When I feel like a cup of tea, I like to use a teacup.

No mugs for me, I am truly a teacup kind of girl.

When I first saw these on the interwebs I thought I had died and gone to heaven. They were the most amazing shoes I had ever seen. And of course they never came to Australia! Don't be ridiculous! And the less said about the price the better. I knew I was never going to really wear these shoes for real so in the midst of planning and paying for a wedding they were put on the back burner.

Fast forward about five months and "Mr and Mrs" Kitty were on a three month honeymoon around Europe. One of the destinations I was most looking forward to visiting was the Prada Factory Outlet just outside of Florence. I had good shopping fortune the last time we went there (two pairs of beautiful Prada shoes for 60 euros each) and I hoped my luck would continue. I had forgotten about the antiquated "take a ticket and wait" system of entry (only in Italy...) but we arrived just as the outlet opened so it wasn't much of a wait.

We walked in the door and turned to the shoe section and...



There. They. Were.

I kid you not - it was a heart stopping moment for Miss Kitty. On a plinth, in the middle of the showroom were these three fabulous pairs of shoes. Miu Miu teacups - in black, pink and white.

Beautiful hand painted flowers on the heel

Holy cow. I started to squeal like a three year old and Mr Kitty looked at me like I was insane.

I pointed and he rolled his eyes. "If you must," he said.

"Of course I MUST!" I replied and ran towards them.

Luckily for me they had them in my size. In all three colours. As I danced around the showroom, I came to the earth-shattering realisation that I probably could only afford to buy one pair. I asked the sales assistant how much they were (typical Kitty - ask for the details after you fall in love with the shoe) and while they were checking I tried to pick which ones I would buy. For parents, I guess it's like choosing which child you like best...

Look at those teacup handles!

The sales assistant replied "130 euros each. Is bargain, no?".

Yes. Is very big bargain. At the time it was about $200. Down from $700 USD (plus shipping) they cost if you bought them from Saks or Barneys. So I bought two pairs. How could you afford not to? They are like artworks - pieces of sculpture. They are divinely beautiful. Not the most comfortable shoes I own but honestly, I don't get a lot of wear out of them so it's doesn't matter. It's the beauty that counts in this case.

Side profile shot!

As you have seen, today brings photos of the black pair. Tomorrow I'll show you the others! Guess which colour they might be?

Kitty