Before we end this month with the Elina Wedges, let's take a look at the alternatives. It was a bit difficult for me to find something similar. I felt like the wedges stood out because of it's beautiful burnt sienna color. However, you can find something pretty close to it and here are my top picks.

I went ahead and bought a pair of the Forever21 booties. They were on sale and looked like they would be pretty similar in coloring. Turns out the picture was quite false. The boots ended up being more of a taupe color. The fit is a bit too opened around the ankles, of course I have a very small ankle so it might just be my fault.

The comfort on these are incredible. They walk nicely and feel extremely light in comparison to the Elina Wedges. There is a couple of reasons why these are a tad bit more comfortable. These wedges are not made out of a heavy cork/wood like the Torys. Also, it's made out of faux leather vs. genuine leather.  But comfort is comfort.

If you compare the two side by side, the Elina wedges are a bit higher in the heel. This is another reason why the forever21 wedges are a bit more comfortable. Also, the leather on the Tory wedges is a bit thicker and stiffer. This gives forever21 the edge on comfort. It also make the fit on the the Torys a bit smaller.

Aside from the logo and a couple of seams, the shoes are quite similar in shape, fit, and style. There is no way, a couple of seams and even a logo can be the difference between a $13.00 shoe and almost a $300.00 shoe. Yes, quality and maybe materials might factor in a difference of $100 bucks or so, but still, the Torys are drastically much more expensive. I have this theory that a good pair of shoe, with comfort, great materials, and style should cost around $80-$100. If you are paying more than $100 on a pair of shoes, you are JUST paying for the logo/brand. For example, Steve Madden, Nine West, Rock Ports makes GREAT quality shoes hitting the $80-$100 price range. Why not buy those shoes? Simple, the brand is what make a mark on us. The notion that the more something costs does not always mean the better the quality. Quality plateau's at a certain price point. After that price mark, you are just paying for a brand. A little bit of food for thought!

Anyways! I'm hosting a give away for the Forever21 wedges. This is in celebration of  the first month of shoe blogging and not giving up on it yet. The shoes are a size 6, each month I'll try to host a giveaway for the alternative pair. I'll keep in mind with buying them in different sizes.

Rules:
1) You must follow me either on instagram/twitter and a subscriber on my YouTube channel.
2) You must leave a comment down below answering the question "What would you wear with these boots?"
3) In the comment you must leave me your twitter/instagram user name so I can later contact you if you win the shoes.
4) Must me older than 18 yo or have guardian permission.
5) Opened internationally.


Best of Luck! I will announce the winner on this blog two weeks from now.

~°K.L°~

My lips looks huge here!!!! Normally they are pretty flat and not so plump. I didn't do anything special to them (collagen injections galore!! hehe just fooling). I decided to use a really shimmery gold gloss at the highest points on my lips (the shine) and it looks pretty darn make-out-a-ble. I think people stop "making out" at 18 right?

Outfit details...

"Keep on lovin' what is true and the world will come to you, you can find it in yourself." --Michael Bublé

*H&M (Vegas) Sweater Dress-Bought it last year on my birthday.One of the most shapeless and almost non-flattering dresses ever. It's a little long on me, but I had a thing for burnt orange last fall.
*Cowboy Hat- Bought 3 years ago in a souvenir shop in Galveston.
*Tory Burch Elina Wedges-More pictures of them Here. Seen Here and Here
*Jewel Mint Necklace-One of my favorite Jewel Mint pieces
*Combination of skinny belts. American Eagle Brown Leather, Forever21 Chain&Leather, Charlotte Russe Gold Horse Belt also seen Here

Is frightful....

It is finally cold in Houston. Hopefully for awhile longer so I can bust out some serious knitwear. Every year, I buy sweaters hoping that it would get cold enough to wear them all. It only get's cold enough for me to wear the occasional one, or two. Silly how I went on about sweaters and I am not even wearing one in this post.

I love the look of winter clothing, but I hate the actual cold. The only plus side about cold weather is that my face takes longer to get oily.

As you guys may know, the Elina Wedge Booties by Tory Burch won for the month of January (read it here). This means I will be posting a couple of outfit blogs with them on for 2-3 weeks. I'll then do a review about them and lastly talk about the alternatives. I'll try to do a giveaway for the alternative pair every month just to keep you guys coming back ^_~. Mid-way through January, I'll host another poll for the shoe of February. I don't know what it is about this blog, but I am so in love with it! Everything about it...from excitement, to passion, to love, to design. It's so extremely invigorating and refreshing. Also, it's nice to have another entity outside of YouTube. Not that I'm hating on YouTube...that will always be my #1 baby.

*TopShop (New York)-It was an expensive and only buy from TopShop. Bought it last year and now it's my go to faux leather jacket.
* H&M (Chicago)-High waist checkered trousers. I always shop at H&M when I am in a different city. It's a goal to hit up every H&M I can.
*Tory Burch Elina Wedge Booties-ShopBop
*Charolotte Russe Belt-It use to be gold, and now it has a tarnished look to it. I love the tarnished look!

Today I went to Macy's to pick up a few things for a New Years Eve OOTD video. Christmas is not even over and here I am thinking about NYE. I really dislike going to the mall. A few things happens; 1) I get extremely irritated by the horrible parking, 2) I cringe when I have to spend money and  3) I am easily enabled.

I was extremely good today. I went in. Grabbed what I needed. I conquered and got the hell out!  After Black Friday, I don't want to hand over my notes for clothes ever again!

I also decided to bust out the new Tory Burch Elina Wedges just to break them in. Boy were they EXTREMELY comfortable. I was in them for 3 hours, including taking twenty something jumping shots and coming out without blisters.

*Tory Burch Elina Wedge Bootie here. Read about how I picked out these shoes here.
*Forever 21 Basic T-shirt
*Forever 21 Anorak Vest
*Forever 21 Cigarette Denim
*Express Belt that came for free with a pair of shorts I bought.
*I have no idea where I got this hat. I want to say Kohl's but it has been in my closet for over 6 years! I couldn't give it up because I knew one day it will be suitable for me to wear it without looking too stupid.

-I didn't mean for this outfit to be completely Forever21. It makes my heart happy to know that the whole outfit was less than $50.

°K.L° ἔρημος σόλα
 
"We're rapidly approaching a world comprised entirely of jail and shopping."--Doug Coupland

*H&M (Manhattan)  Shift Dress. Found it on the sales rack for $4.00! The thread on the pocket was a little loose, but it wasn't anything I couldn't fix.
*Matiko Oliver Stud from SoleStruck here.
*H&M (Tokyo) Hat.
*Forever21 Lace Cuff
*Tory Burch Cuff. I would never buy a cuff this expensive. I bought it because I need to hit the $200 mark to get 25% off. It kind of sorta paid for itself.

°K.L° ἔρημος σόλα

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”-Benjamin Franklin
 

It finally came in the mail! My first pair of Tory Burch shoes to get this blog really started.

After looking over the poll, I noticed that I have quite a mix of edgy and conservative shoe lovers. This is totally cool because I need a mix.

I cringed a little when I finally checked out of shopbop. The shoes were $276.50, and with tax they came out to be $299.31. To be honest, if I had to pay for shipping I would have probably passed up on the shoes and this blog. I am second guessing if this blog was a really good idea. You guys might need to talk me back into it.

At the end of the day, my frugal and stingy cheap ways kind of dictates my fashion choices.

Anyways, the selection of shoes I picked out for the poll were heavily based on price and what I would possibly like to wear.

If I had to pick every shoe each month, they would probably be all black with some  heavy duty hardware. My thought process is always about bang for your buck. If I am going to spend 3 c-notes on my shoes, they better be damn cool. the Tragedy of that is, they might be too cool for me to wear on a daily basis.

The booties would probably be the last choice out of all the of my options. Like someone stated in my comments:  "I love the Tory Burch wedges, but that's because they look the most NORMAL out of the options. However, I feel that if you are going to spend a good amount of money on designer shoes, they should be unique and worth the price. You can find shoes like the Tory Burch ones every season, but if you're going to EXPERIMENT, why play the safe card?! I'm going for the one YOU said you liked. "--L.

Creeps me out sometimes how well you guys know me. ^_~"

I'm glad the Torys won by Out of Stock Default. I would have never gotten them myself.  Since they are pretty "normal" and very every day wear, I would get my bang for the buck with wear and tear.

Now, let's stare at them on my grass-like carpet.

°K.L° ἔρημος σόλα

"Let's be realistic, how many people are buying a $2,000 skirt? I love to design things that people can actually buy. I'm staggered by what a boot costs today."--Vera Wang

I have to thank so many of you guys for voting (1,210 votes!). Because of this, I feel a little bit guilty about what happened. On Monday (12/10/2012) I was getting ready to buy the winning shoe and something absolutely tragic happened (it was truly  tragic).

Now, let's hope it's still cold when they arrive.
°K.L°