Brown Knee High Boots from Browns Shoes

Most of my shoes for the winter are black.  They go with almost everything, after all.  However, the shoe rack gets a little boring looking with the sea of black footwear!  So, this season, I decided to purchase a pair of dark brown suede boots as an alternative.  They're from Browns Shoes, a Canadian chain store with mid-range to higher priced shoes (their house brands tend to range anywhere from $150 to $300.  Brand names they carry include Stuart Weitzman, Cole Haan and Manolo Blahnik) and they often have size 5 available, especially at their Yorkville area (both Bloor Street and Hazelton Lanes) and Bayview Village stores, both of which also carry a larger selection of higher end brands.  They also have an online store.  However, they only accept Canadian billing and shipping addresses.



Dress:  House of Hsueh, Custom Made

Boots:  Bravo Browns, Dark Brown Knee High boots, size 5 - $298 Canadian ON SALE $119 (dark brown only)       



Close-up of the boots:

I had a pair of suede boots I bought a few years ago, but they were black and had buckles (picture here).  They too were bought from Browns, but I don't remember what brand they were (I think it might be one of Brown's house brands, but I'm not 100%).  Is there anything NOT to like about these boots?  Not much, except that being suede, it is harder to clean than regular leather!  The good thing is that it IS waterproof.

Note:  The black version comes both in suede (on sale at $139.98) and leather ($159.98).  Not the boots are still available in stores, but it should be online.

Banana Republic Petites and Bayview Village

I was at Bayview Village the other day and found out that their petite section has disappeared. It turns out that it had moved - to the store at Shops at Don Mills (note: the store there is only sells women's clothing, so it makes sense for them to sell petites). According to a salesperson at the Bayview store, they just didn't have enough inventory for four stores. What do you think of this? I don't think there's necessarily a lack of demand for petite sizes there - they wouldn't have put petites there in the first place (unless it was supposed to be a temporary location until the store at Don Mills opened). There are a lot of Asian people who live in the area, many of them who are young and petite. The population can also afford Banana Republic. Of course, WANTING to purchase Banana Republic is another thing too...

Petites now available at Banana Republic Bayview Village

Petites in North York can rejoice! I was at Bayview Village just a few days ago and the Banana Republic there has a tiny petite collection! When I stopped by, I didn't find much...the collection is teeny compared to Bloor Street or Eaton Centre, but the good thing is that petite sizes are expanding their availability!