ShoeTopia

Check out our Trunk Show Shoes!

2010-11-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Comfort & Joy Trunk Show Shoes

2010-10-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Shoes for everyone and the whole world was happy!

2010-09-08T14:28:00.001-07:00

This is the real gray matter! The other wasn't finished

2010-08-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Lately I've found myself--thank God! and I was lost for sooooo
long---ahem, let me try again. Okay, here's the deal. I have never
really thought of myself as a decisive person, but on the career path
I've chosen to take, I have to make decisions all day long. (Imagine
looking at 50,000 pairs of shoes and picking, oh about 75.) Some of
the decisions are good and some are not so good, but you know, if I
was perfect, not even Shanta would be able to stand me, I'd be so
annoying.

Outside of work is another story. Because outside of work, 99% of the
time, I really don't care about the options I have, and I'd much
rather go with the flow then set the course. It's just not worth the
effort for me to jump start what little brain cells I have left after
a day of decisions decisions decisions.

But there is something I've been grappling these last few months. I
made the decision a long time ago to do something, and I'm finally
ready take that leap of faith. Yes, I think, um, I'm sure, that I'm
ready to stop... dying my hair! (At this point the women who are
reading this may gasp. Any man reading this will probably stop
reading because if they have hair at this stage in life they are just
grateful. If they don't, well then this life alterating plan of mine
would be just down-right insulting. Kind of like a very wealthy
person exclaiming in earshot of his underpaid maid who is sending half
of her salary to help feed, shelter, and clothe her thirty relatives
back home in Ipoorlandia that he may have to start cutting back by
selling off one of his houses, or something along those lines.)

The truth is that when I was growing up, I never ever thought I would
dye my hair. Not that I was in love with the color or anything. My
natural hair color, which I have not seen in over twenty years, is
brown. And I didn't start dying my hair because I was tired of the
color; I was just having one of those days. You know, the
kind of day when you may find your (lost) self agreeing to covering
your body with raw bacon and swimming in shark-infested waters because
someone suggested it and you really had nothing better to do anyway,
and what the hell your life sucks and you need to do something
different. Oh, I'm sorry, I thought everyone had days like that.
Well, it was before I was on medication... Anyway, truth be told, it
was a sucky day, largely because I was having man problems. (Man
problems? Is that redundant?) NOW you know what I'm talking about.
And I was in my twenties. And I just knew, KNEW, that this guy liked
me, really really liked me, but because of x, y, and z, well, he just
couldn't reciprocate. No, he wasn't married. But there were
circumstances. BUT if I had new and improved hair, x, y, and z won't
matter because he won't be able to resist me! Was it true that he
liked me or was it something my poor demented 20 year old mind
conjured up? Looking back on it today, all I can say is, "Thank God
nothing happened!!!"

So back to my hair. The hairdresser had repeatedly suggested I color
it red, and that day, in a weak moment, I relented. Did I love the
new color? I must have, because I kept dying it. I got a lot of
compliments on it --to which I'd always reply, "You could have this
color too if you really want it." I never tried to pass it off as the
real thing. I just thought it was obvious that it wasn't my real
color, because, well, I don't know. I was so naive about this whole
hair coloring thing. I had no idea that about 75% of American women
already dyed their hair. I just assumed that everyone kept their
natural color, except for in those very obvious cases where the woman
is almost 100 and has jet black hair. I'm naive, but not stupid. (OK,
well maybe not THAT stupid.)

When I first starting coloring my hair it was pretty easy to keep up.
I'd color it maybe once every three or four months. (I should clarify
that I don't do this myself because I can't even braid hair. I need
professional help.) Not too many years passed before I started
seeing white hair in my part. I didn't freak about it but I didn't
want this Pepe Le Pew thing going on with my hair. So I had to dye it
more frequently. Shortly after I got married (I couldn't wear white
hair on my wedding day!)I looked in the mirror --which I should have
done more often -- and what I saw reminded me of Johnny Carson's joke
about Reagan not dying his hair, but bleaching his face. My face was
too old for my hair! The next time I got my hair colored, I asked for
highlights as well, to soften the stark contrast between my red red
hair and old white face. This did the trick for a while, and all was
right with the world.

But how long could I keep doing this? My friend Audrey, who also has
a few gray hairs, and I used to say that maybe we'd stop coloring our
hair when we turned forty. Since we both passed that milestone (she
is younger than me, damn it) I think we decided we'd change it fifty.
After all, we're not old yet -- isn't 40 the new fourteen? And God
forbid that we look older than we actually feel. That's just wrong.
Isn't it? I have to say, though, that I did like my highlights. And
most other people did too. Not that I would expect them to tell me
otherwise. Because who would tell me that it looked like crap? My
mom. Well, she didn't say that it looked like crap, but she would
say, as we passed the 100 year old women with jet black hair, "You
better stop dying your hair or your going to end up like that!" Those
poor women. No matter how dark their hair is they are just not going
to fool anyone. But maybe they aren't trying to -- maybe they just
got used to doing it, liked it, and well, good for them. Was I trying
to fool everyone? Was that what she thought? I certainly never lied
to anyone about it. I just liked it. But was I trying to look
younger? Truthfully, I am the kind of person that has always assumed
that everyone else was older than me. It's not because I look younger,
I'm just so immature. This is partially because I don't have children
and therefore never ever had to act responsible. I can swear all day
long and have popcorn and licorice for dinner. So what difference
would the color of my hair make? Was I afraid that I'd no longer feel
attractive...and then it clicked. That is how I got myself into this
whole hair coloring thing in the first place. Over a man! I'm
telling you, they are more trouble. (Not the gay ones, mind you. I
mean the ones who know that they are gay.) And that's when I decided
to quit dying. (Well, that and the realization that it was stupid to
dye my hair red and lighten it with blond,to look natural, when if I
just left it alone, it would look natural.) I am sure my mom will
approve. She has white hair now, and has only dyed it one time in her
life and that was when she was in her 50s and trying to find a job. I
guess gray hair is a hinderance then. But she does get tons of
compliments on her hair. Because who would tell her that it looked
like crap? Oh, I would, if it did. But it doesn't. So I'll just
find something else she does that I can nag at her about.

I want to make very clear that my decision not to dye is in no way to
be construed as a statement against those who do it. After all, I've
been there, sister. I know what it's like. And for all my huffing and
puffing, I having let it go yet. But I will. And who knows? After
the last temporary rinse washes out and I am faced with the truth, be
it good, bad, or ugly, I may hightail it back to the salon. After
all, isn't it is a women's perogative to change her mind?

Gray Matter

2010-08-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Fall

2010-08-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to fall in love with a pair of shoes?

2010-08-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Um, that's what I'd call a rhetorical question. Of course it's possible! In fact, I've had this feeling about many, many pairs. It may be wrong, but I don't have a monogamous relationship with my shoes. I am living in shoe sin and I am not ashamed. I've had many shoes in my past, and present, and I'm sure I'll have many more in the future. However, I don't consider myself a shoe whore. Because unlike a, well, whore is such an unpleasant word. I think vamp is more appropriate, don't you? Anyway, would a shoe vamp (har), have real feelings for her shoes? No! She'd just use and abuse them, right? I mean, that's what vamps do. Not me. I love them. Love love love them.

I have different categories of shoe love. There's the obvious, these-shoes-are-so- hot kind of love, which is more passionate in nature. Yes, I can put them on while alone in my house and just gaze lovingly at them. When I wear them out and about, they are like my trophy-man. I notice people look at them, and when I catch them staring, I smile smugly, as if to say, "Yes, these are coming home with me tonight!"

Then there's my happy shoes. Happy shoes are cute and comfortable. When I look at them, I think, "How could something this cute be so comfortable?" It is possible to have the best of both worlds. These are the shoes I would take home to meet my mother. And my mother would actually approve! Sigh. I'm such a lucky gal.

Then there's the great deal shoes, which always make my day because I can't believe that these shoes, which are so so so cool, cost less than the pedicure I just got, which by the way, shows off my incredible shoes even more so! It's kind of the pat-myself-on-the-back type of shoe. Yay me! I am so smart and practical, which no one else would guess by looking at my shoes, because they look like I spent a fortune! But no, I saved so much money, I can go buy some more shoes, if I want. Or I can just savor the moment, everytime I happen to glance at them, or get compliments on them, which is quite often.

I do have to admit, though, that there have been times I've selected shoes for the wrong reasons. I've bought some knowing full well that the shoes and I just weren't right for one another. Just not a good fit. Oh sure, in the beginning, I was thinking, I can make it work. But that kind of unrealistic expectation just leads to pain and suffering. And the best thing to do is to just let them go. I don't care how gosh-darn good looking they are or how they gave me goose-bumps when we first met. I gotta break it off. No hard feelings -- if they give someone else joy, then that's a good thing, and if they give someone else pain, well, then they are just cruel shoes and if they don't change their ways, they are going to find themselves in the dumpster one day with yesterday's news. Either way, they aren't MY problem anymore.

I could go on and on about the little shoe harem I have at home. I could count the ways in which I love them. But I think I've made my point. So the next time anyone gives you, my fellow shoe lover, grief about your shoes, or complains about the stilettos in your closet, just remember, there's nothing you need to apologize for. Just remember -- "Love means never having to say your sorry."

Fall

2010-08-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Click here: How to open a wine bottle with a shoe. [VIDEO]

2010-07-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Click here: How to open a wine bottle with a shoe. [VIDEO]

Shoe blues weight loss/gain news

2010-05-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am soooo cranky today and it's the first beautiful day we've had in a week or two [Disclaimer: I started this yesterday] and that makes me even crankier that I'm cranky on such a nice day! I think part of my crankiness stems from my diet. You know, food is my weakness. There's just always a reason to eat. And I'm a huge stress eater. And according to my scale, I've been stressed for three years. And we've had the store for three years. Hmmmm.
Well, before the store opened, I got a divorce and quit my state job, benefits and all.(Weight Gain 10 pounds). Once the store opened, I was so happy.(Weight loss 10 pounds). But then, the recession hit. I was like Lloyd Bridges's character in "Airplane!" --"Looks like I picked the wrong year to start retail!" (Weight gain 10 pounds). Then I decided to quit wallowing in wallow. (Weight loss 7 pounds). But then, I found out that I had to have a hysterectomy.
Believe me, I was happy to have the procedure, but I decided to wait 6 months until our slow season, right after the holidays. Now how could I possibly diet knowing that I was going to have my insides taken out? (Weight gain, 15 pounds). Oh sure, I lost part of the weight I gained the following summer (weight loss 8 pounds), but then we decided to relocate. Talk about stress! (Weight gain 7 pounds). Then I tried to follow a routine (weight loss 2 pounds), but the truth is, I never felt quite at home there. (Weight gain 5 pounds). And then we moved again! (Weight gain, 5 pounds). Well imagine my surprise when I couldn't fit into any of my clothes! Yes, I was surprised because the clothes I had were my fat clothes from last summer. And apparently, I was in denial. Actually I was also in spandex, which really helps with denial, because if something has even 2% spandex, you can stretch it to fit. So I went back to Weight Watchers. I figure if I pay someone else to watch my weight, I tend to lose it easier. It's called paying the piper. So I played this game. They were not allowed to tell me how much I weighed, they could only tell me whether I went up or down. The first week wasn't great, but I went down, just a smidge. The next week I felt confident -- I had exercised and watched what I ate. "Down!" She exclaimed. I was excited. "Really? How much??" I asked, eager to hear the dramatic results. ".08" Well that put me in a tailspin. A lousy eight-tenths of a pound? What the hell? If I had not tried, I would have been thrilled with that, but I did try! I really worked at it. I even skipped my favorite beer when I went out to eat and got a salad instead of a three cheese individual pizza. (This was in part because when I went to the bathroom, I noticed the toilet paper holder had a spare roll. My favorite beer is Fat Tire. Spare roll? Fat Tire? I took it as a warning to be good.

Well, the next week I had a doctor's appointment and since they always add at least 5 pounds to the scale there, I just held my head high -- high enough so I wouldn't see the scale-- and told them I didn't want to face the ugly truth. Which was that I had gained 12 pounds in 2 years, but since I didn't look two years ago, I still only had a vague idea of my actual weight. Finally the following week, I went back to weigh in. She looked happy. "Down!" I had almost given up hope. "How much?" I asked, almost afraid to hear the total. "Two pounds!" Two pounds! I was triumphant. Two pounds! Alone in my car, I mustered up the courage to peek at my weight. HOLY S***! It was awful. I had no idea I weighed that much! I hadn't weighed near that amount since 1997. After seeing my weight, I had plummeted from the top of the world to the depths of hell. "I HATE EVERYTHING!" Of course, I still hadn't come to terms with the fact that it was my choice to wait in line for an eternity for the double dipped chocolate cone at Dairy Queen's drive-in, as was it my choice to test every restaurant in our strip mall, as was it my choice to eat a bag of Cheetoh's for dinner. (They were puffed, so half of them were air.) And what do I really have to complain about? I have a great job, great friends, a great house, great pets -- no love life, but I was married, so being single is really appealing to me right now. But I'm not perfect, and I want to be. And perfect to me is 20 pounds lighter. Once I lose that, I'll find fault with something else, I'm sure, but I'll be thin, so how bad could anything else be?
So anyway, that's where shoes come in. Many of you have seen the book we sell at ShoeTopia, "The Shoe Diet", in which the author uses her love of shoes as inspiration to lose weight. For example, whenever she felt tempted to cheat, she'd surf the net and look at shoes to keep herself on track, since shoes would be her reward when she reached certain goals. I think this is a fabulous idea, but since I have a shoe store and have shoes staring me in the face 6 days a week, I find it virtually impossible to wait to get them until I lose a few pounds. So I came up with a better idea. One of our customers had told us that every inch of heel height makes you lose five pounds -- visually, anyway. And it makes perfect sense too. Think about it --the healthy weight range for someone who is 5'8" is higher than it is for someone who is 5'4." And what easier way to lose weight than to slip on a pair of 4" platforms? Look -- I lost 20 pounds! Finally, a diet I can enjoy! Sure, it's a yo-yo diet, but hardly hazardous to my health. (A podiatrist may beg to differ, but hey, everyone has to have something fun!)

We moved!

2010-03-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

We are now located at the shopping center at the corner of Iles and Chatham Road, across from Schnucks (Montvale Junction).

IT'S SHOEPER BOWL SEASON!

2009-01-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read it correctly. SHOEPER BOWL. Hey, it's probably hard for some to believe that there are people who don't give a hoot about the big game on February 1st. It's true. In fact, the only reason why I know the big game is on February 1st is because it just so happens to fall on the same day as Shoeper Bowl, the big buy one, get one free sale at ShoeTopia. Coincidence? Perhaps. But that's not the point. Or maybe it is... I don't remember. (I always seem to lose my train of thought after seeing "buy one, get one free.")

Anyway, I've developed "Shoeper Bowl Terminology" to provide those of you who are unfamiliar with this game with a better appreciation, or at least a better understanding, of this sport. I hope it helps! (Enthusiasts may visit www.shopshoetopia.com for the pre-game line up. )

A-C
Automatic – Why I don’t drive a 5 speed
Back – What Baby’s got
Block Successfully stopping someone else from purchasing what you intend to buy for yourself. Does not involve physical contact, and is often performed using reverse psychology. (i.e., “Those (fill in the blank) make you look fat.”)
Bootleg Pull on or zip up?
Bump and Run What usually happens when people try to parallel park
Carry What a man must do for you while you shop. (Hey, you told him not to come!)
Center Where there are lots of stores
Clipping What you do to get those extra bonus discounts advertised in the paper
Controlling the Clock What a man does when you shop with him
Coverage What a good-sized clothing article provides when it hides what you want it to hide
Cut Back What you say you are going to do about spending. But this time you really mean it. No, really. (Oh, who are you kidding?)

D-E
Defensive Back “Are you saying my back’s too big?”
Defensive End See Defensive Back
Dime Back What you get when you give someone a $10 for a $9.90 purchase
Division What you do when calculating a sale price
Double Coverage When you have to wear something bigger than you anticipated to hide what you wanted to hide
Down Goose feathers
Down and In Goose feather coats that are stylish
Down and Out Goose feather coats that are sooo last season
Draft What you wouldn’t be feeling right now had you bought that coat
Draw What you have to do to communicate with people who don’t seem to understand plain English
Drive Something I lost a long time ago. But it’ll come back. Or not. I don’t care.
Drop Back What you do when you are walking with man and you see a cute shop
Drop Kick What you’d like to do when the man you are walking with insists you catch up with him after you dropped back to window shop
Encroachment When the shopper next to you gets in your space. (Hey, you saw it first!)
End Your derrière
End Line Panty lines
End Zone In the vicinity of your derrière
Excessive Time Outs You really need to get that bladder checked

F-H
Face Mask What you spent way too much on because it claims to reduce the signs of aging
Fair Catch A single guy
Fair Catch Interference The single guy’s ex girlfriend
Flanker I don’t know but it sounds insulting
Forward Pass It’s been so long, I don’t think I could adequately describe it
Foul Anything you don’t like
Franchise A big box store
Free Agent Who cares? It’s free!
Freeze See Draft
Fullback When even your fat pants are tight
Fumble When you wait for the big sale, only to find that the shoes you wanted are gone
Gap Why I don’t wear button-down shirts
Guard What I seem to let down at every sale
Halfback Gaining half of the weight you lost back.
Helping the Runner Giving moral support to your friends who exercise
Holding What you ask a clerk to do when you’re not sure about a purchase
Hot Receiver What happens when you neglect to call your friend until after you went to the big sale
Huddle See Freeze and Draft

I-N
I Formation Crow’s feet
Illegal Motion What that jerk in the car in front of you just did
Illegal Procedure What bad plastic surgery should be
In Bounds Very, very big steps
Interception When he stops you from making a purchase
Interference What you get when he catches you making a purchase
Key What you never seem to be able to locate, no matter how small your purse is
Kickoff What you do to those fabulous 4” heels shoes at the first opportunity that arises
Lateral What you were supposed to work on last year
Loose Ball We won’t even go there
Man in Motion When he gets off the couch during the game
Man-to-Man Coverage A ball cap, long sleeved T-shirt, & sweats
Multiple Offense See foul
Neutral Zone Any area you can discuss freely without prompting an argument
Nickel Defense A cheapskate trying to justify a bad tip
Nose Guard Post surgery wear

O-Q
Odds What you calculate when trying to determine whether you buy the shoe now or wait and see if it will still be there during the big sale
Offensive Line When a sales clerk wrongly guesses your dress size. (Unless it’s smaller than what you think it should be.)
Off-Season On sale
Option The choice to buy, or not to buy. That is your option.
Overtime The open-ended period of time that you assure yourself it’ll take for you to fit into those pants that are 75% off, but 2 sizes too small
Pass Defender The guy’s wing man
Pass Interference Similar to fair-catch interference, but this time interference is welcome
Possession Def. 1. What takes place after money changes hands. Def. 2. What you will claim took place when he asks why you needed another pair of shoes. (Also known as insanity plea.)
Post-Season On mega sale
Preseason Not in the stores yet
Pump Fake Designer knock-off
Quarter The portion of the slice of cake you intended to have
Quarterback If someone told me there was going to be math involved…
Quick Count Tallying up your purchases in your head

RS
Receiver The person you call to spread the word about the sale
Recover Finding another pair of awesome shoes at the big sale after fumbling on the intended pair
Regular Season Not on sale
Return You really didn’t want it…
Reverse…or did you?
Roll The area above your pants’ waistline
Rush See scramble
Sack Where you’d rather be instead of waiting in line at 3 AM to get a great deal
Scheme Your sale-shopping strategy
Scramble What you do when you realize the store that’s having the awesome sale is closing in 15 minutes
Shift Deciding on a different pair of shoes altogether
Side Judge Your opinionated shopping companion
Sidelines Where non-shoppers sit
Single Elimination Narrowing down your purchases to one item
Snap Def. 1. The amount of time you told him it would take for you to pick out a few items. Def. 2. What you will do if he actually holds you to that.
Spot What you might see in order to get a discount
Stiff Arm Casualty of carrying too many packages
Striking an Official What Zsa Zsa Gabor does
Strong Side When looking in a mirror, the angle that makes you appear thin
Substitution Occurs when there is a Return, in lieu of a monetary refund

T
Tackle Using physical force to stop someone else from making a purchase
Takeaway What you sometimes must do to avoid overspending
Tight End What you would have had, had you kept going to the gym
Time Out Taking a break from shopping. Usually involves food, some sort of beverage, and a trip to the ladies’ room
Too Many Men on the Field What commonly occurs when shopping at electronics and hardware stores
Touchdown What you did that made you resort to buying the goose down coat, even though it was not on sale. Justified purchase because you no longer have to Freeze or Huddle to get warm, or experience any Drafts.
Tripping You knew the heels were too high, but you bought them anyway
Turnover One of the things you swore you were giving up this year
Two-Minute Warning The store is about to close

U - Z
Unnecessary Roughness What occurs when you stop getting pedicures
Veer What you do when driving by a store and see an unexpected sale
Weak Side When looking in a mirror, the angle that makes you appear fat
Wideout A liposuction device that makes flab disappear
Xs & Os Xs: stores you visited today. Os: stores you have yet to visit today.
Zone Defense Like Defensive End or Defensive Back, but not confined to a specific part of your body.

What do you think of Springfield's downtown?

2008-11-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

O.K., so this is a little bit off of the subject of shoes, but as a downtown business owner, I wanted to get some feedback from you all -- what works and what doesn't, what you like and dislike, and what you would like to see happen downtown. I want to keep this positive, so if you point out problems, offer some possible solutions. If you don't have any solutions, then invite others to provide some suggestions.

That's all folks! I'll be looking forward to reading your opinions.

Thanks!
Amy

101 Uses for Shoes

2008-09-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-pjXNaMDX0

I don't think this really needs any explanation!

Closed Toe Shoe Blues

2008-06-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

O.K., what is the deal with businesses that impose closed toe shoe rules? I mean, it makes sense not to wear sandals if you work with heavy objects that succumb to gravity or with sharp objects like scalpels or butcher knives. It's all fun and games until someone loses a big toe. But, in those workplaces where the most deadly weapon is a co-worker's breath after a garlic-laden lunch, what's the harm in showing more than a little toe cleavage? I certainly don't buy the argument that somehow our innocent little piggies pose some sort of a public health risk. I have never heard of anyone catching anything from feet. If people were more concerned about contagious diseases, we would be required to wear gloves everywhere.

Here's another argument -- it's unprofessional to show your toes. Says who? Is it really as unprofessional as wearing sneakers or Crocs to the office? It's a peep toe, for Lord's sake, not a peep show!

I think the real reason is that some people just don't like feet. They think feet are gross and don't want to see them. And I can understand this a little bit -- I am all for laws requiring men to wear shirts in public. I dream of the day when I can walk outside without fear of seeing bouncing blobs of hairy flesh glistening with sweat. Bleech! But are other people's feet that gross? Not everyone has model quality peds, but even so, feet are not in your face, so to speak. If they are, then you better learn how to duck at those Kung Fu classes of yours. But really, feet are well below eye level. And unless you are wearing some fabulous shoes that you purchased at some fabulous little shoe boutique in Springfield, IL, very few people would look at them. Unless they had a fetish, and if that freaks you out then maybe you should cover up.

But for those who do not like others' toes, is it really other people's feet that bother you so
much? Or are you really unhappy with your own callous clodhoppers? How often is it that we don't like in others the very things we don't like about ourselves? And it's really not fair, now, is it? And there is a cure, you know, for those who loathe their own toes. It's called a pedi-cure!

So treat the feet of others as you would treat your own -- with lotion and a little polish. If you still can't stand looking at your toes, I've posted a few pictures of our shoes that will cover up your little piggies.

Dita stay or dita go

2008-03-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

I know, I promised another shoe for you to vote on -- and here it is. It's called Dita -- as in dita tell you how much I love these shoes? The unfortunate thing is that I can't buy every single shoe that I fall in love with, because, well, I'm buying for you all too. And while you may buy a pair of shoes that you regret purchasing later, imagine having bought 12 pairs of the same shoe on an impulse. ( The same shoe, not 12 different pairs. That's another story!)

What do I love about this shoe? Well let me tell you that reading about why I like a shoe is probably as exciting as reading the tags on the pillows that you're not supposed to remove under penalty of law. And both are totally unnecessary. You're going to like or dislike the shoe regardless of what I say about it, and you're going to remove those stupid tags on your pillows even if it means facing hard time on an assembly line in a pillow factory. So let me just give you the facts, ma'am, and cast your vote for, or against this shoe.

Dita by Oh...Deer! in tortoise patent leather retails for $120

Welcome Springfield Bloggers!

2008-02-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

(This was originally posted in January, but we hadn't found you yet!)

Election 2008 -- ShoeTopia Style!
As you may or may not know, we at ShoeTopia put a lot of thought into the shoes we select for our store. You're probably thinking, "Well how hard is that? It's retail, not brain surgery, for Lord's sakes!" Well, this may be true, and in no way am I suggesting that any of us could do brain surgery (except for maybe Cindy -- she is addicted to all those medical shows on the learning channel). But let me throw some numbers out to give you an idea of what we have to sort through to bring the shoes to you. At the upcoming Las Vegas WSA (World Shoe Association) trade show, there are over 1,100 registered exhibitors. Now granted, not all of them are exhibiting women's shoes, but the vast majority of them are. So let's whittle that down to 75%, which gives us about 850. And let's say that the average number of shoe styles each vendor is exhibiting is 50. That's well over 42,000 possibilities to chose from (not to mention the colors). Which is why we don't always go to Las Vegas to shop -- it's just overwhelming at times. So in order to prepare for our shopping trip, we do our research, which consists of weeding out brands, adding new brands, reviewing current trends (and some are just plain goofy), and making sure we have a fair representation of styles and prices to offer our customers. The most important thing is coming up with a budget and sticking to it.

We've done pretty well with our Spring 2008 orders, but every once in a while, we come across a shoe that's just oh so cute, and we just want it. It's kind of like going to the grocery store with a list and then darn it, you go down the cookie aisle and there's a new kind of chocolate cookie that sounds so good, and you just got to have it, but you told yourself you were going to stick to your list, and then you have the good girl angel on one shoulder trying to convince you to stick to your diet and the bad girl devil saying, "Do it do it do it." And you are stuck in the middle. Well wouldn't it be nice if once in a while, someone else stepped in and helped you make the decision ? The following scenarios help illustrate my point. Scenario A: [Amy's buddy] "Why don't you skip the cookies and we'll go get a skinny latte instead?" Scenario B: [Amy's buddy] "If you get the cookies I'll help you eat them." See, isn't that better? Even if you do get the cookies, you won't have to worry about eating them all by yourself. Not that you would (cough, cough). So we decided to ask you to help us make the decision. The shoe that we're highlighting in February is Onesole, a sandal with interchangeable tops. You will find a link to the company website at the top of our blog page. What do you think? Either send as a note or take our poll at the bottom of the blog. And thanks for your input!Amy

Election 2008 -- ShoeTopia Style!

2008-01-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, we at ShoeTopia put a lot of thought into the shoes we select for our store. You're probably thinking, "Well how hard is that? It's retail, not brain surgery, for Lord's sakes!" Well, this may be true, and in no way am I suggesting that any of us could do brain surgery (except for maybe Cindy -- she is addicted to all those medical shows on the learning channel). But let me throw some numbers out to give you an idea of what we have to sort through to bring the shoes to you. At the upcoming Las Vegas WSA (World Shoe Association) trade show, there are over 1,100 registered exhibitors. Now granted, not all of them are exhibiting women's shoes, but the vast majority of them are. So let's whittle that down to 75%, which gives us about 850. And let's say that the average number of shoe styles each vendor is exhibiting is 50. That's well over 42,000 possibilities to chose from (not to mention the colors). Which is why we don't always go to Las Vegas to shop -- it's just overwhelming at times. So in order to prepare for our shopping trip, we do our research, which consists of weeding out brands, adding new brands, reviewing current trends (and some are just plain goofy), and making sure we have a fair representation of styles and prices to offer our customers. The most important thing is coming up with a budget and sticking to it. We've done pretty well with our Spring 2008 orders, but every once in a while, we come across a shoe that's just oh so cute, and we just want it. It's kind of like going to the grocery store with a list and then darn it, you go down the cookie aisle and there's a new kind of chocolate cookie that sounds so good, and you just got to have it, but you told yourself you were going to stick to your list, and then you have the good girl angel on one shoulder trying to convince you to stick to your diet and the bad girl devil saying, "Do it do it do it." And you are stuck in the middle. Well wouldn't it be nice if once in a while, someone else stepped in and helped you make the decision ? The following scenarios help illustrate my point. Scenario A: [Amy's buddy] "Why don't you skip the cookies and we'll go get a skinny latte instead?" Scenario B: [Amy's buddy] "If you get the cookies I'll help you eat them." See, isn't that better? Even if you do get the cookies, you won't have to worry about eating them all by yourself. Not that you would (cough, cough). So we decided to ask you to help us make the decision. The shoe that we're highlighting in February is Onesole, a sandal with interchangeable tops. You will find a link to the company website at the top of our blog page. What do you think? Either send as a note or take our poll at the bottom of the blog. And thanks for your input!
Amy

Funky Feet Club

2007-10-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Since we really haven't had a chance to work on our blog (things have been CA-RAZY since we started!) we've decided to finally hunker down and start writing. I (Callista, the lowly employee) am writing the first one since I am a writer and I have the least responsibility in the store. So, let the stories begin!

On top of being the first blogger of the ShoeTopia women, I have also recently taken charge of what I like to call, "Funky Feet Club." Aaaaaaamy doesn't like the name, but it seems that it has stuck nevertheless. What is the Funky Feet Club you ask? It is a club we have started for people with hard-to-fit-feet, a.k.a. big feet, small feet, narrow feet, and wide feet.

Here's what we've been doing. When we come across someone that has a hard time finding their shoe size, we take down their name, shoe size, and e-mail address. When we get a shoe in that is included on the Funky Feet Club list, we send an e-mail (with pictures) to everyone with that shoe size. They can come in and try it on if they like it, and if they don't like it, they can just delete the e-mail. It's a no-pressure zone.

What started the idea? Karen (one of our owners) has a size 5 foot and we had a hard time finding cute shoes to fit her. Imagine owning a shoe store and not being able to find shoes in your own store to fit your feet! We had numerous inquiries about hard-to-find-shoe-sizes. And that is when the idea for the Funky Feet Club was born.

If you have any interest in the Funky Feet Club, e-mail us at shoetopia@insightbb.com. We can add you to our mailing list!

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. It's time for me to go back to the slave-driving boss of mine. She's probably going to make me do something REALLY tedious like headstands on the hardwood floors. . .

Welcome

2007-02-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to ShoeTopia
413 E. Adams
Springfield, Illinois 62701