One of the must-have items of the season is, apparently, the good ol’ penny loafer. I’m all for that: school season is knocking on your neighborhood’s door, and even if you’re not in or around a school at the moment, you must feel the buzz of books and the studious energy in the air. No? It must be me, ahem; still, you are probably seeing a preview of collegiate fashions by now. And if you indulge one of my pet peeves for just a second: I for one would LOVE to see young women sporting an elegant, well-made penny loafer rather than a flip-flop way into November, as I often see, and which is just….wrong.

Penny loafers were named as such because they could be decorated with a penny (or often, a dime). I didn’t realize there was actually an urban legend behind this:

In 1934 John R. Bass (a bootmaker in Wilton, Maine) started making loafers and called them Weejuns (meant to sound like Norwegian). These had a strap across the upper part of the vamp that was shaped like a pair of lips (said to be John’s wife, Alice Bass, kissing each shoe on its way out the door). The mouth opening soon was used to hold an ornament (such as a penny), and thus penny loafers became a style. Penny loafers often held a dime instead of a penny. (From Wikipedia).

Edited: Correction: Allison in comments points out that it was actually George Henry Bass (and not John R.). Thanks, Allison, for pointing out again why Wikipedia can’t be entirely trusted!

In the days of yore, the penny loafer was a low-heeled shoe through and through, with a strong masculine vibe (it makes sense, since it started off as a men’s shoe). These days the penny loafer, just like the oxford, has gone through a high-fashion transformation, and the New York Times’ T Magazine is eager to present these options to us:

Clockwise from top: Christian Louboutin shoe, $1,050 a pair. Go to christianlouboutin.com. Yves Saint Laurent shoe, $770. Go to ysl.com. Tod’s shoe, $545. Go to tods.com. Nine West shoe, $99. Go to ninewest.com. Cole Haan shoe, $275, and Anna Sheffield for Cole Haan coin, $45. Go to colehaan.com.

This style is a classic that’s been around for decades and is bound to stay in style for a long time; in theory at least, you can’t go wrong wearing a pair of well-made penny loafers. I do admit to having misgivings about the 3+ inch height of the models shown in T Magazine; but again, I also have misgivings about models that look so masculine I have no desire to wear them. Therefore, I have also scoured teh interwebs for more pleasant AND easier on the feet loafer-options and found a few. Behold:

From top to bottom:

Marc by Marc Jacobs patent loafers (available in other colors, too), $264 at Zappos.

Marc by Marc Jacobs high-heeled loafers (2 & 3/4″, also available in other colors), $354 at Zappos.

Kate Spade Lindsay loafer (also available in other colors), $199 at Zappos.

Givenchy gold calf loafer, on sale for $204 at Zappos.

Tory Burch Clayton Loafer (also in red), $275 at Nordstrom.

Celine tasseled low-heeled brogue, $460 at Yoox.

MariaCristina low-heeled loafers, $178 at Yoox.

L’Autre Chose tasseled loafer, $68 at Yoox (only one size left!)

10 Comments »

As Natalie Portman put it on last week’s episode, Kenley’s like some 40s broad.  She styles herself well, although the jury’s still out for me on her designs and her personality.  But she does indeed work the 40s style, and with that in mind, I’m taking it upon myself to suggest a pair of pairs she might want to look into.  No, they’re not vintage 40s, but they’re certainly styled that way.

The first is the Cole Haan Camilla Air.  This one comes in 3 colors, but trust me, Kenley, this is the one you should go for.  It looks like it belongs on the foot of a Hollywood starlet back in the era of the Glamorous Silver Screen.  Get yourself a matching green alligator purse, and you’ll be the belle of any ball.

And for those special nights out (when you won’t have much walking to do), the YSL Tribute Pump in this spectatorlicious (sorry… channeling Blayne there for a minute) satin/patent combination in a black and seafoam color combo that says clean Lauren Bacall chic like nothing else.

Think about it, Kenley.  Lots of people work this style.  If you want to do it a cut better than the rest (and no, that’s not a Project Runway sewing pun), here’s the footwear to (literally) lift you up above the competition.

1 Comment »

We all know Gwyneth Paltrow has been tottering around in sky-high heels recently.  But more than that, she’s been opting for interesting, outside-the-box styles.  Whether or not I could wear her shoes (and I most definitely could NOT, except for those Zanotti gladiator sandals), I pretty much universally love them.

Well, last night she struck again at the launch of Estée Lauder’s new perfume at Bloomingdale’s in NYC.

Hilary Rhoda: basic black (though with that nice thick ankle strap that’s happening this season).  Elizabeth Hurley: basic black.  Carolyn Murphy: basic black.  Gwyneth Paltrow: yet another funky pair of YSLs.

Laces.  Bells.  Grommets.  I love them.

3 Comments »

I loved Elizabeth Banks in Scrubs as JD’s love interest/baby mama,  and in The 40-Year Old Virgin as Steve Carrel’s freaky sex-addicted love interest. She wasn’t all bad in Definitely Maybe, either; she’s a funny lady, and gorgeous to boot. She has a starring role in Meet Dave, which frankly looks horrendous (like any recent Eddie Murphy project), but at least gave her the opportunity to walk the red carpet in these mile-high YSL Tribute platform sandals in gold metallic crackled leather. Here’s a close-up:

I honestly can’t fathom how she walked in those, but she did look like a tall, bejeweled drink of cold water with the added height (over-sparkly, but fun).

You can buy the YSL Tribute platform sandal for $790 at the YSL website.

1 Comment »

As you may have already heard, Yves Saint Laurent died this weekend, at the age of 71. He was as big a name as it comes in fashion, and the New York Times article I linked to does a great job of summarizing his achievements. For fashionistas today, YSL is actually even more relevant than ever for at least two reasons. First, you may have noticed that swing coats and trapeze dresses are everywhere–well, they’re just a revival of YSL’s famous 1958 collection, which he introduced for Christian Dior when he was just 21. Second, YSL is the brand behind one of the most iconic shoes of today: the Tribute pump, with its sweetheart-shaped cleavage, bold platform, and vertiginous spindly heel (the one below is $660 on the designer’s website, www.ysl.com):

Like any iconic shoes, it has many variations, including this brogue-inspired suede version ($528 at Bluefly):

And recently, the company has introduced a summer version, the Tribute sandal, giving you the same height with more vent; the black and navy versions are $760 at Bergdorf Goodman, and the crackled gold version is $790 on the YSL website:

Farewell, Mr. YSL. You will surely be missed.

1 Comment »