I've been on a quest for the perfect brown shoes. I've been sort of a shoe whore lately, buying more in the past three months than during the previous two years. But these brown shoes have been a problem. The first pair I bought weren't brown at all, they were blue, which I thought could work with the brown-shoe outfits. Only problem? They weren't blue at all, they were black. They were that weird blueish black. I love them, but I didn't need another pair of black shoes. So in a rush to find brown shoes for a holiday party one day I settled on a pair I thought would be very nice - but outside of the store they were more RED than brown. Bastards lighting!

Finally after a failed attempt Saturday in Union Square (where no size 12 brown shoes exist), I hit the wonderful suburban malls of the East Bay. Found the perfect pair - in fact, they're the same show as the blueish black ones I adore, only in true brown. The problem? They seem too big on me. For the love of God, they are the same damn shoe, so I got the same size. Now why don't they fit me the same?!