A shoe moment
Let’s pretend that 2011 will be the year of the shoe… well every year is the year of the shoe for me.
In my humble opinion, a shoe should (in addition to protecting the foot) elongate the line of both the foot and the leg, accentuate the curves of both and give a sens of movement.
Shoes should not make pretty feet look large or bulky, and shoes should ameliorate those feet that are less than lovely.
The most beautiful of all pedi-décorum to me is the ballerina toe-shoe, or pointe. They embody all of the qualities that I look for, lengthening, decoration, suppleness and curve accentuation.
Freed point shoes
But some designers have taken this shoe form and turned it into what I find to be an abominable article for the foot. TO BE AVOIDED! : (Although I love Mcqueen’s work…I do not like these shoes).
A McQueen
Moving on…
Uggs seem to have made it to Europe, much to my dismay… never has anything ever looked so sad and frumpy on a human. I know, I know… everyone raves about the comfort level… but you might notice, that comfort did not enter into my criteria for a good shoe. People, we do not live in the ice age… the Uggs have goo to go! The do nothing aesthetic for the feet :
A warm foot bath and a foot massage will do just fine thank you very much!
Since we have mentioned those ghastly boots… and we realize that it is currently winter, we shall explore the possibilities of boot-wear as an alternative :
Conte Barone
Costume National
JFK
Duccio Del Duca
Vicini
And no whining about the heels! Musketeers used to wear heeled boots, and they rode horses, protected the king and fought with swords in them.
Here’s another topic I want to discuss : Heel hight and thickness… There seems to be regular rotation of the trend attached to the shoe heels. One year they are up, another year they are down, then they are thin then they are fat. And then back again they go. I think it has something to do with consumerism and getting us all to buy new pairs every six or twelve months. I like classic looking shoes, that don’t stray to far off into trend-land, that participate in the lines of the female figure and help give a lady a look of grace. Too chunky can destroy the line, and too thin can make the rest of her look off kilter. It’s all about balance.
Emporio Armani
Jonak
Furla
L'Autre Chose
Melissa
Raffaele Settembre
The shape of the human foot was conceived as functional and beautiful, in my opinion. Why would we modify it so, with bulky clunky fat heels and distract from it’s original form?
More on the heel… How about this comparison series…?
Bolero
It started out as a sort-of pretty shoe…and then they pegged on this straight squarish heel that doesn’t do much for the curvey line of the leg or the foot. Let’s hope she wears a long skirt to hide it.
Ninalilou
Here the lovely contours are respected nicely, I bet she wore a short skirt so as not to hide those leg lines!
Cuquicastellanos
This unfortunately did NOT start out as a pretty shoe, and to throw insult onto injury, they gave it a sad boring square shaped heel. Blah.
Alaia
Voilà! Pretty, pretty, pretty! These look fun to wear and lovely to look at on the end of someones legs!
Lollipops
A thick heel with a peep-toe, and all in patent leather at that (with polka dot interior)… it just screams “I’m trying really, really hard to be cute”… It’s like putting a ruffled skirt on a 40-year-old woman…sad really.
Mariobologna
Curvy and sexy, not too thick, not too thin, and the patent leather is suddenly sultry!
Celine
Hi. I am wearing stilts, that cost me an arm and a leg.
Versace Jeans Couture
Simple yet slightly embellished, with proportionate lines and a pretty combination of textures.
Casadei
Peg leg. that is all.
Missoni
Now THIS is what I am talking about! These people understand lines and the art of dressing the human body.
For those who are very picky and can’t find what they want… though there does seem to be a shoe out there for every taste and every occasion… or if you have your own creative ideas but no place to make them manifest… there are people who want to help you. (PS: I have not tested them) :
Retro by Michael, shoes made exactly how you want them. You pick the colors and the materials, you bring in your ideas. They make the shoes.
Otherwise I’d love to hear the opinions of my readers!
Tell me what are your favorite shoes?
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Tags: shoes
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