It’s the most difficult thing for us to convey here at cherri is that our shoes stretch and they stretch good! We know you’ve heard it before a million times over and we’ve all had that pair(s) of shoes that were supposed to stretch and didn’t. It’s a hard sell. We know! But we’re really for truely promise that ours do!! I’ve seen our shoes stretch to double their original state, seriously DOUBLE!! It’s all got to do with high quality leather lining and uppers. You have to have the leather on the inside as well or you simply won’t get a good custom stretch.

Beautiful soft leather uppers and lining – Pascucci $195

If you buy our shoes just right or a bit loose at the start, it’s a good bet they will become too big after one or two wears and you will walk out of them. ESPECIALLY the ballet flats and pumps without any straps. It doesn’t take long for our shoes to give. Usually as quick as a few hours of having them on! You should feel the leather start to relax as soon as it starts to warm up from being on your feet. Many of our customers feel the difference within a few minutes.

Marcopizzi ballet flats will relax in minutes – Marcopizzi $150

So if you have purchased a good quality leather shoe (of course you have, you’ve shopped at cherri bellini) and they are firm to tight (which we hope they are to start with otherwise they will fall off or become to big once they give), then here’s a few tips to help you out/ speed up the stretching process should you need it.

The time it takes to break in a new pair of shoes will totally depend on the leather. Personally I find patent the most determined and suede will always be the easiest as it’s a higher quality of leather to begin with, so it should melt like butter to the shape of your foot.

So try these if they are taking too long for your liking!

Try using a stretching spray – available from most shoe repairers.

Just squirt a small amount onto the inside of the shoe where you need the stretch, then pop your shoes on and off you go. The spray will help to relax out the leather, while using the heat you generate while walking around. I find this works a treat if you have one or two little trouble spots, like where a seam lies, or just near the little toe, that sort of thing. Speeds up the process no end!

We use and sell Collonil products here at cherri. They’re awesome.

Wheat pack – also good for sore muscles! ;)

If you have shoes that are tight all over and you need to break them in quickly, reach for the wheat bag! Warm you wheat bag up to just body temperature, not too hot or you will buckle the leather! Stick your shoes on, and place the bag over the top of your feet while you kick back and read a book or watch tele or whatever you like! Leather needs heat to give, so you are just helping the heating process along and the leather will give out to the size you need it to without all the walking around!

This is a cute one we found on http://www.etsy.com

Bit by bit – take a spare.

I usually like to break my shoes bit by bit if they are particularly small. For example, I like to buy my Riccardo Banfi’s half a size too small because I know how much his leather gives from many years experience (he’s my favourite here at cherri, I LOVE him) and I hate sloppy shoes. However this does make for uncomfortable wearing for the first few times. So I wear my new shoes for a few hours and take a super comfy pair with me so I can swap over when it gets too much. Usually only takes doing this twice, then before I know it, I’m wearing the new ones all day without a care in the world and they’re perfectly fitted to me with no extra cost or hassle. Ahh, patience, as they say, is a virtue!

These are my Pascucci slippers of choice for instant relief!

Shoe repairer – especially good for boots around the calf area.

If you are in a hurry or simply don’t want the discomfort (albeit temporary) to break in your new beauties, then head to your most trusted shoe repairer as they should be able to stretch your shoes for you, no dramas. If you have boots that don’t quite do up around your calf area, your shoes repairer should be able to fix that too. Our guys can get a good 2-3cms extra stretch out of our boots, especially if it’s a straight leather without any elastic sections. Failing that, you can always have an elastic section fitted to the tops of most boots too but usually a good stretch is plenty to get them to where you need them to be. Again you can do this bit by bit yourself (just wear them under pants a few times until they do up properly!) but the quick way is to hand them over to your shoe repairer/ boot maker.

A good shoe repairer can do more than you ever thought possible!

Vaseline – not just for lip balm.

I have also been known to use a bit of Vaseline on the inside of my shoes on the  spot that rubs. As long as the lining of your shoe is leather, a bit of Vaseline helps to soften the leather and it protects your skin a bit too.

So there you have it. Please trust us on this one. You won’t regret it!

Rule number one in the list of cherri gospel truths – Red shoes are awesome.

This is just a fact that needs to be remembered when considering a new shoe purchase.

If faced with a choice of comparable shoes and you just can’t decide between the red or say the black, remember the rule and go red. Decision made. You’re welcome.

They will go with just as much as a black pair. No really, they will, they’re very versatile and sooo much more interesting! Treat them as you would a black shoe, throw them with anything and turn some heads!

For me the love affair started here, with way too much ‘Wizard of Oz’ as a kid.

I mean, LOOK AT THEM! How could you not want a pair of ruby slippers! Even if they weren’t magic, I’d still want some! So shiny and so….RED! The fascination has yet to wear off and I find myself drawn to red shoes to this day.

I’m not alone.

Celebrities love ‘em too ….

Even the fabulous Miss Audrey Hepburn shows us how to work those ruby slippers in the movie ‘Funny Face’.

And when you conjure up the most extreme screen siren possible, what colour do you put her in? Oh yeah, you know it, it’s RED!

See, absolute solid proof that red shoes are awesome.

Still not sure? I’ll let you take it up with this lady. ;)

Love it or hate it, it’s coming up to that time again…Valentine’s Day! Where it’s all about hearts and flowers and chocolates and the colour red….(sigh)…oh and LOVE! Yeah, that love stuff too.

As much as some of us swear we don’t think anything of it and it’s ‘all just a big commercial rip-off’ and a ‘Hallmark’ occasion, if we’re really honest with ourselves, deep down honest, there ain’t one of us ladies out there that doesn’t secretly wish that by the end of the day we might have some flowers delivered (and we’re secretly bummed when it doesn’t happen)!

Did anyone else’s Dad used to get them flowers for Valentine’s Day? Mine did. He would buy my sister and I single roses and sign them from ‘An Admirer’. Which was very, very sweet but it would get me every time as a had that flush of excitement of getting flowers on Valentines Day and wondering who they could possibly be from only to find out, yet again, it’s Dad. Bless him for the gesture though!

Anyway, here’s to celebrating a love affair that last forever…love of shoes!!! :)

And staying somewhat on theme, we can introduce you to cherri Rule number one – Red shoes are awesome.

More rules (our Gospel truths, if you like) to follow! :)

cherri bellini $130

Riccardo Banfi $295

Stefano Diomedi $250

cherri bellini $117

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Just because it’s a formal or light weight or strappy or short or summer dress DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO HAVE STRAPPY SHOES! 

It’s ok to want strappy shoes but its sooooo not your only option.

A closed or peep toe pump will always be a classy option with anything you are wearing. From jeans to lace frocks.  A pump will bring an element of sophistication and style to your flirty little dress. It’s the best way to temper a sexy little number with a splash of ‘seriously, I know what I’m doing here’.

Especially if you outfit has a busy pattern or texture, like lace, going on. Adding a strappy shoe to that can be overwhelming, it’s too much action! Opting for one block colour that is in the outfit, in a plain pump style,  will compliment the pattern instead of compete with it.

Here’s a few examples of ladies rocking some pumps and frocks from late last year….we are particularly lovin’ Emma Stone’s choice of colour pump.

Katie Cassidy at the CFDA Fashion Awards

Selena Gomez at the MTV movie awards

Emma ‘can’t go wrong’ Watson at the MTV Movie Awards

Emma Stone at the MTV Movie Awards

Lesson over ;)

Some fash-spriation for y’all…..Enjoy! :)

Be bold. Be creative. Have fun, it’s only fashion! :)

We’ve heard the best way to stick to these goals we make in the first few days of January, in a flush of New Year’s after glow, is to break them down into bite sized pieces.

So if you’ve got a biggie, like ‘quit smoking’, or ‘lose weight’, then start with that but write down how you’re going to get there too. Be really realistic. Like, we mean really.

Don’t kid yourself that going cold turkey will work straight off. Maybe start with ‘I’m not going to smoke a cigarette with my morning coffee anymore’. Then in a month’s time when that’s under control, add in something else like, ‘Now I’m not going smoke in my car any more either ‘ and keep working up to it. Write it all down and plan it out too. Put it on a calendar even or in your diary. It takes the pressure off but lets you creep up on your goal and actually get there.

Same with everything else. Don’t kid yourself in all your good intentions and enthusiasm that you will keep up going to the gym everyday. Aim for twice a week. That’s realistic. Or maybe it’s not right now, maybe once a week is but it’s better than nunce! Slow and steady wins the race!

Most of the time it comes down to priorities too. You’ve got to want it. When I was into photography, once upon a time, I was whingeing to a friend of mine about how I ‘couldn’t afford film’ (yes, it was a while ago ok, pre-digi!) and how I’d ‘do more of it if I had more money’. He just looked at me and said ‘Funny, you can afford to have a beer here at the pub with me but yet you can’t afford the few dollars for film. That’s interesting, isn’t it?’ ….Ouch, he shot me! But he was right and I remember that to this day. Sometimes you’ve got to make a few sacrifices for the greater good and stop making excuses for yourself.

So yeah, don’t have that croissant every morning before work if you’re trying to save for a holiday. Take the money you spend on coffee every day and get a pedicure at the end of the week instead, if you want some more pampering in your life. Work a way around it, whatever it is!

Here at cherri we are writing lists. We’re calling these lists ‘In 2012 I will…’ They’ve got all sorts on them, from climbing Mt Lofty, to tandem skydiving, to getting to the dentist! And they’re long (better odds of achieving some of them at least!).

We’re sticking them up in our back room so we see them everyday and we keep each other on track.

What’s on your list this year and how are you going to get there?

Oh and here’s some photos of shoes, just in case you thought you were on the wrong blog! :D

Happy New Year everyone!

New ‘Criss’ laser cut leather ballet flats $185

New ‘Criss’ snake skin sandal $185

New ‘Criss’ Chanel style ballet flats $195

Two weeks here please Santa……

So I can sport these by Isson eyewear

While wearing this….from Powderpuff Boutique

With these from cherri bellini ($140)

carrying this - Chip Chop Tote Bag  

with this in it. :)

What’s on your list?

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Rubbish to that says we!

It’s easy! They look amaze, they’re comfortable and hot to trot too. So here’s a few ideas to get you going!

Donna Loka by Marcopizzi,  Italian leather flat sandal $90

It’s coming up party season and maybe you can’t have a different pair of shoes for every party/B.B.Q./get together that you are going to (wouldn’t that just be the life!), so you need to make one or two do all the jobs for you.

May we present the comfy flat option. Or Plan S (for sandal).

A flat sandal like the one above can take you to an office Christmas party when paired back with a simple black outfit like a cool summer jumpsuit. Jazz it up with a blingy clutch bag and you are comfortable, stylish, classy and definitely not under dressed in any way.

Valentino Resort Collection 2012

Day time function? Maybe something on grass? Do not fall prey to the idea that heels on grass is a good look. Struggling to keep your balance (and your dignity) while you core the lawn is no easy feat and should be avoided at all costs or left to the professionals! Outdoors should be handled in flats or wedges whenever possible!

Work your flats back with a cute skirt, maybe some stripes and a colourful bag, just for funzies!

Charlotte Dawson and Simmone Holtznagel, working stripes and flats at Paspaley Polo in the City, Sydney

Justify getting those metallic shorts you have had your eye on by knowing you can dress them down. Metallic finishes are no longer just for evenings or very dressy events. They work really well with a more casual vibe too. Throw them back with your flats and an oversized bag to bring them down a notch or two, then dial them back up with heels and some bling when you need to. Early evening soiree, sorted.

Miranda Kerr in Peter Pilotto – stunning! And we’re loving the roses behind her!

Blake Lively in a sheer Marchesa dress – LOVE it’s vintage feel…would love to have seen the shoes!

Nicole Richie in Halston - proving that you can’t go wrong in Halston (WANT that wallpaper behind her too!!)

Gwen in Carven – always a funky lady, she wears this style effortlessly

Ok so who cares what  Kate’s got on here…whoever she is talking to is rockin’ some funk!

Check out the picks from the pro’s at Harper’s. We think they have a pretty good eye….carry on Harper’s, you have the cherri approval ;)

http://www.harpersbazaar.com.au/celebrity/best-dressed.htm