Fashion Friday 3/11: ShoeDazzle and Sole Society

Maybe I should change the name of Fashion Friday to Footwear Friday. It seems all I'm interested in blogging about is shoes. This week I want to report on two membership shoe shopping sites, ShoeDazzle and Sole Society. I just found Sole Society this week, but I signed up for ShoeDazzle a while ago. They do have referral programs, so I'll be using my referral links throughout this post.

Let me make this clear first: I haven't actually purchased from either one, but I've gone through the steps of filling out the style profile and looking at my "closet." If you haven't checked out a site like this before, this is how it works. You fill out a style profile, usually by choosing among a series of runway looks or celebrity photos. Then some behind-the-scenes stylists pick out shoes for you (this seems legit because it usually takes 24 hours before your selection is ready. Then you get an email notification that your "closet" or "showroom" is ready to view. The shoes are all a reasonable, set price, and then if you buy, you'll get a new selection each month.

I'll start with the one I knew about first, which is ShoeDazzle. ShoeDazzle was started by Kim Kardashian and other celebrity stylists. This is appealing to me because although I don't care much for Kim Kardashian, she always has great shoes. Here's what she says on the ShoeDazzle "About Us" page:

Wearing the perfect outfit makes every woman feel special. I want every woman, not just celebrities, to feel as if she is getting red carpet treatment. That's why I started ShoeDazzle. 

The shoes are priced at $39.95 each with free shipping in the contiguous U.S.  Since its inception, ShoeDazzle has also branched out into handbags and costume jewelry. So each month's "showroom" contains a selection chosen especially for you plus styles featured on the site and its Facebook page. I get five shoes selected just for me, plus I can see the ones that didn't make the top five, plus all the featured styles of the month.

I've filled out the profile for ShoeDazzle a couple of times but was never thrilled with the selections. You all know I am a bargain shopper, and although $39.95 may be pretty cheap to Kim Kardashian strutting around in her Louboutins, it's still a good sum for me. For forty bucks, I want quality shoes. I have yet to see pair of leather shoes come up for me at ShoeDazzle, and that's one thing I insist on (sorry, vegans). I might go for a pair of satin or other fabric shoes once in a while, but I will not pay good money for "faux leather" shoes. They make my feet sweat and are usually uncomfortable. I'm not going to pay $40 for costume jewelry either. I have seen a couple of somewhat tempting handbags, though, like this style, named "Kiev":

Here's a screenshot of my top 5 personalized selections:

I wasn't crazy about them, so I clicked a link to get more and am waiting on those. I did like the style of some of the featured selections, but again, the quality just wasn't high enough for me.

This week I also discovered Sole Society and decided to give it a shot. I'm a little happier with the shoe selections I received in my "closet" there. Sole Society gives me six selections, but Sole Society is a bit more expensive--the set price is $49.95, also with free shipping.

 Here's a screenshot of the six styles chosen for me at Sole Society:

I can honestly say I'd probably choose to try on all of these at a shoe or department store. I like them a lot. Some come in other colors in addition to the ones shown. Only one is leather (actually suede), but they're my favorite color, purple (top left). They actually remind me of a pair of kensie shoes I saw at Macy's a couple of years ago.  I can't see myself forking over the fifty bucks though for shoes I probably wouldn't wear too often.

I might actually pay $50 for the black wedges, but they're "faux leather." I just can't do it, y'all.

So that's my run down on the subscription shoe sites. They do have more interactive and networking features that are pretty cool that I didn't discuss. If you know of any other shoe sites like these, let me know so I can check them out!