In the navy

Long distance relationships are tough. When you are in, say, Moscow, and the object of your affections is nearly sixteen hundred miles and four time zones away in London, it’s – well, it’s frustrating. Especially when the object is beautiful and stylish and very now.

Like these navy patent kitten heels with the gold ankle chain and the little red anchor, which I shot at home in London last week, and which, sadly, are still in London due to the sheer volume of shoes currently bulging out of Shoe Closet East (there are seven pairs under my desk as I write. I hardly dare open the wardrobe these days.) 

Versace (left) and Issa, s/s 21012. Images thanks to Style.com

The sea and all things oceanic is one of spring/summer 2012’s big fashion trends. At Versace, bandeau tops and skirts were bedecked with starfish and shells, while at Issa the harbour at Rio de Janeiro (complete with statue of Christ the Redeemer) was splashed over tunics and dresses. 

Of course, the life aquatic is a perennial style favourite, and my nautical kitten heels are practically vintage. I bought them years ago at Shelly’s in Oxford Circus (that dates them – and me: Shelly’s hasn't had a store in Oxford Circus for ages. Which is a shame, as it used to be a great place for interesting, unusual, and good quality footwear). They are by Miss L Fire (I am pleased to say the label is still going strong and has a very cute website, here). 

The thing I remember most clearly about buying these is that a very smart Japanese woman in gorgeous black cigarette pants was buying a pair (in black) at the same time. I was so taken with how marvelous they looked on her that I hardly bothered to look at my own reflection.

Still, I have never regretted buying them. I have also never regretted buying these French navy patent cork-heeled pumps (below, from Aldo) despite the fact that they do that thing patent occasionally does, of cutting off the circulation to one’s toes. 

Mooning over Manolo

As you may have noticed I love talking about shoes. However, once in a while something turns up that just leaves me, well, speechless. Something like these Manolo Blahnik pumps. 

They were called in for a shoot by Katya Z. I mooned over them while waiting for hair and makeup and lighting tests and the stylist and the photographer and the Talent to be ready. The weather outside was frightful (still is, actually). But these lovelies put a smile on my face, a song in my heart, and a spring in my step. (Well, they would have if I hadn’t been wearing snow boots to the shoot that day.) ‘Nuff said. Enjoy.

I want candy

As I write, it is -2°C (28°F) and a wet morning in London. At New York Fashion Week the temperature is -3°C (26°F) and the catwalks predict a fall/winter 2012 season where black is the new black. Meanwhile, here in Moscow the sun is shining brightly – even blindingly – which would be lovely were it not for the fact that it is reflecting off fresh snow and the air temperature is -19°C (-2.6°F). Sigh.

At times like this one badly needs a hit of West Coast escapism. And it doesn’t get much more escapist than these candyfloss-pink-patent gold-heeled stilettos from the Sportmax s/s 2012 collection. 

My fellow shoe-fetishista Katya Z alerted me to the delights of the Sportmax stiletto a couple of weeks ago (stay tuned, you’ll see more of them soon). This particular pair was brightening up the office last week. They are a little bit LA, a little bit Miami Beach. They evoke visions of 1980s film noir – Kathleen Turner tormenting William Hurt in Body Heat, or Laura Dern being tormented by Nicholas Cage in Wild at Heart.

There is also this café au lait and black shiny ankle-strap version (below), which is a bit more Faye Dunaway in Eyes of Laura Mars.

Image thanks to motilo.com

Shell games

When it comes to shoe shopping, I am a romantic. I fall in love first and do background checks later. This means I have a bad habit of investing in fab footwear in the heat of the moment, only to remember – too late – that there are already half a dozen similar items back in the shoe closet. So nowadays when hitting the sales I carry a mental checklist of shoe styles to steer clear of. These include:

• leopard/zebra/dalmatian/tiger prints. All too easy to overindulge, especially in the last few seasons when they’ve been all over the high street like a scene from The Beasts Are On The Streets. With animal print a little goes a long way (especially if it’s blue*);
• python and ostrich. Fake python or ostrich skin never looks as good as, say, mock-croc, while the real thing is a bit queasy-making unless done in moderation;
• anything yellow. My wardrobe already contains far more lemon/canary/primrose than any sensible Celtic-complexioned person ought to have.

The corollary, of course, is the list of Shoe Types One Can Never have Too Many Of. For instance:

• anything red, especially anything red and pointy;
• anything gold;
• anything tortoiseshell.

Tortoiseshell is rarely a problem because, generally speaking, there’s not that much of it about. This stunning pair of tortoiseshell patent “Fever” stilettos by Stuart Weitzman is a perennial classic (also available in other colours and finishes.) The tortoiseshell version featured in the September 2011 issue of US Harper’s Bazaar, which made me do a double-take as I’ve had mine for years.

Sad to say, even thgough I adore my “Fever”s they are the most uncomfortable shoes I own, bar none. They are so spectacularly narrow and high that putting them on is like squeezing your toes into a nutcracker. (Their popularity makes one wonder if the practice of foot-binding is more widespread than one might have imagined.)

Happily, there are no comfort issues with my latest acquisitions. Jonathan Kelsey has designed some of the most gorgeous tortoiseshell shoes of recent seasons, and, better still, he has collaborated with the UK department store Debenhams to make a super-affordable line. These shoe-boots (below) have 4-inch (10cm) heels, gold soles, and mushroom suede uppers. Patent tortoiseshell wraps around from toe to heel. They look good, and they feel great.

*Below, blue zebra-print heels by Balenciaga, as blogged by Anna Dello Russo in November 2011. Click here to see blue zebra-print heels blogged by me in July 2010.

(Cross) country life

“I have a pair of shoes for you,” said my friend Konstantin. “I found them at the dacha during the summer.” 

Kostya, like most of my friends, knows I have a wee bit of an obsessionette with footwear, so I was very excited to see what he’d unearthed. But I must confess I was puzzled by these. They’re beautifully made black leather lace-ups, in great condition. At the toe, the sole is composed of four layers of leather, stitched as well as glued, and longer than the shoe itself by about a centimeter. 

Inside, they are hand-lined with leather insoles, again stitched and glued. The outer soles (leather) are nailed on, with various little stamps from an awl. They are marked size “41” and “3” and there is no brand, so they are hand-made (and/or state-issue.) 

What most mystified me was their heels, which are triangular, and attached with a dozen nails. 

Of course, any Russian – and probably any winter sports enthusiast – will have instantly identified these: they are cross-country ski boots. The extended sole in front is for slotting into a ski, and if I understand the principle correctly the triangular heel allows for easier level and uphill travel. And the leather soles would be for smooth schussing across the snowy plains. I think.

Whatever. The temperature today is -16°C, with a wind chill of -20° and plenty of light, powdery snow. Perfect conditions for testing a pair of vintage ski boots, so your Shoeblogger laces them on and steps confidently onto the balcony. (You didn’t think I’d actually try cross-country skiing, did you?)

The boots feel quite comfortable, and while my fingers and camera rapidly start to freeze up, my tootsies are quite happy. Only problem is when I actually try to take a few steps in them and realise that smooth leather soles and an icy balcony eight floors up are a sure route to disaster. I skid around for a few minutes (hardly panicking at all) and then retreat back indoors. Whew. Great shoes, but I don’t think I’ll be swopping my lug-soled Canadian snow boots for them just the same.