If The Shoe Fits ....

... wear it!

Okay I haven't developed some sort of foot or shoe fetish! Honestly! Its just that its hard to ignore shoes here in Italy. Particularly women's shoes. What is often considered acceptable day/office wear I still find a little startling even after three years. And the footwear often does give rise to questions such as:

• How does she walk on heels that high?
• Don't those leather straps going half way up her leg chafe?
• Where does she put her toes?
• Doesn't that clanking she makes when she walks bother her?
  
• Why the hell was she thinking when she bought those?

Last weekend on the trip to Milan it was a little hard to avoid fashion footwear. After all it is the fashion capital of Italy and one of the hottest fashion venues in the world, so it should come as no surprise that shoe shops abound and window displays are filled with enticing little bits of leather and sparkle.

Most of these shots were taken during a Saturday stroll around the fashionable shopping area of quadrilatero della moda - Via Montenapoleone and environs.
One of the first stores you hit as your turn off Montenapoleone to Via Sant'Andrea is Rene Caovilla, which means shoes, shoes and more shoes. If the red logo isn't enough of an indication then the delightful window display - my god but Italians know how to dress windows - leaves no doubt. And though those fanciful little numbers hanging in the window are strictly for display they does have some serious shoes for sale. Including those little studded numbers which can be all yours for only €595,00 (CAD797.37 - USD776.32)- obviously they weren't on the July sales list.
But these stylish bits and pieces of leather and other sundry materials were all marked at 40% or 50% off. I should explain that there are two legal sales months here were everyone and I mean everyone knocks their prices down: January and July. So these charmers can be had for as little as €150,00 or as much as €275,00 - cheap at half the price! Oh wait a minute that is half the price.
However there were no discounts for these mesh numbers nor the studded ones but I won't be surprised to see some one sporting them at our local tavola caldo come September. And I was happy to see that leopard spots never seem to go out of style!

And the men aren't short changed in the shoe department either. I actually found two pairs I wanted at Massimo Dutti but they didn't have them in my size - no honestly! However for a mere €1200.00 I could have had a pair custom made. Or for a 10th that price I could be sporting those smart blue snake skin numbers with the sparkly buckles. I'm just not sure they'd work with my current wardrobe. Maybe I'll just wait until the January sales.

01 agosto - Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori