Ped fans, I’m in Milan, Italy, this week, finding all kinds of wonders to warm up next fall and winter. In the meantime, fresh Italian delights for spring and summer are the latest things to arrive in the Ped warehouse. And when we say “Italian,” we mean the line you love: Fiorentini + Baker!

As F+B addicts know, once you indulge in a pair of these beautifully handcrafted leather boots, shoes, or sandals, nothing else will do. F+B’s quality, comfort, and timeless beauty are simply magnifico (as the many celebrities who wear this line will attest)!

So join us for a brief Italian lesson! After seeing Fiorentini + Baker’s latest designs, we suspect you’ll want to become fluent in F+B style.

One thing we adore about F+B is their understanding that less is often more, a point made clear in the knockout Elgin Boot:

The clean lines and soft scrunch-a-bility of this minimal mid-calf boot make it perfect for pairing with floaty spring skirts. Of course, it also looks great with jeans! The mattone brick leather version is so rich, but we also offer the Elgin in a delicious mocha ice suede! Good luck choosing between the two! (Hint: either one is the right choice!)

Some of you Ped fans have begged us to carry the two-buckle cousin of F+B’s popular Eternity Boot. Well, consider your wish granted! Behold the Emmy, also know as style #713:

We are woozy with love for F+B’s new turquoise leather! It is to die for—so unusual and yet it still works with lots of other colors. (Ped’s Laura went down for the count when she saw it.) Of course, if you’re a gal who prefers all things noir, we’ve got the Emmy in black, as well!

Want a few more flourishes? And perhaps a bit of textural contrast? Fiorentini + Baker’s Ebbi has your name on it:

You’ll give the people following you something to talk about when you saunter down the street in the Ebbi because the fold-over suede cuff laces in the back. And the raised seams that arc over the instep and encircle the ankle add further eye-popping interest!

If you like a well-heeled boot to boost your height, then feast your eyes on Fiorentini+Baker’s new Bessi:

The 3″ stacked-leather heel gives this sexy boot a leg up, while an inside zip lets you breeze in and out in a flash. F+B’s bonsai green leather is a Ped favorite, and it looks especially fresh on the Bessi!

Another great heeled style from F+B is the take-no-prisoners Zilla Clog:

The hand-cut wooden sole features a 3.5″ heel and a 1.5″ platform under the ball of your foot. The brass studs that rim the collar and attach the luxe black leather upper to the sole are, in a word, badass! Who knew a clog could be this smokin’ hot? (Somebody hand me a fan!)

When it’s the weather that’s hot, though, you may want to let your toes out to play. But you can still maintain your brass-studded style—just buckle up F+B’s Tribo Sandal!

Take a minute to admire the wonderful details of this easy-going yet dazzling beauty: the leather toe thong is rolled for comfort; the studded straps are leather-lined to be soft against your skin; and the leather sole is designed to mold to your foot with wear. Fiorentini + Baker does it all so well!

Another fantastic F+B sandal is the Tulip:

Crafted in our favorite rabbit-hued leather, this flat is both tough and girly, combining the edge of a gladiator sandal with petal-like cutouts that cascade down the front of the foot. What a way to go through spring and summer! Prepare to be the object of everyone’s sandal envy!

Of course, we have all of F+B’s classics over at Ped’s main site. So let Fiorentini + Baker’s leatherwork and style seduce you—we know you’ll agree: That’s amore!

(By the way, this week’s “sweet treat” practically sings, “Spring!”: Karin Wagner’s delightful Alps Brooch. Simply click “be sweet to your feet” in the upper right corner of any Ped page, and you’ll arrive at the hand-felted Alps Brooch with the magic code that will bring 20% at checkout!)
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It’s no secret that at Ped we are big fans of wearing boots year-round. I’ve mentioned before how much I love the look of a breezy summer dress paired with boots. The only drawback is on days that are scorchers, your tootsies may feel, how shall we say, a smidge claustrophobic.

So, you can imagine how much I smiled when I discovered a number of our favorite designers created sandal-boot hybrids this season! What a great idea! The edgy look of a boot with the breathability of a sandal—what could be cooler, in every sense of the word? Below are just a few of the many variations.

No sooner did the Trippen Stream arrive in the warehouse, than it flew out the door! Fear not, though, because we just received our second shipment!

When you step out the door in this German head-turner, you are guaranteed to be the hippest thing on the street! Even better, you’ll be über-comfortable because the Stream features Trippen’s famous t-shaped wedge!

But if you prefer a flat with a closed toe, Trippen’s Omen may just have your name on it:

The style is cutting-edge, but the easy-to-wear grey color let’s you pair it with almost anything. For instance, how terrific would these look with a floaty, yellow cotton dress?

If you want to get even funkier, check out Argila’s Elizabetta:

Ped fans have snapped up this sexy-tough-grrl style, but we have more on the way from Spain, so let us know if you’d like to be on the list!

You say you’d like something that’s a little more sandal and a little less boot?  See what you think of Argila’s Jolene:

The airy leatherwork is amazingly intricate on this lace-up ankle “boot.” Also, the olive green color reminds me of Italian gardens. Gorgeous!

Perhaps the award for Most Balanced Blending of Ankle Boot and Sandal, though, goes to Giraudon’s Riley:

Oh my, this wooden-soled sandal (it’s really a sandal-boot-clog) is something else! The gold lining, the ankle lacing, the tiny square cutouts—there’s so much to love about this beauty! When you slip on the Riley, everyone’s going to want your shoes!

And  there are even more sandal-boots to consider at the Ped site. What a great way to amp up your style and flash a little summer skin!

Speaking of summer skin, have you checked out Ped’s “Sweet Treat” this week? It’s Fiorentini + Baker’s fabulous Tessa Sandal!

Not a sandal boot exactly, but a buckle-tastic, open-air cousin of F+B’s Eternity Boot! (It also comes in black.)

Unfamiliar with Ped’s “Sweet Treat”? Here’s how it works: Just click “be sweet to your feet” up there in the upper right corner of this page (or any Ped page), and you’re instantly transported to the treat of the week, where a magic code entered on the last page of checkout gives you 20% off! Just like that! Fun, eh?

The “Sweet Treat” changes every week. You never know when your favorite thing—you know the one you’ve had your eye on?—may suddenly be 20% off! So, be sure to click “be sweet to your feet” on every Ped visit to see what treat awaits.

Whoohoo—everyone is having such a blast in the Ped warehouse with all the new shipments arriving! It’s one thing to pick out what styles to offer from various designers, and it’s another to have them in our hot little hands! Every box that lands on the doorstep guarantees another round of oohs and aahs when we open it.

A running theme in this season’s sandals and shoes is a focus on the ankle. When I was little, I remember hearing people say a woman had “a well-turned ankle.” I always loved that phrase! So, it’s especially fun to know Ped’s customers are going to have ankles worth a second look this season! Whether wrapped in laces or encircled with sexy straps, the ankles of anyone wearing one the following numbers are destined to be “well-turned.”

Lots of Ped fans love Cydwoq’s Bare sandal. Well, Cydwoq’s Rafi has taken the best of the Bare and amped up the heat by adding an ankle strap. Behold the new Naked:

S-s-s-sizzling! Say no more.

Speaking of Cydwoq, the ever-popular Defend is back this year, sporting a sassy new copper color:

Two, two, two ankle straps are better than one! Well, for some gals, at least. (As Tim Gunn would say, “Chacon a son gout.”)

You say you want even more? Trippen hears you! Get an eyeful of the gorgeous Exotic wedge:

Now that’s a strappy ankle strap (don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it looks)! And this peep-toe stands on Trippen’s oh-so-comfortable t-shaped wedge. Sexy and comfortable—that’s the way we like it at Ped!

But maybe you’re one of those gals who lives for clogs, in which case, Trippen hears you again! How cool is the wooden sole on Trippen’s new Ritzy?

We just can’t get enough of that window in the heel! We love how its airiness finds an echo in the way the ankle strap wraps.

Speaking of wrapping, Trippen also excels at designing styles with laces that twine and vine around your ankle. Case in point, the cuter-than-cute Fish:

We love how Trippen leaves the way you wrap this flat’s double laces to your whim—vine and tie them in front, twine and tie them in back, whatever you fancy.

If you’re a Fiorentini + Baker fan (and who isn’t?), you’re going to swoon over the gladiator-inspired Tessa:

Now that’s a sandal guaranteed to turn your ankle into an attention magnet! Wow–and it’s red, our favorite, although it also comes in black.

Still we know some Ped gals prefer to be a little more understated. Argila’s Elsie is demure without being a bit boring (it’s got that girl-next-door sex appeal going for it):

So pretty! Plus, it’s wonderful to wear and will go with pretty much everything in your spring and summer wardrobe.

These are just a few angles on how to enhance your ankles! Click over to Ped to find even more ways to get that well-turned look! We know you’re going to heat up the joint!

Happy New Year, Ped fans!!! Here’s hoping your holidays were everything you wanted them to be and more!

If you’re like me, though, after all the hoopla and good cheer, your wallet’s feeling a little lighter. Still, a gal’s got to have good shoes and boots to get through the chilly winter months! Don’t worry. Ped’s here to help by taking our prices down a notch, so they’re a little friendlier to soles in need. We bet you’ve been generous to everyone you love, so now it’s time to treat yourself!

Who knows, maybe those cute Chie Mihara’s Santa forgot to bring you are still waiting for you to slide in and step out on the town?

Ped blew through its first shipment of Chie’s knockout Ninke practically overnight and reordered, which means we just might have your size in this vintage-inspired heel! With it’s beautifully stitched and scalloped toe, it was worth every penny at $328, but now it’s super stylish at $262!

Or perhaps you’ve looked longingly at the Cydwoq Vintage Game Boot, but always heard your mom or maybe Sister Mary Francis saying in your head, “Tis better to give than to receive…,” and turned away with a sigh.

Well, turn back around, gal, and give yourself a break and a gorgeous pair of boots! I own these wood-heeled beauties and wear them all the time! Surely, your thrifty mom or penny-pinching Sister Mary Francis would approve of your skipping past the original price of $498 to a sweet $398!

Most people I know are always on the hunt for a shoe they can slip on to go grocery shopping or into the suitcase for a vacation of strolling and sightseeing. Our recommendation?

Cydwoq’s Tibet, which is equally comfortable walking miles through the narrow streets of Venice or the wide aisles of IKEA! Wonderful at $268, this go-everywhere ankle boot will have your feet and your bank account feeling healthy at $214!

And that’s just a smattering of the cool deals Ped has to warm up your winter! In addition to Chie Mihara and Cydwoq, all Argila, Coclico, Giraudon, and Swedish Hasbeens styles are now on sale. And if you’re jetting off on a tropical vacation (lucky you!!!), we have a few cute sandals left from last summer that will leave you with plenty of dinero in your pocket to buy froofy drinks on the beach!

Happy New Year! May 2010 be the best year ever!

We love our reliable favorites here at Ped, but every now and then it’s fun to spice things up by trying a few new things. Last spring we introduced 49 Square Miles bags and Argila shoes to Ped’s lineup, and this fall we’re seasoning the season with a few more fresh designers we hope will make you smile.

First up, the ultra-cool, wood-soled footwer of Swedish Hasbeens. Yes, they’re clogs, but they’re so much more! Inspired by the love-the-earth style of the 1970s, Swedish Hasbeens crafts their shoes from sustainably forested wood and chrome-free, vegetable-tanned leathers. You can feel good about your shoes without sacrificing a scintilla of style. Here, see what we mean:

How rocking are these apple green Jodphurs? We are officially in love—as are several well-known celebrities, like Sarah Jessica Parker, who has been snapped wearing Swedish Hasbeens’ Peep Toe on the set of the next Sex and the City movie. It’s definitely a cutie:

And just in time for when the mercury plunges, Rain + Jack arm warmers have arrived. We’ve known Helen Sharp and Si Doi, the creative hands and minds behind Rain + Jack, since the days when Ped was a brick-and-mortar store in Seattle, so we’re delighted to carry their luxe, Australian lambswool, fingerless gloves. Even better, Rain + Jack custom knits Ped’s arm warmers in our favorite color combos. For instance, chocolate and tiffany blue:

And you Ped fans know how much I love all things green:

Another new addition to Ped’s family is Pepita, a whimsical jewelry line out of Milan, Italy created by Sveva Camarati, who learned to appreciate beautifully crafted miscellany in her grandmother’s atelier. Sveva’s fabulous way of combining antique baubles and fabric beads has already proven popular with you Ped fans! Her dazzling creations barely make it out of the box before they whiz out the Ped warehouse door on their way to new homes. If you haven’t had a chance to drool over Pepita yet, here are a couple of our favorite pieces:

This Florinda necklace is where it all began for me. I saw it while traveling, tried it on, and never looked back. It’s unlike anything else, with flowers formed from clusters of tiny hand-sewn fabric spheres, interspersed with antique brass beads.

Another Pepita eye-opener is the Angela bracelet:

We think all these newcomers fit right in at the Ped party. (They certainly know how to start a conversation!) And we have still more ways to wow on the way–including a new shoe line! So, stay tuned.