The time has come, Ped fans, to see what marvels Chie Mihara has whipped up for fall! Everyone’s favorite Spanish sorceress of style has once again designed heels to make you happy in leathers to make everyone look.

So pour yourself an ice tea or a cocktail and prepare to scroll through beauty!

The title of this post is a play on one of Chie Mihara’s most playful leather techniques this season, checkerboard weaving, which looks especially sassy on the new Uptown oxford:

How fun is this lace-up??? We especially like how the caramel leather back and dark brown leather toe complement the Uptown‘s green, cream, and chocolate checked midsection!

Chie takes her checkered ways a little higher and amps up the femininity in the gorgeous Genesis:

Ooh la la, so chic! The leather colors are eye-catching and unusual (that’s a pale sage interwoven with black in the midsection). Even though the heel is a statuesque 3″, you can comfortably wear it all day long because Chie has cleverly hidden a .5″ platform under the toe, bringing the pitch to an easy 2.5″.

The always imaginative Ms. Mihara moves her checkerboard technique in a new direction on the Dalatchi, which weaves together wool and leather:

If ever there was a bootie to stop traffic, this is it! Below the stunning woven shaft, black matte leather adds a luxe element, while the 3″ sculpted wood heel is architecturally interesting. Sister, trust us, the Dalatchi is GO!

But Chie’s checkerboard weave isn’t the only trick she has up her design sleeve this season. Take a gander at the flocked leather on the Jan:

We swoon every time we look at this modern Mary Jane! The flocked leather on the toe, which feels like suede and looks like a mini-cheetah print, is the show stealer, but also adding fuel to the fire are the Jan‘s slightly flared heel and beautifully constructed buckle strap!

Chie Mihara has the deftest touch when it comes to creating understated designs that still let your flair fly, like the Ozana:

Perfect for arguing a case in court or holding court at an art opening, the Ozana‘s luxe grey suede is subtly sexed up by its ankle strap and teeth-like fringe! Sharp and chic!

Another bold detail that’s just right without going over-the-top is the bow on  Chie Mihara’s Zulema boot:

All the lines are lean and clean, allowing the bow to be at once fem and and badass! Zip up the Zulema, and put some girly zing in your step!

But when going over-the-top is exactly what you want, we highly recommend Chie Mihara’s knockout Wiuda:

Holy hot sauce, what a looker! This purplish-brown, croc-embossed leather lace-up, with its flared heel and pointed—yet still comfortable!—toe,  would have been beautiful on its own. But Chie embellishes it with a fringed and pinked-edge black leather flower to send this femme fetale into the stratosphere of gorgeousness! Wow to the Wiuda!

Chie Mihara shoes always make us want to cha-cha out the door and down the street, so everyone can admire our beautiful feet! Believe it or not, there’s even more Chie Mihara loveliness to admire at Ped, so click on through and put  some Spanish spice in your step!

(And don’t forget to snag a bag! This week’s Sweet Treat is the Trippen Carola, which you can get for cool 20% off by clicking “be sweet to your feet” at the bottom of the box on the left of most Ped pages. When you arrive at the Carola with the “Sweet Treat ” designation, all you have to do is add it to your bag to receive the discount automatically at checkout.)

Ped fans, I recently returned from my biannual pilgrimage to New York, Paris, and Milan to attend the shoe shows and catch up with old friends! It’s always a blast to combine shopping for Ped with sightseeing and people-watching—I learn so much from simply walking around these fashion-rich cities!

While I was in New York, my dear friend Kimmy became the most beautiful 50-year-old on the planet! It was fantastic to be able to celebrate with her and several of our longtime friends (including Nicole, who worked for Ped back in its Seattle days).

A collage of the big fun we had at  Kimmy’s birthday party!

Then I was off to Paris!

At the Parisian shoe show, the emphasis was on oiled and brushed leathers, and the big colors were red, grey, navy, forest, and mocha. Metallics were also still running strong, so you can expect a lot of sparkle next fall and winter! As for styles, the must-haves were ankle boots yet again, but they’ve become both sexier and more practical. One of my favorite trends was unusual color combinations—the Chie Mihara designs, in particular, really packed a punch, so get ready!

Of course, we can never get enough of Cydwoq:

So much beauty to look forward to! (By the way, the lovely gal with Rafi and me up top is Margaret, the proprietor of Traipse, a fantastic shoe store in Chicago.)

After hours, it was fun to talk shop over dinner with friends in the biz!

People I’m always happy to see: (l-r) Rafi from Cydwoq, Claudia from Trippen, Louise and Hailey from Gravity Pope, and Michael from Trippen.

After my brief sojourn in France, I flew to Italy for the Milan Micam show, which is one of the biggest shoe shows in Italy.

Booth after beautiful booth of shoes at the Milan Micam show!

While in Milan, Ped’s Fiorentini + Baker representative, Eliza, invited me to her home for a meal! One word: DELICIOUS!

This was just the beginning of our dinner. How come the tomatoes and burrata are so amazing in Italy?

After working two weeks straight without a day off, I finally took some time for myself. Milan is a wonderful place to roam around!

Various sights from my day of Milan meandering.

Then it was back on the plane to fly to home sweet home, Ped HQ!

In addition to lining up gorgeous new styles from all your Ped favorites, I discovered a wonderful new sock line while in Europe! Plus, look for the return of Vialis next fall! Such whirlwind traveling is exhausting, but I love finding things that I know will thrill you Ped fans. So stay tuned, there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Ped fans! Everyone here at Ped HQ hopes your 2014 is off to a fantastic start! Thanks to longtime Ped fan, Peggy R., ours certainly is!

Peggy’s Tale of the Sole is simply beyond wonderful to us—it’s like a giant hug sprinkled with sugar! Here is what she sent:

In 1998, I got my first pair of shoes from Ped, a pair of Giraudon oxfords, and I was immediately hooked on wearing cool shoes! Whenever we were in Seattle, we headed to Pioneer Square to visit Ped and, hopefully, make a purchase. There was just something about wearing great shoes that made me smile and feel so good! Once Dayna opened Ped online, it was hard to pass up the incredible styles. So…. I have a lot of fabulous shoes, handbags, and treasures from Ped!

Peggy’s first catalog from Ped! (We’re so flattered she kept it.)

I decided this fall to document my Ped collection on a daily basis. The challenge was to wear a different pair of shoes or something that I had purchased from Ped for the entire month of December. I called it “The 31 days of Ped.”

The first 12 days of Peggy’s “31 Days of Ped.”

Being a nurse, the workdays were a bit of a challenge—lots of Trippen, a few Cydwoq, and sometimes just my beautiful Antipast socks. Many of my coworkers, as well as patients and their family members, commented on my shoes. I’ve shared Ped with a lot of people!

Days 13-23 of Peggy’s “31 Days of Ped.”

On my off days, it was easier to wear my boots, heels and—thanks to the warm December we had in Sacramento—even a few of my sandals. And every day I smiled!

The final eight days of Peggy’s “31 Days of Ped.”

Dayna and I have had many conversations on the phone over the years. She knows what styles I’ll like and what shoes will fit my feet. I appreciate Ped’s quality and the incredible customer service—but mostly, I like knowing where to get the most fabulous shoes! Dayna has said to me, “Fashion starts with the feet.” And I believe it’s true! Thanks Ped for making me smile!

Oh, Peggy!!! Your smile can’t be any brighter than ours after reading your Tale of the Sole! THANK YOU for starting our new year off with a big burst of Ped love!

We’re delighted to give Peggy $100 in Ped credit as a small token of our HUGE appreciation!

Do you have a Tale of the Sole? Tell us—and show us (we LOVE pictures!!!)—what happened to you while wearing something from Ped, and you, too, might be the recipient of $100 in Ped credit. We’d love to share your sole-ful story on the blog, so let us know what in the world you’ve been doing in your Ped!

Ped fans, we have been thinking about how lucky we are to have you! Without you, there would be no Ped.

To show our appreciation, we invite you to use the code “Thanks!” to get 15% off on all full-price goods through Monday, Dec. 2!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is currently enjoying a splendid holiday weekend!

Brrrr! Ped fans, in the ominous words of Game of Thrones, “Winter is coming.”

But you know what? Now that we’ve added the beautiful Scottish woollies of Ben Alder to Ped’s lineup, we’re looking forward to chilly days! 

Named for the highest mountain in the Scottish Highlands, Ben Alder began in 1991, when Sergio Beccuti, an italian knitwear designer fascinated by all things Scots, decided to travel through the villages of Scotland in search of ways to combine his Italian taste in fashion with the native Scottish colors, patterns, and smells he’d come to love. His goal was and still is to work with traditional looms and small factories, and to knit goods using only the purest new wool.

When we discovered Ben Alder at the Paris Accessories Show last year, we fell madly in love with the quality of the virgin wool and the zesty striped patterns. It takes a lot to turn our heads (our standards are high—probably even higher than Ben Alder’s namesake!), so you know these scarves and gloves are truly something special! 

So get your stripes on for the frosty days ahead! The weather outside is frightful delightful!