Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Happy Valentinas Day!


I want to be buried in these shoes

I don't know if I mentioned that already, but I buy multiples. Frequently. When I find something I like, I want to have it in every color.  I actually find it fitting very well into my minimalistic approach.  Instead of variety I add more of the same. The multiples I buy are usually the basics, simple and not memorable. They have a cut that flatters my body and work with my style. Because to me the most important aspect of style is fit, not originality. And this is why I buy multiples.  


I have six wool double serge pencil skirts


seven perfect fit long sleeve v-necks



five button sleeve boat neck t-shirts

Because I just received my leopard ones, I now own five pairs of Valentina pumps: black, coral, red, leopard and strawberry snakeskin.

welcoming the leopard pair to the club

I know there are many people that liked J.Crew Juliets pumps of yore and own multiples of them. While they are beautiful shoes, they never worked for me because they were too narrow and they did not have a leather lining. I don't have a problem with man made soles but I cannot take the synthetic lining, my feet just sweat and slide in it.

The interesting thing about Valentinas is that despite being pointy they don't squish my toes.  They don't feel narrow.  It may be just my foot anatomy but the angle of the point works perfectly for me and they feel very comfortable. I took my regular J.Crew heel size in them.  The heel height is also perfect, low enough to have them on for the whole day in the office, but high enough to look good. I find the heels below 2.5 inch just don't look as attractive.

Now, you may notice that I have two red pairs, the snakeskin ones and the regular leather, which may seem excessive. OK, it is a little excessive.

Snakeskin versus Rooftop Red
Well, my rationale was that the snakeskin ones are my 'special' shoes.  They were the most expensive pair of shoes I ever bought, even with 25% off plus 8% Ebates. So far, I have used them for a Holiday party, New Years Eve and a movie premiere I attended.  Other than that, I wrapped them in the fabric shoe bags they came in and put them in the box. I hope to have them forever and I will put in my will to be buried in them ;) The other red pair I wear all the time, they are my everyday shoes.

The leopard Valentinas that I just bought are also great. 

Black Walnut Leopard

I bought them with recent 20% off sale price and with my rewards card and a leftover money from the gift card I spent the total of $22 on them. They serve as neutral shoes and work with almost everything solid and other neutral patterns.  Personally, I would avoid red with them. I am not afraid of items with 'sexy' vibe but I only can do one at the time. Because they are patent, I expect them to wear well. The leather ones are prone to scuffing but they are softer ad therefore initially more comfortable. Overall,  I highly recommend the leopard ones at current price with the discount.

And you know what? I am still waiting for the navy ones to go one sale.

Do you buy multiples? Why or why not? Do you own a pair of Valentinas? Do you think I am nuts for having so many pairs? Please share! 

32 comments:

  1. I love these shoes, I think the are perfect, hopefully I can pick up a pair when I'm over and finally work out my US shoes size. I'm really over high heels, ( 4 inches) I don't know what to do with the load I've bought over the years, what a waste of money.

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    1. Oh Tabitha, but your shoe collection is so beautiful, I would gladly take them of your hands but we are not the same size I think (I am 8.5or 39 EURO)

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  2. Add me to the Valentina fan club! I bought a pair in black and wear them constantly at work. They are quite comfortable even with the pointed toe, which is very rare for me. Definitely thinking of buying another pair. I also buy in multiples. I may be paranoid, but I sometimes buy doubles of items that I think are perfect, just in case something gets wrecked.

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    1. Louise, pointy toe shoes usually hurt my feet so much, but not these, I think that's a min reason I bought so many

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  3. ITA that the most important aspect of style is fit and not originality. I purposely avoid trends and buy a lot of basics that are good quality and unremarkable enough to provide years of wear. As far as multiples, I don't want to count the number of pencil skirts and twinsets that I own because I am still collecting.

    It looks like you have the deep persimmon or vibrant flame pencil skirt and I think the new leopard Valentinas will be perfect with that skirt and the ochre as well. I love those red snakeskin shoes, they are perfect.

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    1. xoxo, I think your pencil skirt collection is one of biggest I've seen, so many beautiful colors there . The orange skirt I have is deep persimmon, the one with fully fashioned wasitband and one of my fav skirts. Yes, the leopard Valentinas would go perfectly with it!

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  4. I buy multiples all the time. I love the ballet flats. But a huge fan of the Valentina myself. I think I have a ton of v-neck cash sweaters in almost every color. Addiction.

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    1. I don't like J.Crew ballet flats but I have multiple Repettos.
      And yes I also have a few v-neck cashmere pullovers, I love them too. I think you have the flame/camel one, I love it but returned it out of buyers remorse/guilt, that was a mistake :(

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  5. You know that I buy multiples, LOL! I'm with you and xoxo; I totally agree that the fit is a super important aspect of style. And, like you, I own multiple colors of the No. 2 Pencil skirt in Double-Serge Wool. I wish that I could wear the Valentina Heels, but I can't wear high heels. Those shoes are BEAUTIFUL!!

    Louise@Cosmetic Bee: I am SO relieved to know that I'm not the only person who buys multiples in case my favorite item gets ruined.

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    1. Rynetta, I know! For me it is harder to wear flats, for example Vivs look beautiful on you but they were squishing my toes, which was good for my wallet as I was ready to buy them.

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  6. Umm, LOVE the red snakeskins. Those are definitely on my wishlist! Too bad I need a 10.5 or 11... but since they are all leather, I am thinking I might be able to get a 10 and stretch them a little. And I want to be buried in them, too! Ha!

    I have 30+ jackie cardigans and at least 12 double serge pencil skirts... and both collections are still growing. The valentinas are the perfect shoe, really. Not for me, because I really need a 10.5... but for everyone else... they are lovely.

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    1. I don't want to enable but I think with d'Orsay style you can stretch them, esp if you have narrow feet.

      Burial in Wicked Witch of the West style, that is something to look forward to ;)

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  7. i think it is wise to buy multiples if it works for you.the items i have bought multiples of is the jackie cardigan,because it is so versatile.i have never tried the valentinas,because returning would be to much of a hassle for me.

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    1. I don't know why Jackie cardis never worked for me, maybe its good as I don't need another collection, lol
      And yes returning from overseas would be impossible. Not with J.Crew inconsistent sizing.

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  8. I love the Valentinas, too, and own the black, navy and bronze rust colors. I just noticed that the leopard and snakeskin ones are cut a little differently than the leather. Does that affect the fit? They look a little narrower than the leather ones (or maybe that is an optical illusion?)

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    1. Julie, I think they fit about the same. With the d-Orsay style of leopard and snakeskin they are a little looser and not sitting as securely on your feet, so you cannot get away with anything too big.

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  9. OK, you convinced me ;-). I just ordered the slingbacks in the heritage green color. I never pulled the trigger on the regular ones because there wasn't a color that really wowed me and I don't need black shoes (but as you, I might bite on the navy on sale, if they ever go on sale). Clever about the two pairs of red Valentinas!
    I try not to buy multiples because usually there is always one that I end up not wearing as much as the other(s), but you are right that when a style works for you it is better to stock up.

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    1. Welcome to the club Ema, hope they will work for you. I didn;t look into slingbacks (yet) because I have too many pairs of slingbacks already but if they ever go on sale...
      cross fingers for the navy ones, the only thing I am worried is that they are too dark and will look black.

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  10. Beautiful shoes! I buy multiples but am trying to stop doing it so much - though in the case of those shoes I can see why it is entirely justified :)

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    1. Thank you Katherine! I just looked up your blog and I am impressed with your content, beautiful and interesting!

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  11. I can totally relate with buying multiples (or as my husband would say, hoarding). I need an intervention as I keep buying multiples of Jcrew's double serge wool skirts and cashmere long-sleeve tees.

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    1. Hoarder here too, esp with shoes and pencil skirts. I am writing a post on J.Crew shopping obsession, will post in my weekend ramblings if I have it ready on time.

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  12. I am a total multiples girl, to the extent that I will buy two of the EXACT same thing, esp in shoes and white tops (I am a spiller). But it's not a practice I would recommend and I am trying to stop. As it turns out, I rarely wear anything enough to wear it out, and if I do, I'm sick of it and don't want another. It is an addiction. Lovely shoes! I have given up on everything but JC flats -- I have paws for feet, unfortunately.

    You have gotten off to such a stellar start on this blog! I just caught up on the last 15-ish entries -- all in February!! Highly highly informative AND entertaining. Amazing! But the reason I haven't read regularly is that I keep forgetting the name of your blog because of that SECOND N in shoppinNg -- there must be a story behind that....????

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    1. Hi audreys, yes, I do it too and you are right, this is very rarely justified. Totally addicted or obssesive compulsive.

      No story behind the second n, just fat fingers when typing, i am horrible with that. I would like to change it but I think I need to plan it out because all the links from other blogs will not work, oh what to do? Thank you for pointing it out, I must be going blind since I never noticed that before.

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    2. And thank you so much for the compliments!!!

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  13. oh i love your multiples! they are so pretty. i am not a multiple buyer but i kinda wish i was b/c everything looks more organized that way. at least to me it does. and the added benefit is that you love the fit. it makes a lot of sense to me.

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    1. thanks Janet, it does look nice when you lined them up, that's true, funny, I never thought about it this way :)

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  14. Loving your blog ajc!

    I just have a sizing question for you on the beautiful valentinas. I'm interested in getting the leopard pair and am curious if you think they are true to size?

    I know you said you take your normal jcrew heel size but is that your normal size or would you suggest going up a half size?

    I normally wear an 8.5 but sometimes size up to a 9 for comfort. The only thing I don't want happening is for my heel to slip at the back of the shoe, can't stand that! Thanks again for your awesome blog!

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  15. Hi jmpb, thanks for being here! I wear 8 in some brands, I think mostly the ones that run a little wider, like Nine West, Bandolino, BCBG or Coach. I wear 8 in many ballet flats, oxfords or moccasins. When the brand runs narrower, like J.Crew I take 8.5. I took 8.5 in Valentinas and it is a good fit for me. I initially got the leopard ones in 9 but they were sliding off, and yes this is the worst thing. I'd rather have shoes half size too small because if they are leather, they will stretch. Hope this helps.

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  16. I just purchased my first pair of Valentinas thanks to your blog about them!! I found them in a B&M yesterday and tried them on in my normal size 8 for J Crew heels and wow were they comfortable. I wore them with everything I tried on so that I could get a good feel for how they looked with pants and skirts. The leopard print is a great neutral, and for that price I had to get go for it. Thanks again, I want the navy next!!!! Have a great day.

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    1. MB, I think you are going to be happy with them. I never thought before that the leopard could be treated like neutral bu it truly is. I am amazed how much of my closet works with it. I am not buying much recently but I would definitely regret if I didn't get them.

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  17. Do the Valentina Printed Patent Pumps fit true to size? I've had not so great luck size-wise with J Crew shoes, and now that they're on Final Sale, I don't want to end up with a pair of shoes that're too small. They have size 9 left and I'm usually between a 9 and 9.5 in pumps. Thanks for your help!

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