Shoes are our bread and butter here at Ped HQ, so we’re always interested when we run across news items focused on footwear (beyond what celebrity wore what because, well, ho-hum…). We thought you Ped fans might be interested, too, so we’re starting an occasional series about recent news featuring shoes, just in case you overlooked, er, overstepped it.

1) Hullabaloo over White House Counsel Kathryn Reummler’s Shoes

Question: If you were a White House lawyer in President Obama’s inner circle, what would you like The Washington Post to notice about you? Your impressive education? Your career path to the top? The legal advice you offer the leader of the free world? How about your shoes? No to that last one? Well, too late because Juliet Elprin already wrote an online piece all about Kathryn Reummler’s fondness for fancy footwear. Amusingly, the White House responded to the Post‘s request for a photo of Reummler’s shoes by sending over a pic of Reummler doing her job at a meeting in the Oval Office. Kudos, White House press office!

(Official White House photo by Pete Souza.)

To be fair, The Washington Post did publish this more journalistic profile of Reummler in the hard copy of the paper. Nevertheless, when has a newspaper ever deemed a male politico’s shoe choices worthy of multiple paragraphs? Quite a few outlets offered pointed critiques of the Post‘s sexist treatment of Reummler; two of the best are Irin Carmon’s take-down on Salon and Debbie Hines’ opinion piece on the Huffington Post.

2) Kinky Boots wins Tony for “Best Musical”

We are all smiles about the Broadway sensation Kinky Boots winning “Best Musical” at the Tony Awards on June 9, not only because Cyndi Lauper(!!!!) wrote the music and lyrics, but also because the show is a theatrical remake of the 2005 British film of the same name. If you haven’t seen either and you can’t get to NYC, by all means check out the movie because it is a hoot! The plot is based on a true story about a man who saved his family’s shoe factory by making boots for transvestites! It’s big fun! (And congrats on the multiple Tonys to Cyndi Lauper, playwright Harvey Fierstein, choreographer Jerry Mitchell, and lead actor Billy Porter!)

3) Graduate Student Finds Sole in Romance Novels

We first read about artist and grad student Rudi Bremer’s stunning shoes on Jezebel, but we got the lowdown (with lots of photos) at Smart Bitches Trashy Books, which aptly calls Bremer’s heels, “The Most Awesome Shoes in the Universe.” Bremer designed her decoupaged shoes, which feature steamy book cover art, to declare her identity as a lover of romance novels, noting,  “Often when people find out that I read romance novels they tell me I ‘don’t seem the type’ by which they mean I seem too smart/cynical/young/anti-cats to be a romance reader.” She calls her functional artwork, “The Sole of a Romantic” because she says, “I live for puns.” Shoes and puns?  She’s talking Ped’s language!

Rudi Bremer’s “The Sole of a Romantic.” (Photograph by Phil Verness.)

That’s a wrap for our first roundup of “Shoes in the News.” If you see something we should include in our next post, by all means, send us a link!

Step lively out there!

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!