First of all, a little shoe porn. These inspired today’s post and, quite frankly, are the prettiest shoes I have ever owned. Excuse my poor photographs. Glitter is hard to shoot and if these ever made it to the Nine West site, they’re long gone now!
We’re going to be very happy together, as well as 4″ taller than my (6’1″ tall) fiance.
They’re from Nine West, and they’re called ‘Liatris (Pink)’. But you won’t find another pair in Melbourne over a 9. I saw them — probably the day they were out — and called around Melbourne until I found a Nine West store with a pair. Another tall girl was trying them on so I couldn’t reserve them. The heart break! But five minutes later all was fine — she took the 10 1/2. If you are she and reading this post: bless you and your tiny little feet.
So here’s the subject of the post. Shopping for size 11′s in Australia is a blood sport. Not as bad as it was when I was a baby-tall (thank you, Dr. Marten), but as it stands in this city, there are only 3 ways I know of to get nice shoes:
a) Try and plan what you’ll need a season in advance. First, get a Bongo US account — have your bank details ratified and send them two forms of ID. That means you have a US ‘address’ for those prehistoric US stores that won’t ship internationally, or charge stupid amounts for it. Then call Zappos to order because their purchasing system has a little tanty when you try to pay with an AU credit card. Painfully wade through spelling everything a-for-apple, b-for-badger, becuase their staff are not good with accents. This whole process will take a few weeks. Pray the shoes will fit.
I do this but it makes me almost as frustrated as glittery heels make me happy. OR:
b) Go around all the stores that occasionally stock the odd 11. Put yourself on every mailing list they have. The moment you get that email saying there is new stock; run, don’t walk.
Here’s another option.
c) Go and make friends with Simon, the manager of the Nine West store in Collins St (opposite Tiffany’s). Simon is determined to make a name for himself and his store as ‘the place to be’ for difficult sizes. Moreover, many of the US made 11s would fit an 11.5 and a select few would accommodate a 12. I went in on Tuesday evening for this magical, mythical shoe in a promised 11. Could it be… would it be my lucky day? And it was! Not only was the shoe there, and roomy, but Simon and his staff knew exactly what I wanted before I even opened my mouth. They grabbed every pretty, colourful, high heeled 11 they had. And they had lots! I played in there until closing time and came away with these, too:
(As of the date of this post, there are 11s of the ‘Chopin’ left in Collins Street and here). They’re very comfy indeed for a heel, and would go swimmingly with a little 50s inspired outfit.
Ladies, support Simon and anyone else you know who will stock pretty 11s. The more large sizes he knows he can sell, the more he can stock. I know for a fact that Nine West sell 12s in the US, so it’s also worth campaigning for those. In that shop I felt like a perfectly normal girl. I may have got a little teary. Must be that I got glitter in my eyes.
Do you have any shoe-getting tactics you’d care to share, or know any other retailers who stock fashion shoes in large sizes? Leave a comment so others can support them!
