B Brian Atwood ‘Loreto’ Suede Crystal Sandals

B Brian Atwood ‘Loreto’ Suede Crystal Sandals, £375

These shoes are a little more “vampy” than I normally like. I mean, if you’d just said to me, “V-shaped, crystal embellished strap”, I’d probably have cringed a bit as I imagined the kind of shoe you might see on one of the women in Dallas. The original Dallas, I mean. (Er, I’m referring to the TV show, by the way, not the American city. Just wanted to clarify that…)

Having seen the photo, though, I have quite different feelings about these, and I particularly like the pair on the right, which I initially thought was navy, but which Shopbop describe as “eggplant”. Now, I LOVE eggplant (the colour, I mean. Not the fruit. Although I also like the fruit. Is an eggplant a fruit or a vegetable? Could I possibly GET any more off-topic with this post?), and although it can be a tricky colour to wear sometimes, it’s worth the effort, because it has that lovely sumptuous, slightly decadent feel to it which I associate with the very best of winter footwear.

Colour aside, these have a sophisticated, t-bar shape and a slim heel, which in polished acrylic rather than suede: I really like this detail, because suede heels can be tough to keep looking pristine, so this one should be much more hard wearing. That said, that may not be an issue, because unless you have a much more glamorous lifestyle than I do (and actually, that wouldn’t be difficult, now I come to think of it), they’re probably not going to be the most worn shoes in your closet, are they?

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