SS12 Shoe Trend Alert: Ankle Straps

The trend alerts continue, and they’re comin’ on strong.

We’ve covered some of the patterns already, but if I had to predict one thing that’ll show up most come next spring, it’s not white or buckles or shiny shiny gold (though here are drive-by pics to show that Zac Posen has also jumped on the C3PO train, as has Thakoon… love those gilded toe caps!).

It’s ankle straps.

Yep.  Some are thin, like these Zac Posen’s or the Derek Lam ones I posted about earlier.  But mostly, we’re getting thick ankle straps that fasten in all kinds of interesting ways.

There are zips, like at the Custo Barcelona show:

There are ties, like these at the Timo Weiland show:

And, of course, there are buckles (buckles!), like that last Timo Weiland shoe above, like the ones at Christian Siriano a few days ago or like the show to which I will dedicate the rest of this post, because the shoes were gorgeous and spring-like and made me want to get all flirty in the sunshine: DKNY.  So feast your eyes on these pretty pretty puppies, and let the Fashion Week shoe parade march on.

SS12 Fashion Week Footwear: Spats at Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham’s show was full of clothes that look like Posh herself could show up wearing them somewhere, which I suppose is the mark of a successful celebrity designer.  Her clothes are exactly what you’d buy if you wanted to dress like La Beckham… and weighed approximately 90 pounds.

I’m not hugely blown away by the clothes (though they’re relatively wearable–I’d take that dress on the left pretty quick), but I LOVE her massive use of spats!

The majority of her outfits were accompanied by this often overlooked shoe accessory.  There were over-the-knee spats and snakeskin spats and zip-back spats and more.  Here are a few shots.

Now if only spats could show up in stores come Spring 2012.  I’ll keep my fingers (or, I guess, more properly, my toes) crossed for it.

Spring 2012 Shoe Trends: Buckles and Gold

The shoes keep on strutting down the runways, and we’re starting to see some recurring patterns that are making me happy.  If Spring 2012 brings these to bear fruit, we shall all be well-shod little ponies, friends.

Buckles, Buckles, BUCKLES

The models at the Christian Siriano (left), Duro Olowu (center), and Band of Outsiders (right) shows trotted out pretty pretty shoes that combine texture and color and material beautifully.  And WITH BUCKLES!!  I love me a shoe with buckles in lots of places.

Shiny Shiny Gold

Some designers are deploying this trend sparingly, like at the Erin Fetherston show (left), and some are going full-on Midas, like Cynthia Rowley (center).  And there there’s Jill Stuart (right), who’s doing some of both (note the mixing of pastels and gold on the front model’s shoe and the more prominent gold on the retreating model).

Not only do I love me some buckles, but I also never outgrew the little girl lust for SHINY, so the gold trend will also probably be gracing my shoe collection come next spring/summer.

Ask the Shoeblogger: Who made Kate Middleton’s Black Patent Espadrille?

We’ve been getting a few inquiries wondering who the designer of Kate Middleton’s (or should I say the Duchess of Cambridge’s) wedding rehearsal (left) and post wedding (right) shoes is.

Answer:  The shoes are by London apparel company L.K. Bennett and are named the “Greta” wedges.  While we couldn’t find the exact pair available on sale yet,you can purchase the L.K. Bennett all patent wedge on JohnLewis.com for £150.  Lanvin also makes a beautiful pair of patent black espadrilles with a dark brown wedge for $550 at Nordies.

On a side note, can I say how refreshing it is that Kate has such sensible but stylish tastes?  Kate could go all out designer and here she is wearing the same pair of sub $350 shoes during the same week – and during her wedding week no less!   Also, I love her blue Zara dress and wish we had a Zara store here so I could run out and purchase one for myself.

Source:  TooFab.com and WireImage.com

Kate Middleton’s Wedding Shoes

Now that we are done swooning over Kate Middleton’s stunning Alexander McQueen wedding dress, let’s envision what elegant wedding shoes Kate wore down the aisle. As TrainingHeels previously reported, Kate was shod in custom-made shoes by Alexander McQueen.  The lace pattern (not shown but similiar to the above Alexander McQueen shoes) matched the lace on the wedding dress and was hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.  It is said that, to make the lace, workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine with the needles being renewed every three hours to keep them sharp and clean.  Wow!

You can purchase shoes similar to Kate’s pair on Net-a-Porter.  These lace-covered nude pumps by Alexander McQueen are 4 ½-inches high and retail for $995.

Update:  Kate’s wedding ensemble is now on display at state rooms of Buckingham Palace through October 3, 2011.  Although we didn’t get a good shot of Kate’s shoes during the wedding, you can now full the lacey McQueen shoes (below) in full detail for the first time.  Apparently, they are around a size 7.5-8.