Frugalistas Can Too Be Ferosh.

Thank G O D someone in marketing down at Payless picked up on the frugalista wave that is going to hit harder than a tsunami in Indonesia this fall. Sure we have all donned a pair of gigantic sunglasses and other various undercover clothing to scrounge the aisles of our local child infested/elevator music ridden/high school gum popping and cynically staffed store that we love/hate for their cheap thrills (don't tell me you haven't found a great pair of staple shoes there that falls to bits in precisely 2.5 months when you're running late to insert important event here and you're already half way there. We've all been there, it breaks my heart too dollface). But as i'm sure you all know they have been branching out in the last few years to draw in what was once a niche market of people who would starve for a week rather than not buy that article of clothing that as we economically challenged and fashion conscious say "completes me", however now that that niche market has exponentially grown to the size of Jenna Jameson's collagen injected face their bet is about to pay off.

In the last few years Payless has collaborated with Alice+ Olivia and Lela Rose to create what they call fashionably acceptable footwear. I scoff at their attempts. Their Alice + Olivia line belongs in the back of a midwest Macy's in a box labelled PLEASE GIVE ME A HOME. Anyone who considers what Alice + Olivia has put out for Payless shoe-stopping probably thinks implementing safety pins and/or bows in their outfits is a fashion statement. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. And as for Lela Rose, I'd say their execution lacked more than a sharp edge. No one is going to stand out in a crowd wearing their mom's office appropriate footwear. I quickly classified their collection as comfortable. That's fashion lingo for S O C I A L S U I C I D E.

It seems though that in Payless's good fortune, two wrongs make a right. This fall they launched a collaborative collection with Christian V. Siriano, beloved winner of Project Runway Season 4. Stemming from his Fall 2009 Ready To Wear collection that focused on Cleopatra, Siriano won the shoe-stopping challenge in my book. Featuring teals and chocolates, spikes and chains, it's actually a convincingly fierce collection. Granted it does lend artistic license from Rodarte Fall 2008, but I feel like it was a platform for growth. Siriano took what Rodarte started and came full circle providing us with a edgy and complete interpretation of fab footwear. It's fun loving in the color department, eye grabbing in the style department and reusable in the wardrobe department. I honestly see this collection as pretty well endowed in terms of fulfilling the needs of a fashion fixed frugalista.


Clockwise from the top left: Sandstrap, Saunter, Strut and Slither.
Check Out Siriano's Fall 2009 collection and what he has to say about his collection with Payless Shoes. I have to say I L O V E the texture of ruffles he implemented in his collection and the wide spectrum he covered. His collection as a whole is impressive and mature; each piece stands out and marks its territory but they all work like a team too. Tim Gunn was right, he is our generation's Marc Jacobs. Oh and his ever so cute little cameo at the end of his show drives me wild. I could just eat him he's so cute.



Visit Payless On The Runway for more details on Payless's designer collaborations & to get a preview of what to expect Spring 2010 and Payless.com for Siriano's collection. By and by, the Alice + Olivia collections and Lela Rose collections have been abysmal in the quality department. Mostly, dare I utter the word, plastic pleather, and what seems to be melted legos (though their patent leather is somewhat acceptable), I don't trust Payless in terms of quality footwear fabric. But we'll see how the Siriano collection fares.

<3 stay classy

PS On a side note, I don't think it's worth a whole entry but Lilo's sad sad sad attempt at a celebrity collection with Ungaro was just that, sad sad sad. I hope she never lives it down. And whoever signed off on allowing her to commit such a travesty ought to be given 20 lashings and hung for crimes against humanity.