Shoes and Shopping for Women: How to Dress Your Feet
Posted by Cynthia Elliot | Under Fashion Friday Feb 12, 2010Women love cute shoes, but the highest quality and most stylish shoes are often also the most expensive. Because not every girl can afford high-end fashion, she’s probably asked herself at least once, is there ANY way to wear the perfect shoes every day without going broke?
Yes, and she needs to become a smart shopper! Here’s how to make the most of your existing shoe collection and find new shoes, including designer brands, for cheap.
Heels are the classic feminine shoe, and designers regularly design new twists on the classic shape, but you definitely need a pair in each of these colors: white, brown, and black. Black is perfect to start with because it’s the timeless classic that goes with most outfits,
White heels go well with light-colored dresses and slacks, and I usually advise getting a strappy pair of sandals or espadrilles so that they can also perform the function of being open-toed, too. Most women don’t have the opportunity to wear light-colored heels much, otherwise.
Dark brown women’s dress shoes should round out the three major colors in heels you will need, and provide a more understated, natural look than black pumps will.
Most women should also find a pair of dressy sandals that they can wear with summer and spring outfits without to look dress without appearing formal or stiff. One pair of white dress sandals and at least one other pretty but not bold color are the minimum women’s shoes necessary to dress in the warmer months.
Following this plan for shoe buying doesn’t mean you don’t get any freedom in what you wear – buy a pair of shoes that you love, even if they’re supposedly not practical or realistic. Dress them up or dress them down, just be sure to keep everything else in your outfit low-key so you don’t look like a crazy lady practically screaming for attention.
Used clothing stores and resalers stock up on shoes that people have donated for one reason or another, but it’s usually not because the shoe is unfit for wearing! Tastes change, styles change, but every person has a different set of shoe preferences, so their loss may well be your gain if you drop by and look around for a few minutes. The stock changes daily, so keep coming back till you find some shoes you love.
Every major designer’s shoes are available for sale on online auction sites like eBay, and you might also have some luck on online message boards. Charity shops are a lottery, and you might never find anything worthwhile there, but you will definitely find new, cute shoes at outlets of major designers so that you can get the name brand for a lot cheaper.
If you just want the look of Kate Spade, Burberry, or other high-end designers, knock-off shoes are easy to find through street vendors and online. The quality is often not comparable to the originals, but it usually isn’t bad, either.
Don’t forget, a good cleaning and polishing make a huge difference on your shoes’ appearance. Give old shoes one last chance to impress you, and you may be surprised to find that you don’t need to go shoe shopping after all!
I’ve picked out the perfect espadrilles for all occasions! Visit my espadrilles resource, Cute Espadrilles Selections.
