I May Have Blacked Out in Barneys...

...and when I woke up I was wearing these:

(Miu Miu)

I wasn't just wearing them, kids, I was wearing them home. See, here's what happened...

We all know Parts One, Two and Three of my long and winding Manolo Blahnik Camparis Saga. (This is the last installment, I promise.) When last we spoke, the plan was to go to Barneys in Dallas to try on the Louboutin Iowas

in that fabulous nude patent leather in my (evidently too-enormous-for-Neiman's) size. And I did. They had them in my size and I put 'em on and gosh, they're pretty. They also hurt like the dickens. The toe box is very, very narrow on these babies -- even in the right size my toes were actually overlapping one another. And the edge of that peep toe started rubbing my big toe before I'd even made a full lap around the shoe department. No way I could wear them for any length of time without tears. This is slightly disappointing, but not actually surprising -- my feet, they are not particularly French, and I have noticed this before.

During Part One of the Saga, I had tried on these little beauties just for giggles:


My thoughts about them were that they were insanely sexy beyond my everyday needs, and that since I already have black shoes in this vein I should leave them at Saks.

But on Saturday in Barneys, what to my wondering eyes should appear but these babies in blue -- a perfect, delightful blue exactly between Wedgewood and robin's egg. (They're a teeny bit brighter than they appear in the photo above, but just a teeny bit.) I have been hunting for blue patent shoes lately. As a matter of fact I've now ordered & returned two pairs of them because they just weren't quite right.

But these are right. Oh, how right they are. My feet, evidently, are not French, they are Italian. (Good to know.) The shoes are beautiful, and believe it or not they are very comfortable. There's a hidden platform of about half an inch in the forefoot that seems to be made up entirely of padding -- they are the cushiest heels I own. I capered around on them all day Saturday and my feet were absolutely fine. Plus, the balance is perfect. They are so easy to maneuver in that I actually skipped through the shoe department to show off. I will be very interested in obtaining more Miu Miu shoes -- they appear to have the high heel thing figured out.

I had on a chocolate brown dress Saturday and the blue was just beautiful with it. (Later I accessorized with a patterned head scarf that had a few blue notes -- perfect.) Once I had them on my feet, I looked over at my friend Jody, who was shopping with me, and said plaintively, "I don't want to take them off!" And Jody, because she is a good & true friend, responded, "I don't think you should."

So I didn't. I paid for them, put my old shoes in the box, and hoofed it downstairs to buy some perfume. And I will have you know that before I had traversed the approximately 500 total feet from the shoe department down the steps to the Le Labo counter, three -- count 'em, THREE! -- people complimented me on my shoes. Three compliments in less than five minutes. Those are some good shoes.

So that's what happened. I have no regrets. It was meant to be.

Photos: Style Spy, Net-A-Porter.com, Style.com