A tale of two satins

I’m not very good at haggling, so while wandering through markets is always fun I am quite capable of coming away empty-handed, pursued by the cajolery or heckles of unsatisfied vendors. However, weaving through Mumbai’s Fashion Street last Saturday, I had to make an exception for these adorable little satin ballet flats. The stylised leaf-print is very Orla Kiely, but the price (eventually agreed on) was less than that of an Orla Kiely shoe lace. 

Satin shoes are wildly impractical. I always forget this and wear them to weddings, where they get ruined by wine stains, grass stains, or – pointy heels in particular – sinking into damp lawns. But, butterflies of the footwear world that they are, while they last they are just so charming and winsome. They appeal to my (quite deeply buried) ladylike streak.

Of course, not all satin is ladylike. Satin has its own trashy side, as evidenced by the 5-inch (12-cm) stilettos below. Frankly speaking, these are – how shall I put it? – stripper heels.

I bought them in London back in July, in a process that was even more hassle than haggling with a Bombay street trader. I first spotted them in Debenhams in Westfield, excellently discounted in the sale, but it took two visits before I could actually score a shop assistant to er, assist me. And then it turned out that the second shoe in the pair was missing. The apologetic assistant took my number and promised to call me if/when she located the missing shoe. No call came. But there is nothing like being denied a left foot to summon forth a shoe lovers fighting spirit. Cue a mission to the Oxford Street branch of Debenhams, a whole new bunch of shop assistants to harass, and, finally, triumph.

The strippers are from Dune’s Head Over Heels range, a label I’m a big fan of (below: check out the blue zebra blue ponyskin zebra-print numbers I bought at HOH in July 2010,  which interestingly prefigure Balenciaga’s 2012 collection.) 

Left, blue zebra-print pony skin heels Head Over Heels by Dune, summer 2010. Right, blue zebra-print heels by Balenciaga, summer 2012. 

I am looking at the stilettos in the flesh (as it were) right now. The fabric is matt-finished satin, with this gorgeous pattern of pink and forest green fronds and feathers. The moment I saw them I was smitten, not least because they are perfect with W.I.C. “Toronto” by Herôme, my pedicure colour of the year. I had to have them, even with nary a wedding on the calendar. (And anyway, who wears stripper heels to a wedding?)

 

Shine on

After the Wettest Drought On Record™ the UK is suddenly experiencing the summer of our dreams. There hasn’t been a cloud in the sky for three days, which means it’s open season on open-toes. So on Saturday afternoon your Shoeblogger strolled over to Portobello Road to see what’s hot on the fashionable feet of west London. 

Metallic strappy sandals and embellished ’flops are current favourites. The beaded jellies at top are from Next (“they come in lots of different colours,” according to my foot model.) The stylish nude sandals, above, with spikes and diamante skull-and-crossbones are from “a Sunday market.”

Love these ’70s-style geometric two-tone sandals (“last season’s Marks & Spencer.”) Their owner, tall and willowy, was wearing a fabulous full-length striped dress with ruched bodice, her bronze pedicure perfectly complementing pale skin and beautiful red hair.

Another great pedicure, above: classic red with gold straps for a 1950s screen goddess effect. Her gold strappy sandals were brand new (“from Dune, yesterday!”) 

Havaianas are almost as popular on the streets of west London as on the beaches of Brazil, and gold is definitely the colour of the moment. It’s always fun to see friends mirroring each others’ styles, and I really like these two (above) with their variations on metal flats and pretty pale toes.

Two examples of turquoise tootsies: above, glowing in shiny plaited flats (from la bella Primark, I believe). Below, in River island cork-soled wedges, the nude straps popped with a gold band across the instep. As I was shooting her feet and admiring her outfit, I discovered that the cool girl rocking this look is style blogger Kirsty Fong. Kirsty is also a fashion stylist (and a biology grad), who writes with passion, and dresses (herself and others) with imagination and flair. Her blog looks great and is full of fab ideas, be sure to check it out: kirstandthefashioncrowd.blogspot.co.uk

A splash of burgundy

Image thanks to fashion.telegraph.co.uk

The British fashion press got quite intoxicated this season. “It’s time to hit the claret,” declared The Telegraph in a story, above, styled by Charlie Harrington and photographed by Rachel Pierce. (The shoes are LK Bennett, BTW: £195.)

Elie Tahari a/w 2011 image thanks to style.com

“From deep maroon to autumnal rust through to burgundy and claret, rich muted reds are undoubtedly the core colour palette of AW11,” agreed Red magazine (appropriately enough.) “Burgundy is massive this season,” added Imogen Fox in The Guardian. “But we’re calling it ‘boozy’. It sounds that bit sexier, less schooly.”



Ah, yes: the “schooly” factor. “If your school uniform was burgundy then I am afraid you are not going to like this,” Imogen cautioned. During a Black Friday moment (it took place in Moscow, on Saturday afternoon, in a crowd of one: no pepper spray was involved) I found myself falling inordinately and inexplicably in love with a maroon wool v-neck sweater. Inexplicably because it was the absolute spit of my old school uniform.

There is also something undeniably, er, uniform about the small collection of wine-coloured shoes your Shoeblogger has somehow managed to acquire over the years. Two pairs of mock-croc claret pumps? Yes, but they work so well with a pleated skirt and a wooly pullover... 



Happily, in London this week the burgundy trend manifested in a variety of styles. On Portobello Road Friday morning I spotted these plum-coloured knee-high boots (above): Asos I believe. 

The maroon velvet trainers with grosgrain laces (above) are from Jigsaw. 

Menswear, too, has soaked up some wine. In Seven Dials I admired this guy’s thick-soled artichoke-and-black oxford high-tops. “Aldo,” their owner told me. “There’s a branch right around the corner.”

What a coincidence! Just the day before your Shoeblogger had fallen for this pair of Aldo fake-snake platform wedge pumps (above) in bordeaux, black and cream. Hardly schooly at all – unless in a bad-girl-smoking-and-talking-to-boys-at-the-bus-stop kind of way.

I also tried – but did not buy – the gorgeous wet look claret pumps, above, from Dune. I mean, how many pairs of shiny, wine-y, round-toed, block-heeled pumps can a girl justify, really?

Dune was where one of my all-time fave pairs of maroon shoes originated. I have had these beautiful leather-and-suede strappy heels with enamelled uppers, above, for years. I suspect that if I’d turned up at the school gates in these the nuns would’ve taken a dim view. On the other hand, I also love the two-tone Enzo Angiolini Mary Janes below, of which surely even Miss Jean Brodie would have approved.

As Muriel Spark/Jean Brodie said, “Give me a girl  at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.” Apparently the same can be said for making her wear burgundy. Cheers, dears!

Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,
image thanks to oscarfan