Spa shoes coddle pedicured feet

New York — Pedicures, a still-affordable luxury for many women, can lift spirits higher than stiletto heels, but one wrong step can bring a fresh set of pampered feet down to earth very quickly.

So do you wear the flimsy (and often ugly) flip-flops given to you by the nail spa out the door to prevent marring the pedicure, or do you risk a smudge by stuffing your feet back into street shoes?

Jimmy Choo has come up with a compromise: sidewalk-worthy spa shoes.

First made as a gift to this year’s Oscar-nominated actresses, the shoe company is now offering high-heel wedges made of soft terry cloth. The style is a thong sandal.

The “pedicure” shoe is available in mint green, turquoise, fuchsia, yellow and ivory.

Cornering Cartier

New York — The corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street in Manhattan has officially been renamed Place de Cartier by the City of New York.

The location is the home to the Cartier mansion, which has served as the luxury-goods maker retail store since 1917.

Originally build by Robert W. Gibson in 1905 as a residence for Morton F. Plant, Pierre Cartier bought the mansion as midtown became more commercial. Cartier paid Plant $100 and gave him a pearl necklace valued at $1 million.