Lanvin Pearlized Oxford Booties, $1050. Stuart Weitzman Sequined Lace-Up Booties, $525. Both via Neiman Marcus.

It’s always easier to figure out which trends will stick and which were limited to the runway once retail pre-orders for a season’s pieces start showing up online, and it seems as though in the midst of talking about all the python and platforms (or lack thereof), someone forgot to tell us that Renaissance Faire fashion would be influencing our footwear for Fall 2011.

If the Lanvin Pearlized Oxford Bootie and Stuart Weitzman Sequined Lace-Up Bootie are to be believed, we’ll be seeing a lot more grosgrain and silk ribbon in our future. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? If the future looks like Lanvin, it’s alright with me.

One of these designs clearly fairs better than the other, and the Weitzman isn’t the winner because it simply tries to do too much. The ribbon, the sequins, the leather trim, the peep toe – someone didn’t use a “good editing eye,” as Tim Gunn always says. Lanvin, on the other hand, handled the ribbon perfectly by pairing it with slick patent in an interesting but traditional color. In fact, the same descriptors could be used for the structure of the shoe as well, which just adds to the design’s success. Buy the Lanvins for $1050 or the Weitzmans for $525, both via Neiman Marcus.