Shop art

New York — The Salvatore Ferragamo flagship store in Manhattan is confirming what many women have known for years: Shoes are art.

A new exhibit called “Sweet & Sour,” which uses Ferragamo leather products as the starting point, is on display through June 22.

“I decided to use Ferragamo high-heel evening shoes,” says artist Sandra Nydegger of her “Legs-in-Landscape” photograph. “I use rough landscapes, and I found an amazing cave with ice water coming down from the ceiling. I liked it because it’s not a place where someone would expect you to wear such shoes.”

The only directive Nydegger and five other artists received from Ferragamo was that their pieces would have to reflect the theme of “provocative paradoxes.”

Fashion, just like cooking and other creative mediums, is a form of art, Nydegger says. “Fine art, especially photography, which is my medium, has mixed so much more in the past 10 years with other creative processes. Right now, fashion photography is very fine art. It’s become free and less posed.”

The other artists participating in “Sweet & Sour” include Natasha Law, who is known for her collaboration with the Frost/French fashion label; Christina Burch, whose paintings combine propaganda, cartoons, printed media and landscape imagery; and sculptor Shane Bradford, whose pieces often feature candy-colored paint drips.

Sunglasses on sale

New York — QVC is televising its seventh annual “Cure by the Shore” sunglasses sale on May 22.

The event, hosted by actor Don Diamont (“The Young And The Restless”), features Safilo Group sunglasses from designer brands such as Dior, Giorgio Armani, Kate Spade, MaxMara, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent, at half the suggested retail price. All net proceeds will benefit multiple sclerosis research and education.

Also, Tommy Hilfiger created a commemorative, graffiti-style T-shirt especially for this sale.

QVC’s partner for “Cure by the Shore” is the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

The two-hour live event in Malibu, Calif., begins at 2 p.m.

Pack your bags

New York — After dutifully following dress codes at the office, at parties and even at the gym, you might feel you’ve earned the right to wear whatever you want during a vacation — but please resist baggy, high-waist shorts and frumpy T-shirts, say Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.

The hosts of Britain’s “What Not To Wear” TV show, which inspired the U.S. version, recently wrote their second book.

In “What Not to Wear for Every Occasion” (Riverhead Books), Woodall and Constantine explain and model the style do’s and don’ts for job interviews, weddings, school events and vacations.

When choosing a swimsuit and cover-up, they recommend a coordinated sarong and swimsuit in a small and unobtrusive print. The uniformity of the pattern and color will be slimming and will elongate the body.

Diamonds, high heels and head-to-toe designer labels don’t belong on the beach, the women say.

Shapely cotton sundresses are ideal for apres sun, according to Woodall and Constantine, especially in pale colors, which will make the most of even the faintest tan. (Pale colors also take the red out of sunburned skin, they say.)

Another option would be long, white floaty trousers and a loose top in a sophisticated tropical or floral print.

Stay away from black, too much makeup, and polyester — which might make you sweat, the duo advises.

Designer reveals her power shopping tips

Lilly Pulitzer isn’t crazy about shopping; she lets her grown children buy most of her clothes. But, in “Essentially Lilly” (HarperCollins), Pulitzer shares with co-author Jay Mulvaney some shopping tips that makes such an outing bearable and more productive.

She also says that while she doesn’t care to keep up with fashion trends, she appreciates trendy and tony shopping streets, which are good for an afternoon of sometimes free entertainment.

Her five tips for a power shop:

• Have a strategy. Make a list of your favorite stores and set a time limit.
• If you’re clothes shopping, wear something easy to slip on and off — and the proper undergarments.
• Take a digital camera with you.
• Carry a small, lightweight purse.
• Pick shoes for their comfort, rather than their style, today.

The “great shopping streets of the world” other than Pulitzer’s hometown favorite, Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Fla.:

• Bond Street in London.
• Lincoln Road in Miami.
• Madison Avenue in New York.
• Maiden Lane in San Francisco.
• Newbury Street in Boston.
• The Rialto in Florence, Italy.
• Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif.
• Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris.
• Via Condotti in Rome.
• Via Montenapoleone in Milan, Italy.