Last weekend, while most of New York City was still blanketed by significant snow, I strapped on my snow boots and made the sometimes-precarious journey to Barneys to shop for shoes. I don’t necessarily recommend going shoe shopping when you’re wearing complicated all-weather boots; taking them on and off between shoe departments at different stores gets old really quickly. The trip was mostly for the benefit of my friend, though, who was hunting for several new pairs and had just received a shoe-enabling bonus at work. (Lucky her, right?) In fact, it was at her urging that I tried on the Chloe Susanna Booties.

I’ve loved these shoes for a long time and written about them previously, but until this weekend, I had managed to restrain myself from trying them on. That’s a tactic I often use when I know I’ll love something and don’t want to spend the money; if they never touch my feet, then I’ll never know exactly what size I need, and then I can’t order them online or buy them in-store with any confidence. It’s usually enough to keep my budget in check, but on this particular day, I figured I might as well try them. When in Rome, right? Plus, Barneys had the new version with silver hardware, which is even more perfect for me than the previous gold version.

Of course, it was instantaneous love. It’s like these booties were made with me in mind, and everything from the leather quality to the heel height was exactly as I would have wanted it. I didn’t end up buying them, though, and it was for one reason and one reason only – a little voice in the back of my head told me that $1,345 plus tax was a lot of money to pay for a pair of shoes that’s already lived the glory days of its trend life. Even I’m disappointed with that logic.

I’m always the first person to tell people to buy what they absolutely love and pay little regard to who else has or doesn’t have it. It’s your money, after all, and things you love enough to pay full price to have are always in style. Anyone who says otherwise is a tedious snob. Now I feel like a tedious snob, but shouldn’t something this expensive feel totally special to me? Perhaps the fact that I’m still thinking about these shoes nearly a full week later means they’re more special to me than I want to admit.

Have you ever had this problem? Did you end up buying the object of your affection?

You can pick up these shoes for $1,345 via Net-a-Porter.

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Much like when it comes to their handbags, Chloe knows when it has a good thing. The now famed Susanna studded boots have resurfaced in a variety of combinations, from different stud colors to different leathers, and for the New Year it looks like the Susanna is taking a softer side.

The silver studs on this version are paired with a light blush leather, and while the punk edginess of the boots is toned down, it hasn’t lost all of its rocker feel. I fell in love with the Chloe Susanna not on paper, but in person. These boots can seem overwhelming when you look at them on your screen, but when worn, they are the perfect combination of edgy and cool. Whether they’re worn with jeans, leggings, a maxi skirt, or a dress, these boots have a way of transforming an outfit.

Black shoes are always easiest to keep clean, but I find myself oddly drawn to this blush version. They’re feminine without being too girly, and the idea of these shoes for both winter and spring feels romantic. Buy via Net-A-Porter for $1,345.

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On this fine Friday we have the eternally ageless Kate Walsh, who’s playing it super casual in LA with distressed jeans, a slouchy striped sweater and the studded Chloe Susan Boots. These Chloe kicks look like they were conceived on some Italian designer dude ranch, do they not? They can be lassoed up with any major credit card at your nearest Nordstrom for only $1345. They can also be found in bright red on Net-A Porter and beige at Barneys. Note: there seems to be some major confusion among retailers as to what this boot is actually called – “Susan”, “Suzanna”, and “Suzanne” are all used interchangably. It looks a lot more like a Suzanna than a Susan to me.

In case you haven’t been keeping count, Kate’s show “Private Practice” will conclude its six-season run on January 22nd, 2013. (That little bit of trivia was just announced this week!) No word yet on what’s next for Ms. Walsh, but with six years on Private Practice and an additional two on “Grey’s Anatomy”, I can’t imagine she’s in any rush to leapfrog on to another TV project right away.

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Around the PurseBlog/TalkShoes offices, we are ENORMOUS fans of the Chloe Susan Booties. Our marketing director Hilary recently bought a pair of her very own while in Paris, and every time she wears them, I drool and wonder if I would be able to steal them without arousing suspicion. (Megs, Hilary and I all wear the same size shoe, which is convenient.) She’d know exactly where to look for her missing shoes, of course, so I have yet to act on my klepto impulses.

The design has been so popular that the introduction of more variations for this season was practically a foregone conclusion, and now they’re starting to show up at retailers. The first? This tan python version. What say you?

Personally, I’ll stick with the black leather version; the detailing of the studs is the real draw for me on this shoe, and the delicate little gold nubs show up much better against a dark, flat background. The tan python is nice, but it would work better in a version of the bootie without the studded detail, which would be a beautiful shoe in its own right. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1750.

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Let it be known: I dig a weird shoe. I prefer something sightly left-of-center, just a bit off-kilter and a little unexpected over something obviously sexy any day of the week. The reasons that people dig “obviously sexy” are clear to me, of course, but I just can’t really get on board with them for my own personal style.

Something like the Chloe Susan Studded Ankle Boots, on the other hand, are right up my alley. The look reminds me a bit of the Isabel Marant aesthetic – Parisian chic meets the American West – but I actually like this Chloe pair better than any Marant shoes I’ve ever come across. I first encountered them on Elin Kling’s blog, and she seems to be just as obsessed as I am – a worthy shoe endorsement if there ever was one.

These shoes have a very clear intended customer: fashion people. Lots of gold studs and big gilded buckles don’t make much sense on most people’s wardrobes, but if you have the right kind of skinny pants/slouchy top everyday uniform that’s so common among waifish fashion girls, then these shoes could potentially be an everyday go-to. The heel is low and thick, the overall effect is surprisingly neutral, they look lik they’d be fun to wear without being difficult. Sign me up, please. Buy through Barneys for $1295.

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Look at all that python. So much python! Enough to make one or two day bags or several smaller clutches. It looks like beautiful snakeskin, but the combination of the colors is just so very 70s. And not 70s in a good, nostalgic way, either. 70s in a “the old appliances and linoleum in my grandma’s kitchen” way. I think it goes without saying that “unremodeled kitchen” is not a good look. Not in a house and certainly not on your feet.

Of course, the Chloe problem has been solved by now. Hannah MacGibbon has been shown the door in exchange for Claire Waight Keller, who put on a good Spring 2012 show with much tasteful footwear contained therein. For now, though, we have this boots to remind us where we’ve been and where we’d like to go. (Hopefully someplace far, far away from these boots.) Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2480.

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Nothing brings me more joy than getting to write a positive post about a new collection from a brand that’s had some trouble finding its voice in the recent past. Chloe has had its issues since Phoebe Philo left for greener pastures (and eventually Celine), but based on Chloe Spring 2012, I’m optimistic that Clare Waight Keller can right the ship. The entire collection was a win in my book, including the shoes.

Chloe’s never been overwhelmingly known for its footwear, and its the segment that suffered the least under the rein of Hannah MacGibbon. With that in mind, this collection isn’t necessarily a return to form so much as a continuation of what her predecessor already had right. The take on the loafer is both more minimal and more feminine that the shoes that customers are used to associating with the word, and most of these are a workable way to take the trend into warmer weather.

The post Fashion Week Shoes: Chloe Spring 2012 appeared first on TalkShoes.

As much as I may not like Chloe’s Fall 2011 handbag efforts (and I really, really don’t like them), I love the shoes from the same collection. Can we give the footwear team a raise and ask them to keep the Chloe handbag people in line? Because I think the resulting collection would be much, much nicer.

“Taste-specific” can be used as a passive-aggressive swipe, but in this case, that’s not what I mean. These shoes are simply not for people who don’t like highly stylized footwear, and my enthusiasm for them is certainly not in jest. I’m picking up what Chloe’s putting down, if you know what I mean.

The story of these designs is restraint. A black boot with an unexpected (and totally non-sexual) lucite heel, a tan leather wedge with a vast wooden platform. The details are crisp; these designs never have a metaphorical hair our of place, but not in a way that’s fussy or forced. They’re effortless, which is exactly what minimalism should be, but they also have an all-important note of 70s style to them that makes both pairs incredibly relevant to fashion today. I’ll take both, please. Size 39. Buy the boots for $850 or the wedges for $695, both through Net-a-Porter.

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I grew out of that phase a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still appreciate a little bit of ankle jewelry like that provided by the Chloe Metal and Leather Sandals. My suspiciousness over metal shoe straps is well-documented, though, so let’s explore whether or not these shoes are likely to make you bleed.

Sadly, the answer to that question is “probably.” I was really hoped that Chloe would line the inside of the leather straps with leather to make them a bit softer on the ankle, but no such luck. Since the structure of the shoe puts a major functional stress point right where the metal sits, I just can’t recommend these shoes in good conscience. I do like the idea, though, and hope that somewhere out there sits my perfect pair of shoes, complete with ankle jewelry. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $645.

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YEAH I SAID IT. Plastic shoes. Judge me if you must.

I also like those (probably played out at this point) lucite ghost chairs. I like things that perform a function while not taking up much visual space! And if that means I occasionally like a pair of plastic shoes like the Chloe Suede Trimmed Acetate Pumps, then that’s what it means. So be it.

I only wish that there were some way to make leather completely transparent so that it might be used in shoes like these instead of a synthetic material that is sure to make your feet sweat and cut into your skin, and I hope that some shoe designer out there is getting on that as we speak. In the meantime, synthetic will have to do, and these shoes feature it in a way that’s probably the best I’ve ever seen it used.

A clear acetate body with a lucite heel is normally a recipe for a stripper shoe, and I’ve always been partial to designers who take those elements and manage to recombine them in a less sexual, more intelligent way. The black buckle and suede toe are just enough of a visual reminder that you are indeed wearing a real pair of shoes, not to mention that the toe mostly covers whatever unsightly things happen to your little piglets when stuffed into a pump. And if people say that a shoe that matches your skin color elongates your leg, just imagine what a transparent one would do. If you don’t believe me, click through to Net-a-Porter and take a look at the modeling photo. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $695.

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