In rare form on Sunday -- not only did I buy a pair of PUMA's, but I was out for a few hours shoppping -- I stopped into Bloomingdale's in SoHo to check out the sneakers. Despite the huge 50% savings on more than half their stock, the current selection pales in comparison to the styles that had in stock this past Christmas.

Even my favorite, favorite D.A.T.E. sneakers didn't do anything for me. The one style I liked had a weird thick patent blue stripe down the side. I was like "Huh?" I did, though, find a dress shoe -- I originally thought it was by Timberland Boot Company -- that if I'd had the money, I would have bought them without thinking twice.

Fiorentini + Baker is the brand, which I'd not heard of before. The style I like isn't on their website, so you're going to have to take my word for it -- and checkout the pics from the Spring/Summer 09 collection.

I don't know much about the brand. Looks like they had a buckle boot for women that a lot of celebrities wore, but the "About Us" section of their site is "Under Construction" and they don't have a Wikipedia entry. All I can say is they're hot. Well, at the least the one pair of brown $425 shoes I drooled over at Bloomie's SoHo this past weekend. The other stuff looks pretty cool too.

Check out their website for more images and a list of stores where the line can be found. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of these in the near future.