Fall Shoes

Vintage Salvatore Ferragamo Pumps; photo by Richard Gwin, Lawrence Journal World

An outfit can be instantly transformed, simply by slipping into the right pair of shoes. Read on for some excellent early-fall options that will carry you through late into the season:

1. Chunky Platforms
Platform high-heels are comfortable, walkable, and sturdy. To avoid clunking around with heavy boots, look for a graceful, thick heel with plenty of height. In other words, you don’t want to struggle while strutting around in these babies—your shoes should never require a prerequisite weight-lifting class. We’ve all worn the hideously heavy, clonk-clonky platform shoes from the 90s…just don’t bring those back out! Although it may be a platform shoe, it is not the right platform shoe! Keep in mind the overall shape, the heel-shape (often square), and the material of all potential shoes.



2. “Ice-pick” heels
“Ice-pick,” or tapered high-heels are one of my favorite shoe shapes right now. Their thick, upper heel slowly glides into a sleek and modern skinny point at the base. Also called a “cone heel,” this shoe adds a sophisticated, unexpected twist to any outfit, and its dramatic, tapered curve feels youthful and fun. This shape is a less classic heel-shape, but this fact alone opens doors: either buy your ice-pick heels in fall’s hottest colors (like hot pink, burnt sienna, or warm olive) or choose a safer color for more longevity (like black, brown, or navy).

3. Stilettos
If you are walking around in Old West Lawrence, you may want to leave your four-inch stilettos at home—brick sidewalks can be dangerous in heels!
Nonetheless, stiletto heels have made a massive resurgence in the realm of fashion. The higher, the hotter—if you can walk properly. But please ladies—don’t stick out your tooshes! You’ll look like Peggy Bundy from Married with Children!
Stilettos are quite the sexy shoe-choice. If you want to be super-chic find one with a metallic or metal heel. The stiletto heel, named after a dagger, elongates and slims the legs.

4. Square-toe
Square-toe heels are hit or miss. A good pair is hard to come-by, so make sure your choice is comfortable and fashionable. The new square-toe high-heel has a shorter, abbreviated square-toe—not anything too long or too slender down in the toe-width, but a quick, blunt shape. For some reason, the new square-toe heel reminds me of the trunk of a Ford Focus—just a short little thing with plenty of get-go.

5. Hybrid
With so many shoes in the sea, there are bound to be exceptional, unusual combination trends. Don’t shy away from a pair of shoes just because it doesn’t fall distinctly in one category or another! For example, DSquared2 has an amazing square-toe stiletto-heel. And chunky platforms don’t have to have a super high-heel. Half-inch platforms are great option for more casual events, days at the office, or even on the weekend, paired with strait-leg jeans and a blazer.