Let’s face it… shoe styles will always come and go.  There will inevitably be seasons where we love the trends (long live ballet flats) and seasons where we hate them (let’s have done with chunky platform heels), and often–as with my two example opinions here–they’ll be the same seasons.

But apart from the individual season’s style trends, I’ve been noticing that the overall style quotient of shoes on the market is going up.  Hip hip hooray!  I can’t tell you how nice it is to see shoe brands that are typically thought of as one-note and not particularly stylish re-branding themselves to up the style factor of their shoes.  As someone who’s always on the lookout for shoes that are both stylish AND comfortable, there have sometimes been very lean patches where I really can’t find something that does both to my exacting standards.  But no longer.  Things are looking up, and have been for a while now.

Keds is a great example, with fun new designs from a lot of designers and artists.  Cases in point? Eleanor Grosch’s parrot-print skimmers and Nanette Lepore’s glammed-up raffia skimmers.

 

Gone are the days where the word ”Keds” invoked plain white tennis shoes!

Easy Spirit is also bringing their style up to meet their comfort level.  Just look at the kicky Rikki wedge T-strap (available in 5 different colors) and the… er… attractive Attractive pointy-toed flat.  This is pretty clearly no longer the company that was once primarily known for lumpy, styleless walking sneakers.

And who could forget the new face of Payless?  Perhaps not all terribly comfortable, but certainly better style options for when you want that pair of shoes without spending an arm and a leg.  And with lines from other footwear and fashion companies, there’s all of a sudden a whole new crop of stylish shoes at Payless.  Like these American Eagle peep-toe skimmers or these vintage-styled espadrilles in Shoeblog’s favorite spring color, bright yellow.

Ecco did the same thing a few years back, and is now offering a much wider variety of stylish and comfortable shoes that combat their previous orthopedic image.  Look at these spacey honeycombed Mary Jane sneakers and this loafer-inspired pump.  These ain’t your grandma’s walking shoes, anymore.

It’s really great to see companies doing this, because in large part it means that comfortable shoes become fashionable, which is what I’m always looking out for.

I say, bring it on.  Keep it comin’.  The future of shoe style is looking so bright, I might have to wear shades.