The runner-up received a  bottle of Moet and a signed copy of Emma’s novel The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Much thanks for kicking up your heels in support of the wonderful Warwick Foundation . xx

As SP Emma Bowd bids us farewell with her last blog entry and disappears into the writers cave to commence her next novel, she leaves us with this truly lovely little Shoe Video - High Heel Confidential – jam packed with fascinating shoe ‘goss’ for the shoe enthusiast and interviews with the likes of Manolo Blahnik and Stefano Ferragamo.

The video’s quite long, at 40 plus minutes…so find a quiet moment, put your feet up and enjoy!

Au Revoir

xx

SP Emma Bowd has great pleasure in crowning the darling divine SP Kylie Minogue ’Petite Shoe Princess’ extraordinaire, thanks to her unwavering dedication-to-the-cause. Truly inspiring!

Here’s Kylie’s latest Twitpic: Louboutin of course! xx

What type of Shoe Princess are you?  Could you be Pernickety, Common Garden Variety, Practical, Politically Correct or Cinderella?  After all, there’s a little bit of Shoe Princess in all of us, my darlings.  Lots more shoe-talk in SP Emma Bowd’s The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy (UK/AUSTRALIA).

Petite Shoe Princess

Very high heels are a way of life for this SP…even her slippers have heels.  Her partner has never seen her barefoot, and she could easily run a marathon from lofty heights.  Her mantra is: ‘Why go to the gym when you can wear platform stilettos!’

Clever + Practical + Beautiful = BaBooShoe Booth The ultimate Shoe Princess accessory

Oh how I do love it when two Shoe Princesses put their heads together!

SP Emma Bowd was delighted to hear from the divine Aussie mother-and-daughter design team of Lesley and Amy at BaBooShoe (that’s short for Bags, Boots and Shoes) about their gorgeous new shoe booth, recently launched at the Australian Shoe Fair.

It’s no secret that I love a shoe temple, and thanks to Lesley and Amy’s ingenuity (borne from personal frustration at constantly fossicking through shoe boxes to find their precious jewels), Shoe Princesses can now store their shoes in stand-alone shoe booths - protected by (and of course admired through!) glass doors.

24/7 viewing is a must-do thanks to remote-control back lighting with two sizes and two finishes (gloss black or white) to choose from.  Heavenly!

The Shoe Princess's Guide to the Galaxy author, Emma Bowd, leading the winter collection of clothing and food for the children's education charity Ardoch (Melbourne Weekly, June 2010)

Heartfelt thanks to the hundreds of mums who helped SP Emma Bowd collect many, many vanloads of clothing, shoes and food for her Shoe Princess Ardoch Winter Appeal over the past 4 months.  Word quickly spread amongst her gorgeous Shoe Princesses well beyond Bayside, with families and schools from all over Melbourne participating.  All of the donations were gratefully received by the grass-roots education charity and put to much good use during this, our coldest winter in many years.

In fact, SP Emma Bowd is extremely proud and delighted to announce that the food donation was the single largest ever received by Ardoch…all thanks to the generous and wonderful families of Loreto Mandeville Hall.

I always knew that my Shoe Princesses were gorgeous and fashionable on the outside AND with a magnificent social conscience on the inside! 

Thank you! xx

My Darling Shoe Princesses

There’s much to be excited about for the next three and a half months, with our Patron Saint Manolo Blahnik sprinkling his magic dust at Liberty of London.  (Incidentally, his very first retail foray outside of his Chelsea headquarters.)

Not only has he designed the most divine selection of shoe-inspired gifts baring his signature drawings, but he’s also made exquisite shoes exclusively for Liberty – having painstakingly researched their magnificent fabric catalogues for inspiration.

For those SPs lucky enough to be London-bound, have fun!  For the rest of us, click here for the full range in Liberty’s World of Manolo.

By way of consolation for SP Emma Bowd not being able to get to London to see her beloved Liberty, I thought I’d share with you some of my Top 10 Manolo Blahnik Moments of Madness from The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy (Bloomsbury, 2009):

1. Full marks for initiative to junior SP of Hong Kong, aged 9 years, who sawed off the 9cm heels on her mother’s Manolos so that she could wear them.

2. SP of Paris only ever wears skyscraper Manolos and drinks champagne during long-haul flights. Vowing that it prevents jetlag and always makes the destination city look more interesting.

3.  Go sister!  A Spanish nun was sentenced to community service after embezzling school-library funds and spending them on 30 pairs of Manolos.

4. SP of St Petersburg highly recommends Manolos to inject spice into the bedroom - ever since her boyfriend started wearing them.

5. It must be love! Cape Town model and SP put 200 pairs of Manolos up for sale on eBay after her boyfriend refused to move in with her unless she halved her shoe collection.

My darlings,

I hereby decree Sydney and Melbourne STAR Shoe Princess City status!  All thanks to the divine Shoptilyoudrop Shoe Drop.

Simply follow the clues on Twitter @ shoptilyoudrop and weave your way through the CBD of Australia’s two premier cities to snare a pair of free designer shoes…the likes of YSL, Balenciaga, Marc By Marc Jacobs, Terry Biviano to name but a few…..truly!  In all, 50 pairs of shoes are up for grabs.

Little wonder author SP Emma Bowd of The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy calls Melbourne home!

The shoe hunt runs from Wed July 14th – Friday 16th July.

What are you waiting for….hop to it! xx

Shoes @ Sadler's Wells, London, September 3-11

London-bound Shoe Princesses book now for Shoes @ Sadler’s Wells for a world-class revue of song, dance, music and film celebrating the highs and lows of life through none other than our beloved SHOES!!  

Composed by Richard Thomas (of Jerry Springer the Opera fame) and supported by award-winning collaborators, it truly promises to be an evening of unrivalled and utterly unadulterated Shoe Princess bliss.  xx

All thanks to exquisitely beautiful shoes handmade from antique kimono fabric.  The brainchild of Amanda at Dames & Divas, and one of SP Emma Bowd’s most exciting finds from the Australian Shoe Fair!

Amanda will be showcasing her divine one-off shoes, handbags and accessories at Magnolia Square boutique market in Sydney Friday June 4th – Sunday June 6th.

My darling Shoe Princesses, it is with immense pleasure that I can announce Danielle Steele of romance novel fame as Monsieur Louboutin’s ‘supertop’ customer! With more than 6,000 pairs of his designer shoes in her closet – mostly garnered from personal shopping trips from her home in the US to Paris.

Ooh la la!  I think we have a new Queen of the Platinum Shoe Princesses.  Sorry Oprah, you have been dethroned!

(My humble author SP Emma Bowd can but dream….xx)

Divine Melbourne Shoe Princess and up-market hairdresser, Angela, is now the proud owner of 20 pairs of beautiful designer shoes (all unworn)…received in-lieu of money for salon treatments, from a rather well-heeled SP facing slight, err… cashflow problems. 

Such a civilised outcome.  Bravo, my darling Shoe Princesses! xoxo

Our Favourite Platinum Shoe Princess, Oprah (Photograph: Ruven Afanador)

My Darling Shoe Princesses

Our favourite Platinum SP, Oprah, is having a Spring cleanout of her shoe closet!

She’s nominated dozens of shoes (and clothing items) which will be auctioned soon on eBay to benefit her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Though I am pleased to note that her Shoe Princess credentials are still firmly in place, with the declaration that there are some shoes she’s simply not prepared to put under the hammer!  Like her favourite pair of (unworn) ivory lace knee-high boots that she describes as a work of ‘sculpture‘ and ‘closet jewelry’.

What are you waiting for SPs?  Skip on over to Oprah.com for all the details in aid of a very worthy cause.

And who knows, you may be walking in the footsteps of Oprah – quite literally. 

Good luck! xx 

Platinum SP 

Money is no object and expensive shoes are amongst the many fine possessions in her life.  This SP loves having gazillions of shoes in her colour-coordinated designer wardrobe as a sign of her self-made success and financial independence. She’s often quoted as saying that she still has her feet on the ground – but just in more expensive shoes! (Think Oprah.)

Warm congratulations to the lovely SP Candice of Western Australia, who is the proud new owner of a copy of SP Emma Bowd’s novel The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy!

All thanks to winning a competition run by the divine mums over at Connect2Mums - the perfect cyber-place to meet like-minded mums with a love of bubs and fine footwear! xx

Why not pop over to the lovely EssentialBaby.com.au for an exclusive excerpt from SP Emma Bowd’s The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy!  

Enjoy xx

I’m so thrilled to welcome the divine Canadian book reviewers, Jonita of Book Chic and Tina of Bookshipper to the Shoe Princess fold.  And of course SP Emma Bowd is delighted and humbled by their glowing reviews of The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy…certainly makes those hundreds of hours at the coal face worth it! 

It seems the international languages of shoes, motherhood, friendship and love know no boundaries…

Jonita’s Review (Dec 15, 2009) @  The Book Chic (even making her ‘favourite reads of 2009′ list!)

‘…an absolutely enjoyable read…exciting…couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. Left me wanting more.

‘A great gift for the new-mom, chick-lit lover, shoe lover or just a fabulous present for yourself.’

Full Book Review and Author Interview

Tina’s Review (Dec 29, 2009) @ Bookshipper

4 Stars

‘absolutely everything that I love in a great chick lit book..funny, strong and witty main character…shoes…storyline that had me hooked from the first second.’