DSquared flower-front leather sandals, £1045

I  know it’s the focal point of the entire shoe – and probably the main reason for this shoes’ existence – but I really wish DSquared had resisted the addition of the blue flower embellishment on the t-bar of these sandals. I mean, the shoe underneath is truly stunning: I love that structural wooden heel, which is just the right side of “stylised”, and I also love the tan leather, which is one of the ingredients for the perfect summer sandal, as far as I’m concerned. The flowers, however… well, I like the IDEA of the flowers, and I also like the colour, but while I might have loved the results on some other shoe, I feel they cheapen this particular one just a little. And the last word you want to be able to associate with your new, £1045 sandals is the word “cheap”, right?

How would you wear shoes like this, anyway? Well, here’s Louisa Via Roma’s styling suggestion:

Now, there’s absolutely no way in hell I’d be able to pull this off: in fact, I’m going to make myself sound really old here by asking how on earth you’d even be able to sit down in a dress that short? And is that a flower-pot on her head?

(I’m joking: I actually kind of love the hat, I just know I wouldn’t ever be able to wear it without feeling like a friend of one of the Flowerpot Men…)

The good news, however, is that I like the shoes much better on a foot than I did in the product shot: in fact, I’m starting to see the appeal of those blue/turquoise flowers now, so here’s an outfit I’d feel a bit more comfortable in:

What to wear with DSquared’s floral sandals:

dress // bag // sunglasses // watch // ring // lipgloss

I wasn’t keen on the very bright yellow used in the Louisa Via Roma look, but I DID like the idea of using yellow with these shoes, so Warehouse’s pannelled broderie lace dress offers a slightly safer option, and would look lovely on a spring or summer day.