SS12 Fashion Week Footwear: Vive la France!

I always love that Paris Fashion Week comes last, because its style is my overall favorite.  I’m always likely to covet more shoes from the Paris runways than New York, London, or Milan.  This year is no exception.  I’m loving what we’ve seen from Gay Paree.

Balmain showed us glamorously embellished boots with heels and patent leathers and filigree swirls that make me swoon.

Viktor & Rolf gave us typically playful and over-the-top mules and sandals that made good use of the SS12 transparency trend.

Sonia Rykiel offered up charmingly wearable simple silhouettes with fun lacing details (and by the way, I’m proud of how closely those last flat ones match the “Pocahontas” Louboutins I scored some years back).

On that note, Jean-Paul Gaultier showed a similar silhouette with this sporty white number.

I give that one a big and central visual shout-out, because much as I like to ogle the awesome heels shown on the runways, I do so love seeing shoes that actually look like I could wear them in style and comfort on a daily basis.

However, I refuse to ignore the gorgeousness (and simultaneous unwearable-unless-one-is-Lady-Gaga-or-Victoria-Beckham-ness) of the rest of the JPG footwear.  Behold the pretty!

But wait! Despite the indisputable beauty (go on, I dare you to dispute the beauty of those JPG booties!) seen above, I have saved my favorite Parisian shoes for last.  And that collection comes from Balenciaga.

Would that I were in a cleverer frame of mind,  I would write odes to these shoes and their squared off toes and their little heel nubbins and their simple primary color palette and their architectural style.  If you love these shoes like I do and are feeling more eloquent than me, please oh please OH PLEASE, feel free to share your own odes in the comments to this post.  I’m so tempted to promise away my first born for those red ones on the left.

Spring 2012 Fashion Week Footwear: More Updates from the Runways

Of the most recent crop of runway shoes out there, I was smitten by… wait, no.  I’ll save the smitten-making shoes til the end.  What I’ll start with instead is another trend I’ve been seeing a fair bit of: transparency.

Like these from three from Marchesa.  The collection was floaty and ethereal and romantic, and the transparent shoes matched that with some gorgeous graceful lines.

Oscar de la Renta also showed us some transparent shoes, though in that show there was quite a bit of playing with colors and socks underneath to make the transparency show up very differently (god, I just typed that “shoe up very differently” at first… guess what I’ve been thinking about this week).  I dig the oxford inspiration and the buckles and the ankle straps… but you’re probably getting tired of me mentioning those things this week.

The next triad here is three shoes from three shows that I loved.  Left to right we have Narciso Rodriguez’s take on a super high class Ace bandage, Sophie Theallet’s spectator-inspired pump that looks like murder to wear but is so damn adorable (plus double buckles!), and one more by Oscar de la Renta that was a mule so beautifully embellished and so reminiscent of something Marie-Antoinette might have slipped on that I couldn’t pass it up.

But the shoes that had me smitten (you’ve been patient until now, after all) were the shoes that out Lepore’d Nanette Lepore for quirky feminine… Tory Burch.  I was hella surprised, I must admit, because usually I find Tory Burch shoes insipid and ubiquitous, and Nanette Lepore usually does the quirky feminine to a T.  But first, look at the Nanette Lepore offering, of which I only present one to save your retinas some serious searing.

You can click on that image and enlarge it, but you might want to put some sunglasses on first.

OK, back with me?  Sunspots cleared from your vision?  Well if you want to cool things down a little, then check out the adorableness (and look! some low heels!) of Tory Burch’s offerings and coo in delight that these may be coming to a store near you in a matter of months.

Beverly Feldman’s Embroidered Curacao Wedge Slides

Wedges seem to be quite  popular this year – particularly when they are playing with bright colors, interesting silhouettes, or attention-grabbing embellishments.

Well, when I tripped across these embroidered Beverly Feldman slides on a recent  inter-web window-shopping  jaunt, I just knew that I would be sharing them with you.

Beverly Feldman ‘Curacao’ $179 at Zappos.com

These are cute, summery, and feminine. Made in a combination of earthy khaki and beige toned linen,  these are topped off with  a delicate, pastel-floral embroidery on both the upper band and the heel.  I like them as a dressier, yet still casual, alternative to the ever-popular rope espadrilles that we see each summer.

And then, of course, there’s that whole soft spot I have for floral details – Oh, and that other soft spot for embroidered details. So, it’s not that much of a stretch to find that I would like these more than just a bit. However, the best part is that at a price under $200, while these are not cheap, they are much more budget-friendly than so many of the premium designer wedges we have already seen this season – Yet they are still unique enough that they will turn heads.

(Depending on your monitor, the khaki-green color may look more accurate  in the  product video below.) (more…)

Basia Zarzycka’s Exquisite Tudor Rose Mules

Please say ‘Hello’ to my newest shoe crush:

Basia Zarzycka Tudor Rose Mulles S003 £1695

“Intricate branches of snakeskin laurel leaves and berries meeting in the centre with a large petaled rose adorned with Swarovski jet stamens, embellish the uppers of this signature Dolphin Toe Mule supported on Daphne Jones medium heels and they are fully lined with silver foiled leather. Other features include, one central seam on the centre front and a small lip to hold the wearers in place when walking. Would also be fantastic just for display purposes.    Size 7. One of a Kind. ” (Via product description)

Handmade decadent loveliness, oh my!

Sadly, while these are effectively my size (I usually opt up to a 7.5 for extra toe wiggles, but I’d be willing to sacrifice that for these), they are not remotely in either my current budget or my overall-shoe-spending comfort-zone.

Therefore, this must end as yet another case of  unrequited shoe-love.  These will, however, be mentally added to my ever-expanding imagination’s dream closet.

Related article with more dreamy Basia Zarsycka shoes.

Camilla Skovgaard Sandals

I am still on the fence in regard to Camilla Skovgaard’s shoes.

Do I like them? I just can’t quite seem to make up my mind.

They were certainly an original take on the past several season’s ‘everything gladiator’ sandals trend; original enough to have caused copyists to sit up and take notice.

But, I have just not fallen into even a single, mini, lust-filled frenzy for any of the Skovgaard designs thus far encountered. Of course, I never really got on board with the whole gladiator sandal trend in spite of its – to me – unfathomable popularity and longevity. So, I may just be having a core personality mis-match with this designer’s recent offerings.

And, while these are not my current, personal style, I freely admit that the distinctive, jagged soles on these are nicely eye-catching.

A few current styles:

Camilla Skovgaard Pebbled Leather Mules $450 at Saks.com

Mules are so incredibly not a personal favorite of mine.  But man, are we seeing a lot of them this year!

Camilla Skovgaard Collar Sandals $545 at Saks.com.

Yes, this is a nice, modern shoe in a versatile nude. And the whole wide, bondage-inspired ankle strap is always a little bit sexy on a shoe. I’m just not in love with the whole package. Again, it’s a personal taste and style issue on my part.

Camilla Skovgaard Suede Cutout Sandals $480 at Saks.com.

Once again, these are nice enough for a hybrid boot-sandal type of thing. And I do love the grey suede (Does anybody else remember pre-internet just how rare it was to find a gorgeous, grey, suede shoe of any style?).  Anyway, I just don’t have the mad shoe-love going on for these.

All personal opinion aside, originality and a recognizable artistic voice is always nice to find in modern shoe design. Camilla Skovgaard definitely has that whole artistic vision thing down pat.  I can easily imagine that several of our readers will find these to be right down their fashion alley.

And that’s as it should be. After all, how dull would it be for  us to all be wearing the same things?

Who knows, maybe the perfect Skovgaard for me just hasn’t been created yet.  Just because I’m not on board now doesn’t mean that some future creation won’t eventually ensnare my shoe-dreams.