of the discomfort I was sure to feel within 10 minutes of walking. The shoes looked great - but they were slightly pinch-y in the (peep-hole) toe-box. The inside sole was a mildly textured, which was annoying. The sandals zipped up the back and I sensed the back closure was going to give, or not, and I wasn't willing to take the chance.

The thing is, 99.99% of the time, I'm excellent at returning things as soon as I've decided an item is not for me. But, between jury duty and work being crazy and near constant rain and headaches... well, I didn't get around to it.

Five weeks went by. To its credit, the boutique gave me the opportunity to exchange the shoes for another pair of the same price or higher. (I'd missed the return and credit milestones by quite a bit.) I tried on every pair of sandals in the store. I knew my window of redemption had all but closed and I wasn't prepared to be saddled with a pair of uncomfortable sandals I'd rarely wear.

In an irony, the day I came in for the exchange, every shoe in the place was on sale for 25% off. Now the blue sandals hadn't been cheap. To find another pair of the same value at 25% off was impossible.

Balisi, the shop, did let me use the extra towards a surprisingly practical travel bag:

Co Lab Gillian Crossover
(Just to switch gears for 3 seconds, this bag is made of indestructible PVC but it looks entirely like leather. It is the perfect size and shape for wandering around on vacation. My other travel bag, by M0851, is great but too small for my huge sunglasses case (which I cannot be without in this era of light sensitivity).  This bag has numerous little compartments making it optimal for travel. The price is also right. I can't say I love fake leather, but sometimes it has its place - like when one has to store things on the floor in the train or trudge through an absurd, shorts-soaking rain deluge (ugh) while walking up the mountain in Mtl. Sometimes, it's really nice not to have to care about the state of one's bag.)

Anyway, back to the sandals. There were few pairs remaining for me to try in my size, what with everything having gone on sale for 25% off.

I finally decided on these (the only pair I could get with stylistically that was also comfortable - and, let me tell you, comfortable they are!):

Zinda 8544 Ante Mango
They're still on sale at Balisi (where I bought them and which also has an online shop).

The soles are leather (they're made in Spain using that insanely soft suede and leather that feels like clouds). Of course, suede sandals are the epitome of stupid - especially in Toronto, since the weather's gone all UK on our asses these past few years - but really, they were the only choice short of forfeiting 200 bucks.

I can't say that yellow and brown shoes are my go-to colour scheme, but these are a) SO comfortable, b) so neutral, when you get right down to it and c) of the perfect height to be sexy without being trashy (or uncomfortable). They fit my foot perfectly - which makes any shoe look that much more attractive.

This is one of those purchases I would never have made, had circumstances not dictated, but I'm actually really happy with the outcome. Admittedly, the shoe is not dainty. (It's not as clumsy as it looks in the photo, however.) It's only wearable in certain weather. But it's walkable for miles and it gives one very nice calves. It looks great with jeans (skinny or trouser) and equally good with a denim skirt or shorts. The yellow may stand out (if you wear white) or recede into the background. The shape is retro, which is to say it actually looks like a shoe from the 70s, not like some reproduction designed to appeal to women who completely missed that decade. And, did I mention that they're comfortable?

So, today's questions: Have you ever had a purchase moment like this, wherein a particular item would not have been your first choice but it grows on you despite that? Have you tried Zinda shoes and can you tell us anything about the brand? Would you ever wear yellow shoes? Let's talk.

18 comments:

  1. I think they're beautiful! I would have bought them! And yes - I have a few pair of yellow shoes!

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    1. Thanks G! Why am I not surprised. They'd match your leopard nails!

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  2. sure, can talk about yellow shoes.

    No, I would never wear yellow shoes... not right now, anyway! Only because I'm a late bloomer when it comes to wearing colors in accessories even though I loved red all my life. It's got much better now but ask me in 5 yrs and I might surprise you with a picture of sunny yellow shoes!

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  3. I've just bought two pairs of very similar shaped shoes (with an added t-bar) and they are just soooo comfortable. I also get the same 70s vibe from them, in a good way :) (Clarks Popple Jive sandal for anyone remotely interested.)

    (Sorry if this appears twice.)

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    1. I have to check those out. I do love a good 70s vibe - an authentic one...

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  4. On of my most favourite pairs of shoes ever were bright sunshine-yellow leather Hush Puppies flats. I'm now wondering what happened to them, because they were comfortable, looked great with dark jeans (my go to) and, being Hush Puppies, will probably last forever.

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    1. How do shoes disappear like that?! It's like they walk away.

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  5. yellow is typicallly not my go-to color, but the yellow-ish shorts i made a while back i wear all the time! they go with everything, as, i imagine, your yellow shoes would. it's probably because nothing else i own is that color that it works so well! love it when impulse choices end up being so practical.

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    1. It's hilarious when we start to think of yellow as a neutral. Oh, at this point, jewel green is a neutral for me.

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  6. Some days it feels like my best go-to wardrobe items are things that I purchased on a whim. Not, of course, that all whims end up being go-to insanely wearable items - that would be way too grand. Just that when I try to plan a go-to wearable purchase I fail, and when I give in to impulse sometimes I am rewarded. Overall I find this much more frustrating than anything else.

    As a fussy footed (and legs and knees and hips) person I'm chagrined that you described those very cute shoes as not-dainty. Goodness what you must think of some of my shoes if you saw them.

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    1. I know! Sometimes, a strange buy can set you on a new style path. And please don't be chagrined! :-) I'm one of those peeps who gravitates towards delicate shoes.

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  7. Love the yellow sandals! And totally amused by the rationalizations. . . . ;-)

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    1. I don't know what you're talking about :-)

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  8. I love yellow shoes, particularly because with my coloring (blond, pale-ish) I don't look great with yellow next to my face so I rarely get to wear it. Bright shoes in general are great, in my opinion!

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  9. "since the weather's gone all UK on our asses these past few years" made me giggle. It's about 28-30 degrees here today, but you know it'll be hooking down with rain again in two weeks. Sigh.
    Very, very pretty sandals, though.

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    1. Oh, I know it'll change. It's due for that here too... :-)

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