Shoe Review: Monticello Gabriella
Posted by kim on March 10, 2010
Gabriella is a brown satin multi-strapped sandal highlighted by a variety of colorful studs. It features a satin upper, Kid Skin suede leather sole and lining, MS Signature, MS Signature comfort padding and a 4 inch heel. Handmade in Brazil.
Michael Brown, new and emerging shoe designer from Virginia, sent me a pair of Monticello Gabriella sandals, one of 37 new designs from the 2010 Monticello Shoes Spring / Summer collection to wear and review. I even got a sneak peek of Gabriella while she was in still in the sketch stages…
I must admit the sketch doesn’t do this studded strappy sandal justice. This style is gorgeous! And even more gorgeous in person! Gabriella arrived in a cool flip-up shoebox (definitely a keeper in my closet) wrapped in custom tissue paper and included a velvet shoe bag. I was in love before I even tried them on!
In fact, my sister was here when I opened them, and said she wants these for her bridesmaids to wear when she gets married as she’s always dreamed of a “brown” wedding. Of course, she needs to find a boyfriend first.
Monticello shoes only come in whole sizes (I’m usually a size 7.5), so I requested a size 8 and albeit a bit big, they fit well and are true to size. The swooping strap always makes feet appear smaller, so I’d definitely recommend for those with larger feet. The heel height is closer to 5″ than the advertised 4″, so I had to get used to wearing such high of heel. I stretched some calf muscles I never even knew I had while wearing these! At least I’ll have plenty of time to get used to them before my sister’s wedding!
My guess is that celebrities will be knocking at Michael Brown’s door once they hear word of the Monticello collection. And I can say I wore them first!
...
