I reached a style milestone this weekend with my first purchase of an item from a high-end French designer. Although I have, over the past few years, amassed a small collection of clothing and accessories from lower entry point designers—D&G, Milly, Tracy Reese, Nanette Lepore—, I had yet to purchase a big-ticket item.

Enter my new favorite consignment store, Cris in San Francisco. You won’t see much on this blog talking about stores outside of our metro area (and there are plenty of great consignment stores here), but I had to tell you about one of the most exciting shopping experiences of my entire life (I am really not exaggerating). When I walked into Cris, a well-curated consignment shop on Polk Street in Nob Hill, I thought I died and went to Carrie Bradshaw's closet. Prada, Versace, Christian Louboutin, Badgley Mischcka, Manolo Blahnik, Etro, Chanel, Marni, Cholé—all of the important designers in Anna Wintour’s Blackberry were there.

Although there were plenty of stunning gowns, beautiful coats, and sportswear separates, my friend Jessica and I spent most of the time crawling around on the ground—every wall was lined with designer shoes. I tried on gently used Louboutins (one-season old), YSL platform sandals (three-seasons old), and a pair of red alligator pumps by Manolo Blahnik (classic). But when I came across a pair of black suede platform pumps by Azzedine Alaïa, I nearly lost my cool. They were the same pair that Meryl Streep dons in The Devil Wears Prada. They gave me at least five inches, and they made my ankles look sexy.

Azzedine Alaïa, as it turns out, was probably one of the first haute designers I became familiar with. Can anyone forget when Alicia Silverstone’s character, Cher, in the 1995 movie Clueless is getting mugged in her Alaïa dress, and she pleads with her robber:
"This is an Alaïa."
"An a whata?"
"It's like a totally important designer."

Alaïa’s seductive, clinging clothes and architectural shoes were a massive success in the eighties and nineties; the media proclaimed him, “The King of Cling.” In the mid-'90s, however, Alaïa virtually vanished from the fashion scene. But in 2000, he signed on with the Prada group, which helped Alaïa’s designs go through an impressive revitalization (he has since bought back 100 percent of his company shares from Prada).

So seeing anything Alaïa in person was major for me. I was beyond elated to find that they fit perfectly. At $250, with a few scratches on the pale pink soles (I doubt they were even worn beyond the confinement of a store), how could I not wrap them up, and bring them home . . . even if they did comprise my trip’s entire shopping budget?

Although I haven’t seen any Alaïa in the Twin Cities, our designer chart will give you insight to where you can pick up other top ready-to-wear designers. And there are always some great consignment designer shoes at Rodeo Drive in St. Louis Park.