Christian Louboutin Miss Benin Metallic Leather Knot Platform Pumps, £769.23
These shoes should be familiar to Louboutin lovers. Both the knotted front and super-high platform are features the designer comes back to again and again, and this time he’s put the two together in the shape of these ‘Miss Benin’ knot-front platform, in a gorgeous gold leather.
As with the Daffodile pumps, which I wrote about in last week’s Friday Fix, I think these are shoes that are even better in person than they look in these photos. A platform this size will always tend to have a bit of a clunky, heavy feel about it in a photo, and I’m always surprised when I pick these up and discover how lightweight they are. They look much more elegant in person, too, and that has a lot to do with the narrow toe:
When it comes to platforms, I’ve always preferred pointed toes to rounded ones: I think the pointed shape is essential in preventing the shoe from looking too clumsy, and in this case it also helps to draw attention to the knotted front. (And, of course, to your fabulously painted toenails, which are also something of an essential in open-toed shoes, I think….)
These shoes have a 6.5″ heel with a 2.25″ covered platform, which Saks Fifth Avenue points out, will feel like walking on a 4.25″ heel. Got that? In other words, these look high enough to make you light-headed, but should actually be pretty easy to walk in: ah, the joys of the platform soled shoe!
I’ve mentioned before that I think gold is the perfect colour for an evening shoe: unlike that other popular choice, black, it really DOES go with everything, and it also adds a touch of glamour, which is never a bad thing.
They are simply beautiful.