Shoes to drool over. And you’ll NEVER guess where they’re from!
OK, LADIES, forget dirty dossiers and toxic air pollution and all the depressing rest. There’s something much more important we need to talk about: shoes.
Specifically, Marks & Spencer shoes. Yes, you read that right: M&S shoes. I know, I know . . . but hear me out.
I suspect that most women, if asked to picture the typical M&S shoe, would imagine something in a mushroomy shade of beige with a sensible low heel — very possibly rubberised for extra comfort and anti-slippage qualities — and a nice, comfy, cushioned insole. Man-made, naturally, and ideally suited for Sunday lunch at the care home or a quick game of over-70s lawn bowls.
Marks & Spencer is rightly renowned for its superior quality food, excellent underwear and the occasional flash of brilliance in the fashion department. But shoes? Never been the store’s strong point — even at the top of its game.
Marks’s would certainly not be my first port of call were I in the market for, say, a natty kittenheeled zip-up boot in hot pink or silver. Or even a fire- engine red suede stiletto with an on-trend tassel.
As for sequined, block-heel, midnight-blue velvet evening courts, I’d have said: ‘ Don’t be silly, you’ll be wanting Jimmy Choo or Mr Louboutin for that sort of thing — or the toe-crushing budget Zara equivalent.’
But not any more. M&S has upped its shoe game in a really quite alarming way, as I discovered when passing through the store the other day on my way to pick up some pyjamas for my husband.
What caught my eye was a pair of electric blue (I love electric blue — what can I say? I’m a child of the Eighties) satin heels with crystal embellishment. I spotted them from all the way across the two- for- one homewares and children’s sleep sets, winking at me from on top of the display.
Oh, what’s the harm, I thought, and changed trajectory. I picked out a pair in my size, kicked off my own (somewhat uncomfortable) boots and slipped one on.
There is a certain kind of thrill a woman feels when she puts on a pair of shoes that are not just nice, not just OK, not just the right size, but completely, utterly fabulous — and it really should not happen in public in Marks & Spencer on a Monday afternoon. Colour, fit, heel height, cut, comfort: all perfect. Even the crystal embellishment — always a bit of a risk — was just the right side of bling. I turned them over: £35. I let out an inner squeal of girlish excitement. They come in bright blue, midnight, cherry red and grey. One pair in each would still cost less than a single Louboutin. Of course, every High Street store can pull off the odd flash of brilliance, the one item among a sea of rubbish that draws in the punters. But the blue satin heels were just one star in a whole constellation. All shapes and sizes of shoes — from flats to block heels and boots — in an endless array of colours, materials and styles; each one more fabulous than the last.
There was nothing for it but to run myself a shoe bath and sink right in.
Turns out I am, as ever, a little late to the M&S shoe party. Amanda Holden beat me to it last week, when she was photographed wearing the scarlet Stiletto Heel Back Zip Tassel Sandals (above, £35).
A friend of mine turned up to a dinner recently in a pair of red suede ankle boots (£69). And colleagues have been spotted returning from lunch with suspiciously lumpy-looking bags and guilty expressions on their faces. So, what has happened? Is all this just a happy coincidence, a one- off impromptu visit from the shoe fairy? Or is there something more serious afoot? Well, a bit of both. The shoe fairy, it turns out, is actually called Paula BonhamCarter. She is head of buying for M&S Collection, footwear and accessories, and she agrees to talk me through the new line.
No, she assures me, this season is not a one-off — but part of a deliberate new strategy to transform the way we feel about Marks & Spencer shoes in a bid to grab a serious share of the High Street footwear market.
The holy trinity of Paula’s plan is style, price and comfort. This may seem simple to the point of banality, but any woman will tell you it’s very hard to find all three in one shoe.
Indeed, it is a truth universally acknowledged that if a shoe fits, it will look frumpy, and if it is fabulous, it will also be exquisitely uncomfortable.
BUT M&S intends to subvert that notion, Paula tells me when I ask about the provenance of all this glorious new footwear. Hence why all M&S shoes will now have the store’s patented Insolia technology, which offers support, flexibility and cushioning.
Many of the ranges will also come in two width options, as well as the shop expanding its sizing in general, all the way up to an 8 and down to a 3.
Cost-wise, the most expensive will be a £100 pair of leather boots. My personal favourites — a pair of kitten-heel slingbacks in velvet with sequined heels (above) that really would not look out of place in Selfridges — are just £29.50. What’s more, I can actually walk in them, which is more than I can say for the very expensive designer clogs I got for Christmas a few years ago.
Of course, being a customer, I am never satisfied. If Paula could just turn her attention to bags now, and give us all a stylish, classy and affordable version of an Anya Hindmarch, my happiness would be complete.