For me, these shoes fall firmly into the “look but don’t touch” category: I can’t seem to stop looking at them spin round (and round and round) on the Saks website, but I don’t really want them anywhere near my feet, because they’re giving off an “Austin Powers” vibe that’s just too strong for my liking. Oh, and the £600 price tag is a bit strong for my liking too.
These definitely aren’t your average Mary Janes, though, and if you think you can make them work, they could make a really interesting addition to the ol’ shoe closet. I’d be tempted to carry on the 60s theme, and wear them with a little white mini dress: what would you wear with them?
Jessica Simpson’s shoe line has done really well over the past couple of years, partly through some great work on the part of the design team, and partly through what I think of as “the Dany’ effect”: the Dany shoes became so popular they really helped shine a spotlight on the brand, and I know I for one have been paying more attention to J-Sim’s shoes than I probably would have otherwise.
These ‘Ely’ peep toes are the latest style to catch my eye: teal and purple isn’t a combination I’d have thought to put together myself, but it works really well here, and I love the simplicity of the strap.
These are $99.99, and are also available in black and pale pink. Click here to buy them.
Yellow has been a popular colour this winter, and I for one am glad to see it sticking around for the Spring season, too: it’s such a bright, cheerful shade, and a little more unexpected than the usual reds, greens and blues I tend to go for when I want to inject a bit of colour into an outfit.
Yellow can be hard to wear, though, which is why I like these ‘Assess’ platforms by Carvela, which come in a nice, mustard shade, which isn’t too hard on the eye. The colour is broken up by the think gold strip around the platform, and there’s also a three-buckle Mary Jane strap.
If you don’t share my love of yellow, however, these are also available in purple:
OK, I’m sorry. You probably thought we’d left the glitter shoes behind us in 2010, didn’t you? Normally we would have: I’m not much of a one for fashion “rules”, but I do generally have a bit of a self-imposed “no glitter after New Year” rule when it comes to shoes, purely because I’m normally sick to death of the stuff long before then.
I also have a bit of a tradition of celebrating new years, new blogs, and all kinds of other things, by looking at pictures of glitter-covered Louboutins, and I don’t see why 2011 should be any exception to that. Well, we wouldn’t want it to feel left out, would we?
A classic Mary Jane, brought up to date with a silver upper, a double strap, and some twinkly little buttons. Add a chunky heel that gives the shoe a bit of a 60s feel, and you end up with a something that’s easy to wear, but also very easy on the eye.
Want an easy way to make the humble Mary Jane a little more interesting? Just add a giant flower to the strap: voila! Or, of course, you could let Nina Ricci do it for you: you’ll pay $1,295 for the privilege, (which makes a corsage stuck to an existing shoe suddenly seem a lot more palatable, doesn’t it), but perhaps the fact that there was nothing particularly “humble” about this shoe to begin with will comfort you. Perhaps.
I love the colour and shape of these shoes, particularly the way the heel curves out at the back, giving it a much more stylized silhouette. I’m a little worried about the flower, though: does anyone else think it’s looking a little bit sad, considering its attached to such a lovely shoe?
Polka dots aren’t just for summer: or not as far as I’m concerned, and luckily, not as far as Kate Spade is concerned either, because these ‘Darla’ peep toes are topped with a cute little dotted chiffon flower.
That flower is the making of these shoes: without it they’d still be lovely, true, but they’d be just a little less special. As they are, however, they make a great pair of evening shoes, which are the kind of thing you’ll have in your shoe closet for years to come.
These are $289 at Kate Spade: click here to buy them.
I know I’ve been writing about River Island rather a lot recently, but I hope you’ll forgive me when I show you these gorgeous double-strap Mary Janes, which come in a beautiful, bright red suede.
These shoes will be the perfect way to give a bit of a lift to any outfit, and the style is versatile enough to allow you to wear them with jeans, dresses, or anything else you fancy. The gold buckles provide a nice contrast against the red, and the double strap may just make them feel a little easier to walk in, although the proof of that will be in the wearing.
Want to wear them? Click here to buy them for £64.99.
