bebe loves balmain and alexander mcqueen

i love when i can recognize direct runway inspiration from designer runway shows in retail shops that a lot of women like to frequent. bebe loves to take inspiration from the runway and i smiled when i saw their sequin beaded ruched lace top for $89. it instantly reminded me of the beautiful balmain creation you can see to the left. selita ebanks looked great in that dress, you can see a picture of her in it in the top 10 best dressed celebs list on this site. bebe has also taken inspiration from the genius that is alexander mcqueen. they have made their own versions of his studded platform booties that go for around $1000. you can get the same look for $149 from bebe.com. i really love these shoes and want then in the black, silver and grommet versions.

so, which do you prefer? the knock off or the real thing?

usually when i do posts like this you prefer the real thing. for me, i prefer the real balmain dress and for the alexander mcqueen booties...if i was paying i'd just get the bebe versions because they're just as good even if the heel is slightly thicker than the mcqueens.

shoe lust list

i've recently developed a pure, passionate and frightening obsession with shoes. here are only but a few of the some of the shoes i'm loving right now.
♥ me

if you want to view the image larger i think you can click on it and it expands.

i first saw these alaia brown laceup gladiators on sxy fashion queen's blog, as she wrote about how lindsay lohan has been wearing them everywhere and more recently rihanna has been sighted in them. i absolutely love these. they can really dress up a casual outfit and make you look so unique. these are very feminine and delicate along with being so strong and sexy at the same time. i'm really appreciating alaia at the moment (not his costume institute gala drama though).

pour la victoire makes great shoes and i love their creamy ella zip ruffle flat sandals. i love the big zipper edged frill and the nudey/creamy color. these are so girly! love love love them.

i'm really loving nude shoes right now...forgive me! and these tapeet open toe pumps with neon heel from shopbop are so cool! the heel comes in neon orange or a bright neon lime green. i love the classic cut of the shoe and the fact that they made it more youthful and more interesting by adding that brightly colored heel. ingenious!

alexander mcqueen is proving to be quite the shoe genious. i love classic pumps, and instead of getting them in black (though i really do need some normal black pumps) i'd get them in this bright pink hue. i love this color so much, and my feet would look so good in these pink patent platform pumps which are $860 from netaporter.com. i love the dominatrix look of his metallic leather shoe boots. they could really spice up a simple black and white outfit....they could pull any outfit together really.

the christian louboutin suede multi strap deva sandals are just too good to be true....maybe that's why they're so expensive. le sigh.

i could definitely rock those jean-michel cazabat christa cutout laceup pumps daily. they are simple shoes, and yet are still fashionable because of the strategic cutouts, the slightly conish heel and the beautiful suede the shoe is crafted out of.

i'm really loving fringe, and instead of slipping on flats or slip on sneakers the mia women's taboo fringed flat boot for $43.97 (cheapest shoe on the list) from endless.com would be great to put on with jeans, a skirt, a dress, for when i need to dash out of the door.

there are many more shoes that could find a place on the list, but i just wanted to share a few with you. do you love shoes as much as me? it's getting so bad now that my mom is asking me to give away shoes (but i don't have as many as other people's shoe collections i've seen on here. my shoe collection is like a pea compared to the forest of shoes i've seen on the fashion blogosphere). i'm going to try and reign in my obsession for shoes though, if i bought all the ones i wanted...number 1--i'd be more broke than i am now and number 2--i would have no space in my house, and i wouldn't even be able to wear them all. :)

well, i'm supposed to be studying. toodles.