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Coffee Break: Gaige Pumps

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Sofft - Gaige (Black Cracked Suede)We are loving these shoes from Sofft as a vintagey alternative to a regular pump. The super high vamp makes them very walkable, but we think the way the vamp dips down will be more attractive than, say, a Mary Jane or t-strap shoe. For some reason, we're seeing them with a swingy A-line skirt. They're $109 at Zappos in “cracked suede” (pictured) and regular black leather (Sofft – Gaige (Black Cracked Suede) – Footwear); while Macy's has the same shoe in a red and gray suede (Sofft Shoes, Gaige Pumps Women's Shoes).

Sales of note for 12.5

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

87 Comments

        1. ha ha ha! Agreed . . . I actually thought the exact same thing right after I posted, but I always feel kind of lame doing a double post to correct myself.

          1. Agreed with you two ladies that peep toe is definitely very vintage! I actually have a few pairs of vintage shoes (as in actually from the 40’s, not just vintage-feeling) that have peep toes.

    1. I think these are the ugliest shoes I have ever seen featured here. I wouldn’t even wear these to take out the trash.

  4. Not feeling it. It feels off to me. I’d rather go with classic slingbacks, without or without peep toe.

  5. I am not hating these, per se, but cracked leather usually ends up looking cheap to me. These also kind of look sparkly — not attributes I look for in a work shoe.

    1. Yeah, the regular black does look better on the website (although, I have to admit, something is still off about these to me).

    2. Agree that the leather finish looks a bit cheap. It does come in a non-sparkly version too, which helps, but doesn’t make me love them.

  6. Unrelated-to-shoes question: Does anyone have an opinion as to Gothic Cabinet Craft (a New York furniture store)?

    DH and I need a new bed. I would like one with storage underneath (for sweaters, bedding, towels, etc.). These are not so easy to find in grown-up sizes, and Gothic looks like it has some decent storage beds. On the other hand, some of the customer reviews aren’t that positive, and one woman said her bed collapsed after 20 days because the nails were crappy. Also, I’d like a bed with a soft/cushioned headboard, which Gothic doesn’t seem to sell.

    If anyone has suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

    1. I have some stuff from gothic and I like them. Most of their stuff is made of solid wood, which is nice & I like that it’s all locally made. I do not have their bed, but a friend does and she hasn’t had issues. It’s a nice bed (2 drawers, solid pine). I actually have trouble seeing how her bed even could collapse given that there is storage underneath the mattress, and it’s thus all fairly solid & not likely to ever “collapse.”

      If you’re really set on a cushy headboard though, you could always get a base bed from them and add a headboard separately — they have many base options sans headboard. West Elm does a storage bed, too — but it’s harder to access as the storage is in the boxspring, i.e., you have to lift the mattress to access. Ikea sells a similar box spring option (the Sultana?) for about $300 that you can use in any bed & with any mattress. If it’s a matter or just storing clothes out of the way for the season, that may be a good solution for you.

    2. The furniture from Gothic’s classic lines that I have has always been very solid – just often not in any way pretty. :) You could always upholster the headboard yourself, or hire someone to do so. I don’t believe it’s complicated.

      1. I was going to say this. I watched enough Trading Spaces to have seen it happen, all you need is a nail (industrial staple?) gun and two people. This way you can choose how plush it is, what colour you want, if you want it to have the fabric covered button decals, etc.

        I’d imagine a big fabric store would have the foam, and someone there might be able to tell you how it’s done…. Otherwise, google!

      2. I have a headboard from Target that screws into a normal bedframe (and could probably screw into a bedframe with drawers) that is covered with upholstery. It looks like something from pottery barn, but was $100s less.

    3. Pottery Barn also sells storage beds. My in laws recently bought one and it looks nice, though I don’t think it came with a soft headboard.

    4. I have other types of furniture — e.g. a dining room table, a coffee table and a living room set from them. My favorite is the glass coffee table, but I haven’t had any issues. However, I have only had them 1 year.

      1. We’ve had a GCC dresser for six years now and we have no issues with the quality. I took out the wooden knobs and put in vintage flea-market find knobs in and it’s become a unique, fun piece of furniture.

    5. I got a few beds from there for a w/e house, not the fanciest/prettiest but sturdy wood with underbed storage. Definitely a good value for the price, but not “designer” pretty, maybe a bit rough on the finish too. Can’t imagine them collapsing, maybe the complainer had some other headboard arrangement, but mine is very sturdy headboard/footboard,/storage arrangement and is like a tank.

    7. Skip the storage bed and go directly to Charles P. Rogers (on West 17th between 5th and 6th) to get a bed with a dreamy leather upholstered headboard. DH and I finally got a “real” bed this year and have no regrets about our purchase from that store. It is, in fact, all that! Ask for Don!

  9. My first thought is that these shoes would go well with the polka dots from yesterday. And maybe a hat – ideally the one pictured by hat in the last post. Hahahahahaha. (Yeah, I know that hat wasn’t actually recommended).

    I usually love C’s picks – and they represent half of my wardrobe now. But this has been an off week!

    1. sorry, meant to say “ideally the one pictured in the last post” – meaning the pointy black one.

  10. sorry, meant to say “ideally the one pictured in the last post” – meaning the pointy black one.

    1. Haha!!! I love Worishofers!!!!! So comfy! Maybe I am spending too much time in Brooklyn, but I think if you’re young & otherwise cutely dressed, you can wear granny shoes. It’s like leopard print — cute in small, unexpected doses if you’re 20’s/early 30’s; also just fine when you’re late 60’s + . . . . It’s the in-between, potentially “cougar” labeled age that creates issues.

      1. Now, now. Not everyone gleaning fashion insight here is “cute and young.” I’m firmly in the “between 30s and 60s” age bracket and love leopard print. “Cougar” describes an activity, not an entire age cohort. Your callow young men are safe in my company.

        It has come up in several threads that if you are young, you should avoid X so you don’t look like you are playing “dress up.” If you are old, you should avoid Y to forestall the “mutton dressed as lamb” look. Corporate style is not one size fits all.

        Grannies unite! :-)

        1. Now, now. AIMS wasn’t saying Worishofers were right for everyone or that they were “one size fits all.” In fact, she was explicitly saying the opposite: that they are appropriate for a particular age group.

          As far as her use of the term “cougar”, it seems to me that prefacing it with “potentially” shows that she clearly didn’t intend for it to cover the entire age group.

        2. Louise, I mean no offense!!! :)
          Just defending my serious love for granny shoes!

          The leopard analogy actually came from a very fashionable friend of my mother’s who is always looking for comfy shoes, but declined my Worishofer rec. b/c she said she was too old to wear them in a cheeky way, and too young to wear them in an age-appropriate way (she’s 55, fwiw). At any rate, there are no absolutes in fashion and I am sure you wear leopard beautifully!

          1. No offense taken. I was using my gentle, quavery granny voice when I said, “Now, now.” :-)

            Actually, every time I wear my leopard sweater I wonder if it looks too “ladies of a certain age.” But then I think, I’m young, cheeky and ironic on the INSIDE. So that makes it okay, but only for evenings and weekends.

  12. I have a quick question about name-changing. I’m in my last year of law school. I’m getting married in March, graduating in May, and taking the Bar in July. Right now my school is asking me to tell them how I want my name to appear on my diploma. I’m planning on changing my name, but I’m not sure when I should do it. If I weren’t still in school, I’d change it ASAP, but I’m afraid it will confuse my bar application and the law school if I change my name in the middle of the semester. Also, how cumbersome is the process of changing your name? I had planned on putting this decision off for a while, but the school wants this information by the end of next week.

    I really appreciate any comments or suggestions!

    1. I have a friend who did this. Married in the Fall of 3rd year, graduated and took the bar with hubby’s name. It was not a problem — except that she told everyone the new name before the bar results came out so they’d know to not look for her under the old name.
      Do it soon! Better to confuse the school than your future colleagues. It’s not a complex process at all. I think they will ask on your marriage license if you/your hubby plan on changing/taking a new name.

      1. Ha! I waited until 8 years into my marriage to change mine (just kept putting it off), and finally did during my third year. It was a huge hassel to keep explaining to people that didn’t know me well that, no, I didn’t just get married, and a few people who had known me enough to know that I had been married just got a really uncomfortable look on their faces, trying to figure out how to ask if I’d gotten divorced!

        As for the school and bar- they’re used to dealing with it, and it’s not a big deal. Just do it now, to save having to re-introduce yourself as a professional later.

        1. haha, I am in the same situation. I have not changed my name. I can just envision your various scenarios happening. But I think that I will just add my husbands last name to mine. So hopefully no confusion there. I can still see my FIL’s earnest face saying “atleast add our **** name to your last name. Its tradition.” hehehe

          1. I replaced my middle name with my maiden name, because I’d always hated the middle name and liked my maiden name. But I would never try to use both my maiden and new last names! Both are pretty ethnic/hard to pronounce/hard to spell, so putting them together would be pure torture!

        2. I am married 8 years and still haven’t changed my name! Now I don’t feel so bad LOL.

    2. I got married and changed my name the summer before I started law school. The most cumbersome and annoying part of it is going to the Social Security office with your marriage license to get your SS card changed. Once that is changed, you can change your driver’s license, passport, etc. I’d say definitely get it changed in the middle of the semester. It will be a lot more difficult (and you just won’t have the time during the middle of the day to go to all the government offices) to get it changed once you’re working. Like AIMS said, it’s much better to potentially confuse classmates than potential colleagues and clients.

      1. Ditto. I did my SS last instead of first and ran into so much trouble. To do your social you need something w/ your maiden and married name. Since I had already changed everything, I had nothing with my maiden. Finally, my mom found an old passport w/ my maiden to use. (It had to be a photo gov’t id w/ your maiden.) Do your SS first!

    3. If you plan to change it, then do it as soon as you get married. To do otherwise just doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s not that big of a hassle and law schools, bar examiners, etc. often deal with women who have recently married or are in the process. You’ll get more issues/questions if you try to change your name after being married for 6 months…

      1. Just devote a day to it, and expect to have to run around and stand in some lines. Make a list of what all you need to change, and figure out what order you need to do it in (I found it easiest to pick up marriage certificate first, then driver’s license, and go from there, but that’s Illinois.). For me it was Drivers License, SS card, passport, court passes, car title, insurance, bank accounts, credit card, toll road transponder, and business stationery. I left the names on my law school loans and just pay those under my maiden name–haven’t had a problem with that yet. Earlier the better. I had to get all new business cards and letterhead, but at least it was early in my career so I didn’t have too much client confusion.

        1. Oh, and do it before you take the bar. If you take the bar under your maiden name, you’ll get licensed under that name, and then you have to petition the State Supreme Court for a name change on the ARDC rolls (at least in IL). It also affects my CLE deadlines–my new name is in a different part of the alphabet than my maiden name, but my deadlines are locked in with my maiden name. It’s not a big deal, but can be a little confusing.

          1. AGREED! I have a friend who is currently changing her name after being admitted in NY, and that’s by far the most trouble.

          2. This. I was licensed in one state and then moved a few years later to be with my now husband in another and took the bar there. My licenses are in two different names still because it is such an enormous pain in the *$$ to change it. Also have other friends with their maiden names on their bar licenses for this reason. Change it as early in the process as you can.

      2. Agreed. If you’re going to change your name, do it before your career begins and you begin building a professional reputation based upon your name. There’s really nothing more awkward than those “As of Monday, my new name is _____” e-mails that get sent out every so often.

    4. I remember on my bar application a space for a maiden name or aliases. Your full maiden name would be your “alias” if you change your name now, so there shouldn’t be much trouble. You’re probably going to have to submit your marriage license, etc anyway to the Bar committee for character and fitness stuff. But I agree with everyone above – if you do it now, there’s less paperwork in the future.

    5. yikes this just reinforces my decision not to change my name when I get married. Too much paper work. Or perhaps I’ll convince my bf he should change his name…

      1. Some states now allow couples to create a new name when they get married. Share the burden and create a new hybrid name together!

      2. Oh wow! I didn’t change my name when I got married because I didn’t see any need for it. Now reading all of the above, I’m kinda glad I avoided this:)

      3. I kept my name when I got married right after law school, because I wanted to keep it as my professional name. I know I’m jaded, but I have no idea how long this marriage will last and I didn’t want to build my reputation and then have to change to my maiden name after X number of years and a divorce.

        1. Kept my name thirty five years ago when I married right after hubby and I both passed the bar. divorced ten years later. never regretted keeping my own name and you don’t have to do a thing to do it. Not all the women I took the bar with all those years ago kept their own names but most did. Times change I guess.

        2. I would imagine that people who go into their marriages expecting them not to last do end up divorced more often, so in your case, it was probably wise not to change your name.

          I wasn’t dealing with a bar exam, but I actually did have a body of professional work I had produced under my maiden name, so I hyphenated after I got married. I wanted to keep my maiden name but still take my husband’s, and hyphenating was a good option. Now, I actually use my husband’s last name only in casual use, especially now that we have a son and he has my husband’s last name only. Legally, I’m still hyphenated, and I’m fine with that. The “hassle” involved with changing my name only took about a day out of the nearly 13 years I’ve been married, so it wasn’t a big deal.

    6. Easier now. Then you won’t have to file all the change of name documentation w/various jurisdictions you’ve been admitted to.

  13. Don’t like ’em. What’s up with the “cracked leather”? I guess I’m just not into new things that looked aged.

    1. Ok, I just looked at it in red suede, and I don’t hate them as much. Still not tempted, though.

  14. Wanted to report on a purchase … I bought a Jiffy J-2000 steamer from Costco and just received it. I could not imagine being so happy with an appliance! I have never owned an iron (although my husband came into our marriage with one, so I guess I own one now) and I try to dry clean as little as possible (Woolite all the way) so I am so excited to have perfectly “pressed” looking clothes in between wears and after hand washing! I just did a bunch of shirts/jackets for fun and it was super easy and dare I say it, fun!

    1. I have the Joy Mangano mini-steamer from HSN, and I have to agree — steamers are lovely!

    2. ooo, good idea. I pretty much suck at ironing, and have my other half do it when totally necessary. A steamer seems like it might work for me!

  15. Don’t like the cracked leather or the peep toes or the side cut-out. Not in my office anyway.

  16. Sorry to be off-thread, but I wanted to thank everyone who told me to take a deep breath about my scary jury duty letter last Friday.

    I went to my dean for a letter Monday, showed up today to court and was apologetic, and even managed to get on a jury duty pool starting today — which I found out much later will be slow due to the upcoming three-day weekend. And no fine or civil judgment. If anything, I was treated just like someone showing up for jury duty.

    And if anyone’s reading this who is frantically web-searching for why they have a jury duty notice of not serving, maybe you can take a breath too.

    1. PS — there is wifi in the waiting rooms as well! It is starting to feel like an extended working vacation.

    1. I haven’t, but wow, I love those! $195 is out of my price range for shoes, but man, if I could, I’d buy one in every color. (I particularly loved the magenta, which would be a great color without looking too “hey, look at my bright and wacky shoes”). Gorgeous!

    2. Not those, but I have tried that brand and found them to be incredibly comfortable. They have a really cushy sole.

  18. random question: does anyone know a good non-interstate route between dc and nyc? I have to drive this weekend, and I’m dreading the traffic on the turnpike and i-95, but google maps and mapquest are giving me two very different time estimates on “avoid highways and tolls”.

      1. i have to drive, sadly; i moved recently and need to pick up the rest of my stuff from my boyfriend’s apartment. In the future though, acela and boltbus only.

    2. We used to go through Elkton, Maryland to avoid the many of the tolls in Delaware, but I cannot say that it would have less traffic. If it is any consolation, I faced very little traffic between DC and NYC on 4th of July weekend — maybe everyone else plans ahead so you don’t have to?

    3. Good luck with that – our family always drives at random times to avoid the traffic (which is more annoying in my opinion than the tolls). We usually start our road trip around midnight.

  19. Quick question. I’m debating whether or not to keep a white Theory blazer. Discounted about 60 percent. Good deal or no?

    1. Do you like it at its full price? It doesn’t matter how much (or little) something costs – if you like it, then keep it. If you don’t, then return it, because 40% of something you don’t like is still money spent. I’m learning this the hard way =)

    2. I would keep it, but I am a horrible person to be giving advice out on these sorts of things!

      I would really think about how much you can/will wear it. How formal is your office? I think in a business casual office, where suits aren’t required, a white blazer would pair nicely with a navy skirt and over certain dresses. Or it could be a Friday item if your office is business formal during the week but has casual Fridays. It could also work on the weekends paired with dark jeans if you have the sort of event for which you would need that kind of outfit. Do any of these situations apply to you/can you think of time when you would realistically wear it?

  20. About those shoes. Ugly, not vintage, but somehow suggestive of an old lady’s shoe.

  22. Re: Sofft shoes; I ordered a pair recently and thought they looked very geriatric out of the box (i.e. what 70+ y.o. ladies wear to my church), but then I put them on. They are extremely comfortable and look much better when they’re actually being worn. That being said, I’m not sure I like the look of cracked suede – maybe the regular leather, though.

    1. I second this. I’m not crazy about this particular style, but I loooove Sofft shoes. The pairs I have aren’t really anything to write home about as far as flash, but they are cute on and they are very comfortable. I am wearing a summery pair right now that I would wear every day if I had license to do so.

  23. I rarely post on shoe threads here because, quite honestly, I rarely find the suggestions posted attractive. Most likely because I tend to hover in the 4″ platform family of shoes (I am short and wear pants often) and I find a lot of these matronly. But I just had to say, these are hideous. To each their own, but I would not let a friend of mine buy these!!

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