B Brian Atwood Pangea Suede Pump – can we love it for less?

Oh Brian Atwood. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. 2.

3.

But alas, our love is not meant to be. At least not until I have a job/husband/winning lottery ticket that will allow me to spend $1,000 on a pair of shoes.

I mistakenly got excited when earlier today I read that Brian was debuting a new line – B Brian Atwood – for the “girl who wants it all.” Unfortunately the prices for this new line still would not allow me to have it all. Unless by “all” you mean one pair of fabulous shoes and a pantry full of ramen noodles.

Which is a shame because I’ve fallen hard for the Pangea Suede Pump:

That gold heel is so perfect it makes me want to weep.

So I set out on a mission to find an affordable substitute that I could one day hope to love as much as these. Here’s what I came up with:

Bandolino Transpose Wedge

Pro = still a fun green suede. Con = no beautiful gold heel. Pro = but wedges are very comfy. Con = green is a little too light to be versatile. Pro = at $69 is $331 less than the Pangea pump.

Also these:

Butter Satin Platform Pump

Much more in line with the color green I was looking for and the little bow is a fun touch. But I was hoping for more of a solid platform pump that would look good with jeans and this heel is a little too dainty.

Enter Cole Haan:

Cole Haan Stephanie Air Platform Pump

Jackpot! Good neutral green color with fun zipper details and a solid heel. And it’s on sale! I never find things on sale. Possibly because I’m too impatient to dig through the sale racks. But more likely because stores hate me and refuse to put anything I like on sale ever. Yeah, I definitely blame the stores.

So while there will always be a special place in my heart for the B Brian Atwood Pangea Pump (and hopefully one day a place in my closet, too), what do we think of the much more affordable Cole Haan substitute? Can we love it for less?