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Operation Avoidance: Patricia Field for Payless

To be fair, Patricia Field puts together a mean outfit. The woman proved that high fashion can transform a short, skinny, frizzy-haired, character-nosed Jewish gal into one of the greatest style icons, like, ever. This in turn gives all us short, Jewish gals the cojones to experiment with fashion a la Carrie, and that kind of rocks.

What does not rock is this Patricia Field for Payless biznass. Let’s not forget that this woman is a costume designer, people. Give her vintage dresses and Manolos and she knows how to put them together. Give her the freedom to design her own stuff, and behold this metallic mess of a shoe “collection.”

My problem with metallics is that even the priciest shiny gold/silver/bronze/pewter handbags, sandals and/or stilettos tend to look kinda cheap. It follows that cheap metallics look, well, really cheap (see left…eew). Trendy shoes for thirty-five bucks might seem like a sweet deal, particularly if they’re strategically released in conjunction with a film that idealizes fashion. Know this: Everyone and their mom is wearing Patricia Field for Payless because it’s a novelty, not because the shoes mimic those on Carrie Bradshaw’s little feet. And as soon as they’ve seen and sobbed at the movie the requisite five times, they’ll toss the Payless pumps and take their plastic to Christian Louboutine.

I’m not saying make like Carrie and blow $450 on heels - that’s effing insane. I am saying that, even though $35 doesn’t seem like much, it’s still not worth wasting on trashy, fugly shoes. Pricey-looking heels can easily be had for $70 to $150, and they’ll make you feel a hell of a lot more like SJP than freaking Payless. Viva La Resistance.