Black heels are timeless and essential pieces for any women’s wardrobe, but sometimes its simplicity and versatility can get boring especially when interesting design elements are absent from the shoe.

Shoe specifications:

• Colour, black
• Outer, leather
• Heel height, 12 cm
• Shaft height, 11.5 cm

Why I chose this shoe: when I discovered this boot, by Giuseppe Zanotti, my eyes immediately fell to the zipper detail; it wasn’t stitched into the shoe as a straight vertical line – as typically seen – but it follows the curvature of the foot from the toe to ankle. Secondly, the sloping lines cut at the top of the boot add a futuristic feel to the overall look. Simple and unassuming design variations of the black heel will never be boring or go out of style.

Images Farfetch.com

       

       

I love it when shoes are decorated with designs such as polka dots, studs and spikes. I also like buckles and the iron lady bootie by Stuart Weitzman is a great example of the popular military chic trend coming this fall.

Shoe specifications:

• Upper, suede/leather
• Heel height, 12.5 cm with a 2.5 cm wedge
• Colour, fog suede

Why I chose this shoe: Stuart Weitzman’s iron lady bootie mixes the right amount of masculine and feminine characteristics into this shoe. Often times when the military style is applied to footwear it becomes heavy looking and removes any traces of femininity and – I think – making it hard to get enough wear out of the shoe on a regular basis. The multiple buckles on the boot are thin enough that it doesn’t overpower the design and having the entire boot in the same suede material streamlines the military look.

Images courtesy of Stuart Weitzman

As I write this blog entry it is 12:07 a.m. on a Friday morning. I’m still awake because I had an eleventh hour moment – thought my shoe pick of the week was confirmed only to stumble across footwear designed by Gianmarco Lorenzi. I couldn’t pass up sharing three styles of footwear with you – if this isn’t a display of my love for shoes then I don’t know what else is.

Shoe specifications: polka dot platform shoe

• Black leather with polka dot pattern silver toe cap detail
• Heel height, 14 cm
• Platform, 3.5 cm
  

Why I chose this shoe: I like how the polka dots are paired with the silver toe cap and the killer stiletto heel.

       

Shoe specifications: suede ankle boot

• Taupe suede ankle boot with silver with a chunky platform and silver-tone toe cap
• Heel height, 14 cm
• Platform, 3.5 cm

Why I chose this shoe: this shoe is texture driven, contrasting the napped suede finish of the boot with the smooth and shiny surface of the silver toe cap and stiletto heel.

       

Shoe specifications: peep toe polka dot shoe

• Black suede with gold polka dots
• Heel height, 15 cm
• Platform, 2.5 cm

Why I chose this shoe: this shoe is similar to the platform shoe I’ve listed above but slightly different. The open-toe and open-back portions of the shoe emphasize the shape of the foot, as well as the gold polka dots on the shoe.

       

Images from farfetch.com

I often come across my shoe finds online because there’s more selection and it gives you the opportunity to shop globally. However, nothing beats physically seeing, touching, trying on shoes in person and making those rare finds, that’s how I came across the Greenpoint wedge sandal by Be&D.

Shoe specifications:

• Upper, leather with metal stud detailing
• Heel height, 9.5 cm
• Colours, black and ivory

Why I chose this shoe: last weekend I was shopping in the Bay’s flagship store on Queen Street West. The store was clearing out old stock, making way for all the fall/winter items for the coming season. The Greenpoint wedge sandal (in black) was on sale and initially I over looked it because the shoe has such a simple and understated design. At the command of my friend (who was with me) I eventually tried on the shoe, walked around in it and then took it off, and repeated this process at least three times before making the decision to buy it. The original retail price of the sandal was $585 and I scored it for $87! The sale price literally knocked me off my feet.

         

If there’s one shoe I’ve avoided wearing like the plague then it’s a pair of clogs. In the past, clogs have never appealed to me; the chunky design along with an equally chunky heel makes me want to screw my face up and immediately look the other way.

Yet lately I’ve had a change of heart and of course it comes near the tail end of the trend Chanel sparked during its spring/summer 2010 runway show. Maybe it’s the constant bombardment of clogs I see in magazines, online stores and women wearing them on the street.

I can’t avoid clogs any longer and therefore for this week’s Shoe of the Moment I’ve chosen the astro slingback clogs by Via Spiga, they’re much more affordable than a pair of Chanel shoes.

Shoe specifications:

• Leather upper with stud detailing along the foot bed
• Colours, caramel or black
• Heel height, 10cm wooden heel and 2.54cm platform

Why I chose this shoe: I like this shoe because the design is more streamlined than the typical chunky clog. The slimming heel and platform are well balanced with the upper leather portions of the shoe, the leather foot covering and the strap at the heel.

   

It’s been a slow week of blogging; one of those weeks where the days go by in a blur and all you seem to do is eat, sleep, go to work and repeat the process over again – that’s me folks! I was so close to skip out on publishing this week’s Shoe of the Moment entry; however, I saw the Victor Oxford wedge bootie by Tory Burch and changed my mind.

Shoe specifications:

• Outer, leather
• Colour, navy
• Heel height, 10.8 cm stacked wedge

Why I chose this shoe: these oxfords, by Tory Burch, provokes an array of responses/reasons why I like this shoe; its colour contrast between dark navy and neutral brown, the balance between the smooth stacked wedge heel and the perforated leather, and the classic yet modern redesign of this style of shoe.

Lately I’ve had a thing for accessories – shoes of course – that come in neutral colours. This could be a phase I’m going through, but mostly it’s because I have my eyes out for purchases for the coming fall and these mellow laser cut peeptoe booties from Topshop are very cool shoes in the interim.

Shoe specifications:

• Outer, leather
• Colour, blue
• Heel height, unknown (but probably a few centimetres)

Why I chose this shoe: although Topshop’s product description says these shoes are blue I honestly think it's grey. The triangle laser cut outs create a whimsical feel and simultaneously provides air conditioning for your feet! I love it when you can kill two birds with one stone ;)

The healthy glow of my skin isn’t the result of a new skincare regime or expert make-up application. Oh no, I’ve been sweating for what it seems to be non-stop this past week and with the average temperature hovering around 30˚C (in Toronto) just thinking of the heat makes me take cover in an air conditioned building.

However, these knee-high leather boots by Lavin are difficult to resist and you know I don’t discriminate when it comes to footwear.

Shoe specifications:

• Outer, leather
• Colour, grey
• Heel height, 5 cm (concealed wedge)

Why I chose this shoe: quite frankly the neutral tone of these boots captured my attention. With an almost flat heel these Lavin boots make a great transition shoe going into the colder months; it  can match with just about anything in your wardrobe and the colour is likely going to be a big trend for fall 2010. In the meantime, I’ll hold off on wearing boots for a few more months.

       

       

Shoe specifications:

• Colours – gold, black, lilac, pink beige and yellow
• Outer suede or leather upper
• Heel height, 10 cm
• Platform, 2.54 cm

Why I chose this shoe: what I like about the Cash pump from Lovely People are the many colour choices and textures available – though lilac and pink beige are my favourites. The highlights of this shoe are the balanced combination of the layered scallops (i.e.: fish scales) on the front and the t-strap design, which is slightly thicker and more detailed than the norm. The cut-out sides of this shoe prevents one from feeling overloaded with texture by breaking up the fish scales on the front, thereby preventing it from consuming your whole foot.

Images from Endless

   

The image above may not give you the sudden urge to drop whatever it is you’re doing and run to the nearest shoe store to buy it – you couldn’t anyway because it’s über exclusive and there’s only one of its kind.

Shoe specifications:

• Outer, leather moccasin
• Heel height, N/A
• Inner, grass filled

Why I chose this shoe: to change things up for the weekly Shoe of the Moment blog entry, I wanted to indulge in a bit of fashion history. It may not look like much but this is the world’s oldest shoe dating back 5,500 years, to approximately 3500 B.C. during the Armenian Copper Age. Archaeologists found this leather moccasin in a cave in Armenia preserved under a pile of sheep dung.

Historical and footwear experts, such as Manolo Blahnik, have weighed in on this discovery and all are amazed at the striking resemblance of this ancient shoe to the modern shoe. In addition, the principles of footwear construction haven’t altered much since this period in Armenia’s history.

National Geographic writes a full article detailing this discovery with quotes from Blahnik and Toronto’s Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator at the Bata Shoe Museum.

Images #1 National Geographic and image #2 from Daily Mail