Bringing Fashion to Heel

[Wendy Seymone]

Bringing Fashion to Heel
By Anna Johnson


Shopping for spring and summer shoes puts a girl in fashion’s tightest corner. Shucked out of the virtual foot womb of the ugg boot, we are abruptly presented with the confounding footwear options of the very high, the very bare and the very bright. As quick as you can say "fake bake," you need a shoe that can comfortably span city blocks, match a short white dress and support — but not swelter — on the sweatiest of days.

It’s tempting to reach for a pair of pale pink Dr.Scholls or, more desperate still, Birkenstocks. But you can’t wear beach sandals or scuffs that look like loaves of rye bread to the office. To find shoes that meet the challenges of the season with style, you need a capsule shoe wardrobe that can take you from supermarket to Caribbean cruise without resorting to flip flops in despair.

Dividing the best shoes of the season into stylistic groups, I suggest an investment in three very comfortable styles for day and two drop-dead pairs for evening. The majority of your budget should go on the shoes you wear most and you need to make space for one pair that are shockingly different…a fluorescent clog, a striped espadrille with a three inch platform or a stiletto that is entirely see through, heel and all. The rationale for one wild card shoe? Summer is the season of love and you can’t seduce in a pair of periwinkle penny loafers.

THE HIGH HEEL QUESTION
High heels hurt. They promote corns, blisters, bunions and a tilted pelvis. They give a mincing gait and most impractical of all, they get stuck in subway gratings, cracks in the sidewalk and the spongy floors of yellow taxi cabs. It’s a pity they look so sexy — and slimming — and make the simplest sundress or oldest jeans look chic.

Heels shave ten pounds off your derriere and make you feel a strange mixture of dainty and dangerous. They also have that trick of looking more comfortable than they are. All too susceptible to the front of a shoe (known in the biz as a vamp), I often forget to measure the heel whilst shopping. One of the benefits of buying shoes online is that heel measurements are exact, but one still runs the risk of getting a shoe that doesn’t give strong arch support or have a cushioned sole for the ball of the foot.

When it comes to heels it’s sensible to spend a little more. Designers like Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik have built their reputation on shoes that look dainty but actually feel stable to walk in. Here are six styles that give you ecstasy without the agony.

Peep-Toed Pumps
Possibly the most elegant spring shoe (but in hiding since the 80s), the peep-toed pump has returned just in time to wear with a seer sucker suit or a little denim skirt. The joy of this style is almost all-over foot support and a little coverage for the less-than-perfectly pedicured, emerging summer foot. Look for a style that is cut well across the toe, like Delman’s canvas polka dot shoe with leather trim.

Mary Janes
The joy of a shoe with a T-bar strap and an enclosed heel is the pressure of gravity does not fall entirely on the ball of the foot. You won’t feel like you are lurching forward in a high Mary Jane and they look pretty with a retro style blouse and a pencil skirt or a floral 30s style dress for evening. My favorite style has a round toe and a heel that tapers gently, following the curvy line of the back of the shoe. I tracked a pair of apple green Mary Janes with a rainbow stripe on a rounded toe at Fornarina’s funky flagship store on Melrose in Los Angeles. An Italian label, Fornarina has been around since 1947 is fairly new to the States.

Sling Backs
The beauty of the high-heeled sling back is that it lengthens the leg and makes most ankles look dainty. The most comfortable style is a shoe that doesn’t cut into the toe and grips the heel and ankle snugly.

The "Romana" sandal by BCBG revisits the 80s with a stiletto heeled slingback that has soft, ruched, broad leather straps front and back. These shoes avoid the dilemma of the super nude sandal, or the sandal that lets the heel slip.

Ankle Straps
Ankle straps don’t flatter thick ankles (they tend to look caged) but aside from that little glitch, they are the prettiest way to wear a delicate high-heeled sandal. Match a white jersey dress with a pair of filigree gold high-heeled sandals like Anya Hindmarch’s "Cecile," a delicate sandal with Italianate love hearts woven into their design (www.anyahindmarch.com) or, for a more affordable pleasure, tango the night away in the classic disco sandal by Carlos Santana in blue gleam leather.

Espadrilles
For women who want the height without the bite, platform espadrilles can be the ultimate heel to wear with jeans. Once you get the knack of winding all that cotton ribbon round your legs, the espadrille is a comfortable alternative to the precarious stiletto mule. My favorite summer espadrilles feature a jaunty geranium on the vamp and a wedge decorated with red and white stripes. These shoes are equal parts Carmen Miranda and Carmen Electra and Latin style is definitely back.

Wedges
A wedge heel doesn’t have to be a chunky, corky 70s affair. The more elegant the wedge, the finer the heel at its base The wildest pair this season are designed by Marni and encased entirely in a graphic 60s silk scarf print with wraps around the ankle like a bow. British and Italian designer websites accept American currency and have the more obscure labels only to be found in big cities. I found the fabulous Marni wedges at www.net-a-porter.com — a site that even has a seasonal shoe sale room.

FLATS THAT DON’T LET YOU DOWN
The myth about flats is that they immediately make you look shorter. But the secret of the flat shoe dwells in its shape and proportion, not in its heel height. The JP Todd slip-on driving shoe has a pointed toe that immediately lengthens the leg. The classic Ballerina shoe by Manolo Blahnik has a sculpted, slightly tapering toe that stops the foot looking from looking splayed. Baby heels can also pack a punch. Try a very slender, one-inch kitten heel, narrow wooden cube heel or even a Louis heel to give definition to the leg, especially with a summer dress that comes to the knee. The best flats are not chunky or square heeled and focus their most attractive detailing on the front of the of the shoe. Slink into a pair of white slingbacks with a delicate overstitching by Salvatore Ferragamo or choose a completely flat, thin soled sandal from India or Morocco. Skinny bejeweled slides and sandals let the foot breathe and the spirit dance and they look lovely with a long, bias cut silk skirt.

The Faithful Mule
Mules demand a perfectly groomed foot, but, aside from this prerequisite, suit every figure and give a lot more va va voom to a pair of Capri pants or a short summer dress. Being at the height of fashion, you can find bright, well-made kitten heeled mules in almost every price range. Naturaliser, Nine West and Nina all have sexy styles for under $70, but my favorites for dressy office parties and garden weddings feature bows on the front of the vamp.

Wear a white broderie anglaise dress and a tight denim jacket with the sky blue mules trimmed with white scalloped leather by Moschino Cheap and Chic and match a little black dress and scarlet lipstick with the "Cyndi" a suede mule trimmed with grosgrain ribbon by Coach.

COMFORT SHOES THAT AREN’T FATTENING
I always laughed at my mother for flying in the face of the pointed toe and wearing her beloved Arche sandals summer after summer, but Mom was right. Hard city streets demand soft shoes with plenty of support. I put this label on my wish list along with a school of other ‘health’ oriented brands that are updating their image. Dr. Scholls have introduced a model called the "special." It features a one and a half inch heel and is sloped just that little bit more to give the legs the look of wearing Candies without the balancing act. Candies themselves have lowered some of their heels to two inches which is good news for the slightly older Ellie Mae Clampetts out there. The chicest Birkenstocks available are a deep curvy thong called "Boston." This sandal makes one look like a Greenwich Village poet from the late 40s or one of Martha Graham’s young dancers, but even still, they look best on the tall and the tan. For girls who are sporty, it’s good news that trainers are finally transmuting into wearable styles. The cutest innovation for the summer is the Mary Jane runner. The "Muse" by DKNY is a training shoe that is fine featured enough to wear with a dress and comes in futuristic silver and pink or the shade Donna made famous: black.

P.S. SUMMER SHOE STYLE WARNING
Avoid high heeled sandals that push the toes forward into a crunched claw position. If the toenail slips north of the rim of the shoe, abandon ship.

Pointy toes are everywhere, but they look best on a flatter shoe. Those sharp, snouty high heeled styles look dated with the more relaxed blouses and jersey dresses of summer. Look for rounded toe or peep toes: the high heel ala mode.

Avoid shoes that bisect the foot with a single strap across the front, this style makes pretty feet look sandwiched.

Never wear ankle socks with flat shoes.

Match the shoe to the dress: delicate fabrics with delicate heels, tailored skirts with streamlined or sculpted heels, and flowing skirts with wedge heels.

If you are going to wear funky shoes (for example, high-heeled or platform sneakers, carved wooden clogs or clear Lucite shoes) match them with very simple styles. A denim A-line skirt and a simple T-shirt pose an open invitation for slightly crazier shoes, especially in cherry red.

Softer, broader, more triangular and less spindly heels are coming back. Look for shoes that have a heel that tapers but doesn't end in a spike. Stiletto heels are almost entirely over.

[Virginia]

Thanks Wendy, good points all. I went ot my first TG meeting Saturday. I wore a mid-calf length red, silk skirt with a tan pull-over blouse, frilly front with bell sleeves. The shoes were a tan color that almost matched the color of the blouse. They were a 3" stiletto heel with a tan, wide leather stap across the instep, no heel strap, comfotable but probably to casual for the outfit. What do you think?
Thanks,
Virginia

[Cindy Barnes]

Virginia,
Sounds like a cute outfit !! ( I need some tan heels !!! )
And congrats on the outing !! Hope to hear more about that soon !!!
Hugs !
Cindy

[Virginia]

Thanks, Cindy, I would discuss it in Atlanta. As I have posted about the meeting, I have some observations, but I dare not publish them as they could be read and mis-interpreted, intentionally or unintentionally. Only about 5 more weeks to Hot'Lanta,
Virginia

[Wendy Seymone]

Sounds really cute Virginia, and neutral color shoes like that always make your legs look longer.

Hugs,
Wendy