Trends Shoes

Lanvin Pearlized Oxford Booties, $1050. Stuart Weitzman Sequined Lace-Up Booties, $525. Both via Neiman Marcus.

It’s always easier to figure out which trends will stick and which were limited to the runway once retail pre-orders for a season’s pieces start showing up online, and it seems as though in the midst of talking about all the python and platforms (or lack thereof), someone forgot to tell us that Renaissance Faire fashion would be influencing our footwear for Fall 2011.

If the Lanvin Pearlized Oxford Bootie and Stuart Weitzman Sequined Lace-Up Bootie are to be believed, we’ll be seeing a lot more grosgrain and silk ribbon in our future. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? If the future looks like Lanvin, it’s alright with me.

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We’ve been tracking the return of pumps around here for quite some time, and we’re not the only ones who have noticed that the classic, platformless, closed-toe heels are making a fierce comeback on the feet of chic women everywhere. Style.com has officially dubbed them the shoe of the summer, which makes us wonder which pumps you’re currently coveting for yourself. Us? We’re partial to the Salvatore Ferragamo (left) and Yves Saint Laurent (right) pairs that Style.com featured in its story.

[Photo via Style.com]
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Usually by the time that a big trend break industry-wide, a few examples of the idea from forward-thinking designers have already found their way to the market. Designers as diverse as Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang showed metallic leather shoes on their recent Fall 2011 runways, but if you want to be ahead of the curve, we have three options to get the look now.

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When I gave a pair of clodhopping Yves Saint Laurent platforms a middling-at-best review back in October, it didn’t occur to me that that pair of shoes was merely the first in a veritable parade of 60s silliness that would be headed our way for spring. Sadly, that appears to be the case.

With shoes like the Christian Louboutin Patent and Cork Platforms, Giuseppe Zanotti Wood Clog Platforms and the Prada Multi-Strap Cutout Wedges all hitting retailers over the past two weeks, it looks as though we have a bonafide trend on our hands. Ugh.

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Depending on who you are, fall’s persistent trends toward flat boots over the past few years are either a blessing or a curse. I have ankle and knee problems from a sports injury and a freak accident, respectively, and flat shoes are always something that I hope will become fashionable in any form, if only for my own ease of use.

A lot of women like a bit of a heel, though, either to boost their petite frames or because they’re simply more comfortable when their feet aren’t flat on the floor. For those customers, designers across the board are coming out with flat-look boots that are secretly wedges – you just can’t tell unless you look really, really closely.

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If anyone out there was still dubious about the cyclical nature of trends after the fashion world’s recent jaunt through the 80s, the sudden resurgence of Doc Marten’s should put his or her incredulity to rest. Just like the hair bands and mall pop of the late 80s gave way to the grunge of the early 90s, fashion is now ready to relive the flannel and work-boot glory days of Nirvana and Alice in Chains.

Chief among the indicators that the transition has been made is the presence of the metallic pink Dr. Martens 1460 8-Eye Boots on Nordstrom’s website. When a huge natural retailer has started stocking shoes like these, it’s time to dust off your plaid shirts and rip your jeans, because this trend is here to stay for a while.

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