Aaargh! It’s a pair of nude peep toes! That means I’m going to want to buy them, doesn’t it?
And, indeed, the answer to that question turns out to be “yes” – as soon as I laid eyes on the sweetheart shape of the toe, I was sold. Or rather, they were sold. (Well, not yet, because apart from anything else, Sod’s Law has been at work here, and they’re sold out in my size, and ONLY in my size. Clearly the shoe gods don’t want me to have them, which is probably a good thing, because neither does Shoeperman, or my bank manager.)
The fact that they only cost £40 is another point in their favour, as is the fact that they also come in black. I have a feeling the photograph hasn’t done them justice here – I tend to find that Miss Selfridge shoes look better in real life – so I’d probably want to check them out in person before taking the plunge.
I think we need a special name for all of these very ornate heels shoe designers seem keen to foist upon us at the moment. I think I’ll call them “Candlestick Heels”, because that’s what they most often remind me off. The ones on Dune’s ‘Glory’ peep toes, for instance, wouldn’t look out of place on an old fashioned candelabra. I think this is why this particular style never really looks like it belongs on someone’s foot to me. There’s just something about this look that seems to be trying too hard for my tastes: it’s just a bit fussy, isn’t it?
These come in black and nude, and also feature one of those strange little peep toes, as seen on shoes by Louboutin and McQueen, among others. What do you think of the Candlestick heels and tiny peep toes, everyone? If you love them, these are part of Dune’s Black Sand range, and are £220(!).
When The Fashion Police wrote about these shoes last year, they received a really mixed response. Some people absolutely loved them, while others thought there was just WAY too much bling n’ bow for one shoe. The controversy was mostly caused by this:
It’s one hell of a heel, isn’t it? And I can totally understand why it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste: it’s just so over-the-top that it’d be suitable for only the dressiest of occasions. If you have such an occasion to attend, though, I think this would be a show-stopper of a shoe, and the nude version could make a nice bridal shoe, too.
The two colours shown here are £625 from Aruna Seth, however there’s also a black snakeskin version which is even more expensive at £725. View them all at the Aruna Seth website.
Shoeperwoman reader Mousy actually sent me a link to these D&G shoes a while ago, but I’m only now getting around to posting them, which just goes to show how organised I am.
I can totally see why Mousy liked these, though: of course the nude uppers and the bow would naturally appeal to me, too, although I think I’d probably prefer a finish other than lace. Still, a great shoe for a special occasion: they have a kind of decadent feel to them which makes me think of lingerie for some reason. That’s probably just me.
If you love these too, they’re by D&G, and will cost you £350 from here.
We spoke briefly about the phenomenon of footwear-with-faces yesterday, in the shape of Marc Jacobs’ mouse pumps, but what if the face in question belongs to a human, rather than to an animal?
That’s the idea behind these ‘Victoria’ pumps from Topshop, which, as you can see, are fluttering their eyelashes and pouting their lips at us as I write this. These also come with a string of pearls which act as an ankle strap, and actually, this is the part of these shoes I object to most: I really hate pearls on shoes, and think they never fail to cheapen the look, so these would never have been to my taste, even without the face.
Are they to yours, though? If they are, they’re £20, and you can buy them at Topshop.
These check all the right boxes for a great “wear every day” shoe for me: the colour is the most obvious Shoeperwoman selling point of course, but I also like the almond toes (my favourite toe shape!) and the small platform, which will add height, but not too much of it. What I really like about these, though, is the combination of nude and black, which gives these a very sophisticated feel to them. Sadly, they’re not part of the Pied a Terre sale, but if you like them, you can buy them for £120.
Shoeperwoman reader Moira asked me to feature these shoes here, and I’m happy to oblige, because although they’re not exactly the most exciting shoes you’ll ever see, they’re more-or-less the perfect plain peep toes: the kind of shoes you’ll wear with absolutely everything, until they fall apart on your feet and you have to spend weeks on end hunting down a new pair.
Shoes like this are the mainstay of my wardrobe, and, as I said work with just about everything. That would be particularly true of the nude versions, which, sadly, are now only available in a UK 8, but you’d get a lot of use of the black and coral too, and there are more sizes available in those colours.
I have something of a love/hate relationship with Martin Margiela. I can generally be relied upon to hate any clothes he happens to have designed, but when it comes to the shoes, it’s a different story altogether, and I quite often find myself loving them. I think this is why I’m addicted to shoes above any other fashion item: it’s just that little bit easier to get away with a pair of outrageous shoes than an outrageous piece of clothing.
My relationship with transparent heels, however, is much less complex: I hate them. They almost always cheapen the look of the shoe for me, and they all too often just end up looking like stripper shoes.
Not these ones, though. No, I think I just might love these. Making the transparent heel a wedge was Margiela’s masterstroke here, because these look neither cheap nor stripper-esque, and instead have ended up looking like something you might want to put on display in your house, never mind wearing them on your feet. The nude uppers, meanwhile, combined with the transparent heels, will give these a “barely there” look when they’re on, making you look like you’re walking on air.
A tentative thumbs-up from me, then, although I’m not sure I’d actually wear them for all that. What about you?
I think we need a special name for all of these very ornate heels shoe designers seem keen to foist upon us at the moment. I think I’ll call them “Candlestick Heels”, because that’s what they most often remind me off. The ones on Dune’s ‘Glory’ peep toes, for instance, wouldn’t look out of place on an old fashioned candelabra. I think this is why this particular style never really looks like it belongs on someone’s foot to me. There’s just something about this look that seems to be trying too hard for my tastes: it’s just a bit fussy, isn’t it?
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Shoeperwoman reader Mousy actually sent me a link to these 
We spoke briefly about the phenomenon of footwear-with-faces yesterday, in the shape of Marc Jacobs’ mouse pumps, but what if the face in question belongs to a human, rather than to an animal?
Shoeperwoman reader Moira asked me to feature these shoes here, and I’m happy to oblige, because although they’re not exactly the most exciting shoes you’ll ever see, they’re more-or-less the perfect plain peep toes: the kind of shoes you’ll wear with absolutely everything, until they fall apart on your feet and you have to spend weeks on end hunting down a new pair.
I have something of a love/hate relationship with Martin Margiela. I can generally be relied upon to hate any clothes he happens to have designed, but when it comes to the shoes, it’s a different story altogether, and I quite often find myself loving them. I think this is why I’m addicted to shoes above any other fashion item: it’s just that little bit easier to get away with a pair of outrageous shoes than an outrageous piece of clothing.