Beyonce Knowles
Dereon by Beyonce and Tina Knowles represents a place where couture crosses cool. Beyonce, hip hop diva, and Tina Knowles, exquisite designer, have come together to bring forth a brand that caters to the females of the hip hop community. With classy and sophisticated tops, jeans, footwear and outerwear, you’re sure to find a new home at House of Dereon!
My feet have basically no arch . I am flat-footed and so are many members of my family. When I stand for long periods my ankles,calves,knees, and sometimes lower back start to hurt. God forbid I try to jog or run for exercise on a hard surface like the sidewalk. On top of that , on both feet I have bunions . A bunion is a bony bump on the joint at the base of the big toe. I was born with mine (thanks again mom and dad) and also predisposed already because of having flat feet which puts pressure more on the toe joints and also causes my feet to roll inward when I walk. This imbalance of pressure in my foot also causes calluses on the bottom top portion of my feet when I stand or walk for long periods. The bunions on both feet make my foot wider at the top also ....helloooo corns. Then I picked the wrong day job as a pharmacist since we stand all day and are required to wear closed -toed shoes in most retail environments ( good thing I work at home now). I want to wear all those sexy high heels I see you ladies sporting at social events , but I don't have the arch to support them.
Enough of me whining, what I am trying to say is that with 30 years of these issues, I'm pretty much well versed in shoe comfort. I've become a flip-flop fanatic since I don't have to work in a formal environment anymore and get bi-weekly pedicures so what should be ugly feet have graduated to be pretty nice feet. However, I know most of you ladies still have to go to work and be on your feet a lot. In addition, like you I love a fine looking sexy pair of shoes. So in this section we are going to discuss all the options I know to achieve comfort and still stop traffic.
LETS TALK ABOUT SHOE BRANDS
Mephisto
Mephisto was originated and developed by Martin Michaeli in 1965 and the company is still run by him today. In 1965 Michaeli’s goal was to make the World’s most Comfortable Walking Shoe, and this still holds true today. The factory and headquarters are located in Sarrebourg France where they make shoes that are sold in 46 countries. Mephisto shoes are designed and built to to be perfect. They use more than 140 different operations and take over 90 minutes to manufacture a single pair. Their shoes are a benchmark of perfection around the world and the company has won numerous quality and design awards .People consider Mephisto to be very expensive and they are if you compare to other brands.However, Mephisto is an investment in comfort. The technology, materials, construction and quality components used to make every pair are never compromised. It is not uncommon to get years of wear from your Mephisto's. To enhance your investment, most of their styles are completely recraftable and can be reconstructed to original specifications. The consumer can rest assured that every pair of shoes, boots, sandals, sneakers and loafers meet strict production standards that yield the highest level of quality.
Some other brands I own and really like are Aerosoles, Soft Spots, Sofft, Dr. Scholls and of course the infamous Birkenstock/Tatami. You can find these brands at
Half of the sandals I own are from Easy Spirit. The great thing about them is that they offer shoes in narrow,regular, and wide-widths. Most of their shoes are really fashionable and up to date trend-wise. My favorite new shoe they have out now is the POMONA in yellow shown in the picture above.
Speaking of wide-widths this shop specializes in women with bigger feet and also carry the brands "Sofft" and "Soft Spots"
I have to of course mention again the infamous skechers shape-ups . People who have worn these do say they have better posture, less joint pain through the reduced stress on knees and ankles.
Orthotics
I am only going to touch on this a little since the subject is beyond the scope of this blog. Orthotics are devices that are used to alter or modify foot function and are designed to treat, adjust, and support various biomechanical foot disorders. Some are simple, commercially-made devices, such as cushioned heel cups or insoles for shoes that are sold over the counter in drug stores or other retail establishments. The best are custom-made for an individual through seeing a podiatrist. Below are a few items I've come across with good reviews:
The orthotic I hear the best reviews about is from Walk Fit.
You can get them from the company itself or click here to Get Walkfit Orthotics from Amazon
Recently I came across this awesome site that has all these cute additions for open-toed shoes and high heels. Their stuff has been featured in a few magazines. I'm going to try some out and let you guys know . Try using this search box below by picking your problem and then pressing solve to see what kind of items they have.
I love cats ,they are so sleek, graceful, and a little mysterious. This is why Kimora Lee's Baby Phat line catches my attention. She has this new charm bracelet thing going on. You can buy the bracelet and then add the related charms as you see fit. These charms are soooo freakin cute . You can buy one or all. I wouldn't say its everyday wear and you don't have to put them all on at one time , since they all have different themes.If you already have your own charm bracelet,then you can just choose your charm. Match it up with one of her cute dresses, blouses, and/or shoes and you are set for a night prowling on the town. Meowwwwwwwwww my fellow catwomen.
So you're only 28 but you remember woodstock like yesterday. Then I would guess like me , you love Lucky Brand. I started out buying their t-shirts in Macys . They embodied everything I love - dragons, stars, peace signs, flowers, nature etc. - again the term " wearable art" . They are one of the few brands that frequently utilize suede. They sell jewelry, handbags, and men and women's clothing . I have included my favorites in the slide show below from their recent arrivals and also a coupon link.
Below are my top shoe picks from Lucky Brand , some of them may seem high but the platform in front makes a world of difference- trust me I am not a heel girl. Click each picture for pricing and further details.
I OWN THE ONES BELOW THEY WERE LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Below are links to current promotions on other sites that have the newest Lucky Brand products in their inventory enjoy!
I could have and probably should have dedicated an entire blog to just jewelry itself. There is so much to talk about. So I am going to start with the basics.
There is fine jewelry and there is fashion jewelry. Fine jewelry is made out of precious metals such as platinum, gold, or silver. If there are stones set in this type of jewelry they are usually precious or semi-precious. Most jewelers still consider the diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire the "precious" gemstones and all the others semi-precious even though some semi-precious may be valued more than the precious types depending on rarity and clarity.
On the other hand, Fashion jewelry is usually made from brass , pewter, nickel , plastic etc. set with rhinestones, colored glass, or crystals. Usually the materials are gold or silver plated and this plating will easily fade or turn color with exposure to moisture. However, Modern fashion jewelry has taken new turns. Nowadays , nickel is almost obsolete because so many people are allergic to it. Rhinestones and crystals have been mostly replaced with simulated or lab-created gems. They can create in a lab most precious and semi-precious gemstones . These lab created gemstones are made of the same mineral composition as natural gemstones, and are created in laboratories with equipment that simulates the high pressures and heat that nature used to create real gemstones beneath the earth. A lab created gemstone is identical to the natural gemstone it replicates in every way; color, hardness, composition, luster, looks etc. The problem is lab-created gems are too perfect , therefore sometimes looking fake. Even though simulated gemstones are also created in labs , they do not share the same properties as the gem they mimic .Usually a simulated gem will only match in color.
As you know I am a big ebay fan . I like selling all the accessories I racked up over the years and using the money for new ones. I also like winning things at way lower prices than they are worth. So it shouldn't surprise you that I like Bidz.com. I know it can be a hassle , most people want to just buy their product and get it over with. however, take it from the shopaholic that auctions are well worth your time. Set the alarm on your cell phone or other apparatus for 5-10 minutes before your dream item ends, this gives you a few minutes to log in to the site and see what the current bid is. Wait as long as possible to place your bid , if you don't do this there are always people who will outbid you up until the very last 10-15 seconds if they are fast enough. The master (me) always bids at less than 20 seconds on the clock-gives me a short window to see if some other psycho has pre-entered a very large bid or just to size up the competition. Then at the very last 8-10 seconds I enter the max I am willing to pay for that item... and the winner is CAMMY
