Brian Atwood Embroidered Heel Pumps, $2114 via Bergdorf Goodman

It isn’t often that we feature a shoe shot from behind in a post, rather than shot from the front or side, but occasionally a design is so magnificent when viewed from the tail end that it requires a deviation from the norm. Ladies, I think you’ll all agree that the Brian Atwood Embroidered Heel Pump is one such shoe, and if you don’t, I suggest an emergency trip to the eye doctor. And possibly the psychiatrist. Check out the view from the front after the jump, and then let’s talk.

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Jimmy Choo Marlene Suede Sandals, $1995 via Net-a-Porter

We told you a few months ago that Jimmy Choo would be launching a special 15th anniversary Icons Collection that would benefit women’s charities, and now we’re pleased to announce that the shoes are available for purchase at Net-a-Porter. For shoes in the four-figure range, a 10% donation of net proceeds is nothing to sneeze at.

As we discussed when the collection was announced, these shoes are all updated versions of classic Choo styles that have distinguished themselves in some way – one was featured in an episode of Sex and the City, one was the style Tamara Mellon wore to receive her Order of the British Empire, others have been particularly popular with customers. These styles are easily some of Choo’s most beautiful in recent memory, and you can find more of them (with their attendant pricing and purchase information) after the jump.

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Tory Burch Alexia High Wedges, $495 via Neiman Marcus

I love a good “look for less” as much as anyone, but it’s so boring when a contemporary brand takes an extremely expensive, very well-known shoe, knocks it off and still charges a couple hundred bucks for it. The real bang for your buck happens when such a designer is able to recreate the mood or aesthetic that a certain premier designer has; that way, everyone is left wondering about your shoes and why they’ve never seen that design before.

That was exactly the experience I had with the Tory Burch Alexia High Wedge Sandals. I saw a picture of the design a few seconds before I noticed the name associated with it, and if I had been asked to guess, I would have guessed Yves Saint Laurent. In that tiny timeframe, I second-guessed myself about why I wasn’t already familiar with the design, and other shoe lovers will likely have the exact same reaction.

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Christian Louboutin Duvette Pumps, $675 via Net-a-Porter

Even people who aren’t big Louboutin fans (if those people really do exist, which they might not) have to admit that the designer does an impeccable job of setting a mood. Even with a relatively simple shoe like the Christian Louboutin Duvette Pumps, Louboutin expertly transports us to whatever era he desires, and this one’s a couple decades gone.

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Giuseppe Zanotti Colorblocked Platforms, $750 and $695, respectively. Both via Bergdorf Goodman.

My recent love for Giuseppe Zanotti is well-documented in these parts. In fact, it’s been so intense for so long that I can scarcely remember a time when I didn’t love the man’s designs, although I can vaguely recall that such a time did exist. The two shoes above – the Giuseppe Zanotti Neon Colorblock Platform D’Orsay and the Giuseppe Zanotti Neon Colorblock Platform Sandal, respectively – should illustrate exactly why all of Zanotti’s past sins have been long since forgiven.

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Oh dear. I thought that Chloe’s giant Fall 2011 colorblocking failure was limited to bags, but it looks as though whatever virulent strain infected the Gaby Bucket Bag has also come after the Chloe Patchwork Python Knee Boots. The prognosis is not good. I believe that the death of taste is imminent.

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.

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Ralph Lauren Collection Jenibelle Sandals, $695 via Net-a-Porter

Red leather rarely tickles my fancy. Leather is great for deep, dark colors where you want to show how rich a material is, but when it comes to vibrance, red dye and leather often don’t get along all that well. Satin, on the other hand, was made to be red, as you can see from the Ralph Lauren Collection Jenibelle Sandals above.

Satin has the perfect texture to give red a “lit from within” look, as though you’re going around the whole night with spotlights trained on your feet at just the right angles. Who doesn’t want their own personal lighting scheme? Sign me up immediately. Or sign me up for these shoes, at least.

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Converse Chuck Taylor Sequined Sneakers, $100 via Net-a-Porter

I would, but that probably goes without saying at this point.

Unless you’ve spent the last year or so living under a rock, you’ve probably realized that embellished tennis shoes are a bonafide thing with the kids these days. Also with the grown ups – I remember seeing a couple of very stylish people wearing particularly interesting trainers at New York Fashion Week, and for those of us who have an orthopedic limitation here and there (I like to refer to mine as “incurable crappy ankle,” hat tip to Louis CK), it’s an extremely welcome trend.

The problem, though, is that a pair of Louboutin or Miu Miu sneakers can cost as much as the brand’s much more elaborate shoes. The Converse Chuck Taylor Sequined Sneakers, on the other hand, are in a more Steve Madden-esque price range.

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Christian Louboutin Enclume Platform Oxfords, $1145 via Net-a-Porter

If you’ve been following along here with us for a while, you might remember that our ecstatic post about the Christian Louboutin x Jonathan Saunders Fall 2011 collection when it debuted at London Fashion Week last season. Thankfully, many of the runway shoes that Louboutin makes for other designers find their way to retail in his own line, and that’s exactly what has happened with the Christian Louboutin Enclume Platform Oxfords.

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Alexander McQueen Ostrich Platform Pumps, $1925 via Net-a-Porter

One fantastic thing about Alexander McQueen that Sarah Burton has managed to continue is that he never chased trends. If something wasn’t fashionable and he still wanted to do it, he went right ahead and did it. What’s more, McQueen often used his creative powers to skewer crass popular fads, most notably with his “bumster” pants, an answer to the “hipsters” that were popular at the time.

The Alexander McQueen Ostrich Platform Pumps likely aren’t meant as fashion commentary, but they do go ahead the popular grain for shoe structures. While designers left and right are scrambling to abandon stilettos with significant platforms in favor of more ladylike pump shapes, McQueen goes right on doing its own thing. This time, the results are oddly lovely.

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