Loubies!

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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