I’m not even sure what to say about the Nicholas Kirkwood Fall 2012 collection, in terms of a review. It’s awesome. Kirkwood gets better every season, and these intricately detailed heels (and one pair of flats, at least for the pre-order) are his best yet. They’re modern, interesting, and utterly Kirkwood – how could you want more? Moda Operandi’s pre-order runs through March 21st and includes pairs from Kirkwood’s runway work for other brands, including Prabal Gurung and Peter Pilotto. Hurry up and pre-order now, or check out the pairs that MO is offering after the jump.

Continue reading →

It says something strong about Christian Louboutin’s control of the luxury footwear industry when my first thought upon viewing the Dolce & Gabbana Crystal-Embellished Satin Pumps was something along the lines of, “Wouldn’t it be cool if Louboutin did an all-strass shoe where the underside was encrusted in red crystals?” And, I mean, wouldn’t that be really stinkin’ cool? Why hasn’t Louboutin done that yet? It would sell like hotcakes. Not that his shoes need any help selling, of course.

It also says something strong about Louboutin’s influence that an increasing number of designers is thinking to adorn the underside of a high heel in the first place. Louboutin’s signature red lacquer has brought attention to a visible area of the shoe that had previously gone largely ignored by luxury designers, but thanks to Louboutin’s continued reminders that the sole is just as important as any part of the shoe, brands like Dolce & Gabbana have started to get creative with their 360-degree designs.

Continue reading →

Yowza. How’re these for a Friday? I don’t think that I could stand in the six-and-a-half-inch-heeled Christian Louboutin 20th Anniversary Isolde Platforms, but they sure are interesting to look at. As you probably have heard by now, this year marks Christian Louboutin’s 20th year revolutionizing the footwear industry, and to celebrate, Louboutin has just released a capsule collection of shoes that recall some of his most famous shoes from the previous two decades. The collection has just landed at Net-a-Porter, and you can shop the styles that have yet to sell out via the collection’s special page. The Isoldes? They’ll set you back a cool $3995. Check out two more of our favorites after the jump.

Continue reading →

I’m going to be straight with y’all: A dear friend of mine whose company has the Reef PR account gave me these shoes. At PurseBlog and TalkShoes, we’re very strict about “gifted” items – we hardly ever write about them, and we certainly wouldn’t accept anything if it’s in any way expected that we’d feature it on either blog in return. Some bloggers are more laissez faire about the subject, but that’s just not our style. We don’t want to jeopardize anyone’s trust in what we write on our sites, and that means excluding gifted items and always disclosing the rare ones that we do include.

And if we do write about something that was given to us, it’s because we absolutely love it and feel like we’d be doing our readers a disservice by not telling them about it simply because of how it came to our attention. That’s the case with the Reef Bella Costa Sunset Sneakers – they’re easily the most comfortable pair of shoes that I own, and with spring coming at us full speed ahead, they’re going to be spending a lot of time on my feet in the near future.

Continue reading →

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about shoes this season, it’s that the platform isn’t dead, it’s just different. Several seasons of traditional pumps may have fooled you, and although the platform stiletto is done for the time being, shoes with upwards of five inches of height are going nowhere soon. Ladies who need the extra five inches (or just like having it), rejoice! The rest of us will be over here, icing our ankles.

From Miu Miu to Dior to Prada to Louis Vuitton Fall 2012, the platform was reconsidered, this time with a heel that’s thicker than those we came to know during the mid-2000s but no less vertiginous. In fact, between these snub-nosed Vuitton shoes and those featured at Prada, which had several models struggling to make it down the carpeted catwalk, heels may be bigger (both literally and figuratively) than ever. Check out our gallery, after the jump.

Continue reading →

It’s taken me a bit of time to come around to the Miu Miu Fall 2012 shoe collection, but I think I finally have. Miucca Prada was clearly in a swinging 60s mood for Fall, and it showed clearly in both Prada and Miu Miu’s shows, the latter of which being more like Prada Lite than it generally is. If you love a flared heel or a super chunky near-flatform penny loafer, I have some shoes you’d probably want to see.

If you don’t, there are still a couple of pairs in this collection where you can understand the merits of the idea. Done up in black satin with a cerulean and black snakeskin heel, the two separated by thin metal platform, the shoes look contemporary and luxurious. In brighter colors, things get costume-y and a bit too weird, this collection is still light years ahead of the cowboy horrors that were the Miu Miu Spring 2012 shoes. Don’t remind me.

Continue reading →

I have a hard time finding sandals that I like during the warm months, and until I saw the 3.1 Phillip Lim Domina Sandals on Net-a-Porter yesterday, I couldn’t figure out exactly why that was. Everyone loses their mind over espadrilles and gladiator flats and all kinds of other things, so why not me? Simple: My wardrobe is entirely based on black and grey, while most hardcore summer shoes are anchored in a palette of tan and beige. I don’t get faint when I see most sandals because I could never picture myself wearing them. Obviously, Phillip Lim has done my spring wardrobe a great favor.

Continue reading →

Even though at this point we all know Charlotte Olympia’s motifs well – the spiderweb, the gilded island platform, the shoes with faces – when a new season of her shoes comes out, they always feel fresh to me. Perhaps it’s because, even as a young brand, Charlotte Olympia has carved such a specific and well-realized aesthetic for itself that these shoes feel like a respite from the rest of the footwear world. Maybe it’s because it’s simply nice to see someone not take themselves so seriously. I’m not sure.

Either way, Charlotte Olympia Fall 2012 is worth a look. Moda Operandi has 20 pieces from the shoe collection (plus a couple of cute clutches!) available for pre-order until March 16, but if you’re not a member of the site, don’t worry. We have all the shoes for you to gaze upon after the jump, from slim smoking flats to knee-high platform boots. I have a feeling that once you see them, though, you’ll want to pre-order via Moda Operandi.

Continue reading →

Well, it’s harder to be any more blunt about the Christian Louboutin Sex Pumps than the name of the shoes already suggests; like Louboutins that have previously spelled “love” across the toes when the wearer’s feet are held together, this pair spells out…sex. There’s no non-literal way to describe what these pumps are, at least not that I can think of.

Which is where you guys come in, of course. These Louboutins are the subject of this week’s Fill in the Blank, which means that I need you to complete the sentence in this post’s title after the jump. It is Friday, after all – why not enjoy some very literal f*ck me pumps?

Or, alternately, you can buy a pair of these for your very own at Net-a-Porter for $1395.

Every season, no matter what, I look forward to Alexander McQueen’s shoes above all others. I did so before the McQueen’s untimely death, and I still do so now that the tremendously talented Sarah Burton has taken the reigns of the brand. Quite simply put, the Alexander McQueen runway shoes are as close to real art as shoes will ever get, season after season, without fail. Alexander McQueen Fall 2012 continued that tradition proudly.

I’m as surprised as anyone that even a brand as masterful as McQueen was able to take the entirely odious concept of the furry boot and make it chic and futuristic, but if anyone could do it, it’s them. And they did, mostly because when you look at a batch of Alexander McQueen runway shoes, you’re utterly free from the bounds of reality. These designs don’t have to be practical in any way, shape or form. McQueen has other, more mundane shoes to stock its boutiques and fill its coffers. These shoes just have to be flights of fantasy, pure and (not so) simple, which frees them from almsot all logical bounds. The results, as always, are stellar.

Continue reading →