FARYL ROBIN: SHOE ARE YOU? ©

Faryl Robin Morse is the founder and creative director of Farylrobin Footwear, one of the few fashion forward lines that do not cost an arm and a leg, and are actually, (gasp!) comfortable. Rachael Ray is a huge fan among many of downtown fashion-savvy girls who dig Faryl's funky designs.

Faryl discovered her passion for shoes at the tender age of sixteen. Born and raised in Manhattan, she developed a discerning eye for fashion and, like most teenage girls, salivated after the trends she so diligently followed. In order to pay off an exorbitant clothing debt to her mother, Faryl began selling shoes at Kenneth Cole. In 2001, Faryl decided to put her love for footwear to the test and create her own line. Since then, sales have doubled every year--fast forward to 2004 when she was named one of Footwear News’ Top Women Shoe Designers. We caught up with Faryl as she took a break from her busy schedule of running her business and raising her two small children to talk shoe with Miss Meghan.

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

Right now I am in love with one of my own boots, the Edie. I wear them all the time because they are flat, comfortable and easy to walk in. The shaft of the boot fits just right around my calf so it looks sexy in an "I’m not trying” sort of way, and they go with everything-- tucked into skinny jeans or with boot-cut jeans over top. I really love them with dresses and skirts – both day and night – which is great for me, because I love dresses.

Where did you get them?

I bought them at Bloomingdales. And, yes, I had to buy them! We sold out of the boot completely before I had the chance to pull a pair from our own inventory.

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

I find a man in boots or sneakers completely rugged and sexy. This is ironic, because my husband is in finance and has to go to work in a suit and really nice shoes everyday. So when it’s the weekend and he gets to loosen up a bit, I love it!

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

The most I ever paid was $1,500 for a pair of Sergio Rossi over-the-knee boots a few years ago. They are gorgeous and I love them – but I’ve never worn them! They’re beautiful but I just don’t feel comfortable in them. I couldn’t stop from buying them, though, and I do like looking at them in my closet.

The least? Havianas.

Your best shoe purchase? Worst?

My very first pair of Christian Louboutin pumps. They are a D’Orsay pump and are so sexy, and they still sell the pattern. I love them for what they represented, it was my first expensive shoe purchase and I felt like a woman.

The worst pair of shoes that I purchased was a Louboutin strappy sandal - not because the shoe wasn’t beautiful but they made my feet look like sausages and I couldn’t walk in them. There is nothing less attractive than a woman in pain because of her shoes!

Pair of shoes you want to be buried in?

Today? No thank you.

Shoes you wore on your last date?

My husband and I still date so this is a reasonable question. The last shoe I wore was mine, called the Farley in black, it looked really elegant with the black dress that I wore and is very, very, very comfortable.

Shoes you were wearing for your first kiss?

Sky blue pro keds. The thought of them still makes me happy.

What pair of shoes changed your life?

I’ll never forget, it was the Kenneth Cole Tokubei in white, the year was 1984. If Kenneth reads this, I am sure he will smile. As soon as I started working in Kenneth’s first New York retail store, I knew that the shoe business was for me. That job, that boot and Kenneth changed my life. It’s the reason I’m here today!

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

I would give anything to find the perfect shoe for my father. He has wide feet and arthritis, so it’s really hard for him to find a comfortable shoe. I would love to find him a shoe that feels good and looks beautiful – because he is a beautiful man and I love him.

What shoes would you wear if no one was looking?

Actually, I wear these really old Uggs in the garden sometimes. I won’t wear them on the street because honestly, I can’t stand looking at women in Uggs any more. I feel about them the way I feel about a song that I overplayed on my i-Pod. Enough!

Pointy or round toe?

Round.

Stiletto or flat?

Flat.

On men you prefer:

Wingtip or cool sneaker? Cool sneaker.

Faryl's favorite good cause:

One of my favorites is the ABC Carpet and Home’s Gifts of Compassion Program, which allows you to donate to a number of causes ranging from the environment to education to women in Afghanistan. You can make a donation in someone’s name to the cause that you feel that person would most relate to. This holiday season I actually gave everybody that I know the “gift of giving” and made a donation in their honor to a number of different causes.

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

SEE THE GIRLS ROCK OSCAR WEEK

Check out this feature on the AP.

OSCAR SHOES

Here's the shoes Heidi is wearing right now, sitting at the Oscars! (Giuseppe, of course.)

PARTYING WITH JESUS

big par-tay for the film last night at a swank private residence in santa monica. heidi and rachel both looked fabulous, and ate their chocolate oscars very solemnly, as you can see above.

AMANDA BEARD: SHOE ARE YOU? ©

Amanda Beard, America’s favorite Olympic cover girl and Elite model, has been bagging medals since she was 14, one of the youngest Olympians ever. Not a woman to just stop there, she broke the world record for the 200 meter breaststroke, and then took the gold for the same, at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Admired by girls and women the world over, her quintessential style is easy, fresh and very American. Miss Meghan caught up with her at a recent event in New York where she had a chance to delve deep into her current shoe obsessions.



What are your favorite pair of shoes? Where did you get them?

I just bought a new pair of Prada boots. I did a photo shoot for Speedo not to long ago and I put them on for the shoot and couldn’t take them off, I had to wear them home!!!!

Give me three adjectives that describe how you feel in these shoes.

Sexy, tall, and sexy.

What pair of shoes did you wear on your last date?

I had an awesome date with my boyfriend last night to the Nets game and I wore a pair of Michael Kors shoes. For something like a sporting event, specially basketball, I wanted to look tall and cute to be on my boys arm.

How many pairs of shoes in your closet? How many do you wish were there?

I probably have 60 pairs of shoes. I don’t really need any more because I have no more room in my closet. I think that you are good to go if you have a couple of pairs you absolutely adore. I tend to wear certain shoes till the heels break off and then other ones still have the tags on them.

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

I like a guy who is a guy, so if I look at his shoes and see that he knows his stuff when it comes to designers I don’t really dig it. I guess my favorite shoes on a boy are racing shoes!!

What shoe designer do you most identify with?

I love, love, love Marc Jacobs. I feel like he can read my mind when it comes to fashion. His stuff is funky yet practical. I want things that I can wear to every occasion.

Are you a pointy toe girl or round toe girl?

I am a round toe girl, funny enough not only because I think they’re better, but because I am so active. Yes, even in heels I run around so much, and if I am wearing pointy toed shoes, there’s no point by the end of the day. I can’t even tell you how many shoes I have ruined in my time.

Stiletto or flat?

Stiletto, once you learn how to hang out on your tippy toes all night, you’ll never want to go back.

What's the most you ever paid for a pair of shoes?

My newest pair of boots were so far my most costly. They were about $800 and my wallet is still hurting, but they look so damn cute!!

Do you remember your first pair of shoes? What were they? Where did you get them?

I have no idea, I grew up near the beach so I was always barefoot.

What pair of shoes would you want to be buried in?

Something that just screams "me." All of my friends would agree that it would be this pair of leather sandals that I wear all the time. I wear them on the pool deck, at the beach, and even sneak them into my wardrobe for dinners.

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

WALKIN' IN LA

As you know, one thing Miss Meghan loves to do in LA is walk. The rest of the population here thinks that is kind of wierd, so sometimes I drive around in my Ford Escape to appease them.

It's pouring rain here but I am happy just to not be in a parka. Today is: breakfast at cute cafe in Venice Beach, finding the perfect jeans at Fred Segal and then a hike with three dogs. I plan to rock the LA look with a Starbucks in one hand and my Blackberry in the other. I will not however be carrying a bag that is bigger than my body. I am going to skip that part of the equation. Yes I am.

READ WHAT HEIDI AND RACHEL HAVE TO SAY ABOUT BEING OSCAR NOMINEES

in their day by day diary. it's the true inside look at their odyssey to the oscars. am praying for you guys to get the statue!! xo Miss Meg

THE MANOLO: SHOE ARE YOU? ©

Manolo the Shoeblogger is one of the most intriguing bloggers on the web today, presiding over a blogging empire that includes shoeblogs.com, Manolo's Food Blog, Manolo for the Brides, the Men, a Prada Blog, and a Gallery of the Horrors. Recently profiled in UK Vogue ’s January issue, his reach is unquestionable in the blogosphere, and yet his true identity has still not been revealed, adding an extra layer of intrigue to his day to day musings. His pithy commentary on celeb and fashion faux pas (will we ever forget his 'My Name is Tommy and I Have a Torch' post?) including his ever-hilarious Karl Lagerfield tidbits, his well-documented hate for Crocs, Birkenstocks and Earth shoes, and his Project Runway critiques along with solid shoe advice, make for an everyday must-read.

Currently working on a book as well as running the day to day operations of his growing domain, and writing his column for the Washington Post Express, the Manolo graciously took some time to answer our most intimate questions as well as send us the very first picture of him to be published anywhere (of his shoes, but still, we feel honored). Super - fantastic!

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

The Manolo does not have the single pair of the favorite shoes. He is like the loving parent with many children, and in the fact, he has fifteen or sixteen pairs of the shoes that he absolutely loves, and thus every morning is like the glorious buffet of shoes for the Manolo. Sometimes, the Manolo even returns home early, so that he may change his shoes and go out again for the afternoon.

The Manolo has provided the picture of himself in the size eleven Clydes by the Taryn Rose, the pair of double-buckle, monk-strap shoes of which the Manolo has been especially fond this last year or so. They are exceptionally comfortable for walking long distances in the city.

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

Beautiful shoes! As long as the shoes are handsome and well-made, appropriate to the occasion and well-suited to the wearer the Manolo is very happy.

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

Several years ago, the Manolo purchased the pair of the custom-made John Lobb full brogue, navy cut shoes that cost something close to $2800 of the American dollars. Ayyyyy! So costly, but so beautiful!

As for the least, in the earlier days, when the Manolo was much poorer he purchased more than one pair of the distinguished flea-market or thrift-stores shoes for substantially less than $5 of the American dollars. At least one of these inexpensive pairs he still owns.

Shoes you wore on your last date?

The Manolo does not date. In the stead, he has chosen to fully devote himself to spreading the gospel of the beautiful shoes.

Shoes you were wearing for your first kiss?

First kiss with the human? In this case, the young Manolo was wearing the pair of the light-brown, high-top, side-button ankle boots which he had purchased at the Rastro flea market for very little money, and which he wore with the striped trousers and Edwardian frock coat of his own design and cut. The teenaged Manolo was in his Young Banker phase (not that he was the actual banker, mind you, but that he liked to dress as if he were the Edwardian banker, or perhaps as if he were the young clerk in the Mary Poppins movie). Strangely, this look would occasionally appeal to the very particular and very odd young peoples. It was one such young person who, while strolling in the park one evening, virtually assaulted the Manolo with the most ardent and unexpected kiss. The Manolo broke free of this amorous embrace and raced home to record it immediately in his journal. Needless to say, all further relations with this person were ended.

What pair of shoes changed your life?

It is hard to pick the single pair of the shoes, so the Manolo will speak of the collective. When the Manolo was the teeny little impoverished Manolo he would sit on the sidewalk outside the Teatro de la Zarzuela watching the by passers. It was the handsome shoes of these by passers--their beautiful, glittering wonderful shoes--that planted in the little Manolo this life-long love of the shoes. There the Manolo was, the dirty, barefeeted child of five or six years of age, sitting on the sidewalk and looking at the most beautiful objects in the entire world, the handsome shoes of the handsome peoples who were going into the theatre. How could these shoes do anything other than irrevocably change the life of the young shoeless Manolo?

What shoes would you wear if no one was looking?

Trust the Manolo, someone is always looking.

Wingtip or cool sneaker?

Wingtip, of the course.

Flip-flop or mandal?

Ayyyyyyyyy! Neither! During the hot weather the Manolo likes to wear the white buck shoes with his tropical suits.

On women you prefer: Stiletto or flat?

Stiletto, although the Manolo again believes that one must always wear what is appropriate for the occasion and suitable for the wearer. And so, obviously, sometimes the flats are better.

Your favorite charity or good cause and why?

The Manolo supports The Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation. Sadly, the Manolo has family members and friends who are afflicted with this debilitating disease.

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

KILLER HEELS IN AUSTRALIA

Heels quell date nerves

February 13, 2007 01:47pm
By Lisa Bjorksten

KEEN to feel poised for that all-important Valentine's date? Forget champagne, the key to first date confidence is all in your shoes, a new survey reveals.
Not just any shoes, mind. A new survey from RSVP and three2seven.com reveals 80 per cent of Australian women choose stilettos for a first date.
The stiletto, according to Manhattan-based shoe expert Meghan Cleary, is the most confident and feminine of all the shoe styles. And by choosing a strappy sandal or peep-toe, a woman is giving herself that vital confidence boost to quell date nerves.

Read the article in full here!

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT FIT IN MANHATTAN

Or Westchester, or Rye, check out this fab boutique, Plaza Too. As well as carrying a super-fantastic (as the Manolo says) selection of shoes, they also carry my book. And, for all our fellow West Villagers, I have it confirmed from a super inside source that they are opening new locale on Hudson street where Constanca Basto used to be!

EILEEN SHIELDS: SHOE ARE YOU? ©

SHOE ARE YOU? ©: EILEEN SHIELDS

Bursting on the scene in February 2004, shoe designer Eileen Shields has made quick work of getting to the top echelon of shoe designers. A designer at Donna Karan for more than a decade, before she journeyed out on her own, Shield’s creations, now sold at Harvey Nichols in London, Dublin and Edinburgh, her own gallery-boutique in Dublin, and at Girlshop and Anthropologie online here in the states, have made it into the hearts of celebs from Bono to Halle Berry, P.J. Harvey to Drew Barrymore.

Her designs have an old-world quality in their traditional last shapes, and are infused with a sense of fun in the square toe boxes and mixing and matching of materials from red suede to gold metallic, black velvet to striped two-tone leathers. Her take on the ballet flat, the Juliette, has become ubiquitous shorthand for those in the know looking for a refined and unique take on the ballet flat phenomenon.

And, exclusively for you here, we preview the sketch of her new style, the Eva, the first shoe ever commissioned by Eva Longoria herself for the hit show, Desperate Housewives, (with a special request to take the heel up to Eva’s preferred five-inch heel height, of course!).

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

That’s like asking me ‘which one of your children is your favorite’? So, I’d have to say them all, but one of my favorites this season is the Juliette in black haircalf. It’s divine – the perfect flat, sexy shoe made like a sneaker but is as light as a feather. For me, it’s all about your toe cleavage when you wear a pair of flats and I wanted to make the shoe barely cover the foot (the t-strap is there to hold on the shoe!)

What do you like to wear with them?

With out a doubt, Sharon Wauchob or Zero/Maria Cornejo. Absolutely delicious modern clothes!

If you could walk in someone else's shoes, who’s would they be and why?

Walking the streets of Monaco in the 1960's as Grace Kelly. No matter what pictures I see of her today, she looks so incredibly modern. And every pair of shoes on her feet were beautiful! For some reason in the places where I make my shoes in the Tuscan hills of Italy, her legacy follows me around. I see pictures of her everywhere, she visited these places so often. They always inspire me so much!

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

Chelsea boots of any kind. They are the perfect footwear for men.

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

$750 Ann Demeulemeester’s and $2 Chinese slippers from Chinatown.

Pair of shoes you want to be buried in?

Absolutely ballerinas. For years as a child I was afraid my bed would fly away in the night and I’d wake up in a field lost, so I used to spend ages every night balancing a pair of shoes on my bed post, one on top of the other so at least I’d have shoes to walk home in— even then, I had my priorities right about what girl needs to survive!

Shoes you wore on your last date?

The Jessica in red haircalf from my collection.

Shoes you were wearing for your first kiss?

Black haircalf flat platform mod lace-up shoes. I was fourteen and obsessed with the band The Specials!

What pair of shoes changed your life?

The Sam in my collection is named after my young son who has changed my life more than any shoe could!

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

My two amazing sisters and my mom. They are the most critical people I know in the world and are so completely different. It means the world to me when they love and wear shoes from my collection.

Pointy or round toe?

Oval!

Stiletto or flat?

Both, I can’t live without either of these.

On men you prefer: Wingtip or cool sneaker?

Cool sneaker but wingtips are one of my favorite shoes on earth. The true craftsmanship is incredible, it truly takes nearly two hundred pairs of hands to make one pair.

Your favorite charity or good cause and why?

Definitely GOAL. This international humanitarian charity helps to alleviate the suffering of the poorest of the poor and manage to do it on an administration cost base of less than 5% per annum – 95% of all funds raised go toward helping those who need it most.

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