Shoeflyer | Shoes, Trends & Reviews

That’s right, green – and no, we’re not talking environmentally-friendly — just the color. Green is on its way back and already surfacing among some shoe designers, at least, that’s what our friends at The Shoe Dish are saying. While they concede, however, that we won’t see the color’s popularity in full force until next spring, hints of the fashion trend will be appearing throughout the fall and winter. And when spring does get here, Shoefly wants you at the forefront of fashion instead of trying desperately to catch up. Here are a few ways for you to set the trend, not just follow it.

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How do you know if something is trendy? Aside from what advertisers tell you (plaid?), it’s hard to know what’s actually turning heads out there on the streets. Since designers showcase their seasonal wares at shows scheduled months ahead of the relevant season, even their best efforts could be way off mark. When you think of it in these terms, following fashion is like following a school of fish that’s constantly shifting shape and switching directions. That’s why it takes focused attention and in-depth analysis to figure out what the average consumer will see as trendy over the next few months–yet the folks over at Forbes report that it is possible.  According to their article on Fall 2009 fashion trends, Lazard Capital Markets’ analysts gathered and combed through ten issues of fall 2009 fashion magazines to discover which trends will be big this fall.  (Tough job they have over there… maybe I should think about becoming an analyst…) Here’s a summary of their findings:

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Bigger shoes. At least, that’s what this article said last week about Chicago women and their supposed larger-than-average feet. Apparently, a retail department store surveyed local women and discovered an overwhelming call for more double digit-sized shoes in stock. As a result, the store began showing the bigger-sized shoes on the sales floor and noted that women were buying multiple pairs — they’d finally found a shoe their size. And you can, too.

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The fashion community prepares for seasons far in advance. The Fall 2009 pieces, for instance, were catwalked last winter.  Although I understand why it’s necessary to show fashion lines so early (so that distributors, ready-to-wear-ers, and marketers can do their thing), it does seem strange that designers should be mum now, when women are actually beginning to think about what they’ll wear this fall and winter. And so, all this week, Shoeflyer has been featuring fall trends, to help you get ready for the chilly days ahead.  At least you have one consolation as the summer fades:  fall and winter mean you can wear more leather!  Today’s trend is all about leather (or imitation leather).  Perhaps due to the tough economy, designers have been pairing leather with plenty of biker/punk flair, including buckles, safety pins, grommets, and hooks.

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An article from the Boston Globe, “Catwalk no Cakewalk,” highlights a new trend in wearing pumps: working out. Of course, ladies have always known that a sculpted set of legs makes stilettos look sexy, but as writer Christopher Muller learns after taking a catwalk class, exercise also improves your catwalk.  By stretching and strengthening your feet, legs, and abs, you can even wear heels without killing your feet and back.

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Yes, I know we’re only halfway through summer, but talk of what’s going to be hot next season has already begun. The Boston Globe recently interviewed fashion director Julie Gilhart on what she anticipates to be “the shoe” of the fall season. Her answer? Keep reading…

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An excellent article on fashion in Baghdad has me feeling blessed to be able to express my inner diva.  In their article, “What Not to Wear, Baghdad-Style: Fashion Rules Begin To Change,” Timothy Williams and Abeer Mohammed provide an excellent overview of just how much has changed in Baghdad in recent years.  After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, clerics set strict rules about how Iraqi women could dress.  Women who did not wear body-covering, full-length abayas were threatened, kidnapped, or even killed by armed militia members.  As one woman interviewed in the article explained, “Militias did not want women’s bodies to be visible, because they thought it might charm men.” Even women who wore full-sleeve shirts and long slacks were targeted by militia, so women across the city erased themselves into cloak-like abayas. Thankfully, as the city has stabilized in recent months, a small group of young women have been brave enough to exchange their abayas for styles of their own choosing. Mini-skirts and Mary Janes are appearing across the city.

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Yesterday, we introduced a new player on the worldwide footwear fashion stage: the Aggressive Shoe.  Like many runway styles, the Agro-Shoe looks great on celebrities, models, and paper, but requires a little work to translate into everyday fashion.  If you work in a place that accepts punk-rock shoes with menacing studs, more power to you.  If, however, you must fuse fashion with a professional appearance, you’ll need an Aggressive Shoe that’s slightly less  in-your-face.  You need a subtle way to give it to The Man.  It must be so subtle that The Man might even dole out a compliment or two, completely unaware that what he admires is in fact a sign of secret rebellion.

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It seems nearly every paper in America chose to run a recent AP story on the new aggressive style of shoe. I present article Exhibit A, from The News Tribune out of Tacoma.  This story is in online editions from Taiwan to Canada.  I congratulate AP writer Samantha Critchell for her global reach.    Ms. Critchell writes, “The ‘it’ bag has been replaced by the ‘it’ shoe, says Nicole Fischelis, the group vice president of ready-to-wear fashion for Macy’s. ‘The aggressive shoe is not a new phenomenon. It’s been on the runway for a few seasons, but it’s more apparent because of the rocker-chick kind of mood that’s coming back into fashion.’” Just what does an Aggressive Shoe look like, you ask?

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Q: What do you get when you mix a broke dude, a uncannily clever cat and a pair of killer boots? A: Today’s Shoe Fairy Tale, “Puss-In-Boots.” This beloved tale has a marvelously modern, lighthearted moral: the boots make the man. Or the cat, apparently.

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