DSW + Shoe Carnival Shoes

Oooo, so I just found out that Advent Children (the dubbed version, but I prefer the Japanese sub-titled version) is on hulu for free, which means I can now get my CGI lusting on without having to scour the Internet for reliable streaming sites!

Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about were my two online shoe purchases from DSW and Shoe Carnival. I'm usually very wary of buying shoes online because I can never tell what size shoes I actually wear. Most of my shoes are a size US 8, but I have two pairs that are a US  6.5, and one of them is a almost a half size too big, and the other fits perfectly. I also have a couple of shoes that are US size seven, and I usually get boots in US 8.5 so I can wear them with tights and thick socks in Winter. Basically, I can wear anywhere between US 6-8.5 in shoes. Because it depends entirely on on where I buy my shoes, and what brand I buy, I usually wait until I can go to a store to physically try on different sizes, but since I couldn't see myself making the trek via light rail to the mall downtown, I decided to just shop online (it also helped that my mom had two online discounts for DSW and Shoe Carnival).

I needed some new black flats badly, so I decided to take advantage of the 10% off coupon and buy some from Shoe Carnival. I really liked these SODA Mosaic-S shoes because of the houndstooth bow on the toe, which adds a little design while still being classy. According to the Shoe Carnival shoe sizer that's on their website, I should wear a size 9, but I knew that would be way too big, so I got a size 8.5 instead.  The arrived within a week or so, but were still way too big, so I exchanged them through the mail for a size 8. The exchange took too long in my opinion, and Shoe Carnival didn't even send me a confirmation email saying they processing the exchange, or a shipping confirmation when they shipped! I actually had to call their customer service after almost two weeks of not hearing anything before I found out they had even shipped my shoes!

These shoes are very cute and comfortable. The outside is made of a soft, velvety fabric, but seems to be pretty durable (ha, this may be a premature review since I haven't actually worn them yet!). However, Shoe Carnival's customer service could definitely use some improvement, as well as their stupid size chart!

Next, I needed some grey pumps to wear to work with my grey pants and skirt. I always thought DSW was a super expensive shoe store, especially since everyone I knew who shopped there also bought Gucci and Versace straight off the rack! The only reason I even went on the website in the first place was because my mom had a $10 membership coupon that she wasn't going to use. I remember thinking to myself, "Even if I get $10 off, any shoes I buy from DSW are still going to be over $50" (I have a very hard time convincing myself to spend $50 on one item if I can afford it), but I decided to take a chance anyway.

I'm glad I did! As soon as I went to the "Pumps" section of the website, and viewed the shoes by lowest price first, of course, I saw these on the second page! I absolutely fell in love with them! They were about $50 (apparently I was already saving about $85 off the regular price!), but once I added the discount, the total was just under $50, including tax and shipping!

I love the design, which is great for wearing with both skirts and pants, and the bow adds a touch of femininity, while still looking like professional men's shoes. The outside of the shoe is made of that thick fabric that expensive suits are made of, which, according to the product reviews of the site, is very durable and long lasting.