On Tuesday, InStyle for Nine West held a fall launch event in Toronto’s tony Yorkville area.  Going into the party, I knew that it was unlikely going to find anything that fit – that’s the issue I have with shoe shopping – I have a very small foot (size 4 1/2 or 5, usually), which makes it next to impossible to find anything, save for a few brands.  However, I also knew that the collection included bags and accessories.  Besides, this short, size 0 girl has covered plus sized brands, so does it really matter if there wasn’t anything that fit? It’s definitely something that most readers would be interested in!

Loved these lace-ups (Jaiden), but they didn’t fit me properly 🙁

Cute, comfortable flat (The Avery)

So off I went.  The shoes aren’t anything “new” – they’ve already had their “unofficial” launch online.  I did manage to try a few pieces I fell in love with, including the Jaiden ($175 CDN) bootie – just in case they managed to fit.  And the boots were really pretty.  However, as expected, they were just a tad too big and an insole probably wouldn’t have helped (the salesguy  didn’t even recommend one).  I have to admit that for the vast majority of women, the collection is a great mix of basics-with-a-twist – not your boring, plain work pump, but not anything super-outrageous, either.  Another favourite of mine was the Avery flat ($110 CDN), which has a side zipper.  One thing I have to criticize about the collection is that while the colours are perfect for the upcoming cooler season, there are several pairs of open toe shoes (all in the Elia style), which isn’t exactly the best option for a city like Toronto (or even New York).  While they’re wearable until, say, late September, I’m not sure if they’re all that cold-weather friendly.  Many of the items were more pre-fall/early fall than for October or later weather. On the non-shoe side, the collection includes a clutch (available in black and animal print), bracelets (one style, two colours) and a necklace (again, available in two colours).

Ice pops!

Delicious mini quiche

Besides shopping (or, for me, looking at the shoes), the event had, of course, appetizers and other nibblies.  Catering was from 10tation and included micro-mini burgers (as in one-bite, not sliders), samosas and mini quiche.  On the sweet side, there were macarons (which went very quickly), mini cupcakes (not so quickly) as well as ice pops from Philip’s Ice Pops (I had the strawberry basil, which was AMAZING).  One point of criticism was that there should have been a sparkling water option – servers only had glasses of red and white wine on trays and I had to ask for (flat) water.

Clutches

And as for whether I purchased anything, YES!  I bought the animal print clutch (above left)!