Did you check out my segment on the CBS Early show? We shot live from Los Angeles which meant a 3:15 AM call time for me. Yes that is an amazing amount about undereye concealer holding me up!!!

Dear Miss Meghan, how do we deal with the clackety summer sandals?

Read my answer in the New York Daily News:

Summer’s blinged-out sandals are ear candy, too

The hottest footwear for the summer is totally blinged out. Thongs are bejeweled and bedazzled, affixed with bells and whistles, and sandals are clunkily buckled up.

“From a trend perspective, accoutrements, bling, tassels, all this stuff hanging off shoes has become hotter and hotter in the last two years for summer,” says Meghan Cleary, shoe expert (missmeghan.com). “I think it’s fun, it’s a little musical and a real light-hearted way to be for summer.”

But as you strut your stuff to work through your marble lobby with your jewel-studded flip-flops, or head down a flight of subway stairs while rocking a pair of jingly-jangly sandals, you might be turning a few more heads than you bargained for. Because all that shoe bling is loud - not just visually, fashionably loud, but aurally, heel-thwacking loud.

“Any time you get into a mule kind of shoe, it’s going to make some noise,” says Cleary. “You’re going to end up clomping around a bit like a horse, whether the heel is high or low.”

For Cleary, whose favorite pair of sandals is a clackity pair of Lucite-heeled Vince Camutos, giving up on noisy sandals is not an option.

Her advice? Embrace the noise!

“It’s a great way to announce your presence in a room, without having to say anything,” says Cleary. “If you’re single, the guys will definitely notice you because they’re forced to pay attention. So it’s a great conversation starter. Any guy that’s got half a bone of humor in his body will ask, ‘What’s the story with those shoes?’”

But if you do find yourself a tad embarrassed by the racket your shoes are making this summer and you refuse to give up your loud sandals, here are a few muffling tips:

“Avoid surfaces that are amplifying,” says Cleary. That means staying away from marble, tile and lacquer. “Wood will absorb the sound a little better,” says Cleary, “but not much.”

And since New York City is lacking in carpeted surfaces, you can also test out your toe-gripping strength to prevent your heels from clacking behind you.

“With the mules and flip-flops, you basically have to clench your entire foot to grip the sandal so that it doesn’t depart from your foot,” says Cleary. “You have to go into that really intense toe grip but, even then, it’s really hard.”

So unless you’re bent on giving your toes a real workout, it’s probably best, when embracing this summer’s hottest sandals, to embrace the noise they bring, too. You never know whose head they’ll turn.

We did this interview an hour before the SATC premiere — was so fun to dish shoe shopping and shoe fashion with these girls! I got to dispense some of my famous Stiletto shoe advice as well.

Give it a listen and you will hear us talk Giuseppe Zanotti and why I prescribed Shoe Therapy Prozac (aka Christian Louboutins) to the girls.

The Huffington Post published my original S&TC Stiletto essay today: “In Celebration of the Stiletto”

Do you think Stilettos are cause for celebration? Or are they just a way to keep women in pain?

*Please note, I spent 11 hours last Tuesday night in these 5-inch Stiletto platforms.

“In Celebration of the Stiletto

Stilettos are the shoes most charged with multiple different layers of meaning. From their birth from a nameless Florentine artisan for Catherine de Medici so she could make a stunning entrance into French court when she married her husband Henry II, to the story of the Little Mermaid, to the Roger Vivier comma heel, to Betty Paige, to Christian Louboutin’s revolutionizing of the stiletto by adding the hidden platform and skyrocketing heel heights, there is no shoe more fraught with desire, passion and conflict than the stiletto.

There are women who want to wear Stilettos but find them too wobbly or painful, there are women who find Stilettos offensive, there are women who are Stiletto girls only and cant wear flats because their Achilles tendon has been shortened, there are women who wear their Stilettos only for special occasions, women (and men!) who wear them to the bedroom, women who never have worn a pair at all. They are infused with erotic desire, with high fashion silhouttes, and cultural symbolism. They are objects of lust among die-hard shoe fanatics, they are mini sculpture, works of art. The thousands of women I talk to every year about their shoes, all have at least one Stiletto story: whether it be the ones that make them feel like a queen, the ones they fell out of or the ones they hate. Nothing incites a woman’s opinion more quickly than when you bring up the topic of a Stilettos. We all have a passion for them - whichever way our passions lay.

Stilettos and The Modern Woman

There is an episode of Sex and The City where Carrie goes to a baby shower. Looking fabulous as usual in a flowy dress and silver stilettos, when she arrives at the door she is asked in acid tones by the sister in law to remove her shoes in the foyer, as the hostess “doesn’t like dirt in the house”. Carrie is flummoxed for a moment. Someone is asking her to take off her shoes which, of course, are a foundational piece of the ensemble she has carefully assembled to present herself to the world - as she does every day. But, after a moment, and with a helpful glance from her best gay guyfriend, she complies with her usual can-do attitude. She gamely slips off her metallic Manolo Blahnik d’Orsay peep-toe pumps with magnificent silver buckles glistening with rhinestones and leaves them by the door as everyone else does. She goes in with a smile to enjoy the party, see her friend and celebrate the baby.

A few hours later the party is winding down and she returns to the foyer for her shoes as she says her goodbyes. To her shock and dismay her shoe have disappeared and are absolutely nowhere to be found. Someone has done the unthinkable and nicked her stilettos at the baby shower! And as the fact sinks in, Carrie’s fallen face is the epitome of glum. She is not helped at all by the grungy Converse Chuck Taylors her dismissive hostess gives her to get home. A few moments later we see a forlorn Carrie walking home in the black, wornout Chucks, her spirit diminished, shoulders slumped, a light gone out.

In her usual Carrie way, Carrie goes on to reflect on this incident throughout the episode. She tries to track down her shoes, hoping someone realized their mistake (or succumbed to their guiltiness), to no avail. Her friend continues to be dismissive, almost patronizing in her behavior towards Carrie, and truly aghast when she offers to replace the shoes and learns their price, a fact that irks Carrie and sends her into an exploration of why certain people and certain cultural or societal moments are treated with such reverence - a marriage, the bridal shower, the baby shower - yet for those who do not participate in these societal markers, or may have different events to celebrate - like a launch of a book - are not rewarded similarly.

After much contemplation and, of course, discussion with her best girlfriends Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte, she decides to “register” herself at Manolo Blahnik for the pair of heels that were stolen. After all, more than a decade of bridal and baby shower gifts totals much more than the cost of her shoes, and maybe now it is her turn to register for something.

She leaves a message on her friend’s answering machine, letting her know she has registered. Her friend does the right thing - goes to the store, purchases them and sends them to Carrie, who is ecstatic when the box arrives.” Read the rest of the essay here.

From the Daily News today:

“A blue pair of Manolo Blahniks have towering role in ‘Sex’
BY MEGHAN CLEARY
Thursday, May 29th 2008

These blue satin Manolo Blahniks are involved in a glass-slipper style plot twist in the film.
Meet the fifth star of “Sex and the City”: she’s tall, bright and blingy. We’re talking about a pair of sky-high blue Manolos that play a ‘big’ role in the new movie, in theaters tomorrow. While Carrie Bradshaw wears everything on her dainty feet from Dior to Proenza Schouler, a pair of satin blue Manolos with a massive silver buckle are the star. The shoes, custom-made by Blahnik for the film, are involved in a glass-slipper style plot twist in the film.
“I love what Manolo made for the movie,” Parker tells In Style. “It’s a beautiful shoe.”
And it can be yours for a paltry $885 on June 9, when an exact replica will be available at Manolo Blahnik’s New York store . This may be the first heel Manolo designed expressly for Carrie and her fan club, but it’s not the first time a shoe has stolen the spotlight in the series. In fact, a pair of strappy, feathered Jimmy Choos that Carrie loses on a ferry in season three were such a hit with viewers, they’re being reintroduced by the brand. For those who can’t get enough SATC shoe nostalgia, consider these highlights in Carrie’s heel history:
THE HAPPY HOOKER
Carrie is at Manolo buying a pair of shoes when her credit card gets rejected. Surprisingly, her friend has just breezed into the store from an extended European vacation, and insists on picking up the tab. Fast-forward a few nights later when Carrie is out wearing the new shoes with her friend and all her Euro-boyfriends. Carrie goes home with one of them, and he tries to leave her money in the morning. Turns out her friend isn’t independently wealthy - she’s a high-class hooker. And Carrie’s Manolos are more of job incentive than gift.
THE CASE OF THE WILTED FEATHER
As Carrie sails through the park with Big in a brand-new pair of hot pink feathered Christian Louboutins, she gets a call from Miranda - she’s in labor. Carrie rushes to the hospital, only to have Miranda’s water break all over her shoes.

THE WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A . . .

On a shopping trip, Carrie stops for a moment to ponder all of her shoe purchases over the years. After a mental audit, it dawns on her. If she had saved all that money instead of spending it on shoes, she would own her apartment. She is literally the woman who lives in her shoe.
DISCORD IN THE HOME, DISCORD IN THE CLOSET
During a terrible fight with Aidan, Carrie comes in to find Aidan’s trusty dog pal, Petey, has gnawed her Manolos - she goes ballistic. This time, the shoes are a talisman to the demise of their romance.

WORK IT GIRL

Selected to walk the Fashion Week runway at Bryant Park Tents, Carrie spies a pair of towering stilettos backstage and tells the stylist, “Put me in the big-girl shoes” with an air of stiletto-wearing confidence. Out on the runway, looking gorgeous and chic, Carrie makes a misstep in her huge shoes and wipes out. But she manages to rise from the catwalk and stroll to triumphant applause.”

Had a blast walking the pink carpet last night for the NYC premiere of Sex & the City (read my twitter here). See the Wireimage pics here.

The carpet was strewn with Swarovski crystals — thousands of them everywhere. . . . I wore Giuseppe Zanotti teal patent platform Stiletto pumps — for 11 hours. I do get a prize for that? don’t I? hello? a prize? . . . someone?

Check me out on i Village today:

“Meghan Cleary, shoe expert, is begging women to refrain! “Wearing your old, beat-down flip flops with a suit or nice dress on your way to work is out,” she explains. “Try a cute perforated ballet flat instead.” That way, your feet will stay pain-free and sassy.” 

Welcome!

We had a blast taping the “Minute to Millions” segment on Donny Deutsch’s show today. I am a big fan of the show — love the energy. And it feels the same way on the set — great music, lots of action, and a really fun product to talk about. Click here to watch the segment.

So anyhoo, if you are visiting for the first time, this is the place where it is all shoe talk, all the time.

Take a look around, enter our Sex & the City Shoe Therapy (TM) Contest to win a pair of FREE luxury designer shoes from some of the most innovative women shoe designers creating right now — Eileen Shields, Tashkent, Goldenbleu and Diana Broussard, read some of the latest Celebrity Shoe-cam’s and ask me your shoe questions.

Enjoy!

Meg

oh! ps. Donny’s shoes? Chelsea boots with a lug sole.

Shoe-mood analysis: he’s a bit of a renegade at heart, but knows how to pull it together in a professional way. (Most Chelsea boot guys wear them because with pants they look like regular dress shoes — professional, polished. But they know that really they’ve got a rockin’ boot on. So they can walk into a board meeting but still feel like a rebel!)

Love it!

I’ll be weighing in along with Christian Louboutin and Tamara Mellon on HBO’s Sex & the City First Look starting May 16.  It’s a featurette all about the S & TC movie and why women love shoes!  

Check out the listing here for days and times.

Going to be in Detroit this week for a fun (now sold-out!) event with Fashion Group International. You know we are going to talk Fall shoes! High heels, higher heels and then more about high heels. See what Angela at WDIV said about me in her blog this week

“Q & A w/ Miss Meghan, Shoe Guru

by Angela
Friday, May 2, 2008

Miss Meghan Cleary alongside her book.

She’s written a book, “The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You”. She hosts her own “Shoe Therapy” show on the Home Shopping Network. She’s shared her shoe expertise on the Today Show, Tyra, Extra! and the CBS Early Show. She covers all angles of kicks for the JCReport and the New York Daily News. I caught up with Michigan’s own Meghan Cleary, also known as Miss Meghan, “America’s Shoe Expert” to get the scoop on her much sought after career, those things called Crocs and what makes the perfect pair…

Is being a “shoe expert” something you even dreamed of as a career choice in high school or college?

No, never! Well, I knew that it’d be writing to some capacity and I’d always loved fashion and I’ve always loved marketing. I’m a communicator- connector person. And I love, love, love shoes. I learn something new everyday about shoes

So you pretty much turned three things you love into a career?

Yes, exactly

Now sneakers have definitely grown a ton in popularity, do you dabble in sneakers?

Sneakers are a whole nother thing! Yeah, there’s this guy who knows all about sneakers, Bobbito Garcia. He’s the male version of me, so I just leave that all up to him.

I read that your favorite shoes are your Azzedine Alaia python pumps because they make you feel confident, strong and sexy. What components, regardless of men’s or women’s, should a pair of shoes possess to become the perfect shoe? Is it like finding the perfect mate?

I’m really about shoes and mood. The thing about shoes you have to remember is that more than any other thing you put on your body, shoes affect you most on a physiological level. It affects how you work and feel. It affects you on a fashion level and a beauty level as well. A boyfriend, well that’s more external. I’m a firm believer in wearing what works for you, confidence-wise, style-wise. You might feel great in a metallic clog with perforations while Mary next door likes strappy stilettos.”

Read the whole interview with me here.