I'm generally a (huge) fan of Charlotte Olympia, and have far more time for chunky platforms than most. But despite this, I find myself rather unsure about the label's new platform wedges. Somehow, the expanse of black suede making up the shoe and its platform is a little too much, and the boat-style wedge in itself a little ugly.
Overall, I can't help thinking that this looks like a shoe that's been plonked on top of another shoe - then put on sale for a laugh by Net-a-Porter at the not-cheap price of £555. But what do you think?
It's took me a while to come round to the idea that tassels on bags can be cool without being boho (or cowboy), and now I'm loving what Luella et. al. are doing with the frayed appendages. Even seeing tassels on ladies' bare chests is considered fairly mainstream in these liberal times. But on shoes? I'm not so sure I like it. Particularly when, as in this case, the shoe in question is already highly decorative.
However, tassels are a trend that's coming through in some of my favourite brands, so they may be just another fashion fad to get used to. What do you think? (If you're a 'yay' the shoes are £120 at Carvela)
Topshop's 'Lily' looks so ugly to me, in fact, that I can only assume it's one of those shoes that looks better on - a bit like Louboutin's Bridget Strass (but unlike it in every other way, of course!) I couldn't find a picture of anyone wearing this shoe, so I'll have to leave the verdict up to you guys. What do you think?
I came close to rejecting a fair few of the shoes that landed in my inbox this week, on the grounds that they don't fit the 'women's footwear' remit of this blog. But on a second glance, these items turn out to be unisex or 'boyfriend' shoes; apparently the next big thing in footwear.
Many of them look like the sort of things we wore at school, or to jazz dance classes, but mostly they just look like old brogues from the blokes' section in Clarks. You can probably tell I'm not a fan...but what do you think?
In the nineties, we all suffered a bit of a seventies flashback, and shoes responded by turning a little bit - well - blocky. Platform soles and chunky heels were the thing all through the britpop years, before we all got into kitten heels which in turn led to the elegant and graceful (if a little tough to wear) stems that have been dominating footwear more recently.
It's easy to look at these chunky-soled shoes in charity shops now - particularly the ones with heels that flared out at the end like bell-bottoms - and think 'yuck!' But I have to warn you, the look is coming back in the form of tree-trunk heels, often in bright colours to enhance the look. Prada has gone in for it big-time in its A/W 09/10 collection, Calvin Klein takes and almost cubist approach (above left) Lanvin has gone in for a softer look (above right). Are you ready to wear block heels again?
I absolutely adore Eley Kishimoto's patterns...on my clothes. Mostly, their design flair translatetes pretty well into footwear (just take these beauties as a case in point), but on this occasion I'm not convinced they've quite hit the spot. I think there's way too much going on here with the two different prints, and what the heck's going on with the toe? It looks like it's been scuffed to me...
It's possible that due to the insane London heat (especially in sauna-like Shiny Towers), my brain hasn't been quite itself in recent days. Hence, why we've reached Thursday without our weekly Wednesday Yay or Nay feature! Luckily, we've recovered ourselves just in time to bring you a shoe aimed to divide opinion in the best way possible - this knotted 'Kimberly' design by Jean-Michel Cazabat has all the hallmarks of a good shoe, but I can imagine there will be plenty out there who don't like it. What do you reckon? Vote in our poll below and let me know!