MUST HAVES 

Spring/Summer 101

Summertime is here and things are heating up, therefore we have some hot  by Giuseppe Zanotti shoes served on a silver platter guaranteed to satisfy your appetite.

Sole Survivor

THE 2008 SHOE REPORT

by Priscilla Monteiro

The average woman will most likely have a pair of shoes in her trunk, oversized hand bag, in her drawer at work as well as a trailer load in her closet. You can never have enough shoes, thats for sure! This is the very reason why designers have revamped that outdated shoe your mother used to wear. This spring and fall 2008, you must have a riding boot or  a good over the knee and thigh high boot in your shoe closet. Dig up or go out and buy a good python, croc skin or snakes skin shoe to update your  entire dress code. Remember the old Oxford style pump? What about the antique leather shoe with the block heel and rounded toe? You've always scrunched your face up at mom for wearing them out in public but didn't realize how well they pair with your new Marc Jacobs bag or Prada skirt. I bet you'd wish your mom hadn't dumped that old shoe but it's quite alright because the Fashion Reporter is about to bring you up to speed on what and where to buy.

Footwear is making an appeal for the ambiguity of genderless style. The traditional menswear brogue and lace up, feminized by use of metallic and patent leathers, now grace the foot of the sophisticated urban female. A splash of stereotypically feminine color adds a playful and gender-bending twist that makes for a more vivid masculine repertoire. Additions can give an old traditional ballerina flat a sprinkle of attitude depending on how far they are taken. Expect to see an impeccable mix of neatly constructed shoes this fall whether your preference be glamorous, preppy, subdued or fun. Either way you are guaranteed to find a shoe to match your personality. Besides, it's all in the shoe, isn't it? A "good" shoe is a timeless piece since fashion repeats itself. Take the wedge, which has become popular once again.
 

                                                             SERGIO ROSSI


        GIAMBATISSTA   VALLI                                                               ROGER VIVIER
 

                            STELLA MCCARTNEY                          CHRISTIAN DIOR 

 These Spring 08 Miu Miu candlestick heel with metallic flame detailing are to be worn with minimal accessories letting the shoe make the fashion statement on its own.  

Givenchy gold metallic ankle strap sandal      Fendi suede and metal plexi runway sandal

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Miu Miu Teacup Sandal                                Proenza Shouler Python Sandal with stud detail

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 The wedge heel has also returned for another season adding a touch of height, balance and comfort which is always needed every now and then.

 Chloe Leather Wedge Ski Boot

 

In essence, shoes should be :

•  comfortable
•  wearable
•  architecturally designed or constructed shaped buckles
•  slightly weathered
•  metallic leather / python /snake skin
•  neatly constructed
  

(L) Givenchy pony-skin & leather strap up sandal (C) Miu Miu python print boot (R) Ralph Lauren Phylisse leather boot with patent detail.