Style Shoes

We told you on Monday that the sneaker trend appears to be going nowhere fast, and indeed, pumped-up kicks seem to be extending themselves well into pre-fall and fall, popping up in the collections of designers both low-end and high. Even some brands who have never previously explored any shoe that could be called vaguely athletic are getting in on the act, most recently with the Mulberry Sneaker. Yep, it’s the first one, so it doesn’t even require a special moniker to distinguish itself from the rest of the line.

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A few utterly awful pairs of sneaker-wedges notwithstanding, I still adore the fact that a good pair of kicks is finally something that more fashionable women might be tempted to try. It’s about time a shoe trend tempted us with designs that are not only comfortable, but also not hazardous to the health of our ankles. These trends don’t come along every season, so I’m going to celebrate this one as long as I can. Perhaps I’ll do it with the Giuseppe Zanotti Python Print Sneakers on my feet!

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I was fine with the Isabel Marant Sneaker Wedges. They’re not something that I plan to wear, but the wedge was pretty low (and therefore less offensive when inserted into an athletic shoe), and I’ve seen them look fantastic on people in exactly the same casual French way that characterizes all of Marant’s best work. It’s a shoe interesting enough that I can see outside of my own personal style to understand why people like it.

The problem, though, is with the gaggle of impostors looking to benefit from the coattails of Marant’s creativity. Twitter was seemingly abuzz over the weekend with the news of the Marc by Marc Jacobs Kish Colorblock Wedge Sneaker‘s online debut, but for the life of me, I can’t see why anyone would be excited about these shoes. What they lack in Isabel Marant’s Parisian ease, they make up for by looking like the shoes of a slightly slutty circus clown.

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I’m not along when I say that the flat sandal is both literally and figuratively the foundation of my warm-weather wardrobe. A good pair of flat sandals is both as comfortable as a pair of flip-flops and far more chic; they can provide a pop of color for an outfit or fade into the background if what you’re wearing is already bright. With as much as most people are out and about in the warmer months, heelless, comfortable shoes are a must.

The thing about shoes like these, though, is that no one wants to pay an arm and a leg for a few strips of leather attached to an unstructured sole. Whether designer shoe prices are every truly “justified” is up for debate, but at least when a shoe has a heel and a full upper, it feels like you’re getting more for your money. Even if the design process for the two is the same, these shoes just feel less substantial, which is part of their draw during summer. As such, we’ve set a per-pair limit of $200 and found five choices in a variety of styles for all your warm-weather needs.

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Rosamosario Suede Mules, $1140 via Net-a-Porter

If you followed along with our footwear coverage of the various Spring 2012 fashion weeks, you probably noticed something a tad troubling – the fashion industry, in what I can only call not one of its finer moments, has decided to try and make mules happen again. Sadly, I don’t mean the animal, although I’d rather have an actual mule around the house (good for carrying cases of Diet Coke home from the grocery store!) than wear a pair of mule shoes.

For the uninitiated (or just those who are too young to remember these shoes being popular previously), the Rosamosario Suede Mules are a good example of the New Mule’s standard features, in addition to the traditional backlessness – high heel, no support, little in the way of material to keep you from breaking an ankle. Some of them also feature enormous platforms, like this one, to make you look like a stripper while you’re in the process of breaking said ankle.

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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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Normally I’m a big fan of both Adidas and Jeremy Scott, but the Jeremy Scott x Adidas Original Bone Sneakers are not quite doing it for me. I love crazy sneakers, but I’m not loving the bones added to these laces, so they’re going to be the subject of this week’s Fill in the Blank. Let us know how you’d finish the titled sentence after the jump, or buy the sneakers via Luisa Via Roma for $242.

Personally, my sentence would read, “The Jeremy Scott x Adidas Originals Bone Sneakers are great, except for the bones.”

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“Hi, my name is Amanda and I’m a nail polish addict. It’s been 24 hours since my last purchase.”

“Hi Amanda!”

I have a problem, you guys. It’s at the end of my fingertips. It’s in so many bottles that my desk is becoming unusable. It’s littering the floor around my normal spot on the couch. It’s nail polish, if it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. The funny thing is, when it comes to my nails, I’m a complete anti-traditionalist. I don’t like pink, I don’t like red and I don’t like coral. Give me glitters, holographics, duochromes and foils. Give me blue, turquoise, black, purple, green – anything but the polishes that remind me of what I used as a kid!

Where exactly do the Thakoon Glitter Snake-Effect Ankle Boots come in to play with nail polish? Well, let me explain…

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The Tory Burch Eddie Ballet Flats may not look like much, but that’s probably because you’ve never had a pair on your feet. When I first tried these shoes on at Intermix, I immediately bought both colors that the store stocked. It wasn’t even a conscious decision; I found myself groaning in happiness and gesticulating wildly toward the sample shoe still left on the shelf. Apparently lots of customers have that reaction to the Eddie flats, because the salesgirl knew exactly what to do – bring out the other color in my size and ring up my new pairs. This weekend, though, I put my black Eddie flats to the ultimate test – the sidewalks of New York City.

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If you can live every day of your life in heels, more power to you – I wish I had that type of devotion and/or foot structure. If you occasionally take a break from your stilettos, though, then you’ve probably experienced the irritation of looking for stylish, functional flats that life up to both your aesthetic and comfort standards.

Sometimes I think it’s actually easier to find a high heel that doesn’t pinch or rub than it is a flat, merely because of how your feet are positioned in both types of shoes. So before you begin next season’s journey to find shoes without a heel that don’t make you feel like a schlub, here are four excellent places to start.

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