Fall-ing for New Shoe Trends

Harper’s Bazaar Instant Chic section for July (which means fashion for Sept/Oct) highlighted two fall shoe trends that are worth stopping here to read about: ankle boots (in case you thought that trend was over, you were mistaken!) and gold wedge sandals, specifically when worn with dark, opaque tights! As you may know from past blogs, I fully support tights with open toes, so that this is being mentioned as a major trend I find super exciting.

You’ve probably seen all the look a-like booties by now (or shoeties - not a fan of that term), they’re solid black leather or suede with a sharp 4 inch heel and hit right below the ankle. I was crazy about them when they were fresh, but now? Yawn.  Still, I want to wear booties (major trends are my playground) but it’s going to need a nice twist to snare me now. So in that vein, I have some less generic (but no less fabulous) ideas for you below.

This Coach version (my first pick below) may be an unexpected bootie style you never thought to try: faux fur trim and a lace-up front. The only lace-up’s I’ve seen recently are spectator, menswear-inspired styles so an alternate lace-up style is fresh looking. Even better though, is the fact that these boots walk straight into the winter equally as chic. Now my second choice may or may not be for you, but there have been a lot of designers dabbling in moccasins styles off and on the past few seasons, Marc by Marc Jacobs, for instance. So if you pick up on it now, once it becomes a full blown style, you’ll be ahead of the game! (The shoes are still fashion-forward now, but if mocassins don’t catch on as a stand-alone trend in the coming seasons, well, at least you know it’ll be back soon; every trend cycles).

I love the slouchy business on these Steve Madden booties in my third spot. They would look so cool urban hippie paired with a lightweight dress (maybe a solid color in silk with a knit cardigan thrown over the top?). And last, don’t those shiny buttons just pop?! But I especially love these patent booties because of the silver heel (Did you notice Anne Hathaway’s shiny gold heel tips flashing from below her pant hems in Get Smart?). Shiny heel tips are popping up everywhere too.

Don’t worry, I’ve also got some cute picks for Bazaar’s second fall trend: gold wedges! And mine all have an interesting element - why go for basic? The Carlos Santa wedges have a clear lucite heel that I am completely crazy for. I’ve been seeing clear heels (or tinted lucite) more and more. The next pair by Betsey Johnson have a fun cut out in the center of the wedge, not to mention the flash of silver snake embossed leather on the heel surrounded by all that gold. It really draws attention to the hole and almost adds negative space, like the heel is somehow open there too (I mean a blocky “c” shaped heel, if that description only made sense to me).

Last, a tall faux wedge by DKNY. You can get a little confused with classifying these types of shoes, if you’re describing a wedge heel as being better to walk in because there’s more surface area touching the ground than something the size of a pencil eraser, then these aren’t wedges. But, if a wedge is just a heel connected to the opposite end of the shoe underneath the arch, then they are. I think both are correct so I call them faux wedges and they earn a spot here. With that super bright gold color, they’d look super hot with black footed tights.