Shoe of the Day | Zara red high heeled court shoes with sweetheart vamp

Zara red high heeled court shoes with sweetheart vamp, £49.99

I’ve been on the lookout for a pair of red high heeled pumps, to replace my existing pair of red high-heeled pumps, for a while now – and today I think I just might have found them: or some strong contenders, anyway.

Although I consider red pumps to be a wardrobe staple, I currently only have one pair (two if you count flats), because they’re surprisingly tricky to get right. Here’s my checklist for my perfect red pumps:

01. Just the right shade of red – not to orange, not too pink, not too bright, not too washed out. Oh, and not coral: so many pairs of red shoes turn out to be coral – I’ve nothing against coral, but it’s always a disappointment when you were expecting them to be bright red.

02. Pointed toes – although ideally a short point, rather than a super-long one.

03. High heel – well, d’uh! (I mean, I DO like red flats too, but on this occasion it’s heels I’m looking for…)

04. A matte leather upper. Many pairs of red shoes tend to come in suede uppers, which looks gorgeous, but makes me afraid to wear them too often, because suede doesn’t stand up too well to the Scottish weather. A hard-wearing leather would be much more practical.

dress / coat/ bag / sunglasses 

Sounds simple, right? Just four main requirements: how hard can it be to find them? Well, surprisingly hard, actually: these Zara shoes, for instance, ALMOST make it (and have the added advantage of that cute little sweetheart vamp, which I always love to see on a shoe!), but although the colour and upper are perfect, that toe is perhaps just a little bit longer than I’d ideally like it to be – although that could just be down to the way they’ve been photographed. An excuse to go shopping, to check them out in person? I’ll take it!