I always feel like I should go on some kind of glitter diet in January: after all the sparkliness of the festive season, I really start to crave the simplest of styles, from clothes to shoes: in fact, I’m writing this wearing an old pair of ballet flats and some plain capri pants and I do not care. In fact, I’m rather enjoying it.
Still, I couldn’t let these shoes go unrecorded, glitter-diet or not. River Island have been bringing out quite a few designer-inspired pieces recently, and all of these shoes reminded me of Miu Miu’s most recent collection, with their curved or flared heels and their suede/glitter uppers.
I’ve found my tolerance of glitter shoes has been considerably higher following my Ted Baker Keanah2 purchase, and I actually quite like all of these. I’ve no idea how I’d actually wear all of them, of course, but hey, it could be an interesting challenge, don’t you think?
(And yes, I’d ever give the glitter ankle boots a go. Well, why not?)
Well, it doesn’t get much more festive than this does it?
(And yes, I know I’ve shown you Schuh’s ‘Pretty Glitter’ pumps before, but seriously, how could I possibly resist featuring these the week before Christmas? My shoeper-powers just aren’t that strong!)
These are £65: click here to buy them from Schuh. What, you want another photo of them? Oh, go on then…
As I scrolled through New Look’s shoe section this morning, these shoes really stood out. Not because they’re covered in glitter, I hasten to add: it certainly used to be the case that a glitter-covered shoe would have a certain amount of novelty value, but these days – and particularly at this time of year – it’s more unusual to find a shoe that’s NOT coated in the sparkly stuff, seriously.
No, the reason these shoes stood out was because of:
a) The height of the heel. It’s so rare for me to find a mid-height heel that I like, that every time I DO find one, I have to immediately show you it. The fact that I hardly ever feature mid-height heels here tells you everything you need to know about how often I find ones I like.
b) The little “curl” detail on the toe:
It’s cute. It’s different. It makes the shoes look like they’ve just arrived on a time machine from the 17th century or something. (Note: not a shoe historian, no idea which century this kind of style would actually have been worn in, if any. And obviously they wouldn’t have covered their shoes in glitter back then. But you know what I mean, because you are clever.)
Overall, these were a refreshing change, and they’re a reasonably refreshing price, too, at £54.99. Click here to buy them from New Look, who also stock them in red and blue. (I’d have shown you those, too, but the site crashed while I was writing this, so you’ll have to see for yourself, I’m afraid!)
OK, so I have to admit that I’m still a little confused as to the usefulness of glitter-encrusted boots. I suspect the problems stems from the fact that I’ve never really seen boots as “dress” shoes: I’d reach for a pair of fancy shoes long before I’d go for even the sparkliest of boots, but I guess that’s just me: there are definitely enough examples of this style around right now to convince me that I’m in the minority, and that this year’s party season will be full of beautiful boots. What do you think?
Topshop’s ‘Amethyst’ boots are the latest incarnation of the style, and the streamlined shape makes me more likely to wear these than some of their chunkier sisters. The multi-glitter upper also helps, because the dark colour is a little more subtle than some we’ve seen, although I don’t think “subtle” is a word you can really apply to glittery boots, do you?
These are £70 at Topshop: click here to buy a pair.
I know, right? I’ve shown you a fair few pairs of glitter covered shoes in my time, but these ones by Alice + Olivia still made me sit up and take notice, and it’s all because of that square toe. OK, it’s actually because of quite a few things. Like the glitter, for instance. And the bow. The jewel-encrusted bow. I mean, they’re not really the kind of shoes you’d just ignore, are they?
The toe is still the thing that sets them apart for me, though: square toes are relatively unusual, and I have to admit that they’re my least favourite of all of the toe shapes around, so while I appreciate the fact that Alice + Olivia have tried something different here, I’d still like it a whole lot more if these had an almond shape, say.
Still, they DID make me look, I have to give them that:
Like them? They’re $275: click here to buy them at Shopbop.
I’m starting to see an awful lot of glitter shoes appearing on my favourite websites lately. I have a horrible feeling this heralds the start of the Christmas party season, and that within a couple of weeks I’ll be drowning in a sea of press releases about Christmas gift guides and how to find the perfect party dress. Yes, I know it’s not even September yet, but trust me: it gets earlier every year, to the point where we’ll soon be being urged to start thinking about Christmas on December 26th.
Anyway, I’m not happy about the gift guides, and the tinsel, and the carols I’ll soon be hearing in stores, but I reckon I can handle the shoes. New Look actually released a non-glitter version of this style last year, which seemed to sell pretty well, so they’re presumably hoping the glitter look will do even better. I like the contras tof the silver and blue version, but I actually think the slightly more subtle black is even nicer.
What do you think?
These are £24.99 and you can click here to buy them at New Look.
Diane is wearing the Crisscross Glitter Ankle boots, in black on silver. I was only able to find the reverse of that combination at Saks Fifth Avenue, but these are pre-order, so I’m sure the silver pair will be available soon.
For me, these fall very much into the category of Boots Pretending to Be Shoes, as the effect is of a silver (or black) sandal worn with black (or silver) hosiery. I think Diane Kruger is one of those women who can wear absolutely anything and still look fantastic in it, though, so I like them on her much more than I liked them in the product shots.
Miu Miu is a brand I’ve always associated with amazing, glitter-covered shoes, but these ones stand out even for them: in fact, the glitter almost pales into insignificance next to that curved heel!
There are a few different variations of this style available as part of the Fall 2011 collection, and for some reason, none of them look quite “real” to me: I think the combination of the heel shape and high vamp makes them look almost like sculptures or toys, and the shoe on the right of the image also reminds me very much of shoes from a couple of centuries ago, which I’ve occasionally seen on display in museums and suchlike. (Minus the glitter, obviously.)
Like the heel, but prefer an ankle boot? Don’t worry, Miu Miu can help you out with that, too:
So there’s a curve-heeled Miu Miu for every occasion, basically. Or for every occassion tha requires you to wear glitter on your feet, anyway.
What do you think of them, though?
All of these styles are available at Saks: click here to take a look.
