ADRIANA TRIGIANI: SHOE ARE YOU?©

SHOE ARE YOU?©: ADRIANA TRIGIANI

Adriana Trigiani was a playwright, and writer/producer on The Cosby Show and A Different World, as well as the Emmy-nominated Lily Tomlin special, Growing Up Funny before she turned her attention to writing novels. Debuting her first novel Big Stone Gap in 2000, she has turned out a novel per year since then, with her latest Home To Big Stone Gap, making it onto the New York Times, Washington Post and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists. A fellow fan of both Harriet the Spy and Charlotte’s Web, Adrian took a few moments out from her writing time to answer Miss Meghan’s queries into her sole:

What are you favorite pair of shoes and why do you love them so much?

My all time fave shoes were my first pair for kindergarten. They were a Hush Puppy soft gray loafer. I often think of those shoes! I also loved a pair of Peter Fox satin lace-ups that I wore at my wedding. Like children, I love my shoes so much that it's hard for me to pick a favorite. This minute I'm loving my black Juicy Couture knee boots in the snow with the pom poms and charms on them- they're adorable. The leg portion is black cableknit wool- very chic.

Where did you get them?

I got the Juicy boots in New Jersey!

What do you like to wear with them?

Straight leg jeans.

What type of shoes do you like to see on the opposite sex?

My husband has a pair of black suede Donald Pliner loafers- they're divine.

Most you ever paid for a pair of shoes? Least?

The most? I shop sales with a vengence- I could NEVER pay retail- just not in my DNA. I always get a deal on great shoes. The least? Two dollars. And I loved those shoes! (Navy blue wedges with a zipper!)

Best shoe purchase?

Dr. Scholl's sandals, a new pair every summer since I was seven. I have beautiful feet because of those wooden sandals. Worst? I don't like sandals with toe thongs. And spike heels- I just look at and would not, could not actually wear.

Pair of shoes you want to be buried in?

I'm being cremated, so I wouldn't waste a good pair of shoes.

Shoes you wore on your last date?

Stuart Weitzman black suede ankle boots with a wedge heel.

Best pair of shoes to seduce an object of your affection?

I'll tell you what doesn't: Ugg boots.

What pair of shoes changed your life?

The Nike sneakers I was wearing the summer I moved to New York City.

If you could buy a pair of shoes for someone, who would you buy for and why?

I would buy Senator Hillary Clinton the aforementioned Stuart Weitzman black suede boots. You can stand in them for hours and give speeches without your feet hurting- and they give a nice line to the leg.

What shoes would you wear if no one was looking?

My grandmother's work shoes: black leather lace ups with a 3 inch heel.

Pointy or round toe?

Pointy.

Stiletto or flat?

Always a stiletto- heels are crucial.

On men you prefer: Wingtip or cool sneaker?

Either.

Your favorite charity or good cause and why?

The Saint Mary's Health Wagon run by Sister Bernadette Kenney in the Appalachians. She brings medicine up to folks in the mountains that need it. She's a saint.


To be considered for Miss Meghan's Shoe are you?© column, send an email to: shoeareyou@missmeghan.com

If you are an advertiser and would like to sponsor the column, send an email to: sponsor@missmeghan.com

LL COOL J, MARIO BATALI AND MOI

This morning I was on the new show on FOX, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. LL Cool J was there promoting his new book about working out (note to self: get abs like LL), Mario Batali was making some delicious pasta (while wearing bright orange Crocs--which I got to analyze!) and it was A BLAST.

Valerie, Anna and Lara were such good shoe subjects in their Jimmy Choo tropical print Stilettos, cool Puma sneaks, and Platform Leopard shoes respectively. Mike and Juliet were super fun, and I joked around with some New Balance-wearing producers before the segment which got us all in the mood for deep shoe analyzation.

Shoes I was wearing: forest green, Costume National 3-inch pumps, which means I am really good at spending money.

*Watch the entire segment here.

THE BUDGET FASHIONISTA: SHOPTALK WITH MISS MEGHAN

Kathryn is previewing her new series, click here to hear Miss Meghan laugh it up with her about the missing size 11 shoes. Hear the complete interview this Spring.

THE DAILY NEWS LOVES SHOE ARE YOU?©

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Sole Searching
"It's just the kind of hard-hitting interview we like: Tune in to www.missmeghan.com every Wednesday for shoe expert Meghan Cleary's new Q&A. "Shoe Are You?" queries "fascinating people" for their deepest, darkest shoe secrets (designer Shelley Steffee was wearing red kitten heels during her first kiss). Who needs CNN? " -Amy DiLuna

SHELLY STEFFEE: SHOE ARE YOU?©

SHOE ARE YOU?©: SHELLY STEFFEE

Sitting at her seamstress grandmothers’ knees, Shelly Steffee, has been designing clothes since she was 12 years old. A native Pennsylvanian, she now calls New York home, where her boutique and studio in the Meatpacking district are regular destinations for celebs from Lindsay Lohan to Natalie Maines. Her designs are luxe and casual, sumptuous silks, delicious wools and gorgeous jerseys, in draping forms with architectural details and an intellectual punch. As you know, Miss Meghan is a huge fan of her pants, and has been seen about town in her silk tops this Winter, both layered over tees or on their own for a striking nighttime effect. Shelly graciously took time out from her busy schedule before Fashion Week to answer the essential question, Shoe are you?©

Favorite pair of shoes?

It would definitely be my faux shagreen platforms from Jane Mayle.

What do you like to wear with them?

Black denim jeans, a black liquid poly vest, and white fur collar necklace.

Type of shoes you like to see on the opposite sex?

I love to see a man in a masculine boot.

Most you ever paid for a pair of shoes?

Honestly, it was $800, but I also have paid $20— for a pair of flip-flops!

Shoes you were wearing for your first kiss?

Red patent-leather kitten heel pumps with a stripe dress. (It was the 80's!)

Pointy or round toe?

Round.

Stiletto or flat?

Neither, I’m more of a chiseled platform or a stacked heel kind of girl.

On men: Wingtip or cool sneaker?

Sneaker.

Shelly's Good Cause

After the death of her aunt from Ovarian Cancer, Shelly has been a supporter for research for the disease. Click here for more information.

To be considered for Miss Meghan's Shoe are you?© column, send an email to: shoeareyou@missmeghan.com

If you are an advertiser and would like to sponsor the column, send an email to: sponsor@missmeghan.com

CHRONICLE BOOKS PODCAST

They caught me in a cowboy-boot wearing moment!

OSCAR NOMINATED FILM, JESUS CAMP

It feels so good to say that. Congrats Heidi and Rachel!

*Wear good shoes on the red carpet, please.

DID YOU VOTE FOR ME ON GLAM?

kidlets! you can vote for Miss Meghan for the Glam Network Awards. *Takes 2 seconds to register and click!

In case you haven't checked out Glam they are quite fab. Lots of great articles and fashion advice, an amazing Glam Network (all the fashion bloggers like Kathryn, and Leslie and Michelle, slave to target, stylebakery, Kristopher, Pam, and Andy, Tia etc) and lots of fun little tidbits to read. You know how I love a tidbit.

Hit it before the 24th to vote for Miss Meghan.

MISMATCHED SHOES IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Syl wrote a fab article today in the Financial Times, see what Miss Meghan has to say on the trend of intentionally mis-matching shoes:

Walking all over fashion

By Syl Tang

Published: January 19 2007

Although many interesting and salient facts may be gleaned from tourist brochures, one of the more esoteric has to be that included in a new informational pamphlet for visitors to Rome. There, apparently, the very latest thing is to wear two completely different shoes. Glossy-pictured proof is a red suede mule and a green patent pump sold as a set for women or for men, or a boot and a dress shoe in matching brocade. . .

At the end of the day, though, the question with mismatched shoes is not whether designers love making them but whether people will love wearing them. Shoe blogger and author of The Perfect Fit, Meghan Cleary, says: “I have seen people wearing two different shoes. I think someone who is intentionally wearing mismatched items is someone who is whimsical and is not beholden to regular style rules. When you get dressed, it’s about the silhouette, about the lines and the way it drapes on your body. It takes someone who really knows fashion to turn it on its head. It takes a courageous fashion person because you have to know the silhouette before you start to take away sections of the silhouette.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Syl Tang tracks trends and runs HipGuide Inc, ceo@hipguide.com

STYLISH BOOTS IN THE DAILY NEWS

Read Miss Meghan's article in today's Daily News:

Stylish, to boot

In a city like ours, where a snowstorm can mean literally hiking your way to work, it's easy for a woman to maintain her savoir-faire when the weather is not so fair.

BOOTS TO PLAY BASKETBALL IN

If you insist on wearing a stiletto heel this winter, a state of mind I espouse especially for an important business meeting, try these Cole Haan suede knee-high boots. A classic silhouette with Nike Air technology means you also can hit a game of basketball on West Fourth St. without breaking a sweat. What? You mean you never played competitive sports in your stilettos before? Now's the time to start. $485 at Cole Haan stores.

FOR STOMPIN' IN THE RAIN

Though it seemed like flip-flops might be the only rubber-shoe item in your closet this winter, due to the global-warming apocalypse, you will get more mileage out a out of a cute pair of Wellies. They're perfect for stomping through rain and slush puddles and hiking over snow mounds, if necessary. Tamara Henriques boots, $118 at Olive and Bette's; locations at www.oliveandbettes.com.

ANKLE BOOTS THAT WON'T KILL YOUR ANKLES

Channel your inner '80s in these Steve Madden boots - but you won't have to strike a balancing act to still look cute in these 1 1/2-inch kitten heels (meow!). Tuck in your skinny black jeans and pair with a tight rock T-shirt, kohl your eyes, peroxide your hair, and it's almost like you are at back at CBGB's listening to Blondie rap for the very first time. At stevemadden.com.

-Meghan Cleary

I DID NOT GET THE ALAIAS

You may think I wept or sobbed. You may think I was despondent for days. You may think I went into a chocolate eating frenzy. But no, none of these fates befell moi. Instead, I bought one pair Costume National hunter green-black three-inch pumps, one pair Loeffler Randall creme patent leather ballet flats, two pair Loeffler Randal ankle strap stilettos (in black suede and silver mettallic) and one pair L'Autre Chose creme caramel platform boots. Returning: 2 pair Loeffler's and one pair L'autre. This leaves me with the Costume and the Loeffler flats--both of which I wore all weekend long. They are delicious, beyond delicous. Why no Alaia you ask, and why am I so calm? Sometimes the shoe just does not fit. Then you must be practical with yourself and you must face the truth, and that is what I did right there in Bergdorf. I am a strong woman, I know.

AHEM, WE PAUSE FOR A SHORT BREAK

Hello darlings, we are having o so much fun over here thinking about all new ways to be friends with you. New things on this blog next week. Keep tuning in.

TODAY THE ALAIA BECKONS ME

Today the Azzedine Alaias on the second floor at Bergdorf sing their siren song to me. They sing so sweetly, so softly. And I will succumb and I will make my pilgrimage to the second floor at Bergdorf because today is the day when second markdowns begin. I may have to fight well-manicured ladies at the sale rack, I may have to eat a large chocolate bar for energy before I go, I may have to pray that I only find one pair and not two or more that fit me, I may have to call my mother from the sale rack once I have been sucked in to talk me back to reality. But I will go, and when the shoe goddesses above smile kindly upon me, I will come out of that hallowed place with one pair of perfectly priced, perfect fitting Alaias.

STILETTOS DOWN UNDER

Guess who the Sydney Morning Herald quoted today? Your favorite. Moi.

Sexy stiletto heels get our women on a high

Angela Cuming
January 7, 2007

Liz Avery has fallen head over heels for shoes. And not just any shoes. Stilettos are what make her go weak at the knees.

The 21-year-old owns "about 30" pairs of heels, but she is by no means a rarity: a survey of more than 450 Australian women found 32 per cent owned between 26 and 50 pairs of shoes, while 31 per cent owned between 11 and 25 pairs.

Conducted by American shoe guru Meghan Cleary for two online dating services, the survey found that 80 per cent of women would wear stilettos or strappy heels on a first date.

Of those surveyed, 66 per cent said buying shoes was better than eating chocolate, while almost half of the women surveyed said high heels were the best way to boost sex appeal. Black was the colour of choice for 60 per cent of women, while 16 per cent favoured red and 7 per cent pink.

"Australian women overwhelmingly went for the stiletto as their favourite pair of shoes and shoes for a first date," Ms Cleary said.

"They also named their first pair of high heels as the most important shoe they will wear in their life."

Ms Avery, of Bondi, wears "all different types and colours of heels".

Her favourite is a pair of leopard-print, peep-toe heels from Australian designer Leona Edmiston, but the brand favoured by more than any other of those surveyed was Manolo Blahnik.

Favoured by shoe-crazed Carrie Bradshaw (aka Sarah Jessica Parker) of Sex And The City fame, Manolo Blahniks are famous for their sleek lines, not comfort levels.

Source: The Sun-Herald

HAPPY 2007!

Oh my goodness. So many fun things coming up in the world of Miss Meghan for 2007!

Next Thursday, check out the Daily News for a comprehensive look at winter boots. On Tuesday, January 30th, Miss Meg will be on Fox's brand-new Morning Show which is going to be hilarious and fun. Mike and Juliet are super fun hosts so I am sure we will have a blast. I am also doing a podcast with the amazing Kathryn Finney, and one for Chronicle Books, who has just launched their own podcast series, and it looks like personal appearances in both the UK and Australia are on the travel schedule for next Spring.

Thanks for all your love and support - I am so looking forward to 2007 and spending it with you!

xoxoxo
Meg

BOOTS YOU WEAR IN THE COUNTRY

miss meghan rang in the new year in the country with lots of good food, beautiful hikes and good friends. not to mention the water table. i wore my frye's and some hunter wellies. and not one pair of stilettos. eek!

kisses,
meg