Temptingly Bootielicious!!!

Givenchy 583974 (Black Goat)

Givenchy, founded by designer Hubert de Givenchy in 1952 is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics.Hubert gained reputation for his unique designs and soon found patrons in Audrey Hepburn (who serenaded his dresses in movies like Sabrina, Breakfast At Tiffany's), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and many other high profile celebrities.Givenchy's clothing line includes both haute couture as well as pret a porter.In 1995 after the retirement of Hubert, the company changed hands many times( including a brief stint by Alexander McQueen as chief designer), till the reins passed on to Riccardo Tisci in 2005.The company is currently owned by the European luxury goods giant LVMH.

There has always been some scepticism about booties.Some people don't find it feminine enough, others have trouble carrying it off, always irked by the feeling of committing a fashion faux pas.Still others would wear them only from an utility point of view like braving heavy torrents of rain or walking on snow.The advent of ankle booties as a fashion accessory has only further complicated things on the "appearing fashionable scene" throwing people into a tizzy. All ye confused souls fear not for in a few moments the Oracle of Delphi(pun intended) will reveal to you all it takes to carry off those booties in aplomb.So cast aside you sandals and brave out in your booties!!

The good thing about the booties featured here is their intense feminine appeal with a whiff of sexiness, exuding an air of extreme fashion consciousness.The open toe adds a naughty peekaboo twist to the otherwise concealed foot.The lace up front with grommet detailing provides a neatly carved sleek silhouette to the bootie and which in turn gets transferred to the feet.

Now comes the important question of "What to wear with ankle booties?"Booties can ideally be paired with skinny jeans with cigarette legs or with short dresses worn with opaque tights matching the color of the booties.The tights and the booties provide a extended vertical plane for the eye creating an illusion of super long slender legs.Unless you are tall enough to walk the ramp(5 feet 10 inches and above) do not wear booties without tights because they will cut the legs at the ankle making them appear short and stumpy.While this might do wonders on a runway model who might want to diminish her height, it will appear ghastly on the not so vertically endowed.

Here are some ideas to make you shake your bootie in confidence.

Clockwise from Left:
Yves Saint Laurent Patchwork Leopard-Print Dress,
Donna Karan Collection Bubble Dress,
True Religion Julie Jeans,
Ralph Lauren Black Label Georgina Belted Dress

Image Sources:www.couture.zappos.com www.neimanmarcus.com

Crayons Metamorphised into Shoes!!!

Claudio Merazzi Women's CM616 Dress Sandal

Claudio Merazzi seems to have the perfect answer for spring summer shoes.He has given us the opportunity of wearing all the bright summer colors of teal, lime, hot pink, orange and purple all at one go.The shoe has colors splashed everywhere, right from the vibrant suede uppers exhibited in a delicate ribbon design, to the purple insole.The narrow tall two tone heel in white and brown completes the color scheme giving us a delectable summer shoe. Show off your freshly pedicured feet in these open toe shoes which offers minimal coverage for feet.

A funny, flirty and sensuous shoe that can dramatise a pale dress like the one below into a hot summer outfit making everyone on the dance floor gravitate towards you.

Yoana Baraschi Square-Trim Dress

Image Source:www.amazon.com www.neimanmarcus.com

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

D&G Dolce & Gabbana Sandal Black 4

Dolce & Gabbana, a world renowned fashion house started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefeno Gabbana, runs two central lines namely Dolce&Gabbana, specialising in luxury items that are formal and timeless following long term trends as opposed to their other line D&G, which is urban inspired and more casual and has the speciality of setting trends rather than following them.

It can be easily guessed from the design of these shoes that they belong to the D&G line.Buckles are a big trend this season and I have spotted buckles in all sizes right from huge buckles covering the entire vamp to small ones covering the toes and ankle.But never have I seen teeny tiny buckles on the side of a shoe, at least not before seeing these shoes.The thin strappy cage shoes get lifted to the pedestal of high fashion with the buckles placed in loops.The open toe front and the strappy buckles provide minimal coverage for the foot, thereby creating an interesting silhouette.

Wearing the pair with a white dress with just a hint of black, balances out the intense black color of the shoes creating a very vibrant yet classy look.

Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Splatter Paint Mini Dress

Image Sources:www.zappos.com www.saksfifthavenue.com

Turquoise Married Purple To Produce Elegance

Silk Sandal By Etro

Etro, founded by Gimmo Etro in the 1960s has always been a pioneer in showcasing fine original fibers in elegant designs and chic colors.This philosophy is still upheld by the company which always surprises with its ingenious combination of materials and techniques turning an apparently crazy idea into an elegantly executed piece of art.

The silk sandal featured here is no exception, in terms of the novelty with regard to fusing a tropical wild print with bright colored beads.The Etro design team has again proved that even the most unique combination of materials dangerously standing on the precipice of tackiness, can, with an iota of creativity, be churned into a highly fashionable shoe.Who but Etro could have imagined that printed silk cloth and some beads in odd shapes and bright colors are all it takes to make a lust worthy shoe?The stone shaped indigo bead in center skillfully balances the orange and turquoise circular beads at both ends to create a harmonious union of colors in addition to a uniquely detailed T-strap.The brightness radiated by the beads is softly neutralised by the flawless blending of purple and turquoise in the printed silk that covers the vamp, the sole and the heel ending in a seductive knot around the ankle.The bold infusion of colors makes this pair ideal for summer wear.

Team the pair of shoes with a white tiered dress to make it the ensemble of the season.

Elijah Tiered Tie Mini Dress

Image Source:www.vivre.com www.saksfifthavenue.com

Reach Dizzying Heights

Giuseppe Zanotti Women's E80173 Platform Wedges

Giuseppe Zanotti in his early twenties traded his DJ headphones for a career in shoemaking thus confirming to the traditional occupation of his native town San Mauro Pascali.His early thrust was towards developing new styles through intense research.After a few years, finding that he was yet to come to terms with his talent he acquired a company transforming it into an expanded style office and making style, creativity and research its strong foundations.From then on there has been no looking back for this man who has relentlessly combined style with technique to create the most fashionable, delectable and sought after shoes the fashion industry has ever seen.

The shoes featured here are sculpted platform wedges with a whooping heel height of approximately 6".The first thing that struck me when I set sight on this pair is that its so retro and full of attitude.The fresh youthfulness that these shoes symbolise are further emphasized by the buckles with gold tone on the vamp and the ankle.Wear them on a day when you feel young at heart and feather footed in your soul.Since its so easy to go wrong with these shoes, wearing them with the right outfit would speak volumes about your fashion quotient.Team them with either a short dress or a denim with wide flared legs to achieve a "she knows her fashion" look.The shoes look best on those with chunky calves.

Strap these on with a dress like the one below to radiate the spring attitude of fun filled freaky funkiness.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Joelle Scalloped Dress

Image Source:www.couture.zappos.com www.neimanmarcus.com

Walk On The Rainbow

CLAUDIO MERAZZI CM525 - Suede Sandal

Claudio Merazzi, eponymous owner of the luxury Italian shoe line is reckoned with colossal respect in the world of couture fashion. He is heavily inspired by his travels around the globe and desires to satisfy women with a strong hidden urge for maverick designs.His strength lies in his ability to fuse unusual colors and materials creating fashion forward shoes which even the most fashion averse would lust for.

Spring gives us far too many reasons to experiment with bold colors, that many times I feel stumped at the thought of mixing and matching all those bold colors in harmonious unison to create a sporty and chic look, wondering whether the hot pink dress that I bought impulsively on a post lunch walk on Fifth Avenue could be accessorised with the indigo blue shoes that are mine only for the perverse reason of disproving my man for saying that I wasn't spunky enough for indigo.To all those who are despairing about getting their colors right, these pair of shoes comes as the ultimate deliverance, the messiah of spring.With a clever combination of hot spring colors like lime, orange, hot pink, teal and yellow in thin strands of seude, effortlessly woven together, these shoes add the spring zing to any monochromatic dress.Team them with a sultry evening dress in white or black and lo behold, your shoes get all the attention they deserve in addition to enhancing the color appeal of the entire outfit.

Tease your way through spring by wearing these dresses to accessorize the shoes(Yup the shoes are the attention mongers).

Left:Nicole Miller Floral Lattice Dress

Right:3.1 Phillip Lim Asymmetric Draped Silk Dress

Image Sources:www.footcandyshoes.com www.neimanmarcus.com

Roll Pin Under My Shoe

Henry Beguelin brand was born in the eighties, when the pastime of making belts and bags from cowhide and recycled materials, of a group of friends on Elba island(in Italy) took a serious turn.The brand prides itself in creating luxury instead of fashion and their products are timeless and "fad" impermeable.The uniqueness of the brand lies in its "close to nature" designs right from using vegetable dyed leather and wood as raw materials to expertly cutting, stitching and assembling them by hand.The designs stands out in their virgin appeal.

While gladiator shoes are a big fad this season, I couldn't pick one pair that caught my attention from the numerous ones that I have encountered so far until I saw this one.The shoe has no heel as such, though its function is performed by a roll pin on a wooden base.Barring comfort, the shoe has a very oriental appeal reminding one of the Geisha days where style always ruled over comfort.The shoe is teasingly different and requires a lot of spunk and chutzpah on the part of the wearer to carry it around.

The brown parachute shoulder bag on the contrary is elegantly simple with no other detailing except for a ruched handle embellished in gold tone hardware and two thin drawstrings for closure .The brand's signature of a miniature stick figure is embroidered in specialised wax thread at the front and the sides.

The simplicity of the bag contrasting with the freaky style of the shoes makes them a great pair.Grab them and cast an oriental spell on those around you.

Images Source:www.henrybeguelin.it

Of Circles and rectangles

Manolo Blahnik Stasi Leather d'Orsay

Stasi Headquarters, Berlin

Can you connect these two pictures?While most of us would answer in the negative, there is a genius among us who drew inspiration from the building to create the shoe.Overwhelmed?Needn't be when the man in question is none other than Manolo Blahnik who resonates with chicness and sophistication when it comes to the design of shoes.His uniqueness lies in his ability to discern patterns from mundane objects ,and impress them upon his shoes.This pair of shoes, despite being part of the spring/summer 2008 collection which draws heavily on the Turkish architecture, is inspired by the many rectangular windows of Stasi(secret police of East Germany)headquarters.By alternating silver tone grommets with neatly cut rectangles (Stasi influence) in black leather and styling it d'Orshay, Blahnik has undoubtedly created a master piece.The shoe gives a mellowed yet classy statement, ideal for a cocktail party.

Image Sources : www.neimanmarcus.com www.jonathantaylor.eu

Pink waves on your feet

Pink is the hue
That colors this shoe
On seeing it, at once I knew
Few dollars I'll unglue
To add this to my slew

Two-Tone Wavy Heel

This shoe is so reminiscent of the famous cherry blossom sightings.It perfectly captures the spirit of spring in its youthful choice of colors accentuated by the color block style it has been rendered in.The two shades of pink covering the vamp, are further emphasised by a similar pattern, not on the ankle strap as is the usual fare, but on the heel, which in addition to being a new trend this season, is also a cheerful deviation from the boring plain heel one is usually used to.The shoe is peppered with a wavy detail complementing the break from mundaneness which the season ushers in.Ideal for sporting on weekend getaways and informal girlie meetings, these twosome towers are a must have this season.Its simplistic design, minimalistic detailing and girlie color makes a feminine, trendy, casual yet powerful fashion statement.

Make a fun statement this spring with these shoes.

Image Source : www.neimanmarcus.com