Online Sale Alert : MBTs are on sale at Planet Shoes – from now through August 22, save 40% on these popular wellness shoes… See Rachel Zoe’s top picks for Fall at Piperlime! Enjoy free shipping and free returns too. Shop now!

shoe thing …Shoe designer Alexandra Neel hopes to breathe life back into the Charles Jourdan shoe brand (for a glimpse at that venerable brand’s heydey, check out today’s Daily Shoe Video ).

Once again, Giuseppe Zanotti has proven he’s the king of sparkle — and of surprise — with the dazzling motorcycle boots from his fall 2009 collection. Knee-high black leather, bold buckles at the top and instep, and a covered square heel adorned with a plate of multi-colored Swarovski crystals: Aren’t they fantastic?

Friday, July 17 …Designer Billy Reid includes the perfect pair of riding boots in his debut shoe collection, set to launch Holiday 2009… Crocs , the once high-flying novelty shoe company, is struggling mightily…Ever wondered how fine leather shoes are made? wonder if that woman broke her ankle.

Apparently, the trend of super-high heels is starting to abate (perhaps because fashionistas everywhere are starting to share the opinion of one reader of The Moment )… The Moment gives us a great view of the fall shoes in its fashion closet.

Manolo says, the Manolo has been considering these photos for many days now, and has come to the conclusion that the real Bonnie and Clyde are more stylish and more elegant than the ersatz Bonnie and Clyde. Certainly, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty are the physically better looking couple. How tiny-tiny? But why? As for the shoes… No contest.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s friends at the Wikio have provided the Manolo with the sneak peak of their latest rankings of the top fashion blogs (which will be announced formally tomorrow). And look! The Manolo, he has almost cracked the top twenty! The Sartorialist. Style rookie. FABSUGAR — Sugar Team. On the Runway. The Bag Snob. Luxist.

Manolo says, sometimes the shoe trends slip past the Manolo’s highly tuned shoe radar, such is the case with the rise and popularity of the Däv rain boot, which the Manolo only became aware of last week when dining with the friends. They look like fashion boots but are rubber.&#. Pucci makes the Smiles!&#. 8220;No, no, no. 8220;?&#. Däv!&#.

I've recently received a question related to how one can select high-quality dress shoes. How does one avoid the price trap? What are the brands that consistently deliver quality? How is one able to say, with a measure of objectivity, what sorts of things one should look when buying shoes?

Typically when I do an " Inspriation = Flattery?" post I'm talking about how a company is knocking off or heavily leveraging the design of another company or designer. And with the "celebrity" blogger gaining more and more prominence, it was bound to happen in the blogging realm too. The J. I'm sure more are to follow. Launching next month, J.