Exciting Events

Well friends, I was on track for a little bit with blogging on a regular basis, but failed greatly since the winter. Once again, I am recommitting to blogging regularly- it's not like there is nothing to write about! So, the last few months have been really busy with awesome events. The biggest event was our sold out spring fashion show at Copley Place in April which was hosted by Jackie Bruno of NECN. This was our best event ever! Copley did an awesome job with the fashions and the food/beverage vendors were excellent- there was a plentiful amount of delicious food and drinks. This was definitely our best show so far.  Here is a photo of some of our models wearing their spring outfits.

I'm really excited for our fall show during Boston Fashion Week- aptly titled The Show. It will be at an awesome new venue, the Harborside Inn on State Street in Boston. The venue is donating the space and we will be bringing in outside food vendors. We're working with an event planner who reached out to us to work on an event. She is donating her services which is great. I can't wait for this event!

So, I can't write a shoe club blog without writing about what shoes are on my tootsies. For the last 2 summers, I practically glued my feet into a pair of Clark's platform sandals. They were amazing and I loved them, but they are now a little worn out, so they are relegated to the rain. Clark's no longer had the same style available and I wasn't a fan of their new styles. Most of their new sandals have ankle straps which don't fit me properly- the buckle rubs the little bone that sticks out on my ankle. SO- I switched over to my next favorite comfy shoe brand- Aerosoles. Their black sandals with a 2 inch heel are now my go-to summer shoes. They are cute enough to wear out for work and socializing and best of all- I can walk a decent distance in them! As everyone knows- cute and comfy rarely go together in describing shoes. I snagged these shoes for only about $29 at Marshall's. I was in the Fenway Marshall's a couple of weeks ago and they had a very similar pair on sale for only $20, so I plucked those ones up too. Their shoes don't last very long, but given the price- that isn't a big deal.  It takes a few wears to break the shoes in, but after that they are great.

Well friends, that's the latest for tonight. I promise to blog again next week. I am committing to blogging at least once a week. There is always lots to write about! Until then.. happy tootsies!

Great Red Shoe Soiree

Greetings friends and shoe lovers! So what's new? Well, we had a wonderful annual event last week, our Red Shoe Soiree at Vlora.  Luckily, we had the event the night before the blizzard, where people could still come out and have fun without having to deal with snow. The event was a lot of fun. We had shoe designer, Thom Solo, who showcased some of his latest shoes. He brought two models with him that wore gorgeous clothes and jewelry which made for two fantastic looks. He also donated a gorgeous pair of shoes that we auctioned off during a live auction. One of our long time members bought the the shoes. We also had a local designer, Bondij by Blondi who showcased some of her latest fashions. We had some of our members model in a pink carpet fashion show. ShoeBuy.Com donated a gift certificate for the Best-in-Shoe prize and I also had a pair of shoe earrings that I gave for a prize. Here is a photo of Thom, the shoe designer and his models. My sister Eve who is close friends with Thom came to the event as well- she's in the photo.

Here is another terrific photos of our Smiling Stiletto members who modeled in the fashion show portion.

This photo is from Jolie Lune photographer.  They attended on behalf of Bondij. Our photographer, Walter, was there too. I can't wait to see his pictures. We should have them soon. Here is a picture of Bondij designer Dionne (far left) and the models along with her brother and business partner.

When we get our photos, I'll post them on our FB page. Here is the link to the rest of the photos from Jolie Lune photography.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.532338543473431.122414.479874985386454&type=1

We had the event at Vlora which is a great venue. They donate excellent appetizers and they have a wonderful private function room.

I was so glad that I brought the backdrop with me. I was feeling a little lazy in the afternoon and thought about not bringing it. It takes a little while to set-up and you have to load/unload- it's a lot more effort than just bringing our sign.  However, we have the backdrop precisely for events like this. Obviously, we don't need to bring it to every event, but for larger events like this with a fashion show, it is important that we bring it. It adds to the event and it makes for great photographs. Sometimes, you have to remind yourself not to be lazy. I was so grateful that I made the effort to bring the backdrop. I love the photographs that we have so far!

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I promise to blog again soon. There are so many fun things to share! Until next time friends...

Welcome 2013!

Welcome 2013! It is a new year and I'm re-committing to my Smiling Stiletto blog! I keep intending to write more often, but I've been pretty bad about it. I have a blog for my full time job, Project Smile, so I spend a lot of time on that blog. In the spirit of new year's resolutions, I am committing to blogging at least once a month about Smiling Stiletto!

2012 was a wonderful year for the Shoe Club. We had so many fun events. The Copley Place fashions shows were the biggest events and they were great. We just booked our Step into Spring fashion show at Copley Place- Thursday, April 25, 6pm. We're only doing one show this year at Copley, so this event will be extra special. This week, I've been working on reaching out to food and beverage vendors as well as a host for the event. We've booked a new food vendor- a sandwich shop which just opened last month on Newbury Street. I left a message yesterday with the woman who handles catering. She called me today, it turns out she is also one of the owners. She was so amazingly nice on the phone and was happy to participate. We also have a soda vendor on board for the first time. Finale is returning to provide some more delicious desserts! We are off to a good start for vendors!

One of my favorite events last year besides the fashion show was our 1st Annual Diamond Drop. DeScenza Diamonds in Peabody reached out to us in the fall about having an event at their store. I was a little reluctant at first, because attendance has been lower at some of the events we've tried outside of Boston. They came out to Framingham to meet with me and they planned a phenomenal event. We had the event the week after Thanksgiving, so it tied in with holiday shopping. DeScenza provided guests with complimentary cocktails, wine and champagne along with a delicious selection of hot and cold appetizers and desserts. They offered guests a 10% discount and then they donated 10% of sales to Project Smile. They also gave all the ladies really cute black t-shirts with a tasteful diamond slogan. They also did some amazing prizes for the Best-in-Shoe walk-off competition. Best of all- they gave away a diamond pendant necklace worth $7K to one lucky winner! It was an amazing night! I don't live anywhere near Peabody, but it is the type of event that if I saw it posted, I would definitely attend. The young woman who won the necklace was so excited that she had tears in her eyes! We had an awesome attendance and we received a $500 donation for Project Smile which was great. We've already booked our event this year. It will be the Thursday after Thanksgiving- same as last year.  Here is a photo of the necklace winner!

We had our first event of 2013 tonight- a cocktail party at a new bar in the Faneuil Hall area called the Wild Rover.  The venue did a wonderful job- they provided a huge selection of complimentary appetizers, a large private area with our own bartender and a DJ. I love working with venues like that. The event was a lot of fun. There were a few new members as well which was great.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. We have so many fun events coming up, I'm really excited for this year. I promise that I will be blogging more frequently! Until next time... keep smiling in those stilettos!

On Bare Feet

Is it right for someone who runs a shoe club to blog about her love of bare feet? Probably not! But here it goes anyways. The truth be told- there is no shoe that compares to the comfort of bare feet. Now, I'm not one of those girls that you will see walking the streets, bare feet, high heels in their hands. Despite the pain, I will not be bare foot in public. I rarely go barefoot any further than my front steps at home. I have the luxury of working from home, so I am barefoot all day when I'm in my office. When I am out, the first thing I do when I get home is take off my shoes. It feels wrong to be constricted by shoes in the comfort of home- and I also don't want to track dirt from my shoes around the house. When I'm working, I love curling my feet under me, putting my feet on my desk when I'm on the phone, perching my feet on the bar under my desk- all things that are easier to do with bare feet than shoes. I walk faster in bare feet than I do in regular shoes (not counting sneakers). There is also something nice about feeling the floor beneath when you walk- feeling the texture of a carpet, the temperature of the floor, the smoothness of wood- it is all there to take in. Of course, lying in bed while watching tv, reading, on the computer- while feeling the soft sheets under my feet or being soft and warm under the duvet or my little quilt- it is all fabulous and not to be ruined by socks.

Of course, running around in bare feet- even at home, does lead to injuries that shoes might have prevented. When I was a girl, I broke my toe stubbing it on a radiator. I've stubbed my toe viciously while rushing for the phone, dropped a shovel on my toe which caused the nail to fall off- things that probably would not have been so bad if my feet were covered. My mom has warned me many times about the dangers of spilling boiling water on my feet while cooking. When she was young, she spilled boiling water on her legs while cooking.

Anyways, that is probably enough on my love of being barefoot- at least at home. I posted our next cocktail party at Mija in Faneuil Hall on July 17 and sent the email invite to our members. Ideally, I didn't want to invite people to events this week because a lot of people are on vacation, but I needed to get the first email sent out so people can plan for the party. If I waited until next week, that would be too late. We are doing well with sign ups, so it looks like it worked out fine.

Well, I'm off to read for a bit and catch up on some work emails. Until next time friends...

Latest and Greatest

I can't believe it has been 2 months since I blogged last- dreadful! Our Shoe Club is so active, so there is always lots to write about, I just need to actually sit down and write it! Things have been really exciting for Smiling Stiletto during these last few months. Our Step into Spring fashion show at Copley Place on April 19 was wonderful.  Copley Place was a big help with the event and they were great to work with. This was my first time having such an active role in organizing a fashion show. It is a lot of work, but everything worked out well. We have a ton of great photos on our FB photo album page. Here is a link to more photos: Spring Show Album
Here is one of my favorites- our Smiling Stiletto members are modeling Bebe:

 

The fashion show tickets sold out two weeks before the event, which was a record. We raised almost $2k for Project Smile which was good too. Meredith Goldstein from the Boston Globe was our special guest and she did a great job.

We're working on some more exciting fashion shows. On October 4 will be our Fall into Fashion Show at Copley Place. This event takes place during Boston Fashion Week. Emily Reimer, news anchor/reporter on Channel 5 News, Boston will be hosting the event. We already have our liquor sponsors on board as well. Christine, one of our long time shoe club members, is working on organizing the show as well. She did a fabulous job organizing our fall show last year.

On Wednesday, August 22, we will be working with the Northshore Mall in Peabody for our Summer Soiree and Fashion Show. I already have 25 Smiling Stiletto members on board as models for the event. The event will be similar to our Copley Place fashion shows. The ticket will only be $10 and all of the proceeds will go to Project Smile.

On Friday, I met with Burlington Mall and we're going to be working with them on a September event for Fashion's Night Out and a fashion show in October. It is really exciting to expand and do more fashion shows. They have been popular events and our members really like them. I love them too. It is great that we're also able to raise funds for Project Smile with them too.
 We have been doing a lot more events too. Last Thursday, we had our annual party at Pandora in Legacy Place, Dedham. The store provided complimentary wine for the guests, pizza from Wicked Pizza, chocolate from Chocolate Therapy and they donated 10% of the sales to Project Smile- which was about $250. Every donation makes a difference and I'm happy that they are so supportive. They've been great about donating auction items for PS as well. We had about 40 ladies in attendance. We always get a bunch of members who have attended before and a bunch of new ones. Pandora did a prize drawing for a bracelet and they gave away a beautiful bracelet with a shoe charm for the winner of the Best-in-Shoe pink carpet competition. I was really happy that one of my friends who is a really cool girl, Victoria, won that prize. The local Sephora store also donated a gift pack as a shoe prize. The owner of Chocolate Therapy had an awesome chocolate shoe made with little chocolates inside it as a prize- it was so cool. Here is a photo of the prizes.

There were so many awesome shoes at the Pandora party- here is a photo-

The lady who was wearing the shoe on the right won the Chocolate Therapy prize. Her shoes were even more awesome in person!

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I promise to blog more often because there is so much to share! Until next time friends...

Ann Taylor Concept Store Opening Party

Greetings! Last week, I attended the opening party for the new Ann Taylor Concept store in the Prudential Mall in Boston. The party was held in a penthouse apartment at The Clarendon. It was a fantastic time! There were about 150 very glamorous ladies and guys in attendance. During the party, guests enjoyed complimentary champagne, Voli vodka cocktails (they are low calorie and so good) and delicious appetizers. The event was cosponsored by Boston magazine. The view from the penthouse was amazing- the John Hancock tower was directly across the street and you could see the Boston skyline from every direction- so beautiful!

I was really impressed with the new Ann Taylor fashions. There was a small fashion show during the party which featured regular professional women as models. I love it that because you get to see the clothes on a figure which is more realistic for the average women. One of my favorite dresses was a neon yellow dress with a skinny pink belt. One might usually think that neon yellow would be a hard color to pull off, but the dress was brilliant- it stood out, but still looked professional. There was a lot of color in their spring clothes and it looked amazing- it actually inspired me to wear a colorful dress the next day. I really liked the Ann Taylor looks because they are very versatile. They are great as work clothes, but they can also be dressed up for the evening or dressed down for a more casual look.

Neon colors are a hot trend right now and they are being done much more tastefully than they were in the early 90's! Of course, the shoes were great too. One of the models was wearing a pair of cream colored pumps with red trim and a red heel. I wish I snapped a photo of them, because they were so pretty.

I spoke to the manager of the new store and the regional manager. They were familiar with Smiling Stiletto from when it used to be Hello Stiletto. They told me that they were actually trying to reach out to us earlier, but couldn't remember the group's name. They are interested in having an event in the store, so that should be fun. Hopefully, I will be hearing from the soon.

This was such a fun event to attend- the drinks and appetizers were delicious, the views were unreal, the crowd was so friendly and the fashions were great! What else could a girl ask for on a Thursday night??
They even gave us Ann Taylor tote bags which included a gorgeous gold cuff bracelet with a black studded strap. It isn't something that I would have usually bought for myself, but I've worn it twice already and it looks great. I love it when you get something that makes you step outside of what you usually do- even something as small as a bracelet. It is so important to keep changing things up.

I brought one of my best friends with me who is a long time shoe club member and she had a blast too. She was inspired as well to get some of the new looks.I'm really looking forward to checking out the store and now I'm inspired to wear some really bright colors!

Miles in my Boots

Today, boots are on my mind- not cute, sexy boots that come in all sorts of fancy colors and styles- all meant to make the wearer look sophisticated, hot and ready to be taken to bed, but the tough, kick-ass, all weather, sturdy boots which will take you miles. These boots only come out of my closet when it snows- the other boots get significantly more air time. I have one pair of sturdy, water proof boots- a black pair of Timberlands that I bought in 2000. The funny thing is that although I barely wear them, I love my Timerberlands because I know that they will take me anywhere. I may look sexy in my high heel boots, but they won't take me very far and when I wear them, I calculate exactly how much time I will have to spend walking and standing before deciding to wear them. Of course, if it is raining- the pretty boots remain sheltered. The sturdy boots only come out when the weather is rough.

I bought my Timberlands when I was still in school at Hunter College. I had a pair of winter boots, but I had them for a while and my feet were getting soaked in them. I didn't have much money, but it was winter and I really needed a new pair of boots. I remember walking in Manhattan, thinking about getting boots, but not wanting to spend money. I think I was near Herald Square and I walked into what I remember was a Sports Authority- but it might have been Lady Foot Locker- either way, it was a store that sold more sneakers than boots. I stared at the boots and finally decided to try on a pair of black Timerblands. They were very comfortable and exactly what I needed given all the walking that I did in NYC and it was the winter. However, they were $70. When I was in college, I spent very little on clothes and shoes. The most that I had ever spent was $35 on New Balance sneakers when my old ones wore out. I was pretty much always in sneakers when I was in college. I stood in the store debating for what it seemed like forever about getting the shoes. The $70 felt like a fortune- I couldn't actually afford it. Finally, I decided to get them- I knew I was going to have them for ages and that they were good quality. I wore them that winter and when I moved back to MA they came with me. After I graduated and left New York, I stopped being a sneakers girl and I barely wore my Timberlands. They still only come out when it snows and I have to shovel or when the streets are so wet and slushy, those boots are the only choice. The boots are far from unattractive- they are not feminine, but they are decent looking ankle boots.

I wore them this morning when I was shoveling and later doing errands. When I put them on this morning, it dawned on me how empowered I feel when I wear my Timberlands. There is something to be said when you put on a pair of shoes and you know that they won't make your feet hurt, they will look after you- keeping your feet dry and protected and if you get into trouble, you can give someone a pretty mean kick with them. Every other pair of shoes that I own (besides sneakers), have a limit on them on how long they can be worn without pain, but with my Timberlands there is no limit.

So there you go my friends- an ode to my Timbies. Perhaps I should wear them more often, but it's also enough to know that they are there- sitting in my closet for when the travel gets rough.