Matalan are far from the only brand to have offered up their take on Chloe’s leather lace-up wedge boots from last season, but theirs are one of the cheapest versions I’ve found so far, at just £24.
Of course, the Matalan boot is canvas, not leather, and they’ve used a different colour scheme in order to avoid looking too much like the originals, but the inspiration is still pretty evident. These boots aren’t a style I’d normally go for, and I’d never have paid £480 for them, but I must admit, I could have been tempted by the £24 version, which look like they could make a comfortable, casual alternative to heels for Autumn, IF they hadn’t been in a cream canvas, which would remain cream for, ooh, probably about five seconds at most, if I tried to wear them during a typical British Autumn. Or even summer.
If you’d like to give them a try, however, they’re available here.
These are far from being the most interesting shoes Matalan have ever come up with (I think the orange ruffle platforms win that title, and I’m still kicking myself for not buying them when I had the chance!), but the combination of the colour and shape means they could just be one of the more useful: I can imagine wearing these with everything from summery dresses to pencil skirts and jeans. They’re super-affordable too, at just £12, and they’re also available in black. Get them here.
As the last couple of Ruby Shoesdays and Shoe Challenge posts prove, I have more than my fair share of Matalan shoes: there’s a huge store near us, and I’m often lured in by the promise of a new pair of shoes that I won’t have to take out a bank loan to afford. Or I used to be. Sadly, the last few shoe collections have left me feeling uninspired, and these purple satin peep toes are one of only a couple of designs that have attracted my attention recently.
These are only £12, but the colour is gorgeous, and the style classic: slip these on with a cute dress or a well-cut pair of jeans, and no one need ever know they cost just a fraction of the price of their designer brothers and sisters. Unless, of course, they happen to be Shoeperwoman readers, in which case the cat’s out of the proverbial…
What: Red polka dot peep toes, Matalan When: Tuesday, April 27 Where: Mostly running around trying to get my car fixed With: Top (eBay); cropped trousers (Dorothy Perkins)
Why, yes, I DO seem to have a lot of red shoes from Matalan, don’t I?
Just a very quick Ruby Shoesday post today, because I’ve spent most of the day driving around to different garages: today was the dreaded MOT day (For the benefit of non-UK readers, this is the annual inspection all cars must have in order to be legal to drive), and of course my beloved old banger failed, which meant we had to find another garage who can do the repairs it needs to pass the test. So, a fun Tuesday, basically, and I’m guessing probably an expensive one, too. I don’t have the quote yet for repairs, but don’t car parts ALWAYS seem to cost the earth? Sigh.
Anyway, because of all of these fun times, I’m now really behind with work and only had time to snap a couple of quick pictures. I think of these as my Minnie Mouse shoes. And yes, they have polka dots on them. OF COURSE they do!
p.s. Can you believe this top was advertised as a DRESS? I mean, I’m only 5″3, but the fact I can tuck it into my trousers without any excess fabric to worry about speaks volumes!
What: Pewter Mary Janes, Matalan When: Sunday, April 25th, 2010 Where: Nowhere yet! With: Spotty dress, Primark (gifted)
So, I have about eleventy-one polka dot dresses. Seriously, I could probably start my own spotty dress shop, if I really wanted to. Last weekend? I bought a spotty dress. A few weeks before that? Spotty dress. It’s a problem. This dress is one I actually DIDN’T buy, though: it was a gift from my parents, and it was much too big for me originally, so my clever mother has been busy altering it for me. (Sadly for me, I inherited precisely NONE of her dressmaking skills…) It was finally finished yesterday, so of course I just had to wear it as soon as was humanly possibly: luckily the weather was warm today (dress wearin’ weather, basically), so I wore it with these pewter Mary Janes, which I got from Matalan, ooh, about two years ago now.
Next up: Shoeperwoman’s Spotty Dress Challenge. In which I wear spotty dresses every day for the next three years…
What: Red canvas slingbacks (Matalan) When: Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 Where: Nowhere in particular With: Criminal Damage sailor dress
I feel like I’m cheating a bit with this week’s Ruby Shoesday because I’ve worn this outfit before here, but I woke up this morning with a sore throat and the beginnings of a cold, so it was either go with something tried and tested or go with, er, my dressing gown, which is what I secretly wanted to wear.
Anyone else doing Ruby Shoesday today? What are you wearing?
What: Blue canvas Matalan flats When: Sunday, April 11 2010 Where: Seacliff beach, East Lothian With: jeans (River Island), sweater (Topshop), jacket (New Look), sunglasses (Gucci), bag (Accessorize)
It’s my mum’s birthday tomorrow, but we’ll all be at work unfortunately, so we celebrated today with champagne and chocolate cake on our favourite Scottish beach. The weather was beautifully sunny and Spring-like, but it was actually much chillier than it looks, so I was glad I decided NOT to go with the skirt and tank top I’d originally put on, and stuck to jeans and a sweater! We did a fair bit of clambering about over rocks, so flat shoes were the order of the day too.
I’m so happy that the warmer weather has arrived (I can’t belive it was still snowing just a couple of weeks ago!), but I’m starting to panic a little about the Shoe Challenge: I finally packed away my winter clothes and got out my summer ones on Friday, and I was seriously alarmed by the number of summery shoes I have, and just a few short weeks to wear them in! (And actually less when you consider that I’ll be on holiday for three of those weeks, and will only be able to take a capsule shoe wardrobe with me!). Looks like I’ll be wearing a lot of sandals and peep toes over the next few months!
More photos under the jump, and even more over at my personal blog, if you’re particularly interested…
These shoes also come in a reddish-pink colour, but for some reason that option doesn’t seem to be available on the Matalan website at the moment, which is a shame, because I think it’s prettier than this grey version.
I must admit, I haven’t been particularly impressed with Matalan’s shoe offerings over the past few months. I can normally find at least a couple of styles I like in there, but having visited the store and looked at the website, these are the first style of the year to grab my attention, so I’m hoping they have something spectacular planned for the summer! For now, though, these are certainly something of a bargain at £18: grab yourself a pair here.
