While browsing today in the absolutely charming Trina Turk Residential store in Palm Springs, I came across my newest Favorite Thing, a beautiful little book called …Isms: Understanding Fashion.

Appropriate for fashion fanatics and the fashion-curious, …Isms: Understanding Fashion lays out the major fashion movements and trends of the past 4 centuries, explaining each (in its own context), identifying the major players, and, through illustrations and photos, bringing the trend to life.

To wit: Audrey Hepburn — with her simple all-black ensembles — is emblematic of the anti-materialism Existentialist movement. Karl Lagerfeld, continuing a tradition started by Coco Chanel herself, typifies Post-Modernism by fusing high and low culture in his collections (and suddenly this spring’s clog trend makes sense). Oscar Wilde was a symbol of the Aestheticism movement which opposed restrictive and cumbersome apparel — but the clothes also had to be pretty. And so on, across 400 years, 50 trends, and 150 pages.

Sounds fascinating, right? We thought so, too. That’s why we’re giving away a free copy of this book to one lucky Fantastic Toe member. To enter our random drawing, just join Fantastic Toe. If you’re already a Fantastic Toe member, post a picture to your Fantastic Toe collection. Anyone who joins Fantastic Toe, or posts a picture to her collection, between now and March 31, 2010 will be automatically entered to win the book.

We’ll do a random drawing on 4/1/2010, and notify the winner by email. Only US residents are eligible to win.

For this week’s Favorite Thing, I am pleased to introduce you to SimplySoles.com, a shoe site that targets stylish professional women with quite a well-edited collection of shoes, from such brands as Taryn Rose, Tory Burch, and Chie Mahara.

In addition to these well-known brands, SimplySoles founder Kassie Rempel designs and sells lillybee, her own line of really fun shoes that are refreshingly affordable. I love the peep-toed, stripey-heeled Halle model. Also fabulous is the Jessica, patent peep-toes with an ankle strap, top stitching, and wood detail. The lillybee flats – available in orange and taupe – are simple, comfy and chic, and add polish to any outfit.

Take a look around the site, and I’m sure you’ll agree that SimplySoles.com offers some fabulous shoe shopping.

What’s even more fabulous is that SimplySoles is giving away a free pair of lillybee shoes to one lucky Fantastic Toe member!

To enter to win a free pair of lillybee shoes, just post a picture to your Fantastic Toe collection between now and March 19, 2009. (If you’re not already a Fantastic Toe member, you can join here.) If you’re the winner, you’ll be able to pick your new pair of shoes from among all the lillybee models – including the new styles for spring. We’ll do a random drawing on March 20, 2009, and notify the winner by email. You must be located in the USA to be eligible to win.

For this week’s Favorite Thing, we bring you the wonderful book, Vintage Shoes: Collecting and Wearing Twentieth-Century Designer Footwear by cultural historian Caroline Cox. In it, Cox explores the last hundred years of footwear, and boy does she ever cover some iconic shoes, including Princess Grace’s wedding shoes, and the scarlet, rhinestone-studded Ferragamos worn by Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The book is chock full of great shoe pics, and is quite readable to boot.

If you’re like most shoe lovers, you’d love a copy of this book for your library, right? Well, you’ve come to the right place, because we’re giving away a free copy of Vintage Shoes to one lucky Fantastic Toe member. To enter your name in our contest, just post a picture to your Fantastic Toe collection. If you’re not yet a member of Fantastic Toe, you can join here.

Anyone who posts a picture between now and 2/26/09 will be automatically entered into the contest. We’ll pick the winner by random drawing on 2/27/09, and will notify the winner by email.

Update (3/21/09): Lucky Fantastic Toe member gacy won the book!

For this week’s Favorite Thing, I bring you some fantastic boots I came across last month at the New York Shoe Expo.

Available from Brooklyn, NY-based Mirmax Shoes, these boots combine two great materials, suede and patent leather, to create a look that’s uniquely chic. Their flat heels mean they’re practical and easy to walk in, while their stretchy uppers ensure they’ll fit virtually any leg shape, and feel snug and comfy to boot.

This is the first boot I’ve seen to combine all these great qualities – and the result is some fine fashion footwear with a distinctly European flair. They’ll look great with a skirt, and work just as well with leggings or skinny jeans.

The boots are available in 3 color combinations: Stretch gray suede with black patent tip, stretch black suede with black patent tip, and stretch brown suede with brown patent tip. They retail for a very reasonable $139.90. And, if you mention Fantastic Toe when you order, you’ll get a 20% discount, making them even more of a great buy!

You can order them by phone at (718) 972-2737, email them at mirmaxshoes@optonline.net, or drop by the Mirmax store in Brooklyn, located at 4510 13th Ave.

Everybody was talking about these boots at the Shoe Expo, so call now: They may not be around for too much longer.

Just in time for end-of-the-year festivities, I bring you this week’s Favorite Thing, the sparkly, kinda fussy shoe place-card holders available from Neiman-Marcus and Horchow.

The set of four place-card-holding shoes - in fuchsia, green, blue, and even the trend-making purple - are decorated with gold beading and silk fabric, and evoke the court of Louis XIV (both king and courtesan). They even have leather soles. What a perfect way to add a touch of verve and whimsy and eclecticism to your holiday table.  

Fun, right? Even funner: We’re giving away a free set of shoe place-cards to one lucky Fantastic Toe member. To tell us you’re interested in winning, just post a picture to your Fantastic Toe collection. If you’re not yet a Fantastic Toe member, you need to join to enter. Anyone who posts a picture or joins between now and December 18, 2008 will be automatically entered to win. We’ll do a random drawing among all entrants on December 19, and notify the winner by email.

Update (1/8/09): We have a winner! Fantastic Toe member MOBSHUDIVA is the happy recipient of the lovely set of shoe place-card holders.

Assouline Publishing is renowned for its elegant line of books dedicated to fashion, photography, art and design, and their newest offering, American Fashion Accessories, by Candy Pratts Price, the Executive Fashion Director of style.com, is a gorgeous addition to their portfolio.

The book chronicles the achievements of American accessories designers in the 20th century and, according to Assouline’s website, assembles “a cabinet of curiosities, including everything from Adrian’s witty Hollywood hats to Ralph Lauren’s all-American accoutrement to Madonna’s rubber bracelets.”

Wow. Wouldn’t you love to curl up with this book on a dark winter day, and pore over its bits of history and pop culture, and scads of luscious photography?

I hear a whole chorus of “Yes, please”-s in response to that question, so I’ll go one step further and report that we’re giving away a free copy of American Fashion Accessories to one lucky member of Fantastic Toe.

To throw your witty hat into the ring for our book giveaway, just post a picture to your shoe collection (if you’re already a Fantastic Toe member), or join Fantastic Toe (if you’re not already a member) between now and 11/30/08. This amounts to about 10 seconds of work - and you may just get a free glossy coffee-table book for your efforts, to keep for yourself or to give as a gift.

We’ll conduct a random drawing among all entrants on 12/1/08, and notify the winner by email.

Update (12/8/08): We have a winner! Fantastic Toe member Bewitched123 is the happy recipient of her free copy of this very cool book.

As we ponder the coming cold and slush-filled months, our thoughts naturally turn to our feet: How can we keep our tootsies warm and dry, without looking like a complete schlump?

The answer is this week’s Favorite Thing: Weatherproof boots and shoes from Aquatalia by Marvin K.

Aquatalia has been in business since 1989, and they know a thing or two about making weatherproof boots. Because they apply the sealant to the leather during the tanning process, the weatherproofing is much more durable (in other words, it doesn’t wear off). And, the breathable, padded thermal footbed in their boots keeps your feet warm and comfortable, regardless of the weather conditions.

All this is meaningless, of course, if the boots are all function, no form - otherwise, you’d do just as well to get your boots at LL Bean. And so we arrive at the salient point about Aquatalia boots: They’re pretty! Yes, you can slosh through the muck in them. But you can also wear them to work, and during the weekend, and out at night to all but the most formal occasions. With plenty of styles, colors (even purple!), and finishes to choose from, there’s almost no outfit that won’t work with an Aquatalia boot.

Are they a budget buster? They come in between $300-450, so they’re not cheap. But if you need weatherproof footwear, I can guarantee that you will get more wear out of Aquatalias than any of your other shoes. And you’ll feel great when you wear them, which delivers the best value of all.