Test your knock-off knowledge here.

See if you can identify the manufacturers of the following shoe styles.

I’ll give you a hint.   

They are not: Marc Jacobs, YSL, Dior, Prada/Miu Miu, Gucci or Givenchy.

Check your answers at the bottom of the page.:

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10.)

Answers Below:

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Each fashion season, it’s always fun for me to see what the designers do to that shoe part called the heel. Paris Fashion Week tends to bring out the most beautiful and sometimes the most outlandish heels of all the fashion shows and Paris Spring 2009 was no exception. Here’s a quick retrospective of the heels. Which were your favorite?

John Galliano swirly metallic platform shoe

Alexander McQueen amber heel and tornado heel

Miu Miu and the painted wedge with burlap sack bow heel

Lanvin bejeweled heel

Chanel duster heel

Stella McCartney clear chunky heel

Dior fertility goddess heels

YSL and the wireframe heels

My personal favorite was the YSL wireframe heel above.
Photos from Style.com

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Back in my college days, I would often have second thoughts about my chosen major, computer science & engineering. Although there was never a wait for the bathroom stalls of the engineering building due to the insanely high ratio of male:female in the engineering classes (it was only time in my entire life where the boys had a longer wait time than the girls), more often than not the classes and material weren’t interesting enough to me.

How I wish the professors would have taken a cue from the YSL Spring 2009 runway! In graphics, if I were given an assignment to create a 3-D wireframe of the YSL heels below, I surely would have excelled. In physics, if I were asked to measure the pressure and force exerted on the heel, I would have been a much more devoted student than I was.

School aside, I love the practicality of this shoe. In a season where shoes have been soaring to new heights, it’s downright refreshing to see shoes which dare I say, might actually be walkable? Chunky heels are often too bulky for my tastes, but the thin metal/ lattice work structured heels helped offset the thickness of the heel and help with balance. I’m also a fan of the cage fishnet on the vamp and around the ankle. Toes might accidentally get caught in the netting when putting on the shoe, but the waffle grid lines sure are neat

Images via Style.com

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Now that the Video Music Awards are over, let’s look at some shoe highlights.

First up, Britney Spears was the apparent darling of the evening; winning 3 awards as well as the approval of fashion critics with this sensational Versace gown and perfectly matching strappy heels. If anyone knows who made these lovely shoes, please let us know.

Jordan Sparks accessorized her flirty Betsey Johnson dress with black Sergio Rossi sandals. ($695 Net-a-porter.com)

I love Miley Cyrus’ whole look. This cute cocktail dress is perfectly matched by what appears to be the Michael Kors ‘Berkley’ gladiator sandal ($128.95 Nordstrom.com).

And what Red Carpet would be complete without a classic pair of Christian Louboutin Stilettos, worn here by Ciara? At a guess, these look to be at least a 120mm heel height. You can come very close to this look with the 110mm Decollette ($575 Net-a-porter.com).

These Yves Saint Laurent Tribute Platforms ($995 Saks.com) worn by Lindsay Lohan are fantastic. Unfortunately they may not be enough to save her in this strangely puckered dress.

I’m not really a fan of Heidi Montag’s off-the-shoulder shift-dress. However, these ankle boots look suspiciously like the Gucci Fall-Winter 2008 Babouska Studded Ankle Boots. A woven version is available online ($1195 Saks.com in black; $1295 pre-order in gold leather at Neimanmarcus.com)

Finally, I don’t hate Tara Conner’s black and white outfit, but it seems almost too conservative for the VMA. However, these Chloe Peep-toe Leather Shoe Boots ($387 Clearance at Net-a-Porter) are one fantastic and trendy set of kicks.

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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!)

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