Guest Post: Shoes And Your True Self With Style.

Yes, fashion design is made for our self-expression. That is why we have clothing for any occasion, formal or casual. But do we really apply the same principle to our shoes? If you’re anything like me, I may be dressing casual, walking down the street, but if I fall in love with a super-glamourous-sequinned-everywhere-shine-all-around high heels while at it… I won’t resist them.

I know I won’t resist them. I have a lot of fun with clothes and colours and patterns. It’s something I don’t even think about that much! I just pair things up and leave - I may wear a formal dress with sneakers.

See? The combination of your outfit is always punctuated by your shoes. I love seeing a formal, laced, girly dress with some Adidas Stan Smith. I also love some sporty trousers with a magnificent pointy ankle-boot (with metallic details please!).


You see, your choice of shoes can make our break your entire outfit. But never before we have had so many choices — we wouldn’t dare pairing high-heels with jeans some years ago! Now the trends are telling us to basically “Have fun!”, meaning that casual and formal footwear can be worn with any style of outfit. Which is great!

TRENDS

One of the biggest trends are the “styled up” sneakers. Sneakers are no more an item for teenagers or for dressing-down, lazy days. Today you find metallic, sequinned and accessorised sneakers that will add glam to your look! A plaid skirt was previously paired only with some nice heeled shoes, an open toe shoe or an ankle-boot (for a more daring, fun look). Now, with the right combination of sneakers and formal skirts (even pencil skirts do the trick!) you will look amazing and there won’t be any clashing of styles.

Of course we still love the Louboutins! Give us the good stuff! There will never be a time when a stylish, beautiful designer shoe won’t give us chills down our spine. Pointed toes and stilettos will always be the shoe synonym for femininity, glamour and style. Basically, every dream of a room full of shoes we want to have (deep down I believe any girl would love that!) are filled with designer shoes. But even those designers and great minds of style and glamour are now beginning to “funk” things up a bit - and that can only be a good thing!

As we are presented with an array of different styles and colours and materials, the combinations are endless and having fun with your wardrobe is something I advise any girl to do!

Even if you don’t have a colour-popping wardrobe (I mean, for many women, dressing in neutral colours works wonders and no one can deny how black can create stunning figures!) just get some of that style in your shoes. If you dress down, make sure your shoes make a difference.

It’s about feeling good about yourself and having fun with fashion! If you are not one to wear designer shoes or high-heels and you have a more sporty kind of look just go for the perfect upper with some colour on your shoe rack!

Pair up your LBD with some red flats, wear your gray comfy pieces with metallic-finishing shoes.

NEW LIFE TO SHOES YOU DON’T WEAR

There is now a big trend on accessorising footwear — you can now buy (or even make!) some pompons to apply on the laces or you can even apply transfer-stickers which will add dimension to a previously “boring” shoe.

Take a look at your shoes — you’ll surely find a couple of pairs you love but don’t wear because either they’re uncomfortable or maybe too boring and you don’t find yourself going for them a lot.
Instead of throwing them away or letting them gather layers and layers of dust, take them out for a transformation!

You can write or draw simple shapes like triangles or squares with the appropriate kind of markers (there are ones for fabric, others for leather, etc). If you want you can even change their colour! Go to the nearest shoe-repair shop and you will find an amazing offer on colours you can apply all over your shoes, making them look brand new as well as giving them new life with a new colour!

If those shoes you don’t usually wear have any kind of laces or holes, just go to any clothing store and buy some heat-transfers (usually placed in jackets and jumpers). You can also glue some fabric you really love in order to make them appealing and start using them again! Laces are also great for placing accessories — little rings or metallic adornments are all the rage right now.

You can also change up the laces — there is a great and amazing offer on different designs in various accessories stores. How about some pink satin laces on a simple, plain sneaker? Give it a princess look. With any kind of shoes with little holes or openings you can also insert some new studs.


What I’m trying to say with all of this is… Today’s fashion trends are giving us every opportunity to have fun with accessories. And shoes are a big part of what makes an outfit. Feel free to pair casual to formal and vice-versa, have fun dressing up old shoes you don’t wear, wear your beautiful shoes with pride and give them love, after all, they make our heart melt — take good care of them but never forget — have fun with style!

Author’s Bio:

Jane Grates

Jane owns Nicershoes and Monica’s Health Magazine. Aside from being busy with her websites, Jane is also an avid runner and joins races when she can. She lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.