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Shoe Review: Studio TMLS ‘Louanne’ black suede peep toes

by Shoeperwoman
3
| High Heels, High Street Shoes, Peep Toes, Shoe Reviews, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 30, 2013

Studio TMLS Louanne peep toes, £90
For this month’s Sarenza Brand Ambassador pick, I decided to continue with my mission to fill a few of the gaps in my shoe collection (And yes, it IS still possible to have gaps in your collection, even when you have over 100 pairs of shoes to choose from!), so I went for a shoe that’s been on a my Wish List for a while now: Studio TMLS’s ‘Louanne’ peep toes, in black suede.
I chose these because for a long time now I’ve frequently been finding myself wishing I had a pair of totally plain black peep toes. I do have a couple of pairs that vaguely meet that description, but they’re both platforms, and both are starting to look rather the worse for wear, so a replacement was definitely in order. Nevertheless, I kept putting the purchase off. Black shoes, after all, may come in handy, but they’re never the most exciting of purchases to make, and I have a tendency, when faced with a large choice of footwear, to always go for the cutest/most dramatic pair, rather than the “sensible” choice, which these are. It’s silly, really, because as I’ve said a thousand times before, the simplest shoes are often the most stunning, and they’re definitely the ones I tend to get the most use out of.
These were no exception. As soon as I pulled them out of the box, I started cooing over the lovely, sleek shape, and within a few days of their arrival, I’d already worn them a couple of times (you can see what I wore with them on one of those occasions over at Forever Amber). These were actually the first pair of open-toed shoes I wore this year, and I can tell they’ll be earning their keep, because as well as being very versatile, they’ve also proved to be very comfortable. At 3.9″, the heels are just a little lower than I usually wear, but that makes them a great walking height for me, and the suede uppers are soft enough not to chafe around the peep toe, too.
I ordered these in my usual size 4, and they fit perfectly, so I’d say they’re true to size. I went for the black suede version because it was black shoes I was looking for, but these also come in a range of other colours, both suede and patent. I’d happily buy all of these if I possibly could, but I think the soft beige version might just be next on my list…
Buy them
[Disclosure: My shoes were free of charge, as part of the Sarenza Brand Ambassador programme.]

Tagged black shoes, Studio TMLS
Shoe Review: Office ‘Ophelia’ mint suede bow court shoes

by Shoeperwoman
6
| High Heels, High Street Shoes, Pumps/Court Shoes, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 11, 2013

Office Ophelia, £62
Well, I DID say they were Shoe Kryptonite…
Actually, Kryptonite or not, these shoes would have remained out of my reach if it wasn’t for the generosity of MyVoucherCodes.com, who sent me the gift code which allowed me to buy them, and also if it wasn’t for ShoeperMan, who has become quite the skilled cobbler over the past couple of months. As I mentioned when I first wrote about these shoes, they were only available in a UK size 5, which is one size larger than I usually wear. I don’t normally recommend buying shoes which you know probably won’t fit – that way heartache lies – but I was hoping that by some miracle they’d run small, and the size 5 might just work. (This isn’t quite as crazy as it possibly sounds: I normally wear a size 4, but my shoe collection contains sizes 3 – 5, and you never quite know when a shoe is going to run large or small…)
Well long story short, they didn’t: surprise, surprise! They were, of course, a little too large, but thankfully only a little: when I added some insoles they fit perfectly, but I’m not a fan of padded shoes, which is where ShoeperMan came in. He removed the lining, added some padding at the front, and then glued it back down again: this is something a cobbler can easily do for you, but it’s also something you CAN do yourself if you really want to. A few months ago, ShoeperMan decided to give it a go after I’d complained once too often about a pair of shoes that were a little too big. He’s fairly handy with the ol’ DIY, so I decided to let him have a go, and thankfully it all worked out: his technique can make a shoe up to one size smaller, and when he’s done you can’t tell anything has been done, so luckily for me he was able to work his magic on these and create the perfect fit.
Other than the sizing, then, these were everything I’d hoped they’d be. I was a little worried when I ordered them that the mint suede would be very pale, and close to white, but the photo on the Office website turned out to be pretty accurate, and they’re what I think of as a “true mint”. The colour is one of the main reasons I was drawn to these: it’s my favourite shade for summer, and I love the fact that these are in a pastel colour, but with a closed toe, so I can wear Spring-appropriate colours, but not have to freeze my toes off. I also like the low-cut sides and vamp: another two featured which I think are essential on a pointed shoe.
These have leather uppers and linings, and are really soft and comfortable to wear, with no pinching. The 4″ heel is about as high as I think you can go without a platform and still be comfortable, and so far I’ve found them easy to walk in.
At the time of writing, these are still available in a UK size 5 on the Office website, although there are a few more size options available in the black and white options. You can see them here.

Tagged mint shoes, Office, shoes with bows
Shoe Review: Topshop ‘Gwenda’ pointed-toe court shoes

by Shoeperwoman
4
| High Heels, High Street Shoes, Pumps/Court Shoes, Shoe Reviews, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 10, 2013

Topshop Gwenda, £58
Yes, it’s THOSE Topshop ‘Gwenda’ pumps: the ones I fell in love with when they were first released a few months ago, but which instantly sold out in the green colour I love, and started popping up on eBay for around £100 per pair. Don’t you just HATE it when that happens?
Topshop have now released these shoes in a variety of other colours (I also really love the lilac version), but I had my heart set on the green version, so when I looked at the Topshop website last week and noticed that they’d briefly come back in stock in a couple of sizes, I didn’t waste any time. I’m assuming they’d perhaps had a couple of pairs returned, because they disappeared equally quickly, but it’s always worth checking back from time to time if there’s a particular pair of shoes you’re really interested in.
As I mentioned when I first wrote about these shoes, I love these, not just for the colour, but for the wonderful, low vamp and low-cut sides. This isn’t a shape for everyone: these DO give a hint of toe cleavage, which I know a lot of people aren’t keen on, but I think it’s a great way to add interest to a classic court, and these have the kind of shape I usually associate with a more expensive brand.
As some of you know, I’m a big fan of Topshop’s shoes, which I generally find to be good quality, and true-to-size: in fact, in terms of sizing, I’d say they’re one of the more reliable brands on the high street: there are never any surprises for me when I order shoes from Topshop – I can reliably go for my usual size and know it will fit. And with that said, now I just need to track down a red pair…
[Disclosure: these shoes were purchased using a gift code from MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, where you can find Office discount codes, Dune voucher codes and Kurt Geiger discount codes, to name but a few. All opinions are my own. ]

Tagged green shoes, Topshop
New Look ‘Calm’ ankle boots

by Shoeperwoman
1
| Boots, High Street Shoes, Shoe Reviews, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
April 8, 2013

New Look ‘Calm’ boots, £24.99
I featured these boots a couple of weeks ago, and talked a bit about my new-found love of low-heeled ankle boots, for those times when comfortable and casual is the only way to go. Well, I have a couple of events coming up this month which fit that description, and I’d managed to find an ASOS discount code giving me 10% off (Not much on a purchase of £24.99, sure, but every little helps…) so I decided to grab a pair before they sold out.
Well, they arrived last week, and you know what? I absolutely love them. I’m still not used to gushing over casual shoes, but these really were everything I’d been looking for, and at a much lower price-point than I was expecting to have to pay, so I’m afraid I DID do a bit of gushing when the parcel arrived.
As I mentioned in my last post, these aren’t real leather, and for £24.99, I doubt anyone would expect them to be. They have nice, hard-wearing uppers, though, and are the perfect shade of camel, so they feel pretty good quality for the money. (I know this is probably really strange of me, but I’ve never really been one to insist on boots having leather uppers: as long as they feel reasonably good quality and don’t have that “cheap shoes” smell, I’m good.) They’re also possibly the most comfortable pair of boots currently in my possession: the low heel, combined with the support from the ankle, makes them a dream to walk in, even when I’m going to be doing a lot of it.
Best of all, though, as far as I’m concerned, is the fact that these have a relatively narrow ankle-opening (at least in comparison to some other boots in this style), which means I feel less like a golf-club when I wear them. I also like the fact that although they fall into the “comfortable and practical” category for me, they still give me a bit of extra height, which is always welcome.
Size-wise, I ordered my usual size 4 and they fit perfectly, so I’d say they’re true to size. One word of warning, though: I bought these at ASOS because they’d sold out of my size at New Look itself. I see that they’ve now sold out of a couple of sizes at ASOS too, so I guess I’m not the only one who found herself in need of some new boots recently!
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Shoe Review: Mellow Yellow ‘Nube’ peep toes

by Shoeperwoman
2
| High Heels, Peep Toes, Shoe Reviews, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
March 25, 2013

Mellow Yellow ‘Nube‘, £139
My latest Sarenza Brand Ambassador Pick is another one that will come as no surprise to anyone… I wrote about these Mellow Yellow ‘Nube’ peep toes a few weeks ago, and when I noticed they were down to the last pair in my size, I decided they were the only possible option! Since then, however, I notice these have been re-stocked, so they’re currently available in all sizes (at the time of writing) if you want to grab a pair.
I loved these mostly for the little yellow bow on the toe, but I also really liked the taupe upper: this is one of my favourite shoe shades, but it’s not always easy to find, so I was very happy to find these. When they turned up, however, I quickly realised that one of my favourite things about them is actually the hint of turquoise on the toe. You only get to see the slightest hint of it when they’re actually on, but it’s enough to make the colour combination really interesting, and it was the first thing Shoeperman commented on when he seen them, so I think it’s a nice little touch.
This is my first pair of shoes from this brand, so I was a little worried about the sizing. I usually wear a UK 4, but recently I’ve been having to go down a size in many of the brands I’ve been shopping from, so I wasn’t quite sure what to do: Mellow Yellow also do these in a 3.5, so I spent a bit of time trying to decide between that size and the 4. In the end I decided to stick to what I know, and ordered the 4: it turned out to be a good choice – I’d say these fit true to size, maybe even a little on the snug side, so the smaller pair would definitely have been too tight! Phew!
These are beautifully made, but are on the delicate side: not just because of the satin upper, but because they have suede soles (Quite unusual for a shoe at this price point), too. The soles are covered in a protective coating when they arrive: I guess you COULD leave it on to protect them, but I think that would make them too slippery to walk in safely, and it was starting to peel off at the edge of one of my shoes, so I removed it. It feels like a shame to ruin it by walking on these, somehow, but hey, that IS what they’re designed for, and no one but me will see the sole anyway, so it doesn’t really matter!
I feel like I always end these posts in the same way, but it has to be said: now that I have these, all I need is the opportunity to actually wear them! I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to be able to wear my newest acquisitions, but the snow just keeps on coming, so unfortunately I’m still stick in boots. Come on Spring, what are you waiting for?
Buy them

Tagged mellow yellow
Eclipse Bottine Agnes beige low-heeled ankle boots

by Shoeperwoman
2
| Boots, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
March 14, 2013

Eclipse ‘Bottine Agnes” ankle boots, £40
I’ve talked quite a bit recently about my mission to stock up on some more “sensible” shoes this year, and while I’m not sure quite how “sensible” a beige upper can ever really be, these Eclipse ankle boots are the latest step in my plan. These also come in black and brown, but as some of you may recall, I’ve also been on a search for pale-coloured boots recently, so these killed two birds with one stone, which is how they came to find themselves being added to my Sarenza order this month.
Shoes like this are a little bit of a departure for me, because I normally stick firmly to either heels or flats. I was actually quite surprised by how much I like them though: they may not be the fanciest footwear in my collection, but I love the colour, which is exactly what I was looking for, and I think they’ll work really well with my pastel coloured jeans and washed-out denim on casual days when I know I’m going to be doing a lot of walking.
On the subject of walking: I actually wore these the day they arrived, to walk the dog and then run some errands around town, and when I put them on I quickly discovered that I’m so unused to this height of heel that I basically had to re-learn how to walk in them, as embarrassing as that is. For the first few minutes, I was kind of picking my feet up like a pony, until my brain finally caught up with the fact that the heel wasn’t where I expected it to be, and I started walking like a human being again. I have the same issue with the other pair of low-heeled boots I bought this year, so I guess the type of shoes you wear has a bigger effect on how you walk than I’d thought!
With that small learning curve out of the way, however, I found these comfortable and easy to wear. I ordered my usual size 4, and would say they’re true to size. They’re not real leather, but don’t feel cheap either, and they didn’t require any breaking in. I actually wore these out on a rainy day, and also walked through the woods in them, which was probably a little bit reckless of me, considering the colour of the upper. These photos were taken when I got back, though, and as you can see, they survived without incident: the uppers seem fairly hard-wearing, and any small marks should wipe off fairly easily, so I’m hoping the colour won’t be quite as impractical as it might seem.
My main challenge now will be getting used to styling these. As much as I like them, one of the reasons I don’t normally buy this style of shoe is because I always feel like low-heeled ankle boots make my feet look disproportionately large. I’m not really sure why that is: I don’t think my feet are particularly big for my height, and the boots are a nice, close fit, but it’s something I’ve noticed with basically ever pair of boots I’ve tried in this style. I’m hoping it’s just a case of my eye needing to adjust to a different style, and NOT me looking like Bigfoot, but I guess time will tell! While I work it out, I’m very tempted by the camel version…
[Disclosure: these were purchased using a gift code supplied by Sarenza. All opinions are my own.]
Buy them
Shoe Review: Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon bow shoes

by Shoeperwoman
5
| High Heels, Peep Toes, Shoe Reviews, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
March 11, 2013

Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon bow court shoes, £138.99
I really thought my Lady Dragon collection was complete.
Don’t get me wrong: I still love the shoes. But even I have to admit that a girl can only use so many pairs of heart-front shoes, and I was pretty sure my limit had been reached.
Then they released the bow version.
Well, as soon as I saw the shape of that cute little puffed-up bow, I knew I was a gonner. And when the pink and blue version of these shoes came into stock at Spartoo, who generously provided me with some store credit to spend on them, it seemed pointless to resist. The shoes arrived last week, and the first surprise was the re-vamped box:
It’s the same design as the older versions, but in a pretty pale blue, rather than the royal blue they’ve used before. It’s a small detail, but I like it. I liked what was inside even more, though, because when you open up the box, you’re immediately hit with the distinctive bubblegum scent of these shoes. I know not everyone likes it, but I love it, and always feel a bit sad when it starts to wear off. (The scent is actually still detectable, even on my oldest pair of these shoes, but you have to get close to them to smell it. When they’re brand new, you only have to be in the same room as them to get a hit of “bubblegum”…)
The shoes inside were just as sweet as the scent. Every time I get another pair of Lady Dragons I instantly declare them to be my favourites: this time was no exception, and while I think the ‘Cherries’ version will always be my absolute favourites, these have definitely gone into second place. As much as I love the hearts, I think the bow looks nicer on the foot, and has less of a “cartoonish” element to it, which will make them a little easier to style. I also really like the pale pink colour, which is close enough to skin toned on me to make it work with everything.
As for the sizing: as some of you know, I’ve always found the Lady Dragon sizing to be a bit of a mystery. With the first few releases of this style, I found the shoes to run large, and always had to size down in order for them to fit. A couple of seasons ago, however, the sizing changed, and suddenly my “usual” Lady Dragon size (i.e one size down from my regular size in other brands) was too small. The size up, meanwhile, was just a little bit bigger than I would have liked it to be: it wasn’t big enough to stop me wearing the shoes I bought in that size, or to make them uncomfortable, but it wasn’t perfect, and that was enough to stop me buying any more… until now.
With this release, I’m happy to say that I think they’ve finally got it right. After a lot of deliberation, I ordered these shoes in my usual size 4, and the fit is perfect. AT LAST. That being the case, I couldn’t be happier with my new shoes: or rather, I COULD… but only if the weather would warm up enough to let me actually wear them!
River Island pink studded shoes

by Shoeperwoman
4
| High Heels, High Street Shoes, Pumps/Court Shoes, Shoe Deja Vu, Shoe Reviews, Shoeperwoman's Shoes
January 30, 2013

River Island pink studded shoes, £65
Although I’ve mentioned these shoes a few times here, and they’ve been on my Wish List ever since I first discovered them, back at the start of the year, I hadn’t actually intended to buy them just yet. The weather, you see, really hasn’t been conducive to the wearing of pale-coloured court shoes: in fact, I’ve been in either boots or wellies for all of January, and that doesn’t look set to change anytime soon. I really hate buying things and then not being able to wear them for weeks (or months, as the case may be), so I figured I’d maybe buy these sometime in Spring, once I was back to wearing “real” shoes again.
My plan, however, was foiled, as it always is, by that pesky habit things have of selling out so quickly that unless you buy them as soon as you see them, you have to resign yourself to a lengthy eBay hunt – or just doing without altogether. These arrived on the River Island website at the start of January, but when I checked last week, I noticed they’d already sold out in quite a few sizes. Uh-oh. My size was still available, so I decided to test my willpower and hold out a little longer. I managed it up until Saturday morning, when I checked again, and realised they were now sold out in EVERY size… except for mine.
Well, that was the kind of sign a Shoeperhero just can’t ignore, so I placed my order, and sure enough, by the next day the pink studded shoes had disappeared from the website altogether (The cream version is still available at the time of writing… but only in size 3), so I’m pretty sure I got the last pair on the website. I was very glad I did, too, because as I noted when I first came across these, they’re basically a high street version of Christian Louboutin’s studded Pigalle pumps:
I’ve loved these for a long time now, but at £735, I just can’t afford them. The £65 I paid for these River Island pink studded shoes sounded pretty reasonable in comparison, and while the workmanship just isn’t up to the same standard as Louboutin, they’ll be pretty decent understudy shoes for now, until such a time as I can afford the real thing!
These have leather uppers (The Louboutin shoe has a patent upper: these are matte leather) with matching pink studs, and a fairly manageable 11cm heel. I ordered my usual size 4 (Thankfully that was the only size left!) and they fit true to size, as is generally the case with River Island shoes. As I mentioned, the weather is preventing me wearing the shoes I want to wear right now, so I’ve yet to venture outdoors in these, but they feel pretty comfortable so far: I noticed a slight rubbing on the side of one foot when I walked around the house in them, but they’re real leather, so should soften up nicely.
These are currently sold out on the website, but my experience of River Island is that they tend to hold much lower levels of stock online than they do in store, and these are from the Spring 2013 collection, so there’s probably a decent chance of them being able to track a pair down for you if ask nicely!

Tagged christian louboutin, pigalle, pink shoes, river island, studded shoes