Remember that Elvis Costello song, The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes? Well, they would if you were wearing these. Love the rich look to this red suede. The heel height is reasonable (just over 2″) and the strap across the vamp makes it nice and walkable. I’d wear it with a dark brown pant, or a nice dark charcoal pant — gorgeous. They’re $85 at Zappos in the red suede; they also have them in a “dark denim” suede. Note that 6pm has the black kid color on sale; and Lord & Taylor has them in patent (black and taupe) for $49.50. But me? I’d go for the red. Franco Sarto – Eureka (Barolo Suede/Patent) – Footwear
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N.B.: Peep toes are not appropriate for all conservative offices — know your own office!
For today’s coffee break, I’m in the mood for something bright and colorful — and this vibrant yellow heel from Seychelles quenches that thirst. Love the way the vamp is high enough so you can walk in it, but not so high that it strangles your leg, and love the low, solid heel. It’s on sale at Zappos — was $90, now $72 (also available in seafoam green, a beige “vacchetta,” and black). Seychelles – Aquamarine (Mustard) – Footwear
N.B.: Peep-toes may not be appropriate in every office. Know your office culture!
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We’re in a peep-toe kind of mood today, and we’re loving these lovely pumps from olsenHaus (which, apparently, has no connection to the fashion empire of those other Olsens). In addition to being ridiculously cute and having a heel below 3″ (the combo is hard to find), the shoes are also vegan. We like the gray/yellow (pictured), but the hot pink or teal would make a fun pop of color to an otherwise sedate outfit. They’re $199.95 at Endless.com. olsenHaus Women’s Grace 2 Peep Toe Pump,Grey/Citron,7 M US
N.B. Peep toe shoes are not appropriate for all offices. Know your office!
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You know, it has been far too long since we expressed our love for purple shoes. (Unless we’re crazy and we did it last week, in which case, our apologies.) They go with navy and black, they add a dose of funk (in a conservative way), and, in general, they’re great. We had not seen the “plumeria” color in Cole Haan before — but we must say, we’re loving it. They’re $278 at Zappos. Cole Haan – Carma OT Air Pump (Plumeria Snake Embossed) – Footwear
(Note to readers — gauge your office culture before wearing open-toed shoes like this; they are inappropriate in the more conservative spaces.)
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Today’s reader mail comes from reader E…
My feet get sweaty while wearing pumps all day. Am I supposed to be wearing some type of hosiery-sock with them? How do others deal with the sweaty feet issue? Is it even appropriate to have the bare tops of my feet showing while I’m in pumps?
And in that same vein, what are your thoughts on “toe cleavage?” Some of my pumps are cut so low that I’m flashing toe cleavage at work. Can you recommend pumps that are cut higher?
We’re curious what the readers have to say about this one. (Pictured above: Toe Cleavage, originally uploaded to Flickr by cuteheels.) For our $.02: We find it difficult to walk in pumps while wearing trouser socks or tights — on those days we tend to wear Mary Janes, T-straps, or at least something with a higher vamp. And we’ve seen plenty of women on the streets of New York wearing pumps and bare feet. There do exist various kinds of socks — toe covers or other — but in our experience they tend to be very difficult to wear with pumps because the cloth from the “sock” is always showing. (A guiding principle, though: for the love of God, please do not take your shoes off if you’re sitting in a meeting. In your own office, fine, but no one wants to see bare feet beneath a conference room table. Actually, no one wants to see bestocking’d feet, either.) But then, our feet don’t get that sweaty — apparently, camel leather shoe inserts are your best bet to helping control that issue. (If anyone can recommend a brand of such inserts, we’re sure our reader would appreciate it — we can’t seem to find one.) We would also advise giving your shoes a day “off” between wearings, to let them air out and so forth.
In terms of toe cleavage — this has historically been a controversial issue, and maybe one that’s ripe for a poll. But that said, personally, we don’t mind it. Here’s our reasoning: there are a variety of reasons why other types of shoes are considered not acceptable for the office. The peep toe requires a perfect pedicure (and hopefully the wearer doesn’t have unattractive toe problems, such as hammertoes or things). The tall boot (which, according to our poll a few weeks ago, 1 out of 5 women would still say is “absolutely, always inappropriate” for the office) veers a little too close to the “dominatrix/stripper” vibe. And yes, there’s the name — cleavage — but, let’s face it: a view of your toes isn’t similar to a view of your breasts. (Also, we’re a little biased because a friend of ours had a great kitten-heeled pair of Louboutins that showed toe cleavage, and we loved. those. shoes.)
Readers, what are your thoughts?
