Sample Sale Tale: The Epic Story of The Christian Dior Shoes from Decadestwo

Contrary to popular belief, I am not someone who spends a tremendous amount of money on my clothes and accessories with reckless abandon. I believe in smart investment pieces that will last a lifetime. I’m especially a fan of vintage, especially when the item is in beautiful condition and will hold or increase its value. This is why despite sheer exhaustion I hauled it out of bed for the Decadestwo sample sale last Sunday. What three words got me to crawl out of my warm bed on a Sunday? Easy: “shoe” “sale” and “Louboutin.”

For those who aren’t aware, Decadestwo is the little consignment sister of Los Angeles’ world-renowned vintage couture store, Decades. The brainchild of fashion expert and celebrity stylist favorite Cameron Silver, both stores a little slice of heaven for those who are looking for high-end vintage pieces. We’re talking labels that have museum collection quality: Correges, Balmain, Valentino, Chanel.  If you watch The Rachel Zoe Project, Cameron is a personal friend of Rachel’s and she pulls from him A LOT.

Decadestwo created a pop-up shop upstairs at lingerie purveyor Kiki de Montparnasse for four lovely days and on Sunday morning, they had a shoe sale to end all shoe sales. Four hundred pairs of designer shoes arrived along with handbags, accessories and racks of labels that would send any group of Sex and the City fans writing on the floor in ecstasy. I stood in line for two hours (I got there early – I don’t mess around with sample sales) and when I entered, proceeded to get down to work, grabbing six pairs in the span of about 60 seconds. The labels were drool-worthy: Chloe, Prada, Sergio Rossi, Brian Atwood, etc. I sorted through the lot and when the fog cleared from my sale-induced haze, I happened to be holding what has now become The Best Shoes I Have Ever Put On My Feet. Yep.  Meet my worn-only-once-on-the-red-carpet, pink suede with Swarovski crystal-embellishment Christian Dior 61 shoes.

The floor manager and the salesperson on the floor commended my choice. “We were wondering who was going to walk out with these spectacular shoes.” Um, have you met me? Let me give you a card. Never wonder again. If shoes like this ever show up, you call me. I mean it. Day or night. As a matter of fact, if shoes of this quality are to show up on a regular basis at this price, I’ll buy an extra phone and create a hotline. 917-SHOE-HABIT. Not a problem.

So people will show you photos of their kids, their dogs and their cats. I would like to introduce you to my babies, the limited edition Dior 61 Suede Shoe.  Let’s break it down, shall we?

Subway trip to Decadestwo Sample Sale: $2.25
Coffee while standing in line: $2.27
Pair of fabulous Christian Dior suede and crystal shoes: $150
The experience and thrill of finding such a shoe? Priceless