I seem to have an inadvertent “red shoe” theme going on here today: sorry about that, but can you blame me when you look at these ‘Ghost’ peep toes from Topshop?
I absolutely adore these shoes: they’re the perfect shade of red suede, the frill detail at the front gives them a bit of a 40s feel (love that old-style glamour), and while I wouldn’t normally wear peep toes with tights, the fact that the frill falls so far over the toe convinces me that these would look equally good with a pair of black opaques as they would with a set of polished toenails peeking out of them. They’re also reasonably priced by Topshop’s standards at £60, and are also available in black. What more could you want?
Click here to buy them, but try to leave a pair of size 4s for me…
Zip-edged frills have become a fairly common sight in the footwear world, but Topshop have at least done something just a little bit different here, by adding them to a shoe with a 3″ heel, rather than a higher one (or a flat), as is more commonly the case. As I’ve said before, this kind of heel height, although comparatively high, can run the risk of looking slightly matronly, but I think the patent uppers and zip finish put paid to that idea, leaving you with a slightly lower heel that still looks up to date.
These shoes confuse me – mostly, I think, because the two stand-out elements of them are in such direct contrast to each other. The rope-tie at the heel looks like it belongs on a deck shoe, or some other kind of nautical style, and would be out of place on any black court, let alone one with a large ruffle on the back of it:
See? If it didn’t look so much like a shoelace, it might have worked. Might have. What do you think?
I think it’s the gloomy weather we’re currently experiencing here that keeps drawing me back to brightly coloured suede (or suede effect – these are synthetic) shoes at the moment. God knows they wouldn’t last long in the rain, but they do cheer me up, and although these Barratts sandals are a very simple shape, the frill effect around the heel helps dress them up a little, too.
As with most retailers at the moment, Barratts currently have their summer sale on, which means you can get these for just £25. They’re also available in black.
These may just be my favourite shoes of the week so far. Or of today, at least. I mean, let’s not get carried away here.
The word “frill” is normally a guarantee that I’ll be in too minds about the shoe it’s attached to, because too many frills spoil the broth shoe, as far as I’m concerned, but I think this one works beautifully – perhaps because I wouldn’t describe it so much as a “frill” as a “big flowery thing”. What a way I have with words, to be sure!
Anyway, in addition to the BFT, the white piping on these shoes also grabbed my attention: there’s something very sophisticated about it, and the overall look here is wonderfully dramatic, like the shoe equivalent of a film noir or something.
The uppers are suede, there’s a concealed platform to add a bit of height, and these are priced at £159. Get them at ASOS.
Remember the orange Matalan frill-fronted pumps I tried on a couple of weeks ago? Even although I know I’d have real problems styling them, and everyone I know would laugh at them (the town I live in isn’t exactly what you’d call “fashion forward”, to put it politely), I’ve been kinda regretting not buying them. Especially since Janine and Gemma got them.
I’m starting to think those shoes may not attract as many stares as I first thought, though, because frill-fronted footwear seems to be “the thing” at the moment, and just to prove it, here comes Topshop, with their ‘Passion’ frill sandals. These aren’t really “designer-inspired” in the same way that the Matalan shoes were: the Matalan ones were almost identical to the Christian Louboutin for Philip Lim ‘Dillian’ pumps , whereas these are only similar in that they have a ruffle on the front. They are a summery take on the look, though, and they come in blue, yellow and black, so if you like this look, you can buy them from Topshop, for £95.
These shoes confuse me – mostly, I think, because the two stand-out elements of them are in such direct contrast to each other. The rope-tie at the heel looks like it belongs on a deck shoe, or some other kind of nautical style, and would be out of place on any black court, let alone one with a large ruffle on the back of it:
These may just be my favourite shoes of the week so far. Or of today, at least. I mean, let’s not get carried away here.
