My shoe story and new season wishlist

I have only two pairs of shoes right now, not counting my sports shoes. I’ve been living with just these two pairs since four months now (no kidding). Besides, autumn/ winter collections have hit the stores, so it’s time to invest in a new pair. Or two. Or several.

But I’m a fussy shoe buyer and there’s good reason for that. I have tiny feet with a difficult size, and so when I buy shoes, I have to buy a pair that looks great, fits wonderfully, and lasts me a long long time.

Sigh… here in Yangon, like almost everywhere else, size is THE main problem, but that doesn’t stop me from checking out shoes like my life depended on them. As they say, if you can’t wear them, admire them. Okay, I just made that up.

Anyways here are some droolworthy shoes I’d like to own. You are welcome to drool too.

I can see these slip-ons from Accessorize jazzing up all my casual outfits.

Accessorize slip-ons

Sexy pumps from Aftershock. Now all I need is a party invite…

Aftershock London pumps

… And a lunch invite to tote these gold loafers from Tresmode.

Tresmode  gold loafers

Every girl needs sensible ballerinas, and I like this pair from Lavie.

Lavie blue BALLERINA

Now this is what I call comfy, edgy chic from the Vanilla Moon stable.

Vanilla Moon  TANIA

Just one word: prints! Clarks X Orla Kiely is killin’ it.

Clarks Orla Bella Blue Floral shoes

A red-hot pair from Metro that will knock him over.

Metro red heels

Oh-so-versatile classy block heels in black from Marie Claire (available at Bata).

Bata block heels

Chic Review: Get spoilt for shoes at Heel & Buckle

Chic Review: Get spoilt for shoes at Heel & Buckle

About Heel & Buckle
Heel & Buckle is a multi-brand shoe store featuring four brands: Alessandro and Rad Russel for men, Pazzion and Paco Gil for women. In Mumbai, the store’s at the Palladium, Lower Parel.

Heel & Buckle Store image 2

So what are these brands?
As the names would suggest, the brands housed at Heel & Buckle design premium pairs of shoes, high on style and quality (and thus not so easy on the pocket either, but more on that later).

First impression
The store looks neat! For a change, I didn’t get drowned in a sea of shoes. The shoes weren’t forced together like foot soldiers in battle, but grouped into mini-shoe stations with pairs of a specific theme displayed together. And because there aren’t hundreds of pairs overwhelming you, you’d end up carefully looking at each style, enjoying what you see (and therefore, more likely you’ll buy shoes from them).

Heel & Buckle womens shoes

Shoes in store
There are pumps, flats, stilettoes, embellished shoes for women, with formal, lace-up shoes, brogues and slip-ons for men. While most of the shoes I saw were meant for special and formal ocassions, parties and the like, you’d get a few pairs of everyday shoes too. BTW, there are also bags for men and women, along with belts and guys’ shoe accessories.

So what was good?
Most women’s styles were pretty, smart or elegant, but not too different from what I’d already seen at other brands. I liked some of the bejewelled shoes at the store and fell in love with a gold pair that I was very tempted to add to my trousseau! But overall I wasn’t too impressed with the women’s range, and found it a bit underwhelming given the prices.

Heel & Buckle shoes

And what was awesome?
But let’s talk about men’s shoes now, because they drew my breath away. The exquisite leather, the finishing and the colour options were excellent, and I felt that finally there were shoe options for men that weren’t too boring, and not too casual or teenage-y either. And while there were several colours and styles, they were “safe “enough that most non-experimental Indian men would be willing to try.

Heel & Buckle mens shoes

What about prices?
Most pairs of shoes were Rs 6000 and above, and I the prices could up to Rs 20,000 plus. Yes, these prices would be a stretch for plenty of folks, but there are shoes, and then there are shoes. IMHO, the better pairs at the store would be worth the price, especially the men’s shoes.

How does Heel & Buckle compare to other shoe brands?
Heel & Buckle is not like any other shoe store, as you may have guessed already. So comparing it with shoe brands in India like Charles & Keith or Aldo would be unfair. In terms of prices, Heel & Buckle shoes are closer to Steve Madden, though definitely higher.

So what are their best shoes?
Choose a smart versatile pair from the fabulous men’s range. Or look for an embellished style in the women’s range.

Heel & Buckle mens shoes

More on the decor
There are some very personal creative touches to the decor that makes you give you a warm feeling. The little shoe tree at the entrance was adorable (see below). And then, there was a vintage typewriter and other such things that added some personality to the store!

Heel & Buckle decor

Heel & Buckle decor

Should you shop at Heel & Buckle?
Absolutely yes for men’s shoes (if you’ve got the budget). If you’re a woman shoeholic, you’re spoilt for choice anyways. It would be best to buy a one-of-a-kind pair that would be the key piece in your ensemble or an investment for seasons to come.

LFW SR 2013: Men’s accessories of the week

LFW SR 2013: Men’s accessories of the week

Surprise, surprise! Men’s accessories suddenly grabbed the spotlight at Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2013. Here’s a look at the top accessories for the guys:

Bags

Bags for boys were spotted in several shows—Shantanu-Nikhil and Arjun Khanna, to name a few

Arjun Khanna LFW SR 2013

Shantanu Nikhil LFW SR 2013

Brooches

Elegance personified at Rohit & Abhishek for Woven Gold.

Brooches at Rohit-Abhishek for Woven Gold

Shoes

High-top sneakers at Kunal Rawal are the ultimate in cool shoes!

Kunal Rawal shoes LFW SR 2013

Mojris aren’t usually seen in fashion shows, so this was a pleasant surprise at the Rohit & Abhishek show.

Shoes at Rohit-Abhishek LFW SR 2013

LFW SR 2013: Footwear of the week

LFW SR 2013: Footwear of the week

Kolhapuris gone wild

Aprajita Toor’s footwear was part of designer Debarun’s ramp show. This designer seems to love to give a personal touch to the typical kolhapuris and sandals. The colours are bright, the embellishments are cute though kitschy—the ones who love the Indian boho look will like these shoes.

Aprajita Toor shoes

Vintage shoes

These wedges from Frou Frou by Archana Rao are embroidered to go with the vintage theme of her collection. Notice the cross-stitch pair on the top left. Archana Rao is perhaps the kind of designer who wants her collection to be exactly the same theme, right down to the last detail (there were similar prints/ embroidery in her garments).

Frou Frou by Archana Rao shoes LFW SR 2013

Unusual (weird?) shoes
Megha Garg had some very unusual shoes. From afar, they seemed like boxes. A friend had to point out that these “green things” were actually footwear. 😛

Megha Garg shoes at LFW SR 2013

Chic Opinion: Why Indian men are obsessed with shoes

Chic Opinion: Why  Indian men are obsessed with shoes

It’s true– Indian men love shoes, and they love them more than Indian women. Here’s proof:

 

Google Trends- shoes for men

 

This graph shows the relative volume of searches done in the past one year in India for the terms “men shoes” and “women shoes”. Terms like “shoes for men” and “shoes for women” show similar trends. Surprised? So was I!

As the Google trend chart indicates, men’s shoes are way more popular than women’s shoes in India (globally the search trend is just the opposite). So does that mean Indian men are more interested in shoes than women? Well, it does seem to be so.

With most Indian women complaining that the guys here are just not fashionable, this little statistic has been puzzling me for a while now. Most women I spoke to said they knew guys who loved shoes but just didn’t know why.

image

To get some answers, I went straight to the source- guys I know who love shoes. This includes a colleague who loves wearing coloured shoes to work (our office dress code is smart casual) and a couple of friends. Here’s what they had to say:

Men have fewer fashion choices or options to change their look. There’s tshirts and shirts, jeans and trousers on a normal day. So how do you get some variety? With accessories, specifically shoes.

image

Watches are expensive, ties are almost redundant and in India you don’t get to experiment much with jewellery like cuff links or chains. Changing the shoes are an easy and inexpensive way to update a look.

Guys like to stick to specific types of shirts or styles (they even buy multiple pieces of a single garment at one time), and often repeat jeans throughout the week, so the lack of variety is made up with a change in footwear.

I think this seems to be a reasonable enough explanation. What do you think?

PS- Ladies, next time your man complains about your footwear collection, point to his shoe rack. And men, there’s nothing to be ashamed about- women completely understand what shoe love is, so admit it. 🙂