(old & no longer available)

Oh happy day!  The second pair of boots I had lowered / shortened are finally home with me.  If you're new to this story, you can see the before & after shots of the first pair here.

I had a couple complications with these boots, but I'm really pleased with the end result.  These are boots I've had in my closet for 3+ years and had kind of forgotten about because the wedge on them was so massive; and I mean that in a height and unsturdy kind of way (but mainly height).  I had worn them a couple times and then stored them under the, 'These-make-me-6'6-so-I'm-not-wearing-them-anymore' category.  Now, after shaving off almost two inches, I can wear this more comfortably!

Unfortunately, I didn't take any quality before pictures but I have a few that I snapped while at the shoe repair as he was sawing off one of the wedges.  Better than nothing, thought, right?  Right!  Proceed!

BEFORE


AFTER




Related posts:
* Before & After: Shortening My Wedge Boots (part 1 / the other pair)

(old, now modified & no longer available*)

If you've been following along on my boot-lowering/heel-shortening process, you know about these boots.  If not, you can read about it HERE.

I finally picked up my boots after having the heel shortened on them at Bells Corners Shoe Repair in Ottawa.  Alex and Tony did a great job and I'm so pleased as these boots were basically written off to the land of decorative shoes for almost four years.  You can see me wearing them--the one & only time--HERE.

As promised, I took photos of before and after to share here as I've never had boots lowered before and didn't even really know if it was possible.  It is and I considered it well worth it to do so since they are brand new, real leather and boots that I'm still loving many years after getting them.

Read on to see the before and after transformation (also note that the photos I took before were pre-DSLR-photography class and my post photos are much better, if I do say so myself).


* Note: it says on the website they are 5 inch wedges but I measured my measuring tape before taking them in to be modified and they were a solid 6 inches.


BEFORE



AFTER




BEFORE

AFTER




Sort of?

I excitedly picked up my three-year-old-only-worn-twice Aldo boots from the shoe repair last night and I know I promised you all a blog post, but, this is not the final one.

Basically what happened, I picked up the boots and while I hoped there would be even less platform than there is, I was really, really pleased with the results.  Alex from Bells Corners Shoe Repair did an amazing job and I was so excited to just be able to wear these beautiful boots, finally.  I took them home and wore them around my apartment while doing stuff and realized the left foot felt less stable than the right (pictured above).  Then I realized that while the heels matched in height, the platforms did not and the left foot's platform was about half an inch taller.

The right foot felt so good, stable and comfortable while I could feel the difference in my left foot.  I thought perhaps I could just get by it, but over the hour I decided that no, I would have to bring them back and get it fixed as it would always bother me.

So, I've taken them back to the shop and they are going to get them to match and even shave off more so that there is barely a platform remaining at all--which is perfect!  I will have to wait until next week to get these back but wanted to share some sort of an update with you.  I did take some real photos of the boots before hand and will take some pictures when I get them back on Monday to share.  This process is so exciting, I can't believe I never looked into this before; I didn't know this existed and I'm going to get a ton of wear out of these boots now.  Hoorah!

Additionally, I took in these boots as I totally forgot about them and rediscovered them in my closet last night!  I have worn them twice--purchased within a month of the ones above, three years ago--and put them away because they were unstable and far too high.  I've decided to get them lowered as well so I'll have some pictures to share of those next week too!




UPDATE | September 15th

I created a video explaining the situation and showing a few more pictures.



When I saw these brand new kick-ass hi-tops at The Bay on Sunday I picked them up, looked them over and thought to myself about how much I liked them.  I turned them over, saw the price, and walked away.

Oddly enough, Tuesday night I was still thinking about them, which surprised me; I really wanted these shoes.  I had a gift card for The Bay, so I called, put my size on hold and made them mine.

Note: these shoes run super big.  I'm always a size 10--and somtimes an 11 at places like Aldo--but I actually sized down to an eight.  What! 


I'm currently obsessed with strappy heels.  I'm on the hunt for a black pair to 'complete' my collection for this summer; but then again, is a shoe collection ever complete?

I love my Zara sandals that I bought online about a month ago.  Normally I try to give all my shoes a fair shot and rotate through them the best I can--we all have favourites, right?--but these ones are getting worn multiple times per week.  They have become my go-to and since they are nude, and I'm wearing them so much, I'm worried they are going to get scuzy looking quick. I was debating ordering another pair until I saw they are sold out in my size. 

The other strappy ones I recently acquired are the neon lime Prabal Gurung (for Target) heels.  They aren't nearly as comfortable as the Zara ones but I love the look and pop of colour.  I am beginning to understand the common complaint of the ankle strap coming undone sometimes while you walk but Kelly shared an awesome tip which is to move the leather loop over the buckle closure to keep it closed and secure.  Genius!

I'm finding every morning, when I get dressed, I look at my shoes and am instantly drawn towards these two, mentaly debating if they work with my outfit.  They usually do, and so I wear them, again and again and again.  Although up until a month ago, my other shoes seemed fine, now they feel dated to me and I will barely look at anything with a platform or chunky wedge.  Strange how quickly the tides change, right?  I'm sure I'll re-love my other shoes again, but for now, strappy heel kick it is.


Yay!  They have arrived.

I bit the bullet and purchased the Prabal Gurung, Ankle Strap Sandal (remember when I was coveting them HERE?) and am quite pleased.  I purchased them through eBay and the seller, Ann, was great to deal with.  At first, I accidentally bid on the wrong size with three minutes left in the auction; I got excited and clearly thought I was bidding on my size--duh.

Needless to say, I won the auction and then realized they were a size too small.  I decided to take a stab in the dark and emailed the seller to see if she would be willing to cancel the sale as I purchase the wrong size but figured I'd be on the hook to pay and didn't expect much.

As luck would have it, she happened to have a size 10 for sale and said she would simply swap them and send me the correct size!  She was so sweet and I am so fortunate.  She's based out of the US too, which I like--and they arrived within a week.


I'm on a huge strappy sandal kick right now.  I've been wearing my Zara heels non-stop--which is kind of unlike me as I like to rotate through my shoes, if possible--and now I just need a black pair to complete my summer collection and I'll be good.  Haha.

Want to snatch up a pair for yourself?  There are loads of them on eBay right now HERE.

Aldo

 BCBG (via TJ Maxx)

 Sbica (via Ross)

 Joey (via Ross)

 Aldo (with fur added)

 Aldo

 Anne Michelle (via Urban Original)

 Aldo (thrifted) & Qupid (via GoJane)

 American Eagle

 Bamboo (via GoJane) & Liliana (via UrbanOg)

 Le Chateau & Anne Michelle (via GoJane)


Wild Diva (via Urban Original)

My family and friends know that my thing is shoes.

I.  Love.  Shoes.

It's pretty obvious.

I'm not sure where it came from, or how I grew to love them so much (why not bags? Or designer denim? Or something cheaper, like... nail polish?), but I do.  People are often surprised by my shoe collection, but I have a small secret:  I don't pay a ton for my shoes.

Yes, sometimes I spend more on various pairs and I have picked up a designer pair along the way.  That said, for the most part, my shoes are inexpensive. I prefer to have more of a variety and when it comes down to it, and I never 'wear out' my shoes.  Additionally, Canadian winters can be harsh on boots so it's almost ridiculous to invest a chunk of change in those when you know come Spring they will be toast.

I mainly shop for shoes online, or at least have in the past, and love the great savings you can find (and I'm in Canada, imagine how much better it is for you US readers).  It's always exciting when the mailman comes with a box!

I wanted to share a few of my favourite online stores to purchase shoes from:

* AMI Clubwear (use Ebates and get 5% cashback)


And a few 'pricier' (but still kind of budget friendly) places I love:
*  Victoria's Secret (2.5% cashback & the Uggs are priced really well, if you like that sort of thing)
 

 
I have had my eye on the Isabel Marant 'Bekket' or 'Willow' (older version) since January.

Yes.  JanuaryI have been coveting hi-top wedge sneakers since the beginning of this year.

I wish I could say these are the real deal, but I couldn't justify spending over $700 on... sneakers.

So, I did the next best thing: eBay.  

I purchased these through the seller besttopstock and am quite pleased.  The shipping was free and the price was comparable to other listings.  They arrived within three weeks, which was faster than expected (from China to Canada).  I can personally tell these are not the designer goods, but they are a cool knock-off and quite comfortable.  They fit fairly true to size, but run a little narrow.  

I wore these out last night for the first time (they just arrived yesterday!) with the skinny jeans you see above and an off-the-shoulder white sweater.  I can't wait to rock these with a leather mini skirt and my distressed denim shorts (c'mon Indian summer!).


You might also like:
* Styling inspiration for these shoes.
* Psst, these are the shoes Beyonce wore in her, 'Love on Top' video.

Update:
* Rockin' them with a dress for The Weeknd concert in MTL.
 


After seeing these shoes online I had to splurge and get them.  I'm loving a lower wedge lately and these fit the bill perfectly.

So I need to talk about ShopBop.  

I have never ordered anything through them before, but found the best deal on their website for these shoes (based on: price, (free) shipping & delivery time).  I was even able to use Ebates and get 2.5% cash back, so that's always great.  

Their return policy is great as well, as they pay for returns, which means it's almost hassle free when you purchase something: free shipping and free returns if it doesn't work out.

I place my order on a Tuesday morning and they were in my hands by Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday afternoon!

I'm utterly shocked at how quickly I got my parcel, especially since I live in Canada and that always tends to take longer (distance + customs).  I'm so immediately impressed with this company and will definitely shop with them again.  Have you ever shopped with ShopBop?

Update:  A commenter informed me that the return shipping is not free (I misread this since I haven't returned anything to know from experience) so my mistake, you do have to pay to return your item(s).  Thanks for the heads up anon!


* I am in no way affiliated with ShopBop, I'm simply impressed and really excited I got shoes that I ordered online in 24 hours!
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