Without getting political, let me just say that ruby pumps rock.  Embellished like Dorothy’s or embossed like Sarah’s, there’s something unmistakeably powerful about a great pair of ruby red shoes.

Do they really have magical powers?  Oprah thinks so.  And so do some of today’s top shoe designers.  Last month at New York Fashion Week, ruby shoe lovers waited breathlessly as nineteen iconic shoe designers unveiled their creative reinterpretations of the world’s most famous shoes in the appropriately named Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection.

Designs from A. Testoni, Abaete, Alberta Ferretti, Betsey Johnson, Botkier, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, Lisa Pliner, Manolo Blahnik, Moschino, Oscar de la Renta, Roger Vivier, Sergio Rossi, Stuart Weitzman, Tibi, and Tuleh went toe-to-toe with a pair originally designed for the 1939 movie.  Easily distinguished from Judy Garland’s screen style by their curled toes, the pair belongs to actress Debbie Reynolds.  She lent them to the event, which raised money for pediatric AIDS research.

Catch a glimpse of the Swarovski-studded shoes here or see them in person as they tour the country in 2009.