Bling!

While in the States, I shopped for my wedding shoes. I wanted strappy sandals (I have wide feet, so the pointy toe has just never been comfortable) that I could wear again for another dressy occasion. Plus, I figured my high school reunion would be the perfect occasion to test out shoes.

I walked into Nordstrom with about 30 minutes to spare on morning on my way to meet up with Sophie, and the sales guy directed me to Stuart Weitzman's Quando. Very sexy, leather heel, Swarovski crystals.



The only problem? The shoes were $385. I told him to hold it for me. I know Stuart Weitzman has other sandals that are much less, so I thought about it all night. Should I drive across L.A. to the Stuart Weitzman boutique in Beverly Hills or another Nordstrom with more selection? I had only another day before my reunion, I didn't really want to schlep around town, but that pair would cost almost as much as my dress! Plus, I've never had shoes with that much bling, and it was seriously pushing my comfort zone.

The next day I went back and I told him that honestly it wasn't in my budget. We had looked at a few other styles the day before, and even though none of them were as nice, I thought I should look at them again. Thankfully, they had gotten a shipment of new shoes that morning, and voila! I found the pair!



Rica by A. Marinelli. I thought they were even nicer than the Quando—not as in-your-face as the Quandos, but still sparkly. They're really comfortable and they were a bargain at only $95!

I hadn't heard of A. Marinelli shoes until then, but I'll definitely look at their shoes again in the future.