Once in a while when browsing the web you come across that one shoe that makes you stop and cringe. Unfortunately, this Dolce & Gabbana Tapestry and Leather Ankle Boot had me wincing. Yes, literally wincing. I’m all for letting accessories take over the spotlight in an outfit, but this is just, well, awful. The needlepoint detail gives off a grandma-ish quality that I don’t believe works well with anything, even a classic black dress.

The tapestry detailing is your typical floral print that incorporates various pink, blue, green and yellow hues. (It’ss probably very similar to what your grandmother’s work if she’s into needlepoint). This design is set throughout the entire boot, including the heel, with added gold accents in the center of the boot. I understand Dolce is trying to evoke a vintage and European-inspired kind of style with its fall collection, but I don’t think a tapestry shoe is the way to go about producing this look. So what does a shoe like retail for? Try $1,575. You can try this look yourself at Net-A-Porter.

The post Would you wear your grandmother’s tapestry? Dolce & Gabbana thinks you should. appeared first on TalkShoes.

Mix taupe, brown, and neon yellow and what do you get? One funky color, that’s what. Ok, that may be true, but what these colors do create is a color block sensation. For this post, I waas interested in finding the shoe that best demonstrates the colorblock technique. Please put your hands together for my favorite colorblock shoe of the week: United Nude’s Pin Naomi Metal Heel Color Block Bootie.

As you all know, colorblocking is a major trend right now. Some designs are conservative, preferring to combine black and white, black and brown, black and gray and so on. Things get a bit more drastic when designers starting doing things like mixing black or neutral colors with neons, metallics, and animal prints. This United Nude bootie works as a colorblocked piece because it combines two neutral colors with the perfect pop of color, neon yellow.

What’s also interesting is this shoe plays with the idea of juxtaposing textures. The front is leather in the taupe color, the back of the bootie is brown suede, and the neon yellow elastic in the middle acts as a bridge to tie these colors together. The small platform and skinny metal heel also add to the textural story. These combinations make for a fun boot to flaunt in the fall and winter months because of its unique structure and color combination. Does anyone agree? Available via ShopBop for $300.

The post United Nude Works its Color Blocking Magic appeared first on TalkShoes.

So many designers have been turning out stellar booties this year – everywhere you look, more functional, fashionable booties. The shape is so classic and wearable that scooping up the best examples and building a versatile bootie collection has been a little too easy lately (and perhaps a little too hard on my credit cards). The Costume National Wrapped Ankle Booties are simultaneously refined and edgy, which is what makes them so darn wearable. It’s official – I’m in lust with these shoes.

Beyond loving the sleek and edgy look, these booties are pretty much classic. I don’t foresee the bootie trend going anywhere anytime soon, and it may just be ongoing sticker shock from my Chloe Susan purchase earlier this year, but these seem somewhat more reasonable…Buy through Barneys New York for $865.

The post Cue heart palpitations…Costume National Bootie Edition appeared first on TalkShoes.

[Editor's Note: In case you didn't catch her introduction over at PurseBlog, Katherine is our new intern! Please welcome her.]

Is it just me, or do studs have crazy staying power as a trend? While writing for TalkShoes and PurseBlog these last few weeks, I’ve noticed that stud embellishments are still out in full force. Not that I’m complaining, of course. While I am always partial to the knee or over-the-knee boots (they totally make my legs look longer), there’s something about these Steve Madden Tarnney Stud-Detail Boots that I am really attracted to. Maybe it’s the edgy-meets-glam look that Madden captures, but regardless, this is a good-looking casual boot.

The tough girl vibe emanates from studs on the heel and on the rounded toe. The leather boot gives you the option to lace them all the way to the top of the boot or as displayed in the picture. In my last post, I spoke about versatility being key when picking boots, and I think these boots will give the wearer lots of versatility. Take something as plain as a white tee, jeans and your Madden boots and you have a whole ensemble.

Steve Madden has been one of my favorite shoe designers for years, and yet again he has designed another fabulous shoe. Retailing for $149.99 at Dillards.com, I’m sure you won’t regret picking up a pair of your own.

The post Steve Madden gives us an everyday boot with an edge appeared first on TalkShoes.

Here at Talkshoes, the Miu Miu Studded Suede Ankle Boots seem to be causing some friction between me and Megs. It was a typical day at the office: we are all gathered around the table, talking and trying to formulate our next posts while awaiting the anticipated tornado that was said to be coming for the Big Apple. As we were all fumbling on our computers, I come across these Miu Miu shoes and I say to the team: “Look at these clunky-looking things.” Megs then turned around and said, “Ah, I was just looking at those and I kinda like them.” So, our fashion battle begins…

Megs really liked the curved heel (I do too, actually), however the overall shape of the shoe threw me off. It really reminded me of a high-heeled version of the clogs my mom bought me back in elementary school, and I can tell you they were not cute. The curved heel, a style that seems to be a very popular heel of choice for many shoe designers at the moment, measures at five and a half inches with a one inch platform. This all navy suede boot has various sized gold studs all around the shoe. Starting with the outline of the shoe, continuing around the middle, and around the peep-toe opening of the shoe. I am one for accessorizing like crazy, as I say the more bling the better. But are the studs a bit much? I feel it is making the shoe a lot bulkier, visually speaking, than it needs to be. What do you think?

So, how did our debate turn out? We decided to come to a truce. With the perfect outfit, particularly something with exotic patterns and vibrant colors, these boots would be an ideal accessory. You can get yours today at Net-a-Porter for $975.

The post These Miu Mius are cause for debate in the TalkShoes offices appeared first on TalkShoes.

Rag & Bone, man. The brand has such an incredible knack for reinventing basics in a way that makes everyone clamor for another pair of black boots or another dark grey coat or another pair of blue jeans. Those are the kinds of pieces that it’s hardest to base a brand identity on – most companies that try end up fading into the crowd almost immediately – but Rag & Bone do an absolutely phenomenal job of it, season after season. The designers behind the label have the magic touch.

These Rag & Bone Emery Wedges, for example? The combination of a thick, sturdy, vintage-looking wooden wedge with a modern black upper make this a bootie that would be easy to work into any cold-weather casual outfit, and although fall seems far away, it’s actually closer than you think.

I don’t think I know a single 20-something fashion girl in New York who doesn’t own a pair of Rag & Bone shoes, if not multiple pairs. I can already tell that the Emery wedges are something I’ll see stomping up and down the streets of Soho and the Lower East Side in no time at all. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to see people start pairing these with floaty dresses any day now. It’s never too early for a good boot, particularly if it’s Rag & Bone. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $615.

The post These Rag & Bone boots will be closet staples by the end of summer appeared first on TalkShoes.

“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…

Although I have no particular affection for this design – it looks like something of a Frankenshoe, with a modern embossed-python bootie strapped into a staid, traditional navy leather pump – the glittering faux-snakeskin portion of the shoe is a color than texture that I would like to be able to reproduce on my fingernails immediately. It’s got great depth and all of the tones of blue and silver work together perfectly. OPI? Zoya? ARE YOU PEOPLE LISTENING? Make me this polish and I’ll love you forever. The shoe? The shoe is a pass. But I’d buy an $8 bottle of nail polish based on it in a heartbeat. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1150.

The post These Thakoon boots make me want to…buy nail polish? appeared first on TalkShoes.

Every now and then, though, something like the Poetic Licence Encoure Bootie catches my eye and makes me want to run through a field of wheat in a flowing dress, or whatever it is that happens in that cliché. I’m not sure, but it seems like the colors and details of this bootie are spot-on to inspire that sort of insipid foolishness, even in the romantically challenged like myself.

Something about the muted khaki tones and the plush bow make this shoe extremely feminine without being too obviously “girly,” and the difference in texture and color between the body of the boot and the snake details really work for me. I don’t normally wear this color palette at all, and in fact I probably wouldn’t have anything in my closet with which to pair these shoes, but I could see them look working well on someone with a different personal style. Buy through Nordstrom for $140.

The post Poetic Licence does a romantic take on fall booties appeared first on TalkShoes.

I was never a fan of the original luxury work boot and I didn’t like Tory Burch’s recent iteration much better, but this pair is working for me in a way that those two never did. Not only does the design embrace the chunky charm of utilitarian fashion from top to bottom, but it manages to update your average Timberlands in a way that is totally on-trend for fall.

I would have never thought that I’d find myself saying nice things about a pair of shoes like this, but here we go. Instead of the stiletto heel favored on both the original Timbernolos and the recent Tory Burches, this shoe goes for a chunky heel and big platform. Not only does that combination fit current trends much more closely, but it works with the overall scale of the work boot inspiration. They’re a chunky shoe by nature, and they deserve a substantial heel when made feminine.

Alaia made another great choice by making this shoe in charcoal suede (also available in black) instead of the caramel color that most of us associate with Timberlands. The color prevents the shoe from becoming too loud or stereotypical while simultaneously letting the other work-boot details take center stage and create the design’s aesthetic mood. When you have the trim around the top, the lug sole and the industrial laces, you don’t need to color as well. These are still not shoes that will appeal to everyone, but Alaia did a far better job of making a chic shoe out of a Timberland boot than any of the other designers to give it a try thus far. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1710.

The post Speaking of “Jenny from the Block,” Alaia updates the Timbernolos for 2010 appeared first on TalkShoes.

As a fan of science fiction, both written and on the screen, I adore clothing and accessories that remind me of all things futuristic and alien. Can’t you imagine a chick wearing these with a silver bodysuit, piloting her starship? Plus, they’re booties, meaning that they’re more comfortable than their cousin, the heel, or worse, the slip-on mule.

I’m all about running for cabs (when I need it – NY Fashion Week, anyone?) so I’m adoring the dizzying design. United Nude is full of crazy cool designs like this, so check them out! Buy through United Nude for $185.

The post Go High-Tech With These United Nude Booties appeared first on TalkShoes.