Celebrity Shoes: The Motherload

While I enjoy reporting on celeb-fueled footwear lines, this Fall’s offerings are less of the occasional mention and more of a full-on deluge of A lister-backed collections. So here’s a roundup of who’s designing what and when shoppers can expect to test drive the star-powered shoes:

1. Nitrolicious reported that singer Beyoncé will launch the Sasha Fierce (Beyoncé’s alter-ego) for Deréon Collection. Beyoncé’s mom/mamanger Tina Knowles described the line to WWD as “edgier and trendier;” in addition to outerwear, handbags, lingerie, jewelry and eyewear look for “heavily studded shoes.”

Sasha Fierce for Deréon

According to Style Guru, the line, which launched in September for back-to-school shopping (because what 9th grader doesn’t need heavily studded heels?), “comes at a very affordable price ranging from $25 to $75 and is available at Macy’s and Dillard’s.”

2. It its Oct. 23 issue, New York Magazine’s fashion blog The Cut revealed that, on the heels of Heidi Klum’s dropped jewelry line, the Project Runway host will launch a 48-style show collection for Fall 2010. (Or, says StyleNews, the collection will “be the first to hit stores in February 2010 and will include everything from sky-high stilettos to tall boots.”) Writes the blogger, “The inspiration is the same as every celebrity’s with a fashion line — what’s currently in her closet.”

Louis Vuitton's 2009 Spicy Sandal, worn by Klum

The project, according to  WWD, is a collaboration with “Modern Vintage and Majestic Mills co-founders Rick and Brian Cytrynbaum.”

3. In all the excitement about the launch of the Olsen Twins’ Olsenboye line of J.C. Penny (they’re promoting it in a cupcake truck!), has Mary-Kate and Ashley’s other project — the Elizabeth and James line — fallen under the radar? Say it isn’t so! Nitrolicious previewed the 2009 Elizabeth and James footwear collection, pronouncing it “so amazing.” Pictured here, the lace-up flat ankle boots, available at Saks.

Elizabeth and James ankle boot

4. Paris Hilton frenemy Nicole Richie is to (says blogger Fantastictoe) partner “with Modern Vintage shoes and Earnest Sewn jeans. Richie will add a line of around 20 shoe styles to her House of Harlow 1960 label for spring of 2010.”

5. Black Eyed Pea Fergie’s shoe line, launched in Spring of 2009 through endless.com, is offering up fall and winter looks like a shearling-lined boot and a magenta suede peep-toe. Blogger Fergie Freak writes, “Recently, I have been asked about where to get some of the fabulous shoes Fergie has been seen performing in. Well, it turns out that they are part of her own line of shoes. She’s come out with a lot of new styles for the fall.” (A poll on Beauty Xpose’s Foot Fetish Friday showed that voters were evenly divided when it came to the hotness or notness of the singer’s spring footwear.)

Fergie's magenta kid suede heel

Lindsay Lohan’s Mom Launches a Shoe Line

It’s the line launch that caused the groan heard round the world: Lindsay Lohan’s mom, Dina, plans to release her own footwear designs. This is the concise Tweet from New York Magazine’s In the Cut:

@cutblog We just got this release and kind of died RT @glamour_fashion just found out dina lohan is doing a line of shoes called “shoe-han.”

It’s the line launch that caused the groan heard round the world: Lindsay Lohan’s mom, Dina, plans to release her own footwear designs. This is the concise Tweet from New York Magazine’s In the Cut:

@cutblog We just got this release and kind of died RT @glamour_fashion just found out dina lohan is doing a line of shoes called “shoe-han.”

Dina Lohan

Go ahead and google “shoe-han.” I dare you.

Actually, The StyleList is aiming for fairness if not gushing enthusiasm. “We’re happy to report that all of the shoes will be under $100, and the collection will launch around Mother’s Day 2010,” the blog writes. And, in Lohan’s own words, “The line is not called ‘Shoe-Han!’”

Though that might change in the next six months, since every fashion blogger out there is tossing the moniker around.

HecklerSpray posted a press release that reads, “Dina Lohan, diva and star of the hit E! show ‘Living Lohan,’ as well as mother to actress and starlet Lindsay, will be holding a major press conference and media reception on Thursday October, 8 at 2pm at Trump Plaza… to announce a creation of her new own shoe line, ‘Shoe-han’ as well as becoming a national spokesmodel for the popular LoveMyShoes.com retail designer ladies footwear stores.”

And for those whole like a little snark in their news, Here’s New York Mag’s more detailed missive: “The line will be sold on LoveMyShoes.com and the site ‘hopes’ to launch them worldwide by Mother’s Day. ‘Hopes’ because there remains the sliver of a possibility that fervent demand for the footwear won’t overcome the entire globe.”

The big question, of course, is what will the shoes look like. For now, that remains to be seen, unless we can go by this photo posted by ShoeBlog.

Popular opinion cold change should Lohan’s collection present shoe shoppers with the perfect footwear, but a casual poll posted at PopEater reveals that 91-percent of online votes do not plan to buy from Shoe-han.

Shoe of the Month Club

When a friend of mine, a confessed shoe addict, feverishly posted a link to Shoe Dazzle on her Facebook page, I was intrigued. And a little frightened. It’s just that the site (a shoe club that functions much like those ubiquitous CD clubs of the 90s) sounds too good to be true.

An offering from Shoe Dazzle

You take a survey. A team of expert stylists (apparently including reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who launched the online business) make personalized recommendations and then once a month (for the monthly membership fee of $39) you receive a new pair of shoes.

First off, how can an online survey detect my very individual taste in shoes? And second, for $39 am I buying a whole lotta pleather?

Well, according to About.Com’s Plus-Size Fashion, yes on both counts. “While the shoes were synthetic, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised, due to the price.” But: “Despite the fact that the shoes were not leather, they were carefully stitched and molded, and did not give the impression of cheap or inexpensive footwear, which is extremely important to me.”

More Shoe Dazzle selections

Other members also seem not to mind the synthetic material. Cyndi, a commenter on Upscale Swagger writes, “I am a Shoe Dazzler…great looking shoes, well made for faux leather, brillant idea Kimmy, Shoe of the Month club!”

Actually — and maybe surprisingly for a Web-based club run by a celebutante  who posed nude and released a workout DVD before launching her shoe service — the clammor of Shoe Dazzle is mostly positive.

Actually — and maybe surprisingly for a Web-based club run by a celebutante  who posed nude and released a workout DVD before launching her shoe service — the clammor of Shoe Dazzle is mostly positive.

Splendicity: “Remember when I mentioned I was shopping over at Shoe Dazzle? I got my package of awesome grey sky-high heels, and I thought that you might like to hear about what I thought. . . besides the fact that they were, um, awesome!”

Don’t like your monthly options? Choose the “skip a month” option and you’re not charged. But shoppers seem happy with the picks offered up based on how they answer a series of deep-reaching, soul-tapping questions (hint: Who’s style do you prefer, The Olsen Twins, Beyonce or Posh Spice?).

The cagey Marchesa

Blogger Plush Junkie seemed slightly flummoxed by her September choices, writing, “Here are the five styles of shoes that I was sent from my personal shoe stylists at Shoe Dazzle this month. Not sure if any of these are really doing it for me…” but then boldly admitting, “I am seriously drawn to the Marchesa and its eerie similarity to the YSL Cage heels that are hot right now.”

Maybe, just maybe, those expert stylists have found a way to tap our shoe psyches after all.

Fashion Week’s New Take on the Ankle Wrap

Though the strappy lace up boots-meet-sandals aren’t going away anytime soon (and I’m not complaining), the September runway shows in New York turned up some interesting variations on that theme. Derek Lam’s spring collection received plenty of raves and while fashion writers didn’t spend a lot of time at the Bryant Park tents shoes waxing poetic over the footwear (it does kind of get lost in the face of all those gowns/high waisted trousers/ginormously padded shoulders), Lam’s shoes merited mentions.

Derek Lam, Spring 2010

“Shoes, belts and bags were all by the Lam himself and figured prominently as they are a growing part of his business,” wrote StyleList. “The shoes were boy-meets-girl — elaborate strappy lace-ups and colorfully banded sandals.” The New York Post agreed, writing, “Many of the best bits of Derek Lam shows are the shoes and bags.”

Also from Derek Lam

My faves, Lam’s gladiator-ish laceup sandals, have clog-like soles and come in olive green and cranberry red. Both colors are unusual yet could be paired with a wide range of outfits. The extra-long laces, which the models wore wrapped around their calves above the top of the shoes, give a tough punk girl in combat boots look, which tempers the beachy boho feel of the open leather work.

Balenciaga, resort wear 2010

Balenciaga turned out two different themes on the ankle wrap in its resort wear collection. One, a platform creation with black patent leather layered, origami-style, over neon-bright blue and orange strips, is all at once 80s-retro, disco glam and wildly futuristic.

Also from Balenciaga's resort wear collection

The other pair that caught my eye is reminiscent of the legwarmer-meets-slipper booties popular when I was in college. (Mucklucks, my mother called them.) Balenciaga’s sweater boots feature platforms, open toes and thickly woven coils of fabric wrapping the calves. The designer has been experimenting with a similar concept for a couple seasons, prompting blogger My It Things to write (last spring), “Since Balenciaga introduced the open toed flat boots in their Spring ready to wear 2008 collection, they are slowly making their way to the market. It’s still unclear if these are meant to be ever embraced by the masses. It has nothing to do with innovation, but rather with function. It’s hard to find the perfect occasion (or weather) for something so controversial.”

Though few bloggers have gotten around to addressing Balenciaga’s 2010 collection footwear, I Want-I Got did rave, “The shoes, my god, the shoes.”

Finally, Burberry’s (http://www.burberry.com/) spring collection caught my eye, not so much for the muted pallet and rain-ready jackets as for the excellent subversive/girly “Twisted Classics” leather platform shoes. According to

“[Burberry designer Christopher] Bailey’s collection … gave us twisted leather platform shoes, braided leather platform shoes, leather and satin bandage boots with zipper details on the back and will work so well with those short, deluxe, sexy dresses.” The runway prototypes were silver and beige, but actress Emma Watson (http://justjared.buzznet.com/photo-gallery/2236471/emma-watson-burberry-london-fashion-week-02/) was photographed at London fashion week in a black pair.

Burberry, Spring 2010

Finally, Burberry’s spring collection captured my imagination, not so much for the muted pallet and rain-ready jackets as for the excellent subversive/girly “Twisted Classics” leather platform shoes. According to A Woman and Her Shoes, “[Burberry designer Christopher] Bailey’s collection … gave us twisted leather platform shoes, braided leather platform shoes, leather and satin bandage boots with zipper details on the back and will work so well with those short, deluxe, sexy dresses.”

The runway prototypes were silver and beige, but actress Emma Watson was recently photographed at London fashion week in a black pair.

Fierce or Feeble? Christian Siriano’s Spring Shoes Debut

I rooted for Christian Siriano on Project Runway and I’m still rooting. His dresses often border divine and his shoe collections might be enough to convince me to brave the Halloween-colored decor of a Payless Shoe Store.

Christian Siriano's Spring 2010 line

Actually, according to a daily fashion missive from the NY Magazine blogs, Siriano’s Spring 2010 line for the discount retailer might be a little too much. Described as “talon-heeled footwear that could possibly double as weaponry,” the recent line debut included “booties, pumps, and Mary Janes came in varying shades of sand and blue and featured multiple buckles, straps, and sequins.” And (in a Prada-reminiscent moment), “since one tall platform sent one hapless model nearly toppling, we’re sure Payless is going to tone these down for mass market.”

The Slither boot, at Payless

Ankle-wrenching danger aside, shoe bloggers are turning up mixed reviews of the collection. “Christian Siriano’s high heels don’t inspire me at all,” sniffs Style Frizz while Splendicity gushes, “Christian Siriano’s spring line is inspired by Mediterranean travel… They are dramatic and beautiful with textured tribal elements, fabulous prints and lots of glitzy details — like sequins.”

Also a cheerleader, I Heart Heels had this to say: “The collection is expected in Payless stores next February. I know I cannot wait to purchase. Cheers to affordable luxury!” Finally, the opinionated but balanced Tom & Lorenzo opined, “We don’t love them completely. First off, those bizarre drawstring appendages are not at all fabulous. Secondly, that heel, while interesting, looks decidedly unstable. We do love the prints, though.”

Ultimately, what matters is the end result and that’s up to Payless. Siriano’s Fall 2009 collection (reportedly much toned down from the designer’s original idea) features four looks: A “Strut” pump, a “Saunter” flat, a “Sandtrap Peep Toe” with a vaguely bondage-looking ankle strap and (the most subversive) a “Slither” ankle boot with a satin finish, 4 inch heel and conical brass hardware. At $50, most shoe shoppers can afford to test-drive the fierceness for themselves.

A Date with Shoes

Every time I wear a new pair of shoes, my mother asks (exasperated and rhetorical), “How many pairs of shoes do you own, anyway?” As if I’m the Imelda Marcos of Asheville, N.C., my 800 square-foot bungalow overrun with ballet flats, gladiators, sling backs and ankle boots. Though I always give the same answer (“Oh, maybe 20 pairs” – a bold-faced lie) I find myself thinking, “Not enough!”

365 Days of Shoes

However, most of us do have limits, whether it’s closet space or budget. That’s where calendars can help. No, not as a way of mapping out when to purchase the next pair of stilettos, but as a two-dimensional means of collecting more shoes, glorious shoes. Take the 365 Day of Shoes calendar. For about $13 you get to ogle a new pair of shoes every day of the year. That’s way better than a new Far Side joke each day, right? And the 2010 installation, which takes its inspiration from author Linda O’Keeffe’s 1996 Shoes, features a Manolo Blahnik pump on the cover. Yummy.

Andy Warhol the Taming of the Shoe

Recently, About.com writer Desiree Stimpert blogged about the top shoe-themed calendars for 2010. Among her picks: Andy Warhol the Taming of the Shoe, a 16-month calendar featuring the elegantly arched, stylized drawings from early in the career of pop artist Warhol. (For those who thought Warhol’s claim to fame was just a lot of soup can screen prints, the iconic creator actually studied commercial art at the School of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and got his start during the 1950s in magazine illustration.)

Shoe Fleur

Equally arty, the 2010 wall calendar Shoe Fleur (a word play on the French term chou fleur) features whimsical botanically-inspired images by Michel Tcherevkoff. Stilettos, sandals and platforms are transformed into artichokes, irises and even a preying mantis. It also comes in pocket-planner size.

High Style Unforgettable Heels

Sticking with the art theme, High Style: Unforgettable Heels features five sassy shoe images for each of the 12 months, and culls its picks from the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. These are wild and whimsical sculptural styles, all bright and shiny and drool-worthy.

Shoes wall calendar

Inspired by Baroque and Rococo paintings, London-based shoe designer Basia Zarzycka set about creating her collection. Fit for the likes of a modern-day Marie Antoinette, the ornate offerings also make for mighty fine décor. The dozen styles on display in this calendar, entitled, simply, Shoes include a pair of winged sandals, purple fur booties and ultra-stylized Western boots.

Just the Right Shoe

Finally, one solution for the shoe-lover who lacks storage space: Miniatures. At least that’s how artist Lorraine Vail went about it. Her exquisitely-detailed sculpted collectibles (each complete with its own name) are rendered in miniature, and then captured in this 2010 desk diary, Just the Right Shoe.

Over-the-Knee Boots: Not Just for “Working Girls”

I remember passing the time in the downtown mall/bus terminal, circa eleventh grade, gazing at the pairs of thigh-high patent boots displayed in the window of a lingerie shop. At the time they seemed so glamorous, so tough yet feminine. (Little did I know the store was frequented by ladies of the night.)

Over-the-knee boots are back — and this time for nice girls, too. Even Glamour Magazine noted the trend in an online blog (though the writer does wonder if the style is “is a bit too Pretty Woman“).

Two Lips by Kitty Kat

Apparently readers aren’t worried about the “working girl” connotation. First, five out of six styles that Glamour spotlights are already sold out. Second, readers responded with raves like, “Ok, so I was flipping through the April 2009 issue, and I saw a picture of these AMAZING over the knee pink suede boots that I am DYING to get” and “I’m in love! Victoria’s Secret had a pair for 100 bucks. they had the perfect heal plus you could just fold down the top and make them knee highs.”

Tall boots by Giuseppe Zanotti

Glamour readers are not the only ones trying on the trend. Says Fashionising.com: “Over-the-knee boots: they may yet be one of the biggest fashion trends in 2010. We touted them as one of the year’s biggest shoe trends only in mid-May, and yet we’ve already spotted them on everyone from Natalia Vodianova to Kristen Stewart.”

boots by Bronx at Victoria's Secret

And Coutorture.com reported this spring, “Over-the-knee boots were all over the Fall 2009 catwalks, in styles that ranged from stocking-like to trouser-like in their appearance … these boots will undoubtedly cost quite a bit when they hit the retail floor.”

A fetish-inspired style by Alexander McQueen

Cost is a detractor: Most styles on Zappos run over $100, and those that don’t tend to be fashioned from polyurethane. Very Pretty Woman. Another downside is wearability: this is a style that veers easily into fetish gear. (That’s fine if that’s your thing, but it’s a big departure for ballet flat fans…) Or, as Blogger Splendicity points out: “Though I’m not sure about this trend being able to translate from the runway to real life, designers are churning out these tall boots.”

Eve by Dolce Vita

Blogger ShoeGoddess offers up one idea for how to wear her pair of tall Dolce Vita Eve boots: “The cut-out in the back of the boot ensures that you get that full over-the-knee look, but you won’t be claustrophobic at the same time,” she writes. “Flat boots literally work with everything, but I especially like to pair them with skinny jeans.”

Lattice is the New Cage

While shoe trends come and go with the breakneck pace of El Nino-induced white caps, there is some comfort in the evolution of style. One look, especially much-loved one, has a way of breeding the next generation of trend. Take gladiators: The strappy cute sandals made a huge comeback last summer. Those shoes spawned bondage-y heels and boots with copius buckles and straps. Then came cage heels: still bondage-y, but more refined. And now, the next style down the pipe (according to blogger Shoewawa) is lattice.

Hosty by BCBG Girls, at Zappos.com

“Mesh and weaving is becoming a big hit in the ‘post-cage-shoes’ era,” Shoewawa writes. “It takes a skilled designer to work this look into something that doesn’t end up resembling a grocery bag and there are some shocking examples out there of where some have tried and failed – but here, I’ve found a few that seem to get the look just right.”  (Those include Chanel’s two-tone patent woven boot, Manolo Blahnik’s mesh heeled shoes, Jeffrey Campbell’s Brazze and L.A.M.B.’s woven peep toe shoe boot.)

Trend-watcher Fashion Style Me also lists the lattice craze among Women’s Shoe Trends for 2010.

http://fashionstyleme.co.cc/index.php/2010-women-s-shoe-trends

Of YSL’s Stefano Pilati, the blogger writes, “These sexy open-trellis weave shoe-boots will re-boot any outfit ready for spring.” And: “This lattice-weave styling is catching on across the fashion spectrum; find them in black & tan & in bold colors too. Women’s glossies are bowled over by the mesh trend, & YSL’s caged ankle-boots [were] Elle magazine’s pick of the month [in the] UK February 2009 edition.”

Jeffrey Campbell Brazze lattice heel, available at Freepeople.com

Trend-watcher Fashion Style Me also lists the lattice craze among Women’s Shoe Trends for 2010. Of YSL’s Stefano Pilati, the blogger writes, “These sexy open-trellis weave shoe-boots will re-boot any outfit ready for spring.” And: “This lattice-weave styling is catching on across the fashion spectrum; find them in black & tan & in bold colors too. Women’s glossies are bowled over by the mesh trend, & YSL’s caged ankle-boots [were] Elle magazine’s pick of the month [in the] UK February 2009 edition.”

Type Z by Hennelly, at Zappos.com

The Shoe Goddess is on board, remarking, “Stella McCartney always has the perfect way of keeping her designs simple, but making them stand out as well. The netting is super hot, and she too is following in the gladiator trend… This shoe has just made me love a new trend – the basket weave – hot!”

Stella McCartney mesh basket sandal

Blogger Suddenly Darling also gives a shout out to lattice/mesh/weaving, reporting, “This season a new breed of boot has emerged, the caged bootie. It’s like a peek-a-boo shoe. Instead of the gladiator lace, these come in mesh and various weaves.”

An Oxford Education

“An Oxford shoe is a style of leather shoe with enclosed lacing,” reveals Wikipedia. “Oxford shoes are traditionally constructed of leather and were historically rather plain.” And that’s exactly why it’s a little disconcerting that Oxfords — those cap-toed, laced-up flagships of the sensible shoe fleet — are sharing space with the words “Trend Alert!”

Gravati Oxford

But it’s happening. “Trend Alert: Oxford Shoes Are About To Be All The Rage,” announced Glamour magazine in a recent daily style blog. The post goes on to enthuse, “Here’s what you can wear yours with: EVERYTHING. They look great with or without socks, with skinny jeans or cropped pants, with skirts and dresses, shorts and capris.”

Joi Suede Lace-Ups

New York Magazine also tapped Oxfords for fall, writing, “The emerging shoe trend: colorful, comfortable oxfords, a welcome evolution from the ubiquitous ballet flat.” Comments to the post range from “Gross, these are shoes for men” to “I love these for a casual Katharine Hepburn-esque day outfit.”

Blogger shut up, i love that shirt on you gave the subject some thought, deciding, “There is one trend I cannot ignore. I also can’t decide if I’m on board with it. Allow me to introduce you to what very well may become the new ballet flat: the Oxford.” In a reader poll on the site, 45% voted “Fab” to 55% claiming “Woof.”

Kimchi Blue Metallic Oxford

Lukewarm reception to the idea isn’t stopping designers or stores. Saks carries Joie suede lace-ups, Italian-made Gravati Oxfords can be found on on Zappos.com and Urban Outfitters is selling the adorable Kimchi Blue metallic Oxford.

Canvassing the Neighborhood

Recently, New York Magazine posted the following fashion missive: “Bensimon, maker of our favorite French sneakers, has added a new style for summer and one local store currently has them in stock.” For shoppers in N.Y. City, “Tani, on the Upper West Side, has just received a shipment of the new ballerina-style sneakers, which feature a strap that loosely ties at the ankle … The rubber sole gives traction on wet days and the canvas molds nicely to feet after a few wears.”

So, the rubber-bottomed canvas sneaker is new. Again.

Blogger Trend Doll http://trenddoll.com/2009/05/02/sneak-files-006-canvas-sneakers-spring-summers-best-bet/ writes, “Many of our favorite designers have created their version of how a canvas sneaker should be. But who wants to pay a grip…right? Try hitting your local discount spots for canvas skippies…they work just as good!”

Bensimon canvas sneaker

So, the rubber-bottomed canvas sneaker is new. Again.

Blogger Trend Doll writes, “Many of our favorite designers have created their version of how a canvas sneaker should be. But who wants to pay a grip…right? Try hitting your local discount spots for canvas skippies…they work just as good!”

Play sneakers by Comme des Garcons and Converse

Blogger 2 Fresh 4 Yall has also spotted the trend, though keeps it high end, writing, ”Comme des Garçons has released a fair share of sneakers in the past, especially collaboratively, however they are now about to introduce the very 1st PLAY sneaker.” The unisex high and low-tops are a collaboration with Converse and come in black or white with a red heart motif.

Paladium Commandos Boots

Go for a grittier look with the rugged-cute Israeli military canvas boot which falls squarely between skate rat and paratrooper.

Keds style

Add this one to the “Everything old is new again” category: Keds (the company that’s been there forever, with those good-girl skimmers-parlayed-into not-so-goody-two-shoes retro-patterned wedges) now offers up a Design Your Own feature. Choose from a lace up, a slip on or a mini slip on and then mix and match colors and prints on each section of the upper. But it doesn’t take an individualized shoe to rock a unique look in Keds. Need proof? Look no farther than the casual-chic model on the Web site’s main page.