Ped fans, we are loving the current emphasis on COLOR—all the new shoe hues have the Ped warehouse looking bright and lively! It’s amazing how an infusion of color makes the daily grind less grind-like and more like a party.

Quite a few of you, though, are mystified by how to work the new shades into your wardrobe. It’s easier than you think! You simply need  to realize things don’t have to match as long as they “go.” In fact, matching too precisely can make an outfit look “twee,” as the British say. (Laura says a friend of hers calls it the “flight attendant look.”)

You’ve also told us you worry that you’ll only wear colorful shoes once in a while, with one specific thing. To demonstrate the versatility of some of our more show-stopping shoes, we’ve incorporated them into not one but two outfits, often quite different in tone and purpose, to help spark your imagination. Let’s take a tour, and along the way, we’ll offer a few colorful tips.

First up, the Trippen Calexico:

This fun boot offers a lot more options than simply wearing it with jeans! We love the Calexico with the easy day look on the left, but it can even go after-five when paired with the dress on the right. We’ve also included Jamie Joseph’s Round Rock Crystal Ring since it looks stellar with the white in both the top and the dress.

Another shoe that’s more than simply casual is the Cydwoq Lodge:

Sure, it’s great for weekend apple-picking in the outfit on the left, but look at the chic edge the Lodge gives the argyle sheath dress on the right! The Cydwoq Bright Bag also easily transitions from brunch casual to workweek sleek. OD-ing on all that red? Simply add the Epice Plaza Scarf to change the flavor!

Perhaps your personal style trends toward conservative, and although you like to browse at Ped, you can’t imagine how you’d incorporate a colorful style into your wardrobe. The answer is to let a shoe, like the Cydwoq Larkspur, punctuate your outfit, like a great piece of jewelry.

What a way to jazz up a suit!

Chie Mihara’s Tunisia is a shoe that immediately produces oohs and aahs, but the unusual color and patterned heel mistakenly lead people to think it might be hard to pair.

The key is not to worry about matching the color and instead simply let it “go.” The Tunisia‘s checkerboard heel echoes the black and white photo on the dress on the left and complements the variety of patterns in the skirt on the right. Since the shoe and clothes are doing the heavy lifting style-wise, it’s nice to go with a simple bag, like the Cydwoq Bright.

Sometimes it’s not just the color but also the cut that gives Ped fans pause when they think about how to wear a design. Case in point, the Trippen Drama boot:

A couple options: 1) contrast the Drama‘s fabulous flared top with simple straight lines up top, such as wearing it with a pencil skirt and streamlined top; or 2) let its shape play up the lines and movement of a flirty A-line dress. We tossed in Jamie Joseph’s round carnelian ring for a little extra red zing!

If you approach dressing with a sense of adventure, it won’t matter an iota if you don’t own anything blue to wear with the Trippen Tender:

When you want to reference the color of your shoe, accessories can work that magic. We like the contrast of the floral of the skirt on the left with Epice’s Baya Scarf, which includes a periwinkle color that calls out to, but doesn’t match the blue of the Tender. On the right, it’s fun to mix the squares of the dress with the circles on the Epice Los Lunares Scarf.

Finally, let’s consider  Chie Mihara’s Kalendu, which is simply too juicy to miss!

You don’t have to go be a girly girl to take advantage of its delicious greenness! The Kalendu adds such fun to the workweek look on the left (again without actually matching any of the colors in the sweater) and is utterly chic with the casual jeans and top on the right. We also like Cydwoq’s Bright Bag and Jamie Joseph’s Organic Circle Earrings with both outfits.

As you’ve probably noticed, many of the shoes above work equally well with outfits paired with other shoes. We hope these ideas bolster your confidence that colorful shoes truly can be your constant companions and not just once-in-a-blue-moon friends! Life is so much more fun in color!

(Psst, you only have a few more days to snap up this week’s Sweet Treat, the Trippen Yard. Simply click “be sweet to your feet” at the bottom of the box on the left of most Ped pages to reach the Yard with the code that will bring 20% off at checkout.)

Ped fans, we know how it is. You fall in love with a pair of rockin’ shoes, sandals, or boots, but then you resist their siren call because you can’t envision what you’d wear them with—and who wants to spend money on something that’s lovely yet languishes in the closet?

Don’t despair, we’re here to help! Below, you’ll find ideas for how to wear several of our bolder designs this season. With luck, these outfits will jump-start your own creativity, and before you know it your imagination will be off and running with ways your sole desire would work with your wardrobe.

Not surprisingly, one of the most whimsical styles this season comes from Chie Mihara! Her Ingra is the essence of  “summer,” but its color palette may seem challenging at first glance. It’s actually more adaptable than you might think. Here’s one way we’d love to wear it:

This easy-going dress from Cotélac falls just above the knee, with a hint of a drop waist and a dash of 1920s pizazz, which works perfectly with the Ingra’s oxford sensibility. We’ve added Sophie Digard’s Etoiles necklace for added flapper-esque flair. Nothing here matches per se, but it all “goes” in a wonderful way! Sunday brunch, anyone?

Another Chie Mihara shoe that we adore is the Obara, with its mix of textures and colors. Don’t underestimate its versatility:

The lovely Accessoire Babeth is perfect for a night on the town, but it plays equally well as a casual day shoe:

We love the look of a wedge platform with cropped trousers—it’s the ideal antidote to frumpiness! We’re also all for mixing patterns! Combining Epice’s striped Montauk Scarf with the abstract floral of the Cotélac top creates a visual party that will have people smiling everywhere you go.

As every Ped fan knows, we advocate boots all year long, but we realize some people think boots and sundresses look a bit jeune. But they don’t have to, as illustrated by this use of Fiorentini + Baker’s Nicky Boot:

This is how to go retro-mod while still looking sexy and modern! The clean and bold lines of Cydwoq’s Bright Bag work beautifully with the dress and booties—three easy pieces for day-tripping in the city of your choice!

If your penchant for vintage runs to an earlier era, check out this idea for showing off the Vialis Zarita:

Red will always turn heads, especially when you look like a 1940s Hollywood starlet! (By the way, read this study of just how persuasive wearing red can be.) Just for fun, we’ve pushed the red envelope with Jamie Joseph’s knockout Round Carnelian Ring!

See? When you open your mind to the possibilities, every pair of Ped shoes becomes infinitely wearable! (Otherwise, we wouldn’t carry it.) The whole idea is to have fun with what you wear! Go forth and be bold with your soles!

There was a time last century when fashionable young ladies regularly enrolled in charm schools to polish their manners and feminine style. Lessons included walking in heels while balancing a book on one’s head to improve posture. Fun (not).

Fortunately, today we women determine our own style and are more concerned with balancing the books of our companies than balancing books on our heads. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up girliness if that’s what your heart desires. Chie Mihara is here to school you, and every one of her shoes provides a lesson in the three F’s: femininity, functionality, and fun!

Slip on a pair of Chie Mihara shoes, and you’ll instantly become a Chie charm school graduate! Here are a few of the colorful courses she’s offering this spring at Ped:

When it comes to charm, nothing’s more charming than a classic mary jane. Chie Mihara gives the m.j. a modern spin with the new Onna:

You have to love how Chie takes a neutral—the Onna‘s sesame body and platinum trim work with everything—and makes it anything but middle-of-the-road! Dig the wooden heel!

Another “lady” shoe that gets the Chie Mihara treatment this season is the timeless spectator pump. Behold the fantastic Zelia:

Everything from the stacked heel to the leather’s perforated edges to the ridged rubber outsole is so well thought out! And the cream and tomato red color combo is to die for!

Red also amps up the charm of Chie Mihara’s Joelia heeled sandal:

The playful houndstooth-patterned leather and the oversized patent rose on the toe offer a wink and a nudge to more conservative styles in a way that’s sexy, artistic, and wearable!

Want even more whimsy? Then consider lacing up the new Chie Mihara Bandera:

Ped fans know a beautiful green shoe always makes me sit up and take notice! Needless to say, the Bandera has my full attention. A checkerboard heel? Chie at her very best!

Love oxfords but prefer yours with a lower heel (but no less style)? Then feast your eyes on the spectacular Chie Mihara Isias:

How cool is that color combo? Everyone at Ped HQ is crazy about the braided-leather detail that Chie introduced this winter, and wow, does it ever look fantastic on the Isias for spring! (If rosy colors are not your thing, you might prefer the black, cream, tan, and gold version.)

“Fine,” you may say, “but what I really dream of is an oxford that’s more open-air.” Well, Chie fulfills your wish with the fresh-as-can-be Ingra:

Wearing this breezy lace-up is guaranteed to lift your spirits—and brighten the day of everyone who sees you! Imagine how cute the Ingra would look with a pair of skinny ankle-length pants!

To give your winter-weary feet a true taste of the sun, though, we suggest you buckle up the Chie Mihara Present:

Talk about charming! The stylized black leather bow on the cream toe band makes the understated Present the valedictorian of Chie Mihara’s charm school!

Even more lucky charms from Chie Mihara are waiting at Ped’s main site, so click over and go girly this spring and summer!

Ped fans, we have a confession: we feel a little conflicted this time of year. On the one hand, we love the lights, the parties, the month-long festive feeling, and especially the chance to give those we love something nice! On the other hand, it’s a conundrum to find just the right thing for each woman on our list, ranging from our elderly aunt to our teenaged niece. Good thing all we need to do is look in our backyard—a.k.a. the Ped warehouse—to find treats that any gal any age will treasure!

If you, too, need a few ideas, check out the following suggestions, which are sure to brighten anyone’s holidays. (Best of all—no size knowledge is needed to produce smiles!)

As every woman knows (and every guy should, too), a gorgeous and functional bag is truly a gift that keeps on giving. Practicality and style make beautiful music together in Fiorentini + Baker’s Sylver Bag:

Since I love all things green, you can imagine how my heart raced when I ran across this bag in Europe! Perfect for Ped! The Sylver has twin exterior pockets, plus its spacious interior boasts another zipped pocket! And the leather is so soft. (It also comes in a grey and brown leather combo, in case that’s more to your giftee’s taste!)

Another sure-to-please bag is Accessoire’s Seine Tote:

We absolutely love this carry-all, which is the first bag we’ve offered from Accessoire. The deep red color has beautiful blue undertones! We also like having the option of wearing the Seine as a shoulder bag or carrying it as a hand-held tote.

If your designated recipient wants something a bit smaller and a little funkier, Cydwoq’s Postage Bag might be just the thing:

Constructed using rivets instead of stitching (talk about durable!), the Postage Bag features Rafi and Ari’s latest twice-dyed leathers, neutral on one side and zingy on the other! In addition to the above caramel-and-red combo, Ped also offers a brown-and-orange combo and a super-saturated all-red version! Cydwoq always puts the “fun” in functional!

Another gift sure to warm a woman’s heart is a scarf to warm her neck! Epice makes the most beautifully loomed woolens that not only feel soft and cozy but also wow with style. The Jubilee Scarf is a perfect example:

We’re always dazzled by Epice’s wonderful and often unexpected color combinations! Who else would think to mix pale pink, olive, leaf green, bright orange, and deep blue stripes in the same scarf, creating a design with beautifully balanced panache? Gorgeous! In addition to the Coral Reef combo pictured, the Jubilee also comes in two other equally eye-opening color schemes, Autumn Leaf and Pilot Blue.

In winter, flowers always brighten up grey days. Why not give your gal a wearable garden via the Epice Fleurs d’Hiver scarf?

This nosegays and bouquets strewn across this scarf, which is wide enough to wear as a shawl, have such a lovely vintage sensibility! We love the freshness of the slate version pictured here, but this toasty scarf also comes in a silver version that features more muted blooms.

Our favorite Parisian virtuoso of crochet, Sophie Digard, also designs scarves guaranteed to delight. Who wouldn’t love receiving her magnificent Petits Carres Scarf?

Hundreds upon hundreds of tiny squares come together to form a wearable mosaic of woolen artistry! Truly a masterpiece, this wonderful scarf comes in several color compositions—the Winter palette pictured here, as well as Desert, Bonheur, and Joyeux—all stunning!

Jewelry is another way to express your affection for your favorite females. It doesn’t have to be bling-y or suggestive of romance—it can just be fun, like Sophie Digard’s Velvet Pop Necklace!

The colorful baubles on this necklace not only move along the cord, allowing your gal to cluster them in various ways, but they also spin to reveal a different color combo of velvets on each side. Ped’s Laura has this necklace, and every time she wears it, she’s deluged with compliments and questions about where she got it! Truly a show stopper!

If you do want to go for the sparkle, though, Jamie Joseph is your best gift-giving friend! JJ’s Smooth Indian Ruby Earrings are sure to make your special someone sigh with joy:

Aren’t those stones to die for? Jamie personally selects every gem she uses in her simple yet devastatingly lovely designs!

Determined to dazzle? A time-proven way is with a gift of gold and diamonds! Jamie Joseph’s 14kt Gold Organic Circle Necklace is simple, elegant, and drop-dead gorgeous!

The very embodiment of good taste, without a hint of stuffiness, this sweet necklace will remind her of you every time she wears it!

Lots more possible presents, each guaranteed to please, await your browsing pleasure at Ped’s main site!

We like to think anything you pick will make your recipient’s heart sing, but if you’re still nervous about making a good choice, why not invite her to make a “wish list” via the green button just under the “add to shopping bag” gold button on every Ped item’s page? Another alternative is to have her email you her heart’s desire via the “Share” button under the right corner of her chosen item’s picture. At Ped, we make it easy to please! Happy stress-free holiday shopping!

(By the way, you’ve got another day and a half to take advantage of this week’s tempting Sweet Treat: Chie Mihara’s sparkle-plenty Exito Oxford! Brighten up your holiday by clicking “be sweet to your feet” in the upper right corner of any Ped page. You’ll be delivered to the Exito with the magic code that will bring 20% off at checkout!)

We hope all Ped fans in the U.S. enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving last week, and our Canadian friends, last month! We at Ped are truly grateful you’re out there!

Since our fridges are now stocked with turkey leftovers (the pumpkin pie is already devoured), it can only signal one thing: the holiday parties have started! Which means we all face the annual dilemma of what to wear to sparkle and shine? Ped is here to help with shoes that will have you looking stellar and feeling like a million bucks through hours of cocktail-fueled mingling! Just add your favorite LBD, and you’re all set to dazzle!

When you want to amp up your feminine charms, Chie Mihara is always your best friend. One of the prettiest party-ready shoes this season is her Insomnia:

So romantic, the lovely application of rhinestones calls to mind the gorgeous beaded dresses worn by flappers in Paris in the 1920s! And the 2.5″ heel will keep your dogs from howling even if the celebration lasts until sunrise!

The truly amazing thing about Chie’s designs is that no matter how high the heel, they remain comfortable! Case in point, the fun and flashy Uja:

Sure, the heel is a statuesque 3.75″, but both the 1″ platform up front and Chie’s anatomically designed footbed make the Uja a breeze to wear! With its retro styling and red faux-croc embossed leather, this shoe is a party all on its own—what a way to sass up a cocktail dress!

Feel like going arty to the party? Consider letting your funky light shine in the Trippen Leaf:

Glittery, bold, and sexy, this decidedly Euro-chic wedge will have all eyes on you wherever you go! And wherever you go, you’ll be comfortable, thanks to Trippen’s t-shaped rubber wedge sole.

Speaking of attention magnets, check out Cydwoq’s new Science:

The buckles take this strappy shoe from Cydwoq to a whole new level! Gorgeous and incredibly sexy—the heat of the Science may cause you to be declared a fire hazard! (Worth it!)

Looking for something in a bootie to spice up the festivities? How about setting off some sparks with the Cydwoq Seek?

The antiqued wine-colored leather has a lovely sheen and black undertones that look luscious with evening wear! Plus, the zipper up the back is so saucy!

Another Cydwoq ankle boot that’s ideal for tripping the light fantastic is the elegant Elevate:

Talk about a femme fatale—Cydwoq’s fluid combination of patterned and matte leathers is sure to generate a lot of oohs and aahs as you mix and mingle!

Ready to go all in for all-out glam and romance this holiday season? Then step out in the Cydwoq Rescue boot:

Cydwoq takes its spectacular burnt-out paisley pony leather, used so effectively in the Elevate, to even greater lengths in this knockout. The Rescue  is sexiness x 2 with its lace-up front and zip-up back! (Once you get the lacing the way you like it, you need only use the zipper to get in and out of this beauty.)

If your social calendar calls for something else, there are even more head-turning styles to help you kick up your heels over at Ped’s main site! Here’s to dressing up and enjoying the Holidays in high (heeled) spirits!

(This week’s Sweet Treat would also make a funky addition to any party: the rockin’ cool Trippen Wicked Put on your red boots and dance for 20% off by clicking “be sweet to your feet” on any Ped page, which will whisk you to the Wicked with the code that will bring 20% off at checkout!)