Fatale by Gee'WaWa

Bad Romance? Gee'WaWa's Fatale taps our inner fame monster.

Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah! Roma Roma-m* – uh that's, we mean, welcome to our review of Fatale by Gee'Wawa. Dubbed the "Lady Gaga shoe" before it even arrived at the store, Fatale is a thrilling new look for fall and for Lori's and may prove deadly should our heart rate continue to flutter so.

This is just a monster of a shoe. How can we put it otherwise? The platform, verging on ridiculous, measures 2-1/4". That's the platform. The thick pincer of a wedge/heel rockets up another 3-1/4" to top out in the 5-1/2"-to-6" range. An upturned toe and sharp V at the heel define the silhouette – and this shoe is all silhouette, blacking out giant swaths of ground as you walk. It makes our spines tingle. But the immensity is all in the looks. The shoe is featherweight and comfortable, the leather high quality and easy to wear. (This from Lori herself, clonking around in Fatales the moment they arrived. See below next to a size 12 men's Frye harness boot.)

We just love how calmly outrageous Fatale is. Ever since McQueen debuted the armadillo shoe, we've been quietly obsessed with shoes that completely overwrite the body's natural contours. Armadillo sent up Edo-era foot binding to a modern (if precarious) aesthetic; Fatale fits into the new styling of Gaga-era: dance hall bizarro cult glam, perhaps. Since Gaga wore the armadillo in "Bad Romance," maybe we're not too far off.

Though weight is not an issue, Fatale is visually bottom-heavy. A nice benefit of this is that your legs will invariably look longer and more skinny poking out of the wide shaft. (There's also a zipper on the insole.) This is a natural with leggings of any stripe (or color, or pattern). Pair with short, cut-off denim or small skirts and a simple tee. Go big on accessories. You can make your outfit about the outré and get away with it: statement necklaces, clangy bangles, soda can curlers in your hair, you name it. Now if we could just stop singing ...

Shimmer by Gee WaWa

The Delight is in the Details: The pre-fall Shimmer heralds a clog explosion.

Shimmer reminds us of a mirage, and not just because of the name (well OK, also because of the name). But like a mirage, that phantom water always just out of reach, Shimmer's a shoe you see in parts, as a collection of fabulous details. You see this clog one fleeting moment at a time and end up with an impression greater than the shoe alone. We know: deep.

But true! Let's start with the obvious: it's a clog. Clogs are big. Expect them to get bigger. Fall will be clogged with clogs (heh). Gee WaWa's pre-fall jump on the trend is prescient; they've bridged current looks with coming fashions. There are the clever appointments we've seen this spring: the antiqued brass hobnails along the sole, the burned-out suede upper (don't discount the ultra-hot chestnut leather), and fringe. That last has been resurrected from last year's fall/winter; we're sure more is on the way. On Shimmer it sits in a double layer like bed-messy Mod bangs (or an adorable Bouvier!). C'est très chic!

To those current details we add more: a reverse seam down the center front keeps this clog closer to casual, boho roots, unlike a more posh rendition like, say, the Jeffrey Campbell Charli. The same can be said for the leather whipstitch detail along the top and a fun, chunky, stacked leather heel. At four-and-one-half inches, you gain some height; a generous one-inch platform makes it no big deal. Finally, it's just so well constructed! Leather lining, padded footbed, all-leather sole.

A lot of you may find this a difficult look, which is a nice way of saying clogs make you want to puke in your face. But lo! You can wear the clog without looking like a clunky cat-lady. We think their strength is with wider leg jeans (no skinnies, please) that partially cover the shoe. This gives you that substantial boot look and a wicked free-spirit vibe in a shoe that's much easier to wear in warmer weather. And you have to smile at Gee WaWa's playful designs. Their collection feels light and fun, young but not childish – something we care to capitalize on in these fleeting summer months.