The Shoes I Didn't Want to Love...

First off, I want to tell you East Coasters that I'm thinking of y'all and hope that you and your loved ones are OK.  I've been monitoring Sandy (the Superstorm) with a keen and nervous eye, as I have several friends up and down the seaboard.  In fact, it's hard and haunting to believe that just over 5 weeks ago, I was having a fabulous time in the Lower East Side and Brooklyn.  Most of the places I visited are now under water.  Not the Halloween scare any of us really wanted, was it?

So, I'm wishing a safe and speedy recovery for you guys!

Back here in the Midwest, we got our first snow (which fortunately didn't stick) and hard freeze.  Sweater weather is here to stay, and I've even seen some down coats riding the bus to work on a couple chilly mornings.

Seems like a dumb time to become obsessed with smoking slippers (not exactly made for trekking in 4 inches of slushy snow), but after spying and snagging my cat slippers in a Cobble Hill store, I'm weirdly loving this new trend.  I'd seen retailers trotting them out earlier this year, but I did the typical "Bah" shrug and kept browsing.  However, now that I'm the proud owner of a pair of these puppies, I want more.  

Here's where I can lay the blame:

After some decent web trawling, I think these would be nice additions:

Nice and simple.  And 'spensive.  Cuz it's Prada.

Lovin' the plaid.  That'll fix a drab outfit fast.

Aaaahhhh, more cats!  In red to boot.

And for Halloween...  

Also good for 10/31, but really suitable for any day of the year. 

There seems to be some odd balance of trying to keep your slippers from looking too loafer-y.  Or at least I mentally separate all the search results into different piles.  Some styles appear to veer towards "old lady" (which is cool, just not my style).  Others look like typical loafers (again, fine, but not what I'm looking for).  Still others, I don't even know what they want to be.

Perhaps the overall trend of the smoking slipper has some of you scratching your heads or giving it the big "Ick" stamp.  What's your take?  Do you love this style and already own a pair?  Need to try them on first (like I did) to be convinced and fall in love?  Or do they fall into your peripheral vision, your focus on totally other kinds of shoes?  Let me know, I'd love to hear!

Coming soon...  what I want from the hotly anticipated Target + Neiman Marcus collaboration.  If you don't think this is gonna be a BFD, I suspect you might be wrong...

And finally, speaking of scary, I'm cobbling together a decidedly sad semblance of a costume for tomorrow's festivities.  It involves random purchases from places as disparate as Macy's, Urban Outfitters, Ragstock, and a wig store.  Regardless of how scarily good (or pathetic) your outfit may be, I wish all of you stateside a very safe and happy Halloween full of good treats, be they candy for the kids or a cauldron filled with boozy delights!







Image credits:
Cat slippers - my own
Prada slippers - Neiman Marcus
Plaid slippers - zappos.com
Red cat slippers - Charlotte Olympia
Skull slippers - Del Toro
Spiky slippers - singer22.com