Making a point with spring footwear
By Lisa A. Flam |
April 14, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IF you are looking to take a fashionable step into spring, let your shoes lead the way.
Sleek, sophisticated and ladylike, the pointy-toe shoe is coming back strong, pushing several seasons' worth of chunky platforms toward the back of the closet.
The narrowed point, part of the retro-feminine trend drawing on the 1960s, has trickled down from the designer world to the mainstream market, said Gregg Andrews, fashion creative director at Nordstrom, and will be a silhouette to wear to look well-dressed and on-trend for spring.
"It looks so fresh," he said. "It feels right with everything that's going on in fashion."
The classic, versatile style, last a must-have in the "Sex and the City" era, is enjoying an updated return to the spotlight in a burst of colors and with decorations such as pretty bows and tougher-looking studs.
"When you think of the pointed-toe shoe, you think of Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy," Andrews said. "You think of those very famous fashion icons from the 1960s, but then you tweak it and you make it very 21st century."
Decades ago, women stepped out in black or white patent leather, he said. "Now we're seeing it in a whole myriad of colors and everything from nude all the way into bright highlighter colors, and of course, black is still there," he said.
If you are a newcomer to the silhouette, stylist and shoe fanatic Stacy London believes there is no better place to start than the classic pointy-toe stiletto.
"It's the basic shoe for any woman's wardrobe," said London, who says that a line-lengthening pointy toe punctuates at least one-quarter of her shoe collection, now approaching 500 pairs.
"There's nothing it can't go with, and it does literally add a little bit of height and class to any outfit," she said. "It makes you look taller, longer, leaner and more graceful."
At Narciso Rodriguez's New York Fashion Week show, pointy-toe heels, including ankle-strap and bootie versions, walked the runway. To him, the style is sexy, sensual and no-nonsense. Of all of the shoe silhouettes he has designed, the pointed toe is the most flattering on a woman's foot, he said.
"It's great when you want to look sleek and pulled together," Rodriguez said.
He added: "There is something about it that naturally looks correct."
The shoes that Rodriguez has turned out for the last several seasons also have single soles, which are more delicate that the thicker ones popular with platforms.
One of the best attributes of the shoe, which can also be fashioned with a kitten, mid-height or flat heel, is that you can wear it with just about anything. Michelle Obama worked in several medium-heel pointy-toe pumps plus a pair of sharp-point boots in her inaugural wardrobe this year.
London favors a higher stiletto paired with cropped pants or midi skirt, and said the shoes also work well with a pantsuit, a full or pencil skirt, a sheath dress and even the boyfriend jean. For a trendy outfit, dress up a look of skinny jeans, T-shirt and lightweight leather jacket with a pair of pointed stilettos, Andrews suggested. "The whole idea of juxtaposing the feminine with the more tough is a huge trend," he said.
A casual look could combine feminine shorts with a pointy toe flat, Andrews said, or add a mid-height heel to careerwear or an embellished stiletto beneath a cocktail dress. "It's a great shoe because its silhouette is so clean and neutral, you can do a lot with it," he said.
The pointy toe will make everything in your closet look new again, Andrews said, and give your psyche a boost.
"A pointed-toe shoe is unquestionably a sign of good taste," he said, "And that makes a woman feel empowered."
Sleek, sophisticated and ladylike, the pointy-toe shoe is coming back strong, pushing several seasons' worth of chunky platforms toward the back of the closet.
The narrowed point, part of the retro-feminine trend drawing on the 1960s, has trickled down from the designer world to the mainstream market, said Gregg Andrews, fashion creative director at Nordstrom, and will be a silhouette to wear to look well-dressed and on-trend for spring.
"It looks so fresh," he said. "It feels right with everything that's going on in fashion."
The classic, versatile style, last a must-have in the "Sex and the City" era, is enjoying an updated return to the spotlight in a burst of colors and with decorations such as pretty bows and tougher-looking studs.
"When you think of the pointed-toe shoe, you think of Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy," Andrews said. "You think of those very famous fashion icons from the 1960s, but then you tweak it and you make it very 21st century."
Decades ago, women stepped out in black or white patent leather, he said. "Now we're seeing it in a whole myriad of colors and everything from nude all the way into bright highlighter colors, and of course, black is still there," he said.
If you are a newcomer to the silhouette, stylist and shoe fanatic Stacy London believes there is no better place to start than the classic pointy-toe stiletto.
"It's the basic shoe for any woman's wardrobe," said London, who says that a line-lengthening pointy toe punctuates at least one-quarter of her shoe collection, now approaching 500 pairs.
"There's nothing it can't go with, and it does literally add a little bit of height and class to any outfit," she said. "It makes you look taller, longer, leaner and more graceful."
At Narciso Rodriguez's New York Fashion Week show, pointy-toe heels, including ankle-strap and bootie versions, walked the runway. To him, the style is sexy, sensual and no-nonsense. Of all of the shoe silhouettes he has designed, the pointed toe is the most flattering on a woman's foot, he said.
"It's great when you want to look sleek and pulled together," Rodriguez said.
He added: "There is something about it that naturally looks correct."
The shoes that Rodriguez has turned out for the last several seasons also have single soles, which are more delicate that the thicker ones popular with platforms.
One of the best attributes of the shoe, which can also be fashioned with a kitten, mid-height or flat heel, is that you can wear it with just about anything. Michelle Obama worked in several medium-heel pointy-toe pumps plus a pair of sharp-point boots in her inaugural wardrobe this year.
London favors a higher stiletto paired with cropped pants or midi skirt, and said the shoes also work well with a pantsuit, a full or pencil skirt, a sheath dress and even the boyfriend jean. For a trendy outfit, dress up a look of skinny jeans, T-shirt and lightweight leather jacket with a pair of pointed stilettos, Andrews suggested. "The whole idea of juxtaposing the feminine with the more tough is a huge trend," he said.
A casual look could combine feminine shorts with a pointy toe flat, Andrews said, or add a mid-height heel to careerwear or an embellished stiletto beneath a cocktail dress. "It's a great shoe because its silhouette is so clean and neutral, you can do a lot with it," he said.
The pointy toe will make everything in your closet look new again, Andrews said, and give your psyche a boost.
"A pointed-toe shoe is unquestionably a sign of good taste," he said, "And that makes a woman feel empowered."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
