Time to fall for autumn’s silliest shoe (it’s velvet!)
HOW TO DRESS LIKE A GROWN UP
NOW for something different: velvet shoes. Possibly the least practical and most unlikely footwear trend of 2017, but perfect for now, so bear with me.
As a child in the Seventies, velvet meant hand-me- down pinafores (accessorised with garish pieces of tinsel when it could be purloined from the Christmas tree). By the end of the Eighties, it had become the quintessence of sophistication — and I had a bustier dress (stolen from my sister’s university trunk) to prove it.
A decade later, I was in a variety of panné velvet (that stretchy polyester stuff) sheath dresses, the more indecently micro the better, so far as tips were concerned in the champagne bar at Kensington Roof Gardens.
I managed to skip the pink velvet Juicy Couture tracksuits in the early Noughties, and instead bought myself a black velvet trouser suit from Margaret Howell, which gave good service until moths moved in and made a luxury home of it. TOdAy,
the only velvet I own is footwear. A pair of flat, pointy Jimmy Choos in blush pink (now a little grey around the edges), elegant black court shoes by Tabitha Simmons with threadbare heels, and old Gucci sandals, which, miraculously, still look brand new.
I won’t lie — for the most part, velvet shoes are not a long- term investment. It doesn’t seem to matter how much or how little they cost.
do THEy ever recover from being caught short without an umbrella in a sudden downpour? No, they don’t. Will the fabric on the toes bald faster than a receding hairline? yes, it will. And if you go dancing in them, will the dye run, leaving your toes a worrying shade of frostbite-blue? I’m afraid so.
But — and here’s the crucial bit — the velvet shoe is a surefire way to elevate any outfit this autumn/winter.
They’ll give a lustrous punch to all those on-trend gnarly tweeds, a dash of glamour to that well-worn pair of black tailored trousers and a thunderbolt of colour (if you choose to go the jewel-hued route, velvet really is the best option) to even the most low-key denim.
The options are mindboggling. From chunky heeled mules in a tone best described as tipsy Beaujolais Nouveau, to ankle boots and loafers masquerading as serious footwear in every shade of midnight.
If you have magpie tendencies and are drawn to stuff that sparkles, go for bejazzled velvet numbers. See the pink Kurt Geiger Anja Embellished Court Shoes (pictured, £230, very
exclusive.co.uk,) adorned with a sequined rose bed. Or blue Valencia slippers (£88, free
people.com) — the shoe equivalent of a Gothic tapestry.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll have returned from your summer holiday feeling blissfully relaxed and champing at the bit to update your wardrobe. And is there any better way to reset yourself than with new shoes? There is not.
For me, it’s a toss-up between pale grey backless loafers (£88,
freepeople.com) and sharptoed navy flats with giant bows (£25.99, zara.com) — I know, ridiculous, but now I’m so used to sideways glances at the school gates, I welcome them.
So long as you don’t mind the odd raised eyebrow, the velvet shoe is your fast-track to nailing autumn. And did I mention how comfortable they are? They don’t rub — and you can’t say that about a lot of shoes. REBECCA LOWTHORPE is fashion director of Grazia.