I can't believe all the work that went into finding these dreamy shoes... made of canary yellow satin, tied in a bow at the front...with the trademark red soles...that 4" heel that almost (!) puts me in the supermodel height category (yeah, I'm short)...Sometime in late December, I bought a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes from Barneys, and when I took them home, I found a small defect. A few days later, I received a belated Christmas present of a $25 American Express gift card from the mother of a former client. Very thoughtful present, but honestly, hardly any place accepts these. The only places I could think of that did were stores in which the only thing you can buy for $25 is a tube of mascara. So, I thought, why not go for broke (no pun intended) and go back to Barneys with it?
So I went back to Barneys to exchange the defective Blahnik shoes...and while I waited for the salesguy (at Barneys, all the salespeople in the women's shoe salon are male, save for 1 or 2...I wonder why that is?) to return with the non-defective pair, I found a gorgeous Christian Louboutin shoe in fuchsia satin. I asked the salesguy if I could try it on, so he went to the back to get a pair in my size. While he was in the back, I saw the same shoe on the floor in yellow satin. Even more gorgeous...and it had to be mine! I pictured all the dresses in my closet that I would wear with these shoes, and I got excited. The salesguy came back with the fuchsia shoes, and I immediately asked him if he had the shoes in yellow in my size. He said no. I decided to buy the fuchsia shoes, anyway (and yes, I did use the gift card...which, I almost shamefully admit, hardly made a dent in the total cost). I took the fuchsia shoes home, and I regretted my decision immediately. All I wanted was the yellow shoes. I think it wasn't even a week later that I went back to Barneys to return the fuchsia shoes. The salesguy who helped me with my return told me he would tell the guy who sold me the fuchsia shoes to find me a yellow pair from another store. I waited a day or 2 and never heard, so I decided to search for them myself (OK, at this point, I was just a little obsessed).
I looked up the phone numbers for every Barneys store and every other store in the US and Canada that sold Christian Louboutin shoes. So I called about 30 different stores and found that none of the stores, not even the Christian Louboutin boutiques, carried this shoe, other than the Barneys stores. Finally, I hit the jackpot with a very sweet salesgirl (I knew she'd understand!) at the Barneys store in Seattle. She told me that only 3 stores in the country got the shoe I wanted in the color I wanted: New York, Beverly Hills (I immediately told her I knew this store didn't have my size), and Las Vegas. She asked me to wait until the next day until she could contact her colleague at the New York store. The next day, she called with the horrid news that the New York store didn't have the shoes in my size...but cross my fingers, she would be at the Las Vegas store for the grand opening 2 weeks later, and she would snatch a pair for me! It was a grueling 2 weeks, and the day after the grand opening, I called the salesgirl to confirm I got them, and she did! I waited patiently for another week, and they never arrived. I called the Las Vegas store, and I find out that they had an invalid shipping address on file. They tried to call me, but they had the wrong phone number on file and couldn't get a hold of me! I finally gave them the right address.
3 days later (it was a Saturday), I was at home that morning, waiting for the FedEx delivery guy. Around 10:30 am, I heard the familiar roar of the FedEx delivery truck outside from my bedroom, and I ran downstairs and flung open the front door. The delivery guy is just walking up my driveway with my package and laughs, commenting that I must be psychic. I tell him that I've been waiting a long time for that box he's holding. I ripped open the box, and there they were! My gorgeous yellow shoes! I tried them on, and I squealed!
Now, more than 2 months later, they're sitting in my closet, in their trademark brown Christian Louboutin box, under the red cloth Christian Louboutin keeper bag. I haven't worn them, not even once. I just haven't had the chance to wear a dress pretty enough for the shoes within the last 2 months...so I think I need to throw a party!
