Shut Up, Shoe Shopping is Totally Metal

30Mar/103

Shut Up, Shoe Shopping is Totally Metal

For me, shoe shopping is a little like a manhunt. Sometimes I go it alone, as a meditative experience, and sometimes I hunt in packs, where we combine our individual experience to become an unstoppable force. I love putting on my sharpest, most judgmental eye and scanning over the rows and rows of potential prey footwear.

Anybody who tells you that high heels don’t fit into metal has never felt the authoritative clack-clack of heels down a hallway or the bad ass feeling that can come with that boost of height. Sure, they take a little getting used to, but emphasizing every muscle in your legs and adopting a strong strut can give you a real hellcat vibe. Besides, you can’t wear combat boots all the time.

I have a major soft spot for unconventional shoes — there is only one pair of plain black heels in my closet and those are still super-shiny Guess Bordas. When I’m not tromping around in my favorite boots, I’ve been getting a lot of wear out of my Mia Maidens and Blowfish Willises (both found on the clearance racks!), just to give you an idea of what I think are basic black, versatile-but-fashionable kicks that work well with a casual “alt” wardrobe. These are a staple, and if you don’t have a great pair of black heels, you should get shopping now. Another set of wear-anywhere shoes I’ve been drooling over Steff Metal’s Jeffrey Campbell wedges, which have demonstrated their ability to go well with dresses and t-shirts in the outfits she’s posted.

A major part of graduating from Team Converse Hightops and into the wider world of shoes was weirding up my shoe collection. Plain shoes are boring — but even small details can make a pair that screams, “I can kick your ass and look great while doing it.”

Nude heels are pretty big right now, and if you find a pair to match your skin tone (which can be difficult to find unless you are a particular shade of Caucasian, so be prepared to try on a lot of shoes — yet another exasperating instance of the fashion industry assuming that its consumers are white — find a camel, tan or chocolate-colored pair that matches your skin tone for the same effect), you get this unbelievable extending effect that stretches the legline all the way to the floor — with no interruptions to the vertical line, legs can look alien-long. I enjoy anything that makes a body look both sexy and subtly bizarre at the same time. Since nude is a neutral, you can pair them with almost anything and not have to sweat mismatched colors. A little hardware or color blocking goes a long way on these, as well.

Texture plays a big part in choosing a great shoe for me, too — if your wardrobe is centered around black jersey knits 99% of the time like mine, a contrasting texture can draw the eye right on down to your fabulous kicks. Structured pieces, basket-weave leather, fabric or patterned leather are all good picks to keep things kicked up and unique. Shoes with cutouts or a peep toe also emphasize the distinction between texture and skin. The electric snakeskin pumps look like they’re straight out of an 80s music video, j’adore!

Some folks hate heels, and that is just fine — I wouldn’t wear a platform stiletto to a concert or out grocery shopping, but that’s still no excuse to fall back on ratty sneakers. While ballet flats are swiftly becoming played out, there’s no reason not to snap up a basic pair with some hardware or an interesting design — and with sandal weather right around the corner here in Boston, there’s an enormous variety of open flats to choose from. While I’m not much of a fan of the gladiator sandal, I do have a soft spot for sandals that wrap around or cover up the ankle — it adds stability and looks unique.

As a side note, I had to throw those spiked Louboutin brogues in there — not because I think that they are necessarily worth the price (I don’t, despite them being Loubos), but because they are great DIY inspiration for anybody who has a beaten-up pair of plain black shoes, an awl, and a handful of screw-on spikes at hand. Try to thrift a decent pair and spend an afternoon of poking holes and adding spikes, or pyramid studs, or buttons, or patches, or…anything, really. If you’re really die-hard about your homemade knock-offs, paint the soles red.

Some shoes look amazing on the rack and great on your feet, but are just going to be challenging to pair with anything at all. My rule is this: try on the shoes and stand in the shop mirror. Think about what’s hanging in your wardrobe right now — what you wear a lot of and what you don’t wear often but would like to dust off. Come up with at least five outfits that those shoes would complement. If they only match one thing in your closet, they probably aren’t worth the splurge.

What are your favorite shoes in your closet? Got your eye on any wicked krieg shoe-fads?

Also, due to the fact that I am incapable of using the word “shoes” so many times in one entry without doing so, I leave you with Kelly Likes Shoes, which never stops being funny to me. :)

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Beth
March 31st, 2010 - 18:33

I only thought “Kelly Likes Shoes” stopped being funny when I watched Text Message Break-Up which is 10 times funnier, IMHO.
beth
April 1st, 2010 - 09:42

armadillo shoes!!!!!

http://www.myfashionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mcqueen-shoes-1.jpg

of course, i can’t even walk in my stripper shoes (killing THAT career for me) so i’d probably die wearing these…

but i still love to look at them!!!

RIP Lee Alexander McQueen, the brainiac behind the design, who tragically hung himself less than 2 months ago, the day before his mother’s funeral. =(
E. Bleak
April 1st, 2010 - 12:58

I love the Armadillos myself, but it will be a cold day in hell when I see myself walking any distance in those. Perhaps I will get a pair and make S. carry me around.

Txt Msg Brkup is fantastic, I was also a big fan of MUFFINS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tcR19y7GPM