TiC Pick: Super Gala on Shoes!
Joyce says - "Nothing like a big fat delicious shoe post to brighten up a mundane Monday!"
Okay, come on now, which girl doesn’t love shoes? Granted, you may be prone to investing more in bags or jewelry, but shoes really do add character to an outfit. The right heel length can up the sass factor while the right pair of boots can add just the right touch of grunge.
To aid you in the Never-ending Female Shoe Quest as labeled by just about the entire male population, we’ve come up with a special extra long TiC Pick to aid you in copying the essential AW08, even SS09 designer shoes… sans the sky high prices.
Enjoy and do note that all currency in this post will be in USD to simplify things.
Heels
We’re kicking off this little shoe carnival with this essential item, that has been reinvented time and again to adapt to changing fashion tides. Most wanted right now are:
Caged Heels
Featured in the latest Jimmy Choo ad campaign and available in luxury python olive at a website that ships international, these pair of babies are within easy reach... if you had $1923 to fritter away.
Key word? IF. Get the affordable version in black or red at asos.com in the form of Gwen Stefani’s Zip front Heeled Gladiator Sandals for $465.
Or pop into Bebe to get their venetian zipper strappy sandal for $169.
Lace Heels
Hot off the runway from SS09 and not available anywhere as of yet, these Oscar De La Renta heels impress, taking Miuccia Prada’s lace to the stratosphere level and beyond.
If the fusion of Oscar’s aesthetic and lace is the epitome of sassy elegance, Roberto Cavalli’s $824 interpretation is sky high and hardly subtle.
For the quirky minded, he also came up with some $1270 boots, redefining the term “window-shopping” for us mortals…
Try out the trend by getting a pair of Seychelles Deep Dark Secret Flats at $69.95 with free shipping to many countries including
For a younger and more quirky interpretation, check out Nine West’s fun and flirty bootie, the $109 lam featured in both Elle and Allure! So high fashion without the high price tag.
But if you’re one of those that need a classic heel in your wardrobe, Topshop is rooting for you with their Lace Point Court shoe at a mere $89 that rivals Oscar in class and nods to the sheer trend. Very sexy secretary.
Boots
This season, our mainstay will be boots, boots, boots… because they’re so chic and also because it’s fall in fashion seasons. Woe are those that live in tropical countries but there are always compromises or alternatives to be adopted. Case in point being... the:
Platform Booties
A bizarre but crazily covetable shoe that resembles wellingtons with a heel and cut off at the ankle, the YSL shoe boot is insanity, and also hot off the runway from YSL FW08. It represents a new style of boot that has been widely popularized these days - the bootie that can be worn in all seasons from summer to winter.
The price is perhaps not so popular, so we bore the awesome heel-platform ratio and heel shape in mind while scouring the high street for alternatives, to find out that our mainstay Topshop fails to disappoint. Knock-off, rip-off, whatever you name it, they’ve reproduced these darlings at $121 in the form of the Agatha high toe round boot.
Lace-up Boots
The queen Ann Demeulemeester strikes out again with these fantastically avant garde lace-ups championed by no less than Jane Altridge at Sea of Shoes. Going for $1463, these are the perfect embodiment of the Corpse Bride aesthetic, but you definitely want to think about it before actually reaching for that credit card.
Consider your options and if you’re not sure you can pull it off, call up Colin Stuart. The man of the hour at
High lace up boot, long lace up boots, terms, shmerms!
Fringe Boot.
Oh, Balmain. The label that has wowed us again in its SS09 collection with perfect rock chick style has just cemented its status with the above wondrous picture on Jak and Jill. This bad-ass sister of the sweet Minnetonka Moccasin is from Balmain FW08 and crazily unaffordable unless you are Anna Dello Russo from Vogue
But fret not! Naturally Topshop came to our rescue with the $ 126 Amore Fringe Lace Boot, available in 3 different colors, no less and a lot more forgiving on our feet with the shorter and sturdier heel.
Additionally, a little bird also told me that Zara is coming up with a knock-off version. Are they the boots on Sasha Pivarova in their just-released campaign? Only time will tell…
Peep Toe Boot
The ultimate embodiment of impractical fashion, everybody says. But what do we care? The ultimate boot of the moment has to be the Givenchy peeptoe shoe boot, hot off the catwalk.
Jeffrey Campbell officially rescues us from actually contemplating trying out this ridiculous trend with the $190 Half Boot. (Which I prefer because I think the style looks more every day without the super-patent finish.)
Flats
Python Leather
Your feet already groaning in advance at the sight of the heeled beauties above? Don’t worry, designers love a pretty flat themselves, and so do we. Get the Giuseppe Zanotti Flats, in olive for $ 539 and tan. for $495.
Get this essential chic item for fall at nowhere other than Steve Madden himself, who is offering us his salacious Kobraa flats at $69.95 in so many different colors. Yum!
Androgyny
With the rise of menswear, designers are embracing unisex in shoes as well. Oxfords, a distinctly masculine style, have been popping up in womenswear lately, and what other way to fully embrace the trend than going flat-footed in them?
Work the unisex element to the max by getting some$192 flat laceup brogues.
Soften the masculine element with (okay, so we cheated because brogues look good with a heel too…) the Opening Ceremony Platform Heeled Brogue for $344.
Just experimenting with the trend?
Pick up a pair of shiny oxfords from Topshop because they have a wider and cheaper selection.
Kisco Brogue Laceup, $72
Play with these $100 Jeffrey Campbells because we got the exchange rate to our advantage right now!
Images courtesy of topshop.com, jakandjill.com, bakershoes.com, luisaviaroma.com,style.com, bebe.com,
forever21.com,victoriasecret.com, net-a-porter.com,
brownsfashion.com, zara.com, stevemadden.com, style.com,
thefashionspot.com, lookbook.nu
