Your friends at Ped wish you and your loved ones joy and peace through the Holidays and into the New Year!!!!!! CELEBRATE!
(And just in case you missed it, through December 25, use code “Twinkle 10” at checkout to receive 20% off any full-price item.)
As you Ped fans know, we’re always on the lookout for new shoes and treasures to add to the Ped family. But our standards are almost impossibly high. Our checklist includes ethical and environmentally responsible production, exquisite craftsmanship (preferably by hand), first-rate materials, unusual design, style for miles, and comfort!
Which is why we are beside ourselves with joy to welcome Vialis into the Ped house!
Founded in Barcelona in 1996, Vialis (pronounced Vee-alis) quickly became known throughout Europe for beautifully made shoes designed to meet the demands of modern stylish women. Vialis’s shoe salons in Spain and France became shopping destinations, and in 2004, the company introduced their shoes to the global market. Opening eyes with unmistakable Spanish flair, every Vialis style is constructed from carefully selected leathers and other materials, meticulously put together by hand to create a show that feels just as spectacular as it looks!
Take a gander and you’ll see why we’re wowed!
Since our previous blog post was all about oxfords, let’s start with Vialis’s unconventional take on the classic:
Wow! The Mila shoe is simply the coolest thing going! So urban and edgy, its design suggests an oxford but foregoes the laces. You can tell how supple the leather is simply by looking at the picture (it’s that buttery)!
Moving on to our other must-have style of the season, Vialis puts an equally interesting spin on the ankle boot. First up, the Rambla:
So many things to like: the wooden heel, the exposed nail heads so perfectly placed, the folded-over cuff, and the double-D ring brass buckle in back (which you don’t even have to undo because Vialis has cleverly hidden elastic inserts to let you slip in and out of this bootie in a flash)! Color us enamored!
Perhaps your black bootie quota is filled, and you’re looking for a brown number instead. Then drink in the Guell:
Of course, we love the hand-cut wooden heel, but our favorite design element is the double-layer cuff /collar of this lace-up beauty. You have the option of wearing it down and letting the interior suede show or wearing it up, so it curves around the back of your ankle just so. Either way, people are going to want to steal the boots off your feet! (Don’t fall asleep on the train.)
Perhaps you’ve noticed at Ped HQ we’ve recently developed a thing for blue leather. We can’t get enough, and Vialis is happy to fuel our new passion with the Marcella bootie:
The acme of chicness! The combination of seaming and grosgrain piping gives this minimal boot maximal style! And, needless to say, the blue color is to die for.
Taking things a little taller, Vialis has created one of our favorite mid-calf boots ever:
The way Vialis combines a rich brown leather front with a caramel suede back in the Barceloneta Boot is so eye-opening! Ped’s Laura is beside herself with love for this wood-heeled beauty!
But we’ve saved Vialis’s most innovative design for last! Behold the totally rockin’ Fontana Boot:
Sure, it’s a gorgeous boot that’s ideal for chilly days with a faux shearling-lined suede shaft, but you can whip that off by unsnapping it from the bottom and wear the stylish clog-like shoe on its own! In a word, FABULOUS!!!! We love, we love.
The Spaniards certainly know a thing or two about making artistic shoes that are wonderfully feminine and utterly wearable (witness our other Spanish lines, Argila and Chie Mihara), but Vialis has put its distinctive stamp on Spanish style. We’re thrilled to add their winning personality to the Ped lineup!
Sure, ankle boots are all the rage this season (and Ped has some of the best), but the knee-high boot’s lock on style is still solid! A tall boot always adds extra “oomph” to whatever you’re wearing. At Ped, whenever one of us is scratching her head (Terry is exempt from this) about what would look great with a particular outfit, nine times out of 10, the answer is a full-height boot. Effortless but full of impact, tall boots instantly amp up everything, including our positive attitudes!
Here are a few of the to-the-knee (and over) lovelies currently enlivening the Ped house.
Our arty new line from Israel, Couple Of, has one of the coolest boots at the party:
This Elon embodies everything Couple Of does so well: a clean design with a few key details that escalate the interest, all packaged in a meticulously crafted boot that’s as wonderful to wear as it is to see. We love the faux split spat with its topstitched detailing. So cool! Plus, the washed leather and the discreet elastic insert on the inside of the calf make this boot easy on the leg.
If you like your boot to shout a little louder, then take a listen to Cydwoq’s Alpha!
Get down with your bad self—how kickass is this boot? We’re down for the count over how the six nickel silver buckles complement the marbled black leather of this knockout. And word to the wise: adjust the buckles to get an ideal fit for your calf, and then use the inside zipper to whiz in and out of this boot in a flash. (By the way, I bought this one for myself, and I’m going to rock it on the streets of Paris later this week!)
Perhaps you appreciate the take-no-prisoners style of the Alpha, but you want something a little more feminine with a heel. Presented for your approval, the Cydwoq Vintage Kappa:
Be still our boot-loving hearts, this one is over the top! The color—unbelievably beautiful! The design (especially the back)—drop-dead gorgeous! And because the Kappa is from Cydwoq, its heel is placed in the sweet spot directly under your weight for maximum stability and comfort. So much to savor!
On the other hand, there’s a place in every closet for a simple black boot with a sophisticated heel. This season, Coclico’s got just the ticket:
The Niben boot may be minimal, but it’s far from plain! The design is ultra clean, and the stained wooden heel and platform sole give this buffalo leather boot just the right kick. This is a boot to work many ways on any number of occasions, and you’ll always know you look spectacular!
Some of you Ped fans, though, enjoy the high drama, so we’ve saved our true boot diva for last: Fiorentini + Baker’s Beck boot!
Yes, applause, please! What a boot! This gorgeous black number looks terrific cuffed and laced behind your knee, BUT you also have the option of unlacing the back and unfolding the top to create a true over-the-knee boot! So saucy! And so beautifully crafted because it’s from F+B, the Italian wizards of boot-making!
As always, there are many more tall boots to choose from at the main Ped site. So, go get high—it’s perfectly legal!
(Although it’s not up to your knee, this week’s “Sweet Treat” is still delectable! Get 20% off Argila’s Josephine Boot by clicking “be sweet to your feet” in the top right corner of any Ped page, which will magically take you to the Josephine and the sought-after discount code! Laceless is riveting!)
August’s winning Tale of the Sole is a story we’ve heard many times, but we never ever get tired of hearing it! With each retelling, the details and locations change, but the happy ending stays the same. In this version, the cast of characters includes longtime Seattle Ped customer—and all-around great gal—Liesbeth R. and Fiorentini + Baker’s Paula boot. Here is what Liesbeth wrote us:
I ordered on Monday, and the shoes were here by Wednesday. Unbelievable! The boots smelled gorgeous opening the box. Outstanding! Amazing color and perfect fit. I can’t stand it! This is one my all-time favorite shoe moments I have had and I, like your other fans, have had many shoe moments.
Liesbeth rocking the F+B Paula against the Seattle skyline!
I’ve been a customer since you opened the Seattle store, and I believe all of my treasured purchases from Ped are still happily in my wardrobe rotation, although my other shoes might be eclipsed by these awesome F&B’s. I’ve been looking for my perfect short boots for a few years and finally found them from Ped! Seattle summers as you remember are short and sweet, but I always get over the short part because when the cool marine air returns, out come all the boots. 🙂
Liesbeth looking smashing in her Paula boots, as photographed by her 12-year-old niece, Andrea (who clearly has a career in fashion photography)!
Thank you so, so, so much for giving me some Fiorentini & Baker insanity this week. I am one happy, rockstar boot-wearing customer. Thanks for all the shoe love!
You are more than welcome, Liesbeth. The feeling is mutual! F+B’s Paula may have made Liesbeth’sweek, but her story made our whole month! To thank her, we’re giving her $100 in Ped credit!
Do you have a Tale of the Sole? Tell us—and show us (we LOVE pictures!!!)—what happened to you while wearing a Ped item, and you, too, might be the recipient of $100 in Ped credit. Each month we pick the most sole-ful tale to share on the blog. So, let us know what in the world you’ve been doing in your Ped!
(By the way, the “Sweet Treat” this week is Cydwoq’s wonderful Tourist! Get 20% off this easygoing sweetheart by clicking “be sweet to your feet” in the top right corner of any Ped page, which will magically take you to the Tourist, where you will find the discount code! So, save a little money, lace up the Tourist, go off on an adventure, and then tell us all about it!)
Get ready for a fun fall, Ped fans! On my European buying trip last spring, I found several new lines to add to the Ped family, all absolutely beautiful! The first to arrive in the warehouse: Couple Of!
Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Couple Of is the creative collaboration of designers Shelly and Elon, who are not only work partners but also life partners (given Terry’s and my relationship, I love that). They decided to call their company “Couple Of” as a play on the term “one-off,” which indicates a unique work of uncommon beauty.
Unique and uncommonly beautiful? Couple Of’s shoes definitely are! Using exquisite leathers, Shelly and Elon attend to every detail of their shoe designs, committed to crafting thoroughly wearable works of art. Their styles have an eye-opening irreverence that never goes too far—just enough to have every eye on the street glued to your feet with envy!
See for yourself! Here’s the Couple Of shoe that first caught my attention:
Where did I see it? On Shelly’s feet when I walked into Couple Of’s booth at the shoe show! Aptly called the Shelly Oxford, it blew my mind (and as someone who sees a lot of shoes, that’s no easy feat)! Couple Of has taken a beautifully made, classic lace-up and cut around the natural leather outsole to create an arc over the toe and a slight dip behind the heel. SO COOL!!!! I was sold!
Did you also notice the red insole? Couple Of has a particular way with red! Often their designs have a carmine lining, but now and then they take it outside, as with the stunning Lily Slip On:
We adore a red heel, but this one goes above and beyond with its perfectly placed three-dimensional petals! So flirty!
Another great thing about Couple Of is how they pay attention not only to giving the toe some sass but also the heel! In their shoes, you give your fans something to look at coming and going. Case in point: The Ava Oxford.
How cool is the minutely folded leather on the toe? Well, it also accents the 2.25″ heel! Such unusual detailing is what sets this brown lace-up apart from every other oxford on the street!
For another example of how Couple Of makes the most of well-edited accents, get an eyeful of the Derbi Oxford:
Couple Of has created a wonderful interpretation of the traditional menswear oxford and punched it up by adding a simple strap over the toe—stitched at the center for added interest—and a slightly flared heel piece (notice how those upward lines at the heel reflect the downward lines at the base of the toe strap). Suddenly, this shoe is something to talk about! Plus, the Derbi’s red lining flashes at the edges in the most eye-catching way.
Couple Of has also put their unique stamp on the ankle boot/shootie trend that’s all the rage this season:
The Hannah Shootie is ultra-modern and über-sexy. We love how the masculine black straps cinch in the super-soft feminine taupe leather! As usual, Couple Of’s clean design aesthetic is the key to this knockout toe-bearing and heel-flashing style.
Ped is the first U.S. boutique to carry Couple Of’s fabulous designs, so when you slip on any of these comfortable stunners, you’re guaranteed to be a one-off in your style!
(Psst, if you haven’t checked it out, the “sweet treat” this week is Chie Mihara’s gorgeous Rocosa heeled sandal. You still have a couple days left to snag it at 20% off by clicking “be sweet to your feet” in the upper corner of any Ped page to reach the magic discount code.)
