Carolyn Braden's Summer Shoe Collection

It's no lie that I love shoes. Here a just few new pairs that will get me through the summer season. I'll wear my TOMS and several other shoe styles as well, but these are my latest favorites. 

Teva sandals. Loved them in the early 90's and love them now. They'll be great during my vacation when I go paddleboarding.

Doc Marten sandals. These are crazy high but make my legs look way long.

Sam Edelman Oxford flats....in gold of course. These are great with skirts or shorts. They can be dressed up or dressed down and they really stand out.

Flatform leather sandals from Urban Outfitters. They.Match.Everything.

Carolyn Braden's Urban Outfitters Shimmer Kicks

I love my new shimmering shoes! I'll wear them of course but I really just love looking at them. I purchased these at Urban Outfitters. 

Egyptian Gold With Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift: Fall 2013

Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift had glowing skin at the MTV Awards thanks to the upcoming Fall 2013 trend. The golden style looks borrowed from an Egyptian royalty mind. Accent your look with a shimmering detail like golden sunglasses or metallic shoes if you don't want to shine all over. Here are some gold fashions seen on Style.com.

Carolyn Braden: Good Beauty With Sephora, Bad Fashion With Shoes.com

I had to report on a good beauty company and a not so good fashion company.
Good news first: Sephora brightened up my week by drawing my name during their ladies night event. I won $650.00 worth of beauty products. I looked up the price of each item and was seriously wowed! I was just there to use my 10% off coupon in order to restock on Urban Decay's De-Slick spray and I purchased the perfume sampler (sample perfumes then return the certificate for a full size bottle, great deal!) I never knew I would be greatly surprised with leaving the store with so much more! See the photo of what I won. I will report on which products are "Worth it!"

Bad news: I'm sad to report this about a fashion company: I will never ever purchase anything from www.shoes.com again and I highly recommend people follow suit. I purchased Franco Sarto's Poet boot on October 3rd. A week went by and my credit card was charged but no boots arrived. After being on hold for over 20 minutes, a customer service rep told me their warehouse was not shipping orders until 10 days after purchases are made. The website stated they would be shipped within 3 business days. I told her to refund my money knowing I could make the purchase through Zappos.com or Amazon.com and have my boots within a couple of days. The only reason I purchased through Shoes.com was to try out the company that offered a discount of 15% and free shipping. Trying to save money did not pay off. It is now October 13th and my money has not been refunded. The rep said I would receive an e-mail confirmation of the cancelled transaction and I have not. An e-mail to customer service on Wednesday the 10th was never replied to. I tried calling yesterday and the phone wait time said it would be 20 minutes. Today I tried calling and the wait time said 46 minutes. What the.....? So, I will try calling and e-mailing again. My husband will be helping me out as well. I may end up having to file a dispute on never receiving my product through my credit card company.

So in a nutshell, Sephora is great, Shoes.com is horrid.

By the way, I've ordered the Poet boot through Amazon.com and I've got the tracking number and will receive my package on Monday. Yay Amazon!!!!!

Yet Another Deal Found @tjmaxx

Sam Edelman boot and Minnetonka tassel sandals, keep the deals coming @tjmaxx! When I was there, I actually heard the term Maxxinista used and I laughed. I think that word is a staple in the good fashion deal world.

Carolyn Braden, Disco Queen

Look to the disco era for an upcoming style. There's something about disco style that makes us all want to put on our boogie shoes.
I also really like dance wear as daily clothing. Not leotards and tutus, but flowy skirts, loose tops over cami-tanks and ballets flats that actually look like ballet shoes (moveable leather ones).


Carolyn J. Braden
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Carolyn Braden says "Dorthy wore Ugg's?"

If it was cold in Oz, Dorthy would have worn these!

Ugg Classic Sparkles - UGG Australia

http://www.zappos.com/product/7839285/color/3

Carolyn Braden's Neutral Lucky Brand Wedge

Love these wedges! They go with dresses and jean cut-offs.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Carolyn Braden says "Reebok Hi-Tops, Stylish Workout Shoes!"

I just found a great shoe!  My workout shoes were needing to be replaced.  While watching a video on Exercise TV, one of the instructors was wearing some really cool silver hi-tops.  After doing some research, I found out her shoes were Reebok's Freestyle Hi-Tops.  I truly fell in love with the shoes!  I just purchased the silver (with white bottoms) from Amazon.com.  I received free shipping.  I can't wait to get them this week!  I do mostly aerobic types of workouts, so these shoes will truly fit into my personal fitness routine!

Carolyn Braden Says "New Fall Trend Update!"

Fashion, fashion, everywhere. There are so many trends that are born every day.  Now, the thing that we all must wonder now is "What generation are these "new" trends from"?  Every new trend seems to just be a repeat from the past.  I was reading in InStyle magazine yesterday about Julianne Moore.  There was a picture from a dance she went to in high school and her dress had spaghetti straps.  She made a comment how spaghetti straps are such a 1970's trend.  
So my question is, are there any truly new trends that are yet to be discovered?  


I do see lots and lots of ruffles and billowing draping happening for this upcoming fall style.  I see fabric being pushed, pulled, tucked, and pinned to make an old style shirt seem like a new style shirt.  The pleated skirt will be hot this fall.  Length of skirts and dresses are going to be longer and the heels are just going to keep getting taller.  (Good thing for me since I am super vertically challenged and the only way I can wear some of these long dress/skirt styles without having to pay money for alterations is to wear the super high heel).  The heels are going from leather with studs to soft and buttery suede.  I found my Mary Jane heels on Friday at Von Maur.  They are platform black heels with an elastic band that adorns a HUGE bow across it to form the strap.  I love the shoe!  I've wanted Mary Janes for so long now, but I wanted some that were a little different.  These fit the bill. Bracelets are the new necklaces for fall.  Patterns and prints in every color and style are going to be mixed in ways you never thought possible and yet, they will look good. I saw a small polka dotted blouse with a floral skirt yesterday in a magazine and thought they actually worked well together.   I'm still dead set on goth style being integrated into fall and winter style.  Spiders will show up somehow. 


So, what do you think?  Are the new trends I listed above repeats of the past.  Yes, I do believe they are. Is there any new trend waiting to be discovered?  I really hope so.  Oh, by the way, celebs that are wearing their dresses backwards is not a new trend to follow. That came in style with KrisKross (remember them) and went out very quickly.  :) Cher is going to be back out in the spotlight again in full force soon.  Talk about a trend from the past. 
Can't wait! :)

Shoes and Fall Style 2009

Yep.

Here it is.

I just got the new issue of InStyle Makeover in the mail today.

It's so great to see......my ideas are right on cue!!!!!

The first style I saw that I was on top of is the SATIN SHOE. I have been in love with satin shoes ever since trying on my mom's toe shoes when I was a little girl. I have a pair of green satin shoes and a pair of gold satin shoes but I still was in need of my red satin shoes. You know, my Dorothy shoes. After searching and searching for the right red satin shoe, my efforts have finally paid off. I searched stores everywhere I went. Last summer I scoured the internet and stores in search of the shoe, but found absolutely nothing! I thought "Why in the world aren't designers making the red satin shoe???????" I thought maybe The Wizard of Oz people had some kind of patent on the red shoe that has the little bow on the toe. I kept finding red patent shoes, but I didn't want those! I gave up and just figured I was ahead of my time in the fashion world (again...it happens all the time!) and stopped my search.
Something told me the other day to try again. So, I typed "red satin shoe" into my Google browser and found my shoe! I found quite a few to choose from too! I ended up going with a cute sling back, peep toe, bow adorned 3 and 3/4th inch heels from Zappos. One of Zappos' hubs is in Kentucky, not too far from my home, so I ordered the shoes (FREE SHIPPING!) and had them in 2 days. The shoe is absolutely gorgeous. My husband called them my Dorothy shoes and told me those shoes should be saved for special places and I totally agree. Maybe if I click my heels together with these shoes, I can get to the home my heart desires. :)

What is it about shoes? I love them as so many women (and some men) do in our world. I figure they are great things to buy because it is the one thing you don't really outgrow as an adult.

Then, I was watching a show the other day and they showed Blake, the chief shoe giver, from the Toms shoe company. I've loved Toms shoes for a couple of years now. They are comfortable, stylish, and for every pair you buy, Blake and his company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need. He really does. They have a new style that just recently came out and I saw it on that t.v. show. (I think it was the Daily 10 on E or something) The style is a wrap boot. Look it up at Toms.com and see if you like it. I really loved it, so I ordered it and it came today. I ordered it in black and I can wear it now (it looks really good with shorts or skirts) and in the fall and probably all seasons. It's that versatile.

Be daring when it comes to your shoes. Try bright colors. So many women wear black heels with everything, but try a color the next time. Any bright color will make a simple outfit really look amazing. I did black shorts, a black tank top, a vintage scarf (in bold blues, blacks, golds, greens, and reds), and simple gold hoops with my green satin shoes a couple of weekends ago and it looked great and I was comfortable. I always dress in what I am comfortable in or else I know I will be miserable.

Now, I wonder where I'll get to wear my red shoes first.............................................

Coming for fall:

Do the silver nail. Try to pick one that has a small hint of gold in it. That way you can wear it with silver or gold and it will look great!

Grown out hair. Yep, the bob is growing out. Try braiding pieces to help in the growing out process. Use hair accessories like bobby pins, headbands, and barettes too.

Taking care of your skin. (Especially the face!) The summer days are coming to an end and it's time to ask yourself this question: Did I put sunscreen on this summer? I hope you did!
We are not getting any younger girls! Start slathering on the wrinkle cream in your 20's to keep your skin looking youthful. Don't think that you won't get wrinkles, because you will. My mom told me to really slap the creams on the neck area heavily. I use Aveeno age cream and it doesn't break my sensitive skin out. Since I started putting it on my neck, I have noticed a difference in a line that was on my neck. The line really has softened.

Keep wearing those sunglasses! Wear them in all seasons! They will protect your eyes and prevent squinting! (Eye wrinkles!)

Thinking you are beautiful. Who really cares what anyone else thinks!?!? God made you perfect. You know all those little flaws you think you see when you are putting on your makeup in the morning? They are all in your head! What's beautiful to one person may not be beautiful to another. So, I say, hang out with the people who see the beauty in all things. If you surround yourself with positivity, everything will be beautiful to you. The ones that pick on you? They are just jealous or just really insecure. Seriously.

Trees. There is something about trees right now.

More thoughts soon!

More...Carolyn Braden's May Inspirations

Here are my latest feelings.....

There is something about July. I don't know what, but something about the seventh month.

Ducks.

Pinecones. In fall decor maybe?

Sporto Waterproof Duck Shoes. Great to slip on and off this summer instead of the boots.

Google Eyes. They are funny.

The color blue.

Roses.

Rainbows. Again.

Balloons.

Of course this summer is all about the sun and the sand and everything that has to do with that. Such as.....mermaids, seashells, sand, sunscreen, sun hats, the beach, and whatever else that has to do with summer feelings.