Gray is the new black. Sorry, it just had to be said. As the prime neutral for fall, gray is best paired with bright blues and yellows. Or maybe a pair of the red ballet flats I will lust after until the day I die. Then someone will have to go out and and buy me a pair so I can be buried in them.


Structured army jacket from Forever 21 ($35). It will never see battle, aside from the daily commute, but the wide collar and belt are to die for. (Sorry. Cliches feed my weary soul. Not unlike Snickers bars. You know they're bad, but you just want one. )


Lovely gray thermal knit dress from Alice Temperley for Target ($25). I'm thinking bright tights and tall boots.

Labels: dresses, stay toasty, tops, trend

Ah, a sweater dress I would love to wear. One that looks like a dress. The pattern, the drape, the "I'm wearing a blanket and you can't stop me" factor. Yum. From Max Azria.

Labels: dresses, stay toasty, trend

Valentino


Doo Ri


Derek Lam



Carolina Herrera

Labels: dresses, trend

Spring is all about the yellow (also cerulean blue, but that's not today's point). Manolo's yellow buckle mule ($575) is the perfect shoe to buy in February and stare at longingly until April.

Labels: choice, shoes, trend

I wouldn't want to visit a zoo in these shoes, lest the animals revolt at my cruelty to their compatriots. But otherwise, animal print is a go. My usual plan with high maintenance shoes is to downplay the rest of the outfit. (I realize there's a distinct possibility that I am very dull.) Pair leopard print platforms with a jean skirt and a white top or a simple black dress and kazaam. I have no idea what kazaam is meant to imply, so someone please wear these shoes and investigate for me.


Prada leopard platform mary jane (on sale for $348)


Jeffrey Campbell love ballet flat (on sale for $52)



Manolo Blahnik zebra print maryjane ($565)

Labels: shoes, trend

Feeling buffeted by the vagaries of fashion? Refuse to wear a metallic minidress for fear of looking like a misplaced astronaut? There are other options if you like shiny metal but don't want to appear swaddled in tinfoil.


Christian Louboutin metallic round toe pump ($525)


Loeffler Randall metallic flat ($349)


Michael Kors metallic pump (on sale for $248)

Labels: shoes, trend

My shoes tend to run red. Were this 1872, I would be an official hussy. Living in the right century means not only do I get red, I get shiny red. And, people, life is good in shiny red shoes.


Patent wedge ($710): I like everything I put on this blog o' rampant consumerism, but I lust for these. I would buy this gorgeous pair of Christian Louboutins faster than you can say "debilitating credit card debt" if only my guilt-ridden conscience would let me. It won't. Good for my future financial stability, bad for my closet.


Marilyn Peep-toe ($395): Garish fire engine red totally works for Dolce and Gabbana. Not sure how they manage that. Is it the black piping? Do they rub the leather with money? Why would these be awful at Ross but oh-so-fabulous from a recognizable fashion house? Is this snobbery? Or simple quality? Oh, the (unfortunately rhetorical) questions.


Patent ballerina flat ($235): I can see how these wouldn't work for a lot of people. My own response to Marc Jacobs's shoes is often "Jesus Christ on a cupcake! Hideous dominatrix elf shoes!" But I am, this very moment, trying to convince myself of how much I need these. I love the rose grosgrain against the cranberry patent leather and the cut-out below the bow.

Labels: choice, shoes, trend

People are loving the gray shoes lately. I'd be loving the gray shoes too, except for the undeniable fact (I really hate facts) that I would never wear gray shoes. But for those who do, or who just like looking at pretty pictures of pretty shoes, here's the seasonably appropriate and oh-so-chic gray:


Marc Jacobs distressed maryjane (on sale for $380)


Cynthia Vincent Twiggy ($350)


Delman Roxanne ($295)


Jeffrey Campbell Love patent ballet ($72)

Labels: shoes, trend