Mamma needs a new pair of espadrilles...

...and baby does, too!

On our first solo outing today, Baby Claire and I headed to Target and picked up these two adorable pairs of shoes.

For Mommy: Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Ownah Flower Espadrilles in Red -- $14.99

Word to the wise, believe the reviews, they run large and wide. So size down and skip them altogether if your foot is super-narrow, but otherwise these are a super-cute steal.

For Baby: JUST ONE YOU Made by Carter's ® Newborn Girls' Espadrille Shoe in White -- $7.99

I can't wait for these to make a debut, maybe with her Easter dress this weekend.

Tall Boots for Big Gams

Call them "Athletic", "Wide" or just plain "Large" but my calves do not fit in to just any pair of mid-calf or knee-high boots. You might remember my trials and tribulations just trying to find rain boots last year and I finally just gave up on new boots all together last season.

This was so especially upsetting because once you realize you have big calves and subject yourself to a limited search for "Wide Shaft" or "Wide Calf" boots you get stuck with just a few options of unstylish, frumpy looking boots that are as wide at the ankle as they are at the top.

HELLO! I didn't say I had cankles, too! Just what I would like to consider well developed calves from years of playing soccer and volleyball. Thank you very much. And even if I do have "larger than average" gams, they deserve to look stylish and trendy too.

Well, after a little more education and actually measuring my calf circumference, I set out again this season on the search for tall boots that fit my legs AND maybe would even allow me to tuck in some jeans for the first time ever.

The good news is that I have had success now that Zappos.com, endless.com and a few other online retailers have caught on to my dilemma and began adding shaft circumference to their product details! Zappos' search function is much more robust in this area, so I had luck finding many great options simply by typing in "16.50" circumference", etc.

So now I search for boots that have at least a 15.50" circumference and above. Through trial and error I found that going 1"-1.5" larger than that allows some additional room for knee socks or a pant leg and 15.50" exactly will leave room only for my calf and a pair of tights to wear with skirts & dresses.

So my first stylish pair to reveal are the Jessica Simpson Grella boots in Mud Brown:

The shaft facts: 15.50" circumference. 15.50" shaft height.

Jessica must be getting sensitive to fellow ladies with curves ;-) Being that these are a pull on style, with no zipper or elastic venting at the top, this will be one of those "fits like a glove" pairs that I will wear with skirt & dresses, and probably tights. The leather is soft and the color is rich, giving much more variance and dimension than this photo shows. I am excited to wear these soon! Also, my co-worker told me that she has a cobbler that actually adds in an elastic vent to some of her boots, who knew you could do that?! So if I really wanted to try it, I could see what a shoe guy could make happen, but I think I'm happy with the way they are now. Why mess with close to perfection?

Next, is a surprising find, Naturalizer Brommsly Wide Shaft boots in Black Leather:

The shaft facts: 17.00" circumference. 15.50" shaft height.

WOW! This pair of boots is perfect. Comfort. Style. AND I wore them already and was able to fit my calf, my knee sock and my skinny jeans into them without looking like a stuffed sausage! SUCCESS! Plus, they are skinny at the ankle, so they look tailored as opposed to frumpy. The ankle detailing is also very cute. I wore these puppies from 7:30am on Friday until 11pm that night, and can say with certainty that the Naturalizer comfort factor is still upheld in these boots. They actually inspired me to write my first ever Zappos review!

Lastly, with my new found knowledge of circumference and recent boot luck, I'm debating giving Hunter Wellies one last try.

You see, before I was only ordering the women's wellies style which only have a 15.00" circumference:

But now I realize that the Men's version is actually unisex and has a 17.00" circumference, which could be perfect!:

Look just about the same, right? Of course, the unisex ones have much fewer color choices but I do think that classic green is still a nice option. I think I will order them and see what happens!

Shoes for Italy

I have been on the prowl for comfortable yet cool (both temperature-wise and style-wise if possible) shoes to wear on our trip to Italy. After many recommendations from folks who have travelled to Europe before I made a few online orders and have settled on two out of the 3-4 pairs that I plan to bring.

1) Fit Flops

These are the most comfortable sandals I have ever slipped on and I already broke them in both wearing them around the house and outdoors this weekend taking my parents around downtown Chicago. But really, I don't think there is much of a break-in period for these because they fit very well and have given me no cause for concern. I got them in bronze/pink so that they would look less orthopedic and they are pretty cute. Feel like I'm walking on a cloud, yet supportive and I think they will remain supportive even on uneven surfaces.

2) Keen Amsterdam

I had been told the keen was a nice comfort/sport brand and I liked the look of these shoes online so I gave them a try. I got them in the Rust color and they fit great, feel very comfortable and I also think they'll give a nice pop or color to my casual site-seeing gear. I plan to start wearing these on my walk to work in the mornings to start breaking them in, too.

I've also had a few failures.

I really loved these Converse All Star Slip-ons, but they ran too big and the next size down was too small, so it seems I am between sizes. :

I also tried Clark's Privo Mesa shoes, but they slipped off of my foot too easily:

I hope to find one or two more pairs, one converse like shoe and maybe one a little dressier sandal or mary jane that I could wear with a skirt or dress to dinner without having a skinny heel that I'll be dying to take off. Anyone have any other ideas for a tennis shoe/sneaker brand that isn't the normal, white cross trainer type AND a dressier comfort sandal or shoe for nicer dinners?

I surrender!

Ok, Hunter. I'm waiving my white flag. Your boots just don't want to fit my legs correctly and I give-up, I will stop ordering your pricey pairs of wellies and stop trying to make them like me.

Hunter Original, your were pretty, but a bit too tight around my calf...

Hunter Huntress, you were too big and wide around my foot and ankles (and the shade was not my fave green color anyway)...

Thank goodness for Zappos AWESOME free, fast shipping AND returns. So now I'm on the hunt for a non-Hunter brand wellie. Any suggestions?

Not a Hunter, but maybe a Huntress?

So, I posted last month about the wonderful Hunter Wellies I bought off of Zappos. They were pretty. And purple. And did not fit my calves :-(

I did fit into them (a minor accomplishment), but they came up so high (almost to the knee) that my calf could not even wiggle in it, none-the-less have any hope of fitting a pant leg in the shaft as well. So I sat on them (not literally). And sat on them. And just decided to print my Zappos return label tonight to return them.

BUT I may be in luck. No, they do not come in pretty purple, BUT Hunter has considered us bigger calved ladies and made a slightly shorter and wider style, called Hunter Huntress. Now these only come in black, green and navy, but since green is the original Hunter boot (and my fave color) I went ahead and ordered them tonight to give them a try instead.

I'll be happy to report how they fit as soon as I get them. What do you think?

Well, I got wellies!

So I totally splurged on an early b-day present for myself today and purchased a pair of Hunter boots/wellies, from Zappos.

I usually would go right for the green pair, but ironically I thought the green Hunter's were too "hunter" green.

Next, I considered the orange pair, but wasn't sure if they said "bright and cheery" or "construction worker":

So I decided on the aubergine color instead, which I thought were dark enough to be somewhat neutral, while still being purple enough to say "cute & fun"! 

I just hope they fit over my calves, because I am very excited about them and it would be a shame if I had to return them! I should know soon though with Zappos super-fast free shipping.