Remember these? I bought a pair last summer, and I know a few of you did, too. Last week I got this email:
Hi Shoeperwoman!
A few weeks ago I found a pair of the Carvela Assemble shoes on Ebay (the blue version) and won them. The problem is, I have absolutely no idea what to wear with them! I know you have a pair too, but what do you wear with them? Any tips appreciated!
~ Marie
Now, I totally feel Marie’s pain on this one, because the fact is, I found these shoes much harder to style than I had expected to. Don’t get me wrong: I love the shoes. But the colour is very bright (brighter than it looks in the product shot), and although they fit perfectly, and I find them very comfortable, I feel like the colour somehow makes my feet look huge. That means I’ve worn these less than I’d like to, so I thought that by answering this question (or at least trying to!) and opening it up to my readers for advice, it might give me some ideas, too!
First of all, here’s a couple of ways I’ve worn these so far:
Carvela Assemble pumps with ASOS dress and white belt…
Carvela Assemble pumps with A|Wear peplum top and black capri pants
As you can see, with both of these outfits, I got really lucky and managed to find an item of clothing that exactly matched the shade of the shoes. (As you can ALSO see, I’m not one to shy away from the matchy-matchy look… ) Both the dress and top are from last year, so sold out now, but you could probably still track them down on eBay if you really wanted to. Alternatively, the second look would work just as well with a black, white or cream top: I liked this one because of the way it picked up, not just the colour, but also the bow.
Some other outfits I’ve been thinking of wearing with these:
I’ve mentioned this before, but if I’m REALLY stuck for something to wear with a particular pair of shoes, I’ll generally just go back to basics and throw on a pair of jeans. With this outfit, because the shoes are quite bright, I kept the rest of the look fairly neutral and classic, to let them stand out.
I know matching colours tends to draw a lot of criticism right now, but personally I’ve found the colour of these shoes quite tricky to successfully “clash” with other shades, so my preference with them is to stick to things that either match with the shoes, or allow them to stand out. This outfit is a combination of both: if the matchy-matchy thing really bothers you, you could easily switch the cardigan and belt for another colour: I think pastels like lemon or pink would work well, but if you’re brave enough to clash bolder shades successfully, go for it.
So! That’s how I’ve worn these shoes in the past, and how I’ll probably wear them in the future. As I mentioned above, though, I’m keen to hear how other readers would wear them, especially those of you who also own them.
Personally, I’m a fan of the matchy-matchy but if you’re not you could go for something in between.
For example, in the denim look you could switch the scarf out for a pattern that featured a little bit of the blue or wear the cardigan in yellow and the statement necklace in blue.
Coral tends not to be kind to us redheads but it usually works with aqua so that might be a bolder color to try.
I see nothing wrong with the matchy matchy. The first look with the dress is just lovely.
Anything tan or ‘natural linen’ is a good way to tone down their brightness. This could work for a sheath dress or even a capri pant suit
I found these quite tricky too, and tend to stick to the boring ‘jeans, black or white tee, statement purse or necklace’ combo. I’ve also found that they go well with most shades of blue and have successfully (in my mind at least!) paired them with both navy and cornflower frocks, and I think royal or electric blue would work well too. I think pastels also look lovely with them, and next month I plan on wearing them to a wedding with a white shift dress from Warehouse with a pretty lilac and pale blue floral print.
The dress sounds like it’ll be gorgeous with them! I must experiment with some different blues – loving the sound of them with cornflower!
I just picked these shoes up in the blue and the white from DSW. LOVE! Thanks for tipping me off to their existence. I intend to pair the turquoise ones with matching blues as you have.
I also tend to think they will pair beautifully with other bold, spring colors like yellow. I love wearing a solid, spring-colored dress on top with a spring color of a different hue on my feet.