Shopping woes

I have had a hard time shopping lately. Mainly because my main shopping buddy, Laura, is away at school. I want to stay up to date looking, but don't want to look like a middle aged woman trying to look like a teenager - you've seen 'em. They look dumb. Laura is always the voice of reason for me, telling me "um, no" or "yeah, Mom, you can totally rock that"
I spent an afternoon yesterday at the mall and could not find a thing. I need new shoes - brown and black dress shoes. Apparently there is a big demand for Sister Mary Margaret shoes and hooker shoes. The look I am seeking is somewhere in between the two extremes. Sheesh, aren't there a lot of professional women who want a nice heel that doesn't look like you are seeking your next John?
I moseyed up the peninsula today to Stanford Shopping Center in search of shoes. I did find (what I thought) was a nice suit, but didn't have my Wa for critique. I took a pic of myself in the dressing room on my phone and sent it to Wa. She declared it "cute", so I bought it. Yeah, it's a lame way to shop with your daughter, but it worked. So I have a new suit that's been given the Wa seal of approval.
Now on to shoes..... I DID find some suitable shoes. Not too high heel, normal looking pump... the only problem is they were a bit pricey. Coach, Anne Klein and someone else had some really cute shoes. Only problem is they didn't fit into the family budget. These shoes were 100 bucks more than my hand made bunad shoes, which are the most expensive shoes I've ever purchased. I can't justify spending $700 on a couple pair of shoes right now. (Pat would have a stroke). Maybe if I just double ended a 2 million dollar pad at 6%.
I finally found some suitable shoes, but man, it's been a chore. Why does this have to be such a pain? When are the designers and purchasing people going to realize that we want a decent looking shoe at a decent price?