Shoes and Champagne

Last night, I got to get all dressed up, drink free champagne, and shoe shop! I'm honestly not sure I've ever been happier.

I attended the Gala Grand Opening of Austin's new Neiman Marcus store. I was surrounded by folks in tuxedos and very pretty dresses, not to mention oodles of fantastic Neiman Marcus merch. The store is lovely -- nicely laid-out and very open. There was a ton of music, including one of my favorite Austin bands, Paris 49. There were hors d'oeuvres and canapes set out among the jewelry and makeup. This was utterly perfect -- I nibbled some roasted vegetables off a plate I could set right on the counter, then when I was finished, there was a mirror right there so I could refresh my lipstick! Brilliant! There were even tissues!

I didn't see very many SAs when we first got to the event, but by the end of the evening, after the several open bars had been dispensing various alcoholic potions for a couple of hours, I started to notice quite a bit of action at the cash registers and suddenly there were a lot of very well-dressed ladies accessorizing themselves with Neiman Marcus shopping bags. It's really kind of brilliant, when you think about it -- load folks up with free booze and watch the credit cards start to fly!

At any rate, I was a good girl and didn't make any purchases. I couldn't resist a little trying-on, however. And now I have a dilemma, and I need you to help me out.

You may remember my Manolo Blahnik Campari debacle a while back. To recap, I'm in love with these:

(Manolo Blahnik Campari)

and have been for quite a while. Alas, when I tried them on not long ago, I discovered they didn't fit me.

Or so I thought.

The place where I tried them on only had the shoes up to a size that was definitely at least a half-size too small. To gauge the fit of the shoe, I tried on these:

(Manolo Blahnik Blixa)

which the SA assured me were exactly the same shoe, just without the strap across the instep. And they didn't fit. They just felt far too narrow in the toe box for me to wear them comfortably, especially since they're patent leather.

Last night browsing through the (lovely) shoe department at Neiman's, I tried on these lovelies:

(Christian Louboutin Iowa)

which I have also coveted for quite a while. While the green is quite fetching, they also come in black patent, red patent, and this really great nude color:

that I am very attracted to because A) I love when a shoe is the same color as the leg, it makes your legs look longer, B) I think a nude shoe is very sexy, and C) what color doesn't it go with? Nothing, that's what! The other great thing about the Iowas is that the heel is quite a bit lower -- they're 70 mms (not quite three inches) and so are a lot more maneuverable. My fabulous friend Anita, who'd accompanied me to the Gala, made soft, cooing noises of approval when I got those Iowas on my feet, and I must admit, they looked goooooorgeous.

But here's where the plot thickens...

On a whim, I also asked for the Camparis in my (potential) sizes, which the lovely Valerie (the SA who was helping me) promptly delivered. And ya know what?

They fit.

Okay, okay, I think they fit. Thing is, I'd been drinking champagne for a couple of hours at that point, so it's entirely possible the bubbly was overriding my usual sensors for these sorts of things. Dresses! Champagne! Shoes! Music! Perfume! The endorphins were flying thick & fast through my system. You could probably have cut my feet OFF and I wouldn't have noticed. Obviously, I have to go back and try on these shoes again when I am sober. I have been known to end a shoe shopping excursion on quite a natural high, but under no circs should one go into the endeavor with a buzz on. It's serious business, people! Behave accordingly!

And now to the dilemma part of the post. IF once I'm no longer booze-addled those Camparis indeed fit in the way I think they do, ought they to be mine? Here's the major reason I'm hesitating: the Camparis will only be available to me (for a combination of reasons) in black patent. But I already have these:

(Michael Kors, love 'em so, was actually wearing them last night. Not quite patent, but slick black vacchetta leather.)

and these

(Stuart Weitzman in black patent. And yes, I also have them in that cult Weitzman color, Red Quasar. That's them posing as me in my blog profile, because I believe they are the perfect expression of my personality in a shoe.)

But seriously -- do I really need black patent mary janes when I have the above shoes already? The Iowas, however, I could get in the fabulous nude patent and just wear them with everything I own, including my pajamas.

Please help! Tell me what to do!

A special shout-out to my wonderful friend Margaret, without whom my attendance at the event (and hence my dilemma and concurrent post about it) would not have been possible. Mags, you're an angel!

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