Shop: There is no godly excuse for TubeFlops.

I was in Santa Barbara this week. And while I'll get to all the amazing parts of that trip in a later post, I need to get the worst part of the adventure off my chest. In an outdoorsy store on State Street--you know, the type of shop that sells hiking shoes and godawful tie-dye yoga pants and straw hats with detachable water bottles--I came across TubeFlops, or what may otherwise be described as the most offensive shoe to ever enter my line of vision.

TubeFlops are, as the name might imply [if you're the type who appreciates cutesy contractions like Brangelina and Cockapoo], part tube sock, part flip flop. And they are awful. The only possible explanation for their purchase is if you are dying for a pedicure in a cold-weather climate. To which I'd suggest you skip the foot grooming before stepping into these monstrosities.

Design Dish: Zac Posen sells chic for cheap[er] with Z Spoke.

Just last night, friends and I were discussing the ups and downs and ins and outs of designers' shift toward lower end lines. Alberta Ferretti has Philosophy de Alberta Ferretti. Karl Lagerfeld's got K Karl Lagerfeld. Marc Jacobs has Marc by Marc Jacobs. And the list of houses with lower priced looks goes on and on. This is not to mention the designers who are reaching American shoppers through retailers like Target and Walmart. Selling to the masses has not only become trendy--with the economy as it dismally stands today, it's become a necessity.

The latest to join the ranks of designers reaching us poor peons is Zac Posen, whose Z Spoke collection will hit Saks stores this Spring.

And I, for one [poor girl amongst the masses], am excited.

[via WWD]