Jimmy Choo at H&M... begs the question "how gaga are you for cheap Choo's"?

pics: nitrolicious.com

I must admit, mastermind Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo working with creative advisor Margareta van den Bosch of H&M has a great strategy tie-in for enhancing their merchandise by capitalizing on the "fashionably-cheap" concept especially during recessionary times, very apropos. While already on their roster of Haute includes Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Karl Largerfeld and Roberto Cavalli we now have the first shoe designer in toe. With Jimmy Choo in the lineup this holiday season, it is yet another example of how to enable people, brilliantly in a time where most are thinking twice before splurging! Apparently teenage girls are at the top of this list. Good place to start.

So Stiletto lovers, what do we think? Anything for a Choo? There are reports of salivating, insane line ups of 'sex-and-the-city' aspirers waiting patiently for their turn to indulge as easliy as Carrie could hop over to Prada or Gucci and pick up something fun for the night or to cheer her up after a rough day. Given the buildup it's no real suprise that people are in love with this notion. Just look at the interesting bevy of celebrities showing support, these fabulous smoking 'hot couture' pics (as I like to refer to it) have been plastered everywhere, not to mention the hype globally surrounding it all like a cat in heat!

I'm more than curious to see if the "name" supersedes the quality. By that I mean, what percentage of people will sacrifice quality for quantity once they actually get the goodies home and on their personal real-life runway. My guess is, a lot. I love what H&M can do for fashion. Everyone gets to look cool. While I'm not overly excited about the quality of the designers changing dramatically to do this, it's a smart move when you think about the mass marketing opportunities and how many demographics are now open to trying it out because of the exposure. I'm already seeing visions of "Reitmans vs. Haute Couture" Ad's with amusing and live new material dished out, straight off the streets.

While I ponder all of this, at the end of day for 150 smackeroos or a lot less for some, you can flash your hot new Choo's-du-jour under the table without having to file for bankrptcy! Enticing as that sounds, it begs the question "are people so hungry they will settle for fast-food-shoes"? Is doing the Choo at H&M indulging in a cheap fling causing the cycle of fashion addiction to fall to new levels of obesity? Is Choo to H&M what salads are to McDonalds? Fake trickery? Or is it simply fun for all?

While I know I would not personally wait around for hours in crowds to get the Choo's, to be honest it's mostly because I hate lineups. Also, for argument's sake if I knew I could get the real deal at Winners for example, for the same price as H&M but twice the comfort, that would be my first choice. I'd rather wait. I know that most people probably don't care when you consider the fact that Nine West and other regular brands are already in that price range. When given the choice, why not get a pair of Jimmy's for a fraction of the price. It's the holidays afterall!

Another stilletto confession of mine is that I'm a believer in quality over quantity even when it comes to the hottest fashion. That being said, anything can be overdone when abused. Being a shoe addict I can tell you, the truth hurts. It hasn't stopped me from wearing stilettos of course it's just that I'm more aware of going down the road of "is the pain worth it"? But don't take my word for it, even Posh is supposedly getting "foot surgery" to remove bunions caused from years of stiletto abuse. And we all know what she wears - the good stuff! So can you imagine what the ones made in China will do to your feet? I'm just saying. Think about it. And with surgery comes quite a few unecessary & unwanted "stiletto -free" days. So, balance even for the addicts is probably necessary. I'm living that one. "Holiday shoes" are sounding more and more appealing. Live in the moment for the moment just remember to alternate those hot spikes!

Were in changing times and this may only be the begining of a new expression "Let them wear Choo's" since it's becoming more and more evident through the various collaborations which in turn are 'improvements' to main stream shopping - we can have our cake and eat it too! Will your tootsies hate you long after you've settled for cheap? Or does it just make the real duds worth the doe? Perhaps this is the groundwork for the millions of budding shoe addicts still emerging and this will be the encouragement they need to go for the gold one day. :)

Tell me, how gaga are you for cheap Choo's?