Blake Lively says "it's embarrassing" how many pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes she owns.

The 'Gossip Girl' star is not only an avid collector of the designer's creations - buying up to 40 pairs at a time - but also a personal friend, and helped celebrated the 20th anniversary of his collection in New York on Tuesday (01.11.11).

She told People.com: "They are the most beautiful shoes out there. And incredibly innovative. It's embarrassing [how many pairs I have]."

On the evening - also attended by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Calvin Klein and Tyrese - Blake chose to wear a pair of splatter-paint snakeskin stilettos.

Christian himself was full of compliments for Blake, saying: "Not only is she beautiful, she is very talented and she's very smart.

"One of the things that is most important for women and men, at least for me, is intelligence. Through a lot of things, she has proved that she is really intelligent and she also has this natural beauty and this natural way of moving which makes her absolutely a great image."

Christian also gave his tips for what to expect as the high fashion for this season, adding: "A beautiful low-cut pump. Low-cut in the front and almost the colour of your skin so it can completely disappear or in black so you can wear it with different colours."

After the party at Barneys, VIP guests headed to a private celebration at Le Caprice in the Pierre Hotel where Alicia Keys - another fan - joined the group for dinner.