AliShopsBlog.com - The Twin Cities Shopping Blog

Schedule that pedicure a bit earlier this year - peep toe boots are big for spring. Anything's possible after the shoe-bootie, right? And while the peep toe boot seems destined for a short season between slushy streets and oppressive heat, it is the ultimate in transitional wardrobing, for those frustrating weeks when nothing looks quite right. This one, in a grayish-tan suede by Bettye Muller, is now on the shelves at Pumpz & Company at the Galleria in Edina. (Warning: it's $525. The trend's got to start somewhere.) 

Spotted at the new Mall of America store Flips: Sanuk Tube Flops, a knee high sock attached to a basic flip flop for $30. It's just silly enough to catch on with the kids. I envision men in mid-life crisis lusting after the look. (Watch out, girls.) And about the store, Flips (first floor, south side). It's new to the mall, locally owned and sells nothing but flip flops for men and women, priced from $15 to $100. It's one of those novelty shops that screams "Only at MOA," and usually they don't last there very long either. Last I checked, flip flops were quite readily available. But props to anyone willing to try something new in this climate (I meant financial, but there is some amusement to having a flip flop store in MN, too). And if they can continue to surprise us with items like the Tube Flop, it could be worth checking back.

No, I don't want to add up how many cookies I've eaten in the last week, nor do I care to discuss artichoke dip intake, in all its creamy splendor. I refuse to feel guilty about enjoying the holidays. Honestly, my main motivation for hitting the gym this past weekend: cool new kicks.
The new Nike Store at Mall of America deserves more attention than it has received. No, it's not got anything on the Michigan Avenue store in Chicago. But it has that same gallery-like quality, and a whole lot of cool athletic shoes in amazing colors (customize your own, in store) that you won't find at other stores. Right now, women's Pegasus running shoes in funky, retro colors - like the blue and chartreuse combo I bought - are marked down to $59.99. Now, go sweat.

Corporate retailers are quick to pull the plug on new concepts, and such is to be the fate of cool Mall of America footwear and accessories shop One Thousand Steps, which apparently wasn't performing as well as the suits from parent company Pac Sun had hoped. Too bad, because I rather liked having this edgier option at the mall, featuring some lesser known brands and a slick assortment of handbags priced at less than $100. On the bright side: everything is currently 40 percent off.

It didn't even cross my mind to look for cool boots at First. What's First? Precisely my point. It's a new concept from Aldo for girls old enough to realize they don't have to spend their days in 5-inch, excruciatingly uncomfortable heels. There's a First store at Mall of America (first floor, south side near Gap) and it features unsexy brands like Clarks along with some trendier lines and its own private label footwear - casual and dress for women and men. Having struck out at literally every other shoe store in the mall (unless I was willing to spend $400-plus, which I was not), I wandered into First and fell in love with a tall, caramel brown boot -just slightly rustic, but with a wooden heel and enough sophistication to work with a dress, which is how I wore it first time out to rave reviews. Just $159.99 - and it was on sale, so I paid around $130. And I've got to say, even with the heel, it lived up to First's pledge of comfort. Maybe being too old for Aldo isn't so bad!