These shoes will be distributed to people in need in over 127 countries. Our hope is that together, we can all leave a softer footprint while helping others.

All you need to do is put a gently worn pair of shoes in a box (even the box that contained your new shoes).
Fill out the form and include in your box.
Attach the label provided and send your package. Postage is not included.
You will receive an emailed coupon for $20 off an $80 or more purchase* on shoes.com.
Soles4Souls will also send you a receipt in the mail for your tax deductible donation.
*Exclusions apply.

Soles4Souls is a non-profit charity that distributes donated shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class or any
other criteria.

The Naya Commitment

Naya is the expression of their commitment to beauty, comfort and renewing the well-being of our natural environment. This commitment starts with all of us—and it starts now.

The creation of each Naya shoe begins with a feminine design with rich, vibrant colors and creative details. From there they infuse each style with exceptional comfort, using soft leather linings and layers of premium cushioning.

Whenever possible, the Naya collection includes:

Vegetable-tanned leathers and linings Natural or recycled content fabrics

Foot beds and outsoles containing natural cork

Water-based cements

Boxes made with 80% recycled paper pulp soy-based inks and water-based glue

Reusable shoe bags and shoe forms made with recycled PET

View the unique, beautiful Naya Shoes collection at NayaShoes.com.

March 4th & 5th, 2011  |  Tulsa Convention Center

For fun, it’s a shoe-in — three months earlier than last year!

The YWCA Tulsa’s only and most anticipated event of the year … Wine, Women and Shoes!  They are stepping out with a new concept for the Friday evening Patron Party on March 4th — an event not-to-be missed! Delight in style, fashion and fine foods while sipping on wines poured by West Coast vintners — sensory stimulations galore!

The Signature Event follows on Saturday, March 5th, with a luncheon, fashion show, and shopping with top shoe and accessory retailers (many who aren’t otherwise available in Tulsa). And of course – wines poured by winery representatives!

Sponsorships Now Available
Learn More

Just want to come to the Signature Event on Saturday?
Check out our new Girlfriends’ Packages

Honorary Chairs:
Joe & Darcey Moran

Retailers:

Artemis Boots, Coye Nokes, Cunningham Fine Jewelry, Falchi Handbags, J. Cole Shoes, Jenna Doughton Shoes, Lisa Mackey, Moxie Shoes, Nattie Bleu, Saks Fifth Avenue, Shannon Britt, Sole Mates, and Diana Kelly.

Vintners:

B Cellars (Napa), Chateau Ste. Michelle (Washington), Hahn Family Wines (California), The Gabrielle Collection (Napa), Miner Family Vineyards (Napa), Ca’ Momi Wines (Napa), Oyster Bay (New Zealand), Rocca Family Wines (Napa), Sokol Blosser (Oregon), StableRidge Winery (Oklahoma), Villa San Juliette (California) and Zahtila Vineyards (Napa).

Made possible by:

George Kaiser Family Foundation, Patti Johnson Wilson Foundation, Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation

Call (918) 587-2100 or visit our website to make reservations!

Leora Tanenbaum

Author of “Bad Shoes”

This is the final post of a three-part series, based on Bad Shoes & The Women Who Love Them, on using your head when choosing your shoes.

The other day, I popped into Intermix, the über-trendy, boho luxe boutique chain that sells grown women jumpshorts and sequined leggings. In the shoe department, every shoe had either a five-inch heel — or no heel at all. The choice was between sky-high or pancake-flat. Dominatrix-inspired stilettos with cage-like straps or ballet flats with a bit of frou-frou to peek out from beneath your skinny jean hem.

Before I could say “Brian Atwoods are the new Louboutins” and walk out, I remembered that the selection is more or less the same at most fashionable shoe departments this season. No doubt you, too, have attempted to buy shoes you could wear for at least three hours without wincing and have rationalized that a one-inch platform on a four-inch heel transforms the height into a mere three inches, and how bad could that really be?

Don’t worry! I feel your foot pain. And I understand: You want something chic and show-stopping, sexy and sensational. I am here to help you be a sane shoe shopper.

Yes, you know that “bad” shoes — with a high heel and a narrow toebox — will deform your feet if you wear them on a regular basis. But “good” shoes often look like something you wear with a housecoat while you refill the bowl of hard candies. What should you do?

1. Know that there are many, many shoes out there that are both stylish and sensible. You have to find the ones that are right for you. Allot some time for your search. Do not give up hope. If you persist, you will be rewarded.

2. Visit a store that specializes in old-fashioned, sit-and-fit service. Ask a salesperson to measure your feet. Don’t presume that you know your shoe size. Your feet change over time. Make sure to find out your shoe width.

3. Don’t buy shoes if you can’t wiggle your toes in them. Look for a toe box that is rounded or squared with plenty of wiggle room.

4. For everyday walking, choose a shoe with a heel between a half-inch to an inch.

5. Do not assume that flats are better than high heels. In fact, often they are not. Soles that are completely flat can cause feet to pronate (roll inward when walking). Look for flats that have a contoured footbed or built-in arch support so that your ankles and feet are stable. Many styles have a strap across the midfoot, which holds your foot in place.

6. Don’t believe the shoe hype that you have to go higher than three-and-a-half inches to have a “high” heel. Keep heel heights in perspective. A heel that is one inch or lower is low-heeled. A heel that is between one-to-two inches is mid-height. A heel that is two inches or higher classifies as high. A heel that is four inches or higher is demented.

7. Save high-heeled shoes, which force the feet into unnatural positions, for special occasions, and don’t walk far in them. The higher the heel, the more pressure is placed on the forefoot and the likelier you are to develop a bunion, hammertoe, pinched nerve, corn, or callus. These conditions are painful and ugly.

8. If you want your feet to look pretty, wear wide, comfortable walking shoes or sneakers. The owners of a modeling agency specializing in foot models reported to me that out of every forty applicants they can hire at best only one. Nearly all professional models have damaged feet as a result of wearing fashionable shoes on a regular basis.

9. Not everyone needs arch support. But many of us do. Seventy percent of the population overpronates, and overpronators should wear shoes with support as much of the time as possible.

10. Do not assume that you can wear heels now and just get surgery later to fix whatever deformities arise. Despite what you may have read, surgery to make your feet look prettier can be a disaster. If you need surgery because you are in pain, that’s one thing. But if you are considering surgery for purely cosmetic purposes, chances are you will be disappointed. To read cautionary tales of women who went under the knife and emerged with debilitating foot problems they hadn’t had previously, turn to Bad Shoes & The Women Who Love Them.

There is nothing attractive about a woman who hobbles in shoes that mold her toes into overlapping claws — even if she is wearing sequined leggings. So put head over heels. Choose shoes wisely and you feet will remain in excellent shape, taking you wherever you want to go.

What could be more alluring than that?
Part 1, “Put Down That Armadillo Shoe! Don’t Be a Shoe Dupe,” appeared on the Huffington Post on 5/17/10.

Part 2, “Our Stripper Shoes, Ourselves,” appeared on the Huffington Post on 5/25/10.

Funeral services were held Saturday at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Stockton, CA, for Elisa Rishwain, a longtime resident of Los Angeles who designed luxury shoes under the Elisa Ferare nameplate. Rishwain passed away at home in Los Angeles on April 25 at the age of 65 after a three-year-battle with cancer.

Elisa Ann Rishwain (1944-2010)

Elisa Ann Rishwain was born in Stockton on Oct. 28, 1944, the daughter of Italian immigrants Stefano and Jennie Ferrari. She graduated from Stagg High School in 1962 and married Dr. Anthony Rishwain of Stockton in 1963.

In addition to raising three children, Rishwain opened the Giovanna Ferrrari women’s clothing boutique in Stockton. In 1988, after her divorce, she and her children relocated to Los Angeles, where she engaged in a range of vocations that included interior design, an antique furniture store, a clothing and jewelry boutique, and acting.

Rishwain often took her store-bought shoes to a local Los Angeles cobbler to have the silhouettes, fabrics and hardware tweaked to fit her personal taste, often using the sort of luxe fabrics and trims more common to the world of interior design.

In 2003, she parlayed this penchant for customized footwear into the Elisa Ferare line of handmade-in-America footwear that would routinely juxtapose fabrics like crushed velvet, python, suede and vintage  animal prints and go on to be carried by a range of high-end retail accounts including Maxfield, Madison and Fred Segal Santa Monica locally, Jeffrey in New York and Neiman Marcus.

Elisa Ferare "Tycoon"

Rishwain is survived by three children, Brian Rishwain, Benjamin Rishwain and Jennifer Gheur, and six grandchildren, all of Los Angeles, and a brother, Joseph Ferrari, of Stockton.

According to the family, a celebration of her life will take place in the Los Angeles area at a later date.

– Adam Tschorn

Photo: At top, an undated photo of Elisa Ann Rishwain, who in 2003 turned her penchant for customizing store-bought shoes into a line of handmade high-end high heels under the Los Angeles-based Elisa Ferare label, passed away April 25, 2010, after a three-year battle with cancer. At bottom, the Tycoon style from the fall 2009 Elisa Ferare footwear collection Credit: Rishwain family (top); Elisaferare.com (bottom)

“Are Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik two of your favorite men? Could your closet be mistaken for the shoe department at Nordstrom’s? Are you compelled by some inexplicable force to add to your stiletto collection, despite your inability to walk in them?”

Shoe and Purse closet by KenedyPearl and Saffy Girl

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, your story is wanted for “Sole Sister”, an hour-long film which will take the viewer on an anthropological and humorous romp from the dawn of civilization until the present, exploring women’s obsessions with shoes.

Shoe closet from NestMaker

Submit your story in the “comment” window and shuzsociety.com will get you connected with producer, also coincidentally shoe-obsessed, Cynthia Mondell. Your obsession with shoes doesn’t have to be a closet-case. For more information about the film, click here…

Shoe collection from Wig3000

What:  The Shoe Society Launch Party
When:  Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Time:  6-9pm
Where:  Planet Rose in the Tropicana
Atlantic City, NJ
View party invite

Step out with your gal pals to meet other shoe lovers and show off your fabulous footwear on the pink runway carpet!  Enjoy a free massage, giveaways and prizes. Must be 21 or older to enter.

For more info about The Shoe Society, please visit their web site at www.theshoesociety.net.

Author Felicia Coley ~

Calling all Stiletto Intellectuals in the Atlanta area!

You are invited to attend a Spring Book Signing hosted by Jedal Italian Fashion Shoe Boutique for Shoe-Blogger-Turned-Author Felicia Coley on Saturday, April 24, 2010.

By purchasing her book, How To Stylishly Fall From Grace, you will be giving “heeling power” to women affected by domestic violence, as a percentage of every copy sold benefits the women’s fund of the UN’s Say NO – UNiTE To End Violence Against Women.

When: Saturday, April 24

Where: Jedal Italian Fashion Shoe Boutique

Location: Phipps Plaza (on the second level above Tiffany & Co.)
3500 Peacahtree Rd
Atlanta, GA 30326

Time: 3PM-5PM

There will be fab giveaways and refreshments for your enjoyment, not to mention the latest luxe Italian footwear of Jedal Italian Fashion! Followers of The Well-Heeled Society will be in full force, so come with your girlfriends to purchase your signed copy.

Sponsored by Wild Woozle Soap Company, Denimocracy, Drudean’s, shuzsociety, Trading Phrases, Save Your Sole, Madame Madeline and Harney and Sons

RSVP NOW!   Phone: 404-816-3024

For more information about author Felicia Coley and her book, visit her How To Stylishly Fall From Grace web site.

Alexander McQueen "hearts" pump

Love. LOVE! Badgley Mischka’s rhinestone-embellished “Elia” satin pump. With their contrasting piping and geo-peep-toe they are simultaneously girlie, sexy and utterly timeless. $204 at Zappos.com.

Badgley Mischka's "Elia" pump

Or step into Vivienne Westwood’s “Elevated” leather Mary Jane with hidden platform. $558.58 at Zappos.com.

Vivienne Westwood's "Elevated"

And, because we heart hearts so much, Burberry offers a “confetti hearts” checked-print wedge with ankle strap. Perfect way to enliven your own blue frock dress. $495 at Zappos.com.

"Confetti Hearts" by Burberry

Perhaps for the tear-flooded rabbit hole? SEE by Chloé’s beautiful Niagra-hued “radical” rubber boots, Style: SB13040. $199 at Zappos.com.

SEE by Chloé

Or a little something for the Mad-Hatter in you? Marc by Marc Jacob’s rubber triangular-cutout lace-up skimmers, while curiouser and curiouser, are quite interesting, Style: 605187. $95 at Zappos.com.

Marc by Marc Jacobs rubber skimmer

Oh, alright. While not a shoe (but we couldn’t resist), this “Heart of Gold” bucket bag by Betsey Johnson is pretty darn cute. Even Alice knows how to accessorize. $302 at Zappos.com.

Betsey Johnson "Heart of Gold" bucket bag

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