Trousseau Tuesday: Patent Leather Pumps

Back in June, I noticed that my favorite pair of pointy toed black patent leather stilettos were tearing on the sides! I was absolutely devastated by this discovery as they are my only pair that fit such a tight description. Is there any other type of shoe that is more versatile than a pair of patent leather pumps? I can't come up with anything and I am a true shoe fanatic. You can wear the pumps to work, to church, on dates, out dancing, to the movies, just to name a few places. Black patent leather is appropriate for all seasons, which makes this type of shoe even more adaptable. 

As I am very picky about my shoes, I have not found a suitable replacement yet. And it is not for the lack of trying! J promised (i.e. bribed) me a pair of shoes if I got a job in Boston. We thought we might take advantage of Boston's tax free weekend (up to $2,500 for any item) by going to Neimans and Saks since it seems that I should have a paid, full time job soon. However, I could not find anything that I liked! I have too thin calves, so I avoided anything with too much of a platform in the front; I want to avoid looking like a scrawny newborn foal!

I tried on these Louboutins at Saks, but in patent leather.Unfortunately, my foot is too wide up front for the right size so my heels kept slipping out the back. Normally, foot pads solve this issue by keeping your foot from sliding forward. However, since the foot pads made the shoe too tight on my toes and still didn't keep my heel in the shoe, I decided to keep looking.

I found this pair in Neiman Marcus. I really like them since they are slightly different with the Mary Jane strap, but still appropriate for work. I can rarely wear shoes with a strap across the top of my foot, though. This strap gaped, as I predicted. So sad! 

I still have not found a pair that works! Any suggestions of where I should look? What is your go to shoe?