cheap shoes

I know everyone was very disappointed about my recent shoe experience. (If everyone equals five of you.) I'm not going to say much about it - I ordered shoes from a company that I perceived to be young and exciting (see? already saying too much). The shoes looked adorable on the website but ordering was difficult: fall in love with a pair of shoes, realize they are not available, repeat this several times and then read that they are sold out...I finally received a pair that did not fit me well and did not appear to be well made. That second bit would not have put me off as they were inexpensive and one cannot expect too much from cheap shoes. But that first part, the not fitting properly, was a deal breaker. The toe box was cramped and the heel slid off my foot with every step. I don't know about you but I don't go off to purchase "heel savers" and the like for shoes that cost slightly more than a pair of jeans.
You know the rest, I think, I asked to return them, the company pointed out that they don't accept returns, I explained that I didn't think that was a good way to do business nowadays and they relented. For all I know they may be lovely people who are doing their best to start a business in a tough economy - but I'd say they have inventory and quality issues and they've gotten some nice press attention so I hope they can work those things out. (This sounds very condescending of me but, believe me, I would much rather purchase goods from small companies.)

In the meantime, I feel it is my duty to provide you with an alternative (cheap) shoe company.
Widely available (Solestruck has free shipping worldwide!), very hip, comfortable and inexpensive, Jeffrey Campbell shoes are my new favorites.



Priced at $49.99 I could learn to make blue suede a neutral!



I love anything tied at the ankle! (Did that come out funny?)



Grey is very chic.



My husband is rolling his eyes, but I love them...



He wouldn't roll his eyes at these in quite the same way.

A word of advice: google the style you like and shop around. I've seen Mr. Campbell's shoes priced at $49 and $69 and $129. There are deals to be had. And, it would appear, that the line changes frequently, so, if you miss out on a style you liked, hang on for a couple of weeks and see what's new. Shoes do tend to sell out quickly at the Urban Outfitters and Free People sites. (Did you know you can order shoes at these sites and return them in the stores? Very handy.)

Finally, for those of you who have second thoughts about ordering shoes on line, I would encourage you to try it. Order two sizes if you aren't sure about fit and send one back. If a site offers free shipping you aren't spending much more time and money to return what you don't like than you would if you were driving around to purchase shoes like this. And that's the kicker (if you will) about shoes like these: I'm not seeing them in stores.

So! There you have it. Inexpensive, attractive, easily available.
I think Jeffrey should have sent me a pair as a thank you, don't you?