I remember the first day of my summer internship like it was yesterday. I was so excited to be living and working in NYC , I hardly slept the weeks leading up to it. I dreamed about the outfits I would wear all through second semester.

I bought three gorgeous lightweight suits (one was called “Holly Golightly” from MAX Studio) and had them custom tailored for my petite frame.  I then spent over a month searching for the perfect pair of closed-toed shoes for each of them.

All my preparation did pay off,  at least for a couple of New York seconds. I felt like a million bucks that first cool morning in early June as I strutted down Fifth Avenue in my gorgeous suit and freshly glossed lips. I remember thinking to myself, “This is exactly how I imagined it would be.” HA HA!

The rest of the day and subsequent 14 block walk home were anything but what I had imagined. Who knew standing in heels, even low ones, for 8 hours would hurt that much? Certainly not me. I had to keep repeating SJP’s SATC mantra to myself “Fashion over function, fashion over function, fashion over function.”

By day 3, my feet resembled those of a N.Y. marathon runner. My blisters had blisters and I had at least three band-aids on each foot. On day 5 of my internship, I caved. I put function over fashion and slipped into a New Balance store and bought a pair of slip on sneakers and slipped my heels into my handbag.

Just like that, reality set in. I went from strutting down Fifth Avenue to frumping on it with my pretty heels thrown in a plastic NB bag.  Ugh!

If only I could go back a couple years and insert “CitiSlips” into the equation.  Not a heel, but not a big chunky sneaker either. The perfect medium– a comfy ballet flat that can be folded up and slipped into your purse. Brilliant!

They’re the brainchild of 22-year-old NYU students Susie Levitt and Katie Shea. After scouring the market for an “emergency footwear” product and coming up empty handed the two gals decided to create their own on Alibaba.com. A year later, during their senior year of college they brought CitiSlips to market in June 2009.

The best part? The carrying case unfurls into a tote bag to carry those skyscraper stilettos home in. CitiSlips retail for $25 and are available at Citislips.com.

All I have to say is “Thank You” ladies!

Until next time,
Trendspotter

P.S. For more fashion fixes, click here.