Come on, Show off your Kicks!

It is no secret.  I LOVE shoes.  ALL shoes.  I think shoes are the best accessory ever!  Unlike other accessories, shoes are a necessity.  A must have.  A basic.  Furthermore, shoes will love you no matter what.  Unlike jeans, tees or other fussy clothing items, they almost always fit.  So, you had too much cake, wine or other indulgence over the weekend.  When all else is failing us, as we are attempting to get out the door Monday morning, our shoes still fit!  Now that, Ladies, is a true friend!

Since I adore shoes, I also like to show them off.  Why hide a great pair of calfskin sexy pumps under a pair of jeans (unless, you are showing off a great pair of flair jeans and just want that animal print pointy toe pump, peeping out of the front hem.  Well, that is OK)

What I love about this fall season is some amazing shoe trends are surfacing.  Designers, are giving us an assortment of bottom options to showcase our fabulous new kicks.  Now, for some of us, options might equate confusion.  Maybe, you prefer to keep things simple.  Boyfriend jean with a fun ballet flat.  No brainer, always looks good.  But, what if you are wanting to try out a peep toe bootie, a wedge shootie, a pair of vampy pumps or lace up heels?  Hmm, what goes with the endless list of awesome choices?  I think we can agree, if we spend the money on a great pair of shoes, we want to show them off.  Right?  If you want to hide your fab new pair of shoes, then read no further.  Just kidding.

I was inspired by a blurb in InStyle magazine, titled, Boost your Street Style Cred.  Basicly, the spread talked about 23 simple tips, as seen on the streets, to up your everyday style game.  One of the tips, Hem-Meets-Heel Combo, grabbed my attention as I am often asked, “What shoe goes with this jean?” or “I want to wear this shoe, how should I cuff my jean?”   There are so many choices, do you wear a thin, thick or no cuff?   A skinny or a bootcut jean?  Which is the best look?  InStyle suggests to use your footwear as a guide.  No Straps? No Cuff. Thin Straps? Thin Cuff. Thick Strap? Thick Cuff.  Sounds simple? I like simple!

Inspired, I decided to do a little experiment, to test out what the best cuff/shoe combo might be.  My experiment involved 3 different shoe trends; a sexy calf hair pump, a lace up pump and a chunky heel peep toe shootie.  I also tested 3 styles of denim, a relaxed boyfriend jean, a skinny boyfriend jean and a pair of coated skinny jeans.  I first tried each denim style with each shoe style to compare.  After reviewing the photos I came up with my winners.  Are you ready?  Here is what I found:

SKINNY BOYFRIEND JEANS?

RELAXED BOYFRIEND JEANS? 

COATED DENIM SKINNY JEANS?

These three combos were the winners for me.  Granted, a great pair of shoes can look great many ways, but, I like the pair-ups here.  What I found in my little experiment is that a great pump, like a ballet flat is super versatile and really can go so many ways.  Where things get tricky is the bootie, heavy strapped and ankle strap party.  Bottom line, wear what you feel the most comfortable in.  These are just come little tweaks that I feel, create a more balanced and flattering silhouette.  What I do know is, the chunkier your shoe, the more skin you want to show, to reveal more leg.  Showing off a little leg is sexy.  Try it at home, see what you think.  Fashion is about having fun, give it a try!

Here are a few more angles of todays winners:

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I hope this post will inspire you to experiment and try some new options.  Next time you are getting ready to head out the door, take a look at your shoe/bottom combo.  Are you showing off that fantastic pair of shoes?  Have you created the most flattering silhouette for your body type?  Sometimes a small tweak can make or break an awesome outfit.  Go for it, have fun and let me know what you think!  I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Till next time, thanks for stopping by!

XOXO Suzanne