Footwear Plus

The holidays are inching quickly closer and to celebrate—and channel the giving spirit the season calls for—Ugg Australia is inviting artists from around the world to design for a good cause. For the 9th annual Art & Sole initiative, Ugg is asking participants to custom design their own pair of classic Ugg boots using I-frame technology to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Targeted in Shoe Toss

Apparently the shoe is now on the other foot, so to speak. First it was former President George W. Bush who was the intended target of a shoe tossed in protest by an angry Iraqi journalist protesting the U.S.-led invasion in 2008. And now a 45-year-old Iranian textile worker, who has been out of work for a year and disgruntled about receiving no unemployment benefits, threw his shoe in protest yesterday at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to an Iranian website.

Located in Boston's historic Beacon Hill neighborhood, owner Karen Fabbri opened her 750-square-foot boutique in 2001. Along with manager and co-buyer Kristen Caldon, Fabbri aims to fill Moxie with women's shoes, bags and accessories that she "genuinely adores." Recognized with a "Best of" award by Boston Magazine for several years running, Moxie stocks a stylish mix of designer labels, including Loeffler Randall, Pour La Victoire, Bernardo and Diane von Furstenberg.

Everything's bigger in Texas, and that's certainly the case at Gregory's, a 5,800-square-foot shop carrying a vast array of designer shoes, clothing and accessories for men and women. Opened in Dallas in 1989, Gregory's has expanded to include locations in Houston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles (via acquisition of Fred Segal Feet this year), with an Atlanta outpost set to open next year. Thanks to unique labels like Amaranti, Massimo Dogana and Diego Dolcini, the shop's owner, Jon Harris, says the store has "cultivated a cult following."