Losing a shoe (shop) at MOA
Corporate retailers are quick to pull the plug on new concepts, and such is to be the fate of cool Mall of America footwear and accessories shop One Thousand Steps, which apparently wasn't performing as well as the suits from parent company Pac Sun had hoped. Too bad, because I rather liked having this edgier option at the mall, featuring some lesser known brands and a slick assortment of handbags priced at less than $100. On the bright side: everything is currently 40 percent off.
It didn't even cross my mind to look for cool boots at First. What's First? Precisely my point. It's a new concept from Aldo for girls old enough to realize they don't have to spend their days in 5-inch, excruciatingly uncomfortable heels. There's a First store at Mall of America (first floor, south side near Gap) and it features unsexy brands like Clarks along with some trendier lines and its own private label footwear - casual and dress for women and men. Having struck out at literally every other shoe store in the mall (unless I was willing to spend $400-plus, which I was not), I wandered into First and fell in love with a tall, caramel brown boot -just slightly rustic, but with a wooden heel and enough sophistication to work with a dress, which is how I wore it first time out to rave reviews. Just $159.99 - and it was on sale, so I paid around $130. And I've got to say, even with the heel, it lived up to First's pledge of comfort. Maybe being too old for Aldo isn't so bad! 
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