I'm not a big shoe shopper, never have been. I do love a cute pair of shoes, but I'm extremely picky because of what I call my b'gankles, which limit the styles I can wear. For example, I remember reading in a magazine long ago that women with thick ankles should never wear anything that straps or wraps around the ankle, or anything that draws attention to the ankle at all. Well, that pretty much eliminates half the women's shoes out there, and when passing the latest styles the Nordstrom's shoe department, I tend to look the other way. I stick to the same styles over and over, which has worked out fine.

Then one day I went to Croatia. I'm oversimplifying here, but that's all you need to know, is that I went there. It was almost exactly a year ago. Every woman on the street was wearing these ankle-cuff sandals that looked amazing on their long, lean Eastern European legs and sturdy enough for the cobblestone streets. My friend Aaron, who was traveling with me, thought the shoes would look good on me. I was doubtful, but for kicks, I tried a pair in a shoe store (pictured right).

And he was right! Everything I'd ever learned about avoiding shoes with ankle shenanigans went flying out the window, because these were the biggest ankle shenanigans I'd ever seen. It was like wearing mini-legwarmers around my ankles, which actually sort of minimized them somehow. I was thrilled. I freaking love these shoes.

Anyway, here I am on this lovely Monday morning, wearing my Croatian shoes with a blue super-ruched top and charcoal cotton ruffle skirt from JC Penney. The moral of this story: Magazine tips lie.

Deal Diva Emily