Red Shoe ... Green Shoe

Tis the season.  I know, red and green shoes make you think of Christmas, but that’s not the season I’m talking about (bonus points for anyone is already done with their 2008 Christmas shopping – I’m not done, but I do already have three people’s gifts bought and put away in the “gift area” of my closet), I’m of course talking about the upcoming holidays – St. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day! 

So it’s almost Valentine’s Day, and I am in love!  With red shoes!  Seriously, everyone should have at least one pair of red shoes in their closet.  They will expand your wardrobe and take you out the land of the boring and into the land of the fabulous.  Red shoes can really take an outfit to the next level, and they are quite versatile. 

Dark red goes very well with grey (my friend calls these my “ruby slippers”)

 

Depending on the shade of brown, can look equally fantastic with brown. They certainly go with black too (what doesn’t?!). 

A brighter red, think lipstick and fire engine, looks really hot with denim!  Case in point, check out some of these shots from the anthropologie catalog.

 

I love these red waterproof suede boots with the cute little silver buckle, and they look best with jeans.  I’m actually not a real fan of suede shoes because I think the texture can compete with the fabric of the pants, but for some reason it works fine with denim. 

Green shoes?  Ready … set … go!

I bought these green patent leather ballet flats at Filene’s Basement in November (I guess I love the silver buckles, huh?!).  They are by Kenneth Cole Reaction and came in several colors.  I contemplated black because of the practicality factor, but practical black over green patent leather?  They had me at hello!  Here is a tip to wearing shoes like this.  They are meant to show off the top of the foot, so the idea of putting on socks with them is semi-retarded, but patent leather shoes make noise!  So you do need something between your foot and the shoe.  Here is the solution: a little mesh sock thing made by Hue.  The mesh is a pale color that will blend in with most skin tones and the bottom is solid cotton.  They keep the shoes quiet and your feet blister free. 

I cannot say enough about the genius of Hue products.  I will have an entire post about them when the weather gets warmer, because they have single-handedly made wearing cute shoes in summer a possibility.  So look for that in a couple of months. 

These green shoes look great with anything.  I’ve worn them with jeans, and dress pants.  And ballet flats are super with capris, which I know, you can’t wear now unless you wear them with tall boots, but that is what is so great about capris, in the right fabric they can be three season, and that means more bang for your fashion buck, and we all like that. 

Remember my comment about not liking suede shoes, but how they work with denim?  Well here is another example of that. 

 

I bought these olive green suede ankle boots at the original Filene’s basement and they were an absolute steal at $34.99 plus an additional % off with the automatic markdown.  Oh how I miss the automatic markdown!  If you have never experienced the elation of finding something amazing in the basement only to find out that the date on the back qualifies you for an additional savings, you really have not shopped in a state of bliss.  So sad to see the original basement gone (supposedly will re-open in 2009 and the automatic markdown will be back), but the store on Boylston is pretty good for being so small, and does seem to get a lot of the designer brands, but I digress.  So next month wear the green and kiss your shoes!