I've been eyeing the funky stiletto heels made so popular by Sex and the City, and recently found my perfect pair. Perfect because they are:

• Not $300.00. In fact, not even $100.00. A bargain at $59.00.
• Funky and spikey, but a heel height that is manageable for me (2" instead of 3" or more like a true stiletto).
• Black, and therefore versatile in my wardrobe, which leans heavily on black, grey, and red.
• Available online and delivered to my door via UPS for $5.00, thus sparing me from the Mall Experience.

They arrived on Tuesday and when I got home from work, I immediately tried them on and then wore them the rest of the night, occasionally exclaiming to The Scientist that my feet looked sexy. He loyally maintained that my feet are always sexy, but somehow I think the effect is different than my regular boots or New Balance athletic shoes.

Speaking of Sex and the City and shoes, what's up with Carrie wearing the Ugg boots in the last two episodes? I know they are a phenomenon sweeping Hollywood (and everywhere else), but I just don't get it. I'm a Northern Girl and have owned a pair of Ugg slippers for five years...because it's cold where I live and I need to keep my feet warm. The Ugg boots have been around for years too - worn by people who live in cold places and who regularly sacrifice fashion for comfort.

To see Carrie wearing them, the woman who trots around Manhattan allegedly walking many blocks in the highest, strappiest, most uncomfortable shoes, is bizarre. Not that the outfits on the show have ever been mainstream, but at least they have been consistently out there on a high fashion level, instead of coming after a fad has already swept the nation. Are the Ugg boots of this season the Birkin bag of seasons past? Maybe ugly, comfortable shoes are supposed to be a sign of maturity.

P.S. As I mentioned before, Ugg boots are warm. They are suede, lined with shearling. My feet are warm even in the dead of a Minnesota winter when our heat hasn't yet kicked on in the morning. I'm thinking about all of the trendy Californians wearing them in 70F weather - with their feet sweating all day. The smell must be overpowering.