Hello, my petite petunias! Are you ready for a shopping adventure than began 2 years ago?
Once upon a time, I discovered I needed black pumps. I wanted them to be classic and simple, yet a little special. Since they were going to be just black pumps, they were going to need a little oomph. Like the bright red soles of Christian Louboutins, perhaps?
That same year, the boyfriend spoiled me with a pair of shoes for Christmas, and handed me the reins to a hefty gift card to Saks. They had the perfect pair of black Loubs online, so I happily used the gift card and day dreamed about my new babies. When the confirmation email arrived a few minutes later…BACK ORDERED!
The first back order was followed by another back order, and then another…and months later, the order was finally cancelled all together. My size was gone from websites and store shelves for months, and I finally gave up and spent the gift card on other things.
Last month the “I need black pumps” bug bit again, and I became convinced the Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps would do the trick. Thanks to reviews by Jean, I knew they ran a little big, but I figured I could stuff them full of heel pads if they weren’t ginormous.
They arrived, and while gorgeous, they were indeed a little big. I fiddled with adding heel pads and foot bed pads, but all I thought when I put them on in the mirror was, “I wish they were Loubies!” So once again began the search for the perfect pair of black Louboutins.
After searching online, and coercing a very patient boyfriend to trek through several department stores, a very nice sales associate at Barneys finally said those magic words, “looks like we just got three pairs in the store system. I can have one sent to your home.”
I declared them an early birthday present to myself, and poor boyfriend had to deal with me the whole car ride home excitedly squealing “I have Loubies!”
Now for the nitty-gritty stuff…
According to the Ann Taylor website, the Perfect Pumps should be about the same height as the 85mm Louboutins (3.3″ high), but when I compared heel heights, the Loubs seemed a wee-bit shorter. The 100mm Louboutins that a few other petites have are a very sexy shoe, but being almost 4 inches makes them impractical as an everyday shoe for me, and if I was going to pay so much for a pair of shoes…I want them to be wearable!
The Louboutins are a little bit slimmer and shorter, making them a perfect fit for my narrow feet. I also really like how the leather at the top of the heel is very slanted inward, as it helps keep my heel from slipping out of the shoe.
The vamp of the Ann Taylor pump are slightly lower, so a little more toe cleavage shows than in the Louboutins.
Ann Taylor Perfect Patent Pumps:
Note the extra space at the back of heel. This would need to be filled with heel pads. These also don’t form as well to the sides of my feet, signaling they are a tad too wide. The toe box was also a little roomy, but not enough to be noticeable to anyone else but me.
Christian Louboutin Simple 85mm Pumps:
Note how the heel of the shoe perfectly cradles the heel of my foot. The sides also contour nicely to the sides of my feet and the toe box is snug. These are much better fit on my narrow feet.
My only problem now is…I also really like the black patent leather! Must…not…keep…both! Argh!
P.S. – Sorry for the ugly watermarked photos. While I know none of you lovely ladies would steal these photos, there are lots of immoral souls who use other people’s photos to sell fake designer items to unsuspecting buyers. Hopefully they won’t want my watermarked photos, although I’ve sadly seen a lot of them in use.
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I’m surprised the 35 isn’t too big on you. I had concluded from the sizing on the rest of your shoe collection that we are feet twins, and I need a 34.5 in Simple pumps.
Weird! A 35 is a perfect fit for me, and I seriously don’t think I could squeeze my feet into a 34.5. Do you have any Cole Haans? If so, what size do you wear?
I’m also shoe twins with you… ;) It’s so hard to find size 4.5 or 5!
No kidding! Almost all of my designer shoes were bought because I accidentally found a pair that fit, and bought them out of fear of never seeing them again. :P
I’m a 5 in Cole Haans, 34.5 in Jimmy Choo, and 34.5 in Manolo Blahnik. Anyway, congrats on the shoes – they look perfect on you.
Wow! We ARE feet twins! I’m really confused as to why I’m a 35 in the Simples when you’re a 34.5. It seems we should be the same size. Weird!
OMG! You finally pulled the trigger! Congrats, Kelly :) They are gorgeousssssssss..I think the Louboutins is clearly the winner. They fit you like a glove. I can’t believe how beautiful they’re. Have a wonderful birthday =)
Thanks Sydney! My birthday isn’t until next month…but when you find the perfect Loubies in your size, you gotta get ’em, right? ;)
yay, congrats!!! they look like they fit you perfectly. i hope to get a pair sometime this year, too. im so excited for you!! i plan on seeing them with lots and lots of outfits :)
Oh yes, you will be seeing so much of these, you’ll be completely sick of them by next month. Good luck on your Loubie search! Which ones do you have your eye on?
congratulations on your new beauties!! oh seeing that red is heavenly!! xo
Thanks Fifi! Red is my favorite color, so Loubies are right up my alley! Heavenly is right. ;)
Now the bug is biting me. Are the Louboutin shoes comfortable?
Hi Victoria! These are my second pair of Louboutins and I’ve found both to be very comfortable. They’re very structured, so they fit my feet really well so nothing slips or rubs around. I wore these Simple Pumps for the first time on Sunday and did a lot of walking, and I didn’t have any of the usual “breaking in” aches or pains. I’ve heard from most women who wear a lot of high heels that Louboutins are comfortable, but if you’re not a big high heel wearer, you might have a different experience.
Yay!! Congrats on finding your CL’s! :)
Thanks Steph! :)
damn, seeing that red sole…mmm mmm mmm.
now i dont live by rules; i’d rather break them, but someone once told me they didn’t think patent was appropriate for the office. anyone heard of this or think this? I think patent is ok…as long as the shape of the shoes is conservative and better with trousers.
anyhoo, congrats little lady.
btw how did the anthropologie event go on sat? I was swamped.
? That’s a dumb rule. Who made that one up? Patent is perfectly appropriate for the office as long as it’s not a hooker shoe. And if it’s a hooker shoe, you shouldn’t be wearing them to the office anyway. :P
LOL! I agree with Cher. As long as they’re not hoochie shoes, I don’t see why anyone in an office would have a problem with them. And as long as they’re not a ridiculous color like bubblegum pink. That would be bad.
The Anthro event was fun! I didn’t shop but it was fun to meet all the ladies. Too bad you couldn’t make it! Next time. ;)
Congratulations on the Louboutins! They look fabulous on you and I’m excited to see more outfits with these lovely shoes. =)
Thanks Jess! :)
Gorgeous CLs! Enjoy in good health :) Oh…don’t send the bug this way…
Thanks Claudg! I’ll try to keep the bug over here…it’s a bad one to have! :)
Congrats, Kelly! They are BEAUTIFUL! One day I hope to own a pair myself. They look like they would be perfect for my narrow feet/heels!
They seriously fit my narrow feet like a glove. I think they’d fit you really well too!
OMG gorgeous Kelly, congrats!!! I LOVE that first photo, it’s the best! I must say (without sounding creepy b/c we are friends :P) that your butt looks amazing!! :P
LOL! Thanks! My butt has always been one of my best assets. :D
Love those red soled shoes!
Thanks Abby! I love them too! So fun. :)
BEE-YOO-TI-FUL! I love these action shots… I can feel your excitement through the screen :)
Do these CLs not come in patent leather in your size? Or are they backordered? If that combo does exist, I would say hold out for that. Instant gratification (even after 2 years of waiting) is nice, but for something as nice as this, I’d want it to be perfect.
I’ve already worn these guys so it’s too late to hold out, plus I haven’t seen the black patent version of these shoes in my size in a really long time. I have a feeling these won’t be my last pair of CL’s, so maybe I’ll come across the black patent one day. No harm in owning both patent and regular leather right? ;)
Quite true. Plus I bet by the time you find the black patent CLs, your AT ones might be down to its last life, so it’d be great timing :)
*___*
I’m jealous. They are sooooo gorgeous.
Thanks Jacqueline!
PS…I love that your profile says “ninja”. :)
These look great! I semi-want them too but I settled for this place: emyloo shoes. It actually worked out well, it’s the first time I have actually had shoes that fit.
Oh, good! I’m glad Emyloo Shoes worked out for you! They have some really cute shoes and I’ve been curious to give them a try myself.
congratulations! what a great find/addition to your amazing wardrobe. i envy your narrow feet!
jenny
http://goldnturquoise.blogspot.com/
Thanks Jenny! No need to envy my narrow feet…they make shoe shopping very difficult most of the time! :P
The CL’s look beautiful! I am in no way capable of affording a pair for myself so I guess I will just have to settle for the Ann Taylor pumps instead. I do like how the back of the heel is narrower on the CL’s though – my feet slip out of all my pumps even when I have the heel insert :(
Hi Rinny! The Ann Taylor pumps are a great stand-in for the CL’s, and I still think the AT’s are a really pretty shoe and want to own them all!
Ugh…I hate when my heel slips out of shoes. It’s the quickest way to a blister! Definitely look for shoes that have that narrow opening at the heel. I had a pair of Nine West pumps that were really narrow at the heel and those suckers stayed on my feet like nobody’s business!
Thanks so much for the tip! :)
I love both pairs! The CL’s is absolutely gorgeous, I would be too afraid to walk on them. Great side-by-side comparion picture. I love the patent on Ann Taylor a lot too.
LOL. I was a little apprehensive to take my first steps outdoors in them for sure! Getting those first scratches on the red sole are a bit heartbreaking, but once you wear them and start to feel great in them, you forget all about it.
I think I would be doing the same happy dance if I got some Loubies!! Love them!
Great to meet you the other night!
Thanks Natalie! Yes, it was great to meet you too!
Very interesting – I could’ve sworn all perfect pumps had a 3.5″ heel, but it looks like AT has been changing things up! Or, writing inaccurate online descriptions. I just went online and perfect pumps in three different materials (patent, leather, and linen) had three different heel heights … and none of them were the “kitten” heels either. One was 3 and 1/4, one was 3 and 1/3, and one was 3 and 1/2 – what the heck? I like mine 3 and a half inches high so I hope they don’t make these too inconsistent!
On that note, I’m thrilled your two year journey had a happy ending! But these certainly aren’t your first Loubies, eh? You wear your other pair quite often and they bring a nice pop of color to your outfits. And oh, I know I did a review on how so very similar the design of the simples are to the AT perfect pumps, but after wearing these my feet just feel so much more …special…lol than in the AT’s.
I just stopped being lazy and searched out my measuring tape to see how these bad boys really measure up. The AT pumps came in at 3 1/3 inches, and the Loubies came in at 3 1/4 inches. Very strange that the AT heel heights are so varied.
Ah, yes…my very first pair of Loubies were the Yo Yo Pumps 85 in dark brown patent leather. I need to wear more browns so I can pull them out more often. I feel like the dark brown is hard to pair in my mostly grey/black wardrobe, but the pop of red against the dark brown is so pretty!
Happy Happy Dance Yay! Love the Loubies. Are you keeping both the pairs? I’d say yes.. coz they both have different characters.
Oh boy…don’t tempt me! I’ve been toying with the idea of keeping the Ann Taylor pumps too, but I love the fit of the Loubs so much more that I’m thinking of just holding out for the day when I can both 1) afford and 2) find the Simple 85 pumps in black patent leather….or maybe it’s just wishful thinking… :)
I will be interested to hear how you feel after a night of wearing the CLs. They are beautiful and totally sexy, however, I have never had a pair (and i have around 4 pairs) that didn’t absolutely KILL my feet.
Aww…such a shame! I actually did wear these for a night already and found them to be very comfortable. I have one other pair of Loubs (YoYo Patent Pump 85) and those are also very comfortable to wear all night. Do the balls of your feet hurt? I know the shoes aren’t very padded in that area.
I feel your pain (literally, ha!). Some of my Louboutins can get a little ouchie, but I have a few pairs that I can literally wear for miles. I’ve had the best luck with a 3 to 3.5 heel and with putting Ball Of Foot inserts in all of them, because (like Kelly said) they definitely lack padding in that area. Inserts help tremendously!
Hahahaha oh, congratulations and welcome to the addiction! Once you have one pair, you just can’t stop. Or at least I couldn’t, whoops. There’s just something about that striking red sole, especially when it’s contrasted against black. Stunning!
Tell me about it! The red sole on black is Ah-mah-zing! I’m already secretly plotting my next pair. Drooling over your stellar shoe collection certainly doesn’t help things. :P
PS…Loving your home redecoration/remodel! Teal couch….GENIUS!
I saw the shoes on Kelly this past Sunday and she totally rock them.
Aww! Thank you so much! It was only appropriate that their first night on the town was with such a wonderful group of stylish ladies. I’m so glad we got to hang out again! :)
hi kelly,
wow i can’t believe it took that long to find these pumps! did you only look in stores?…because during my search, i ran across the 85 in size 5 quite often. my nordstrom almost always have them and some online stores currently do too. if i knew you were looking, i would have helped you snatch up a pair sooner!
i’m glad you’ve found your “solemates” though hehe :) they are stunning and that red is so flirtatious!
Wow! My stores either only had the 100mm heel or the 70mm heel. It was finding the 85mm that really gave me the hardest time. The 85mm Simple in size 5 is currently on the Neiman website, with a back order until October! That seemed to be the problem I kept running into, so I kind of gave up for a little bit in the middle of those 2 years.
Although you’ve just planted the genius idea to send a petite army in search of the next “hard to find” item I’m after. :)
Welcome to the addiction! LOL They’re so pretty! And they look lovely on you! Congrats <3
Thanks Wendy! I’m already plotting my next Loubie purchase…bad Kelly! Bad!
Wow I didn’t know people did that on internet to trick people… how scary!
Yup! Beware of deals that are “too good to be true” on ebay! A lot of blogger’s photos get stolen and used to sell fake designer goods on there and similar sites. Scary!
They are gorgeous!!! Congrats on finally finding them in your size Kelly.
The pics are really great too, now if I can only learn to take indoor pictures. :)
Thanks Elle!
There’s always a learning curve when it comes to taking photos in a new place. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon! I’ve been at my new home for a few months now, and I feel like I’m only NOW figuring out how to photograph around here. Phew! It’s tough to be a blogger!
Good luck on your 30 x 30!
what a lovely story to your finding of your loubies! im kinda jealous i must say! but they look so lovely on you!
You so need to keep both. Patent black leather shoes are completely different to nappa leather shoes and you NEED both in your wardrobe!
Inner voice? Is that you? ;)
LOVE!!! The CLs look perfect! I wonder if that means I might fit a 34…. hmm. Is that wishful thinking?
I think you should only keep the CLs because the ATs are too big. They will never grow smaller, you know?
Yeah, the AT’s are too big, and while I CAN stuff them full of pads to help them fit…it seems pointless when I can just save another boatload of money to spend on another pair of beautiful, but ridiculously expensive shoes that fit like a glove…LOL.
These do run a little small, so there’s hope you could fit a size 34! The Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus has size 34 Loubies…field trip perhaps? :)
Kelly, those shoes are adorable and you look fabulous in that oufit. If I were you I would keep both shoes but if I “have” to choose between both …. only if I have to … I would chose …. obviously the Loubies. :-) not only because my husband’s name is Lou :-) but because they are adorable.
Love your posts.
Oh boy…don’t enable me to keep both! LOL. With a hubby named Lou, I can certainly see how you’d be partial to the Loubies! ;)
Nice bum, where ya from? ; ) LOL Congrats! The shoes look fabulous on your petite feet! I’m not really a fan of patent shoes, but those look lovely! Keep the CLs though ; )
LOL…apparently I should show my bum more often on the blog…it seems to be popular. ;)
Definitely keeping the CL’s! I love them! The patents are nice, but I really want them to be CL’s too…so many Loubies…so little money. *sigh*
Ahhhhh…yay for the CL’s! I have loved my black 100’s and have never regretted getting them! I say keep both. I have the AT patent black pumps and the black simple CL’s and only wear the CL’s for special occasions and blog posts but the AT ones for work and everyday use.
Oh and so happy you treated yourself….looks like we both got CL’s for our early b-day present..hehehe Mine just came the other day!
GORGEOUS!!!
I’ve been dying for a pair of CLs for about two years now. I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger since I’ve NEVER spent that kind of money on shoes or clothes for a single item before! They looks fantastic on you. I wear a size 5 but am wondering if the 34.5 in CLs would fit better on me…?
Now that I’m in NYC where there happens to BE a CL store – watch out! I might actually wander in there on a lazy weekend sometime. But I’d go for the pointed-toe variety because that’s how I roll.
Congrats!!! :)
Well…it certainly doesn’t hurt to try them on. These run a tad small, hence the perfect fit on my small size 5 feet, so you might be able to handle a size 35. I see your Loubie fund on your blog is complete and ready to go…I hate to be a bad influence…but…DO IT!!! LOL.
Congrats on your new Loubies!! They look great on you, and you look so happy in your photos! Now next, patent black Loubies to replace the AT!!
I’ve been wanting to get Loubies for years….but I feel like I’m always tight on budget?! Sigh…
I was wondering why you had such a big watermark across the photos. I guess I knew people would steal photos, but I never thought about what they were going to use it for! I’ll be keeping that in mind when I edit my photos!
-Lor
It was meant to be!! They are the perfect pair…xo
I have been reading this post religiously since Im looking to get one…gosh it’s so hard to find one in my size!
What jeans are those u are wearing? Look great!!!
Thanks! They are Paige from a few years ago.