Pumped Up - Again

Tracking down pointy toe high heel (aka stiletto heels) black suede pumps has been a difficult endeavor in recent months. Living in New York City I thought it would be easy to slip into a store, pick out, try on (size 7 or 7.5) and leave with a pair of these pumps. It has been a few years since I've worn such shoes, attributable to the pandemic.* A change in my lifestyle during the pandemic hit me from head to toe. But with the pandemic less intrusive, loving that I'm taller in stiletto heels and going out more I decided to freshen up my shoe selection. Not so fast though! (*pandemic is not officially over? Right?).

My difficulty in finding black suede stiletto heels might be due to:

• These aren't being manufactured as much as they were during the pre-pandemic. Of course I don't know. Just a guess. The pandemic brought about, or reinforced the trend of wearing comfortable things: sneakers, slippers and all kinds of flats.

• Manufacturers might be focusing on trendier high heel styles such as platform ankle strap pumps. Check out the Versace and Valentino styles. The heel height is over 5 inches, along with a 2 plus inch platform. These are pretty shoes but too trendy for me.

• These pointy toe high heel suede shoes might not be popular with buyers anymore and manufacturers have responded accordingly, with fewer being available.

I'm not a quitter when it comes to hunting for shoes to try on in a store! Even if I'm buying an exact replacement of a pair of shoes I already own, I like to try on the potential new pair. Therefore, shoe shopping on the internet doesn't work for me.

The Saks Fifth Avenue website site had an adequate selection of pointy toe high heel black suede pumps when I looked last week. However, next to most of these shoes, it stated "Pick Up Not Available At New York" I thought it was worth a try to see if the Saks website was wrong, and maybe a nice assortment would be available in the Saks Fifth Avenue New York store.

When I reached the 8th floor shoe salon I slowly circled the floor hoping to locate black suede high heel pumps. There were just a few on display and I snatched them. Within a few minutes I was assisted by a helpful associate. Shortly thereafter he brought out a few shoe boxes. I found the perfect pair: The Manolo Blahnik BB 90 Suede pumps in black suede.