Pink Zara shoes, £29.99

Zara’s summer 2014 collection is shaping up to be pretty lethal to my bank balance. Lots of pretty new items arrived on the site last week, and amongst the new-in shoes, I found these little pink two-toned pumps.

Now, these are a little bit TOO pink even for me, containing not just one, but two different shades of the colour. If pink is your thing, though, you just might love these, and at just £29.99, they’re not too big an investment, either. I think the shape of these is really interesting: it’s kind of a slingback hooked around a regular heel, and as awkward as that sounds on paper, the reality is a nice twist on the classic pump. Without that detail, these would just be another pair of pink Zara shoes: with it, they’re something that might make you pause for a closer look as you swept past them en route to the changing rooms, your arms laden with clothes. Wait: that’s just me, isn’t it?

What to wear with pink Zara shoes?

As much as I like a bit of pink, I felt these shoes were SO pink they really didn’t need to be paired with any more of it, so I’ve gone for a slightly more muted outfit instead:

Pink Zara shoes with jeans and cocoon coat:

jeans // coat // bag // t-shirt

I’m really enjoying the current trend for lightweight coats: in previous years, it probably wouldn’t have occurred to me to reach for a coat during the summer (no matter how bad a summer it happened to be!), but they’re not only appropriate for the British weather, they’re also an easy an effective way to smarten up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, for a smart/casual look that becomes totally casual as soon as you kick off your heels.