Red Valentino pumps, £306
I love big embellishments and I cannot lie. When I wrote about the flat version of this shoe back in March, however, I mentioned that the big embellishment in question looked more like a towel turban to me than the rose it’s actually supposed to resemble. Well, “towel turban” isn’t the first thing I thought of this time, and I do think the rose looks better on a heel than on a loafer, but I have to admit, I’m still not convinced. When I first found these, I instinctively wanted to pick them up and coo over them, and I definitely knew I’d have to show you them: I just wasn’t sure whether I’d actually WEAR them, and I’m still not.
On the plus side, these are the kind of shoes that are destined to steal every show (Whether for good reasons or bad ones), and they have a kind of dark, almost gothic glamour to them, which appeals to me. For that reason, I think they work much better as a winter shoe than as a spring one: there’s something very wintry about them, and they also have that luxurious feel that always comes with velvet.
I think I’d have to see these on a foot to come to a definitive decision about them. For now, I love the IDEA of them, but wonder if the size of the rose might tip them over the edge and into “novelty shoe” territory if I actually tried to wear them.
What do you think of these?
I’m down with turbans. They are fabulous. And I’m down with this shoe too.
They are very special – I think I like them very much. I’m guessing they look much better on a foot.
Novelty shoe. Just unbalanced. Like a velvet roll perched on your foot.