What comes between me and my Calvins*

It’s the fag-end of April – or as TS Eliot used to call it, the cruellest month. Here in the Shoe Closet we share Tom’s seasonal ennui. We are sick to death of woolly tights and boots, but every time we unveil so much as a fingetip we risk losing it to frostbite. 

In London on Saturday, the sun peeped out long enough for your Shoeblogger to throw caution to the (still biting) wind and make a run for Cheveux 2000 on the Uxbridge Road, and the first pedicure of the season. Mind, I am not so deluded as to the forecast to go for one of s/s2013’s trendy neons. For the moment I am rocking an old favourite, “Iron Butterfly” by Orly (the last bottle I bought in Moscow. Can’t find it in western Europe.)

If anything is an excuse for new shoes, the first pedicure of spring has gotta be it. So here I am rocking it with a pair of particularly gorgeous Calvin Klein nude high-heel sandals. They have an underslung platform and 4-inch semi-conical heel covered in chocolate leather (scuff alert!) The T-strap has these cool shell-pink transparent pendants, a vague nod to Gatsby-fever.

They make me very happy. I am determined to wear them outside my bedroom some day. (Some day when it gets, you know, warm.)

*Nothing, apart from sub-zero temperatures...

Pastel force

The Evening Standard has started using the phrase
“the NEW season” – NEW standing for Never Ending Winter – to describe March 2013 in London. It’s cold. It’s grey. It’s getting on our collective wick. Gatwick and Heathrow are expecting their busiest Easter in memory, with platoons of fed-up Brits making a break for some sunshine – any sunshine – over the Easter holiday.

Those of us who can’t join the exodus have got to make the best of things here. There are signs of spring around, you just need to know where to look. Happily, the fashion cupboard around the corner from my desk is a good place to start. 

I had my own little pre-Easter treasure hunt this morning and pounced on these totally yummy pastel-toned heels (above). You can always count on Manolo Blahnik to put a spring in your step. These are lavender and pistachio suede, with a 4-inch (10.2cm) square spiky heel contrasted with a soft rounded toe. 

These caramel patent pumps (below) from Gina are absolutely mouth-watering. A classic shape, and another 4-inch heel, you just know these would look perfect with pretty much anything, pretty much anywhere. All we need now is for the temperature to rise enough to be able to wear them.