The demise of the sexy shoe (and it was a demise, oh yes: people were wearing Birkenstocks last summer, have you forgotten?) came about because sexiness, shoe-wise, became synonymous with extreme heel height. Yeah, I don’t think you have to be a fully paid-up Freudian to see what happened there. And in the end, the ultra-long heel came to overshadow all the subtleties that make a shoe sexy: the contrast of leather against bare skin, the arch of the foot, a glimpse of toe cleavage. All that mattered, all that counted, was a crazily high heel. And heels that high are crazy, because they cramp your style, which in the end meant we got blisters and gave up. And we ended up in Birkenstocks.
But the sexy shoe is back, and this time it’s not calibrated by the inch. On the contrary, the element that makes this new breed of shoe sexy is also the one that makes it comfortable. The new take on the sexy shoe is all about laces and straps that run across the front of the foot. The thing is, these laces and straps don’t just make the shoes look fancy, they change the engineering. In a classic, cutaway court shoe you are effectively hanging on to a spindly heel, like a koala hugging a tree; in a firmly laced-up shoe you are comfortably strapped in, snug as a newborn in a Baby Björn. OK, maybe not that comfortable. High-heel comfortable, which translates as not in actual pain.
This kind of shoe is shamelessly attention-seeking, but in a joyous way that has much more charm than the platform-soled, stripper-height peep-toes of old. Google the latest collection by cult label Malone Souliers, or by Altuzarra, or this summer’s lace-up, heeled Lelie sandals by Isabel Marant. (We started with sex; now I’m leading you to shoe porn.) Best of all, these shoes don’t have to be fashion-victim high. Sophia Webster’s Mina sandals, with fancy suede zigzags all round the front of your foot, have an eminently sensible 7cm heel. (The 7cm heel is my ideal. One day I will write a book about my love of the 7cm heel.)
These are perfect with simple black, straight-leg trousers, and for va-va-vooming the potentially dowdy midi-skirt length. Call me old-fashioned, but a sexy shoe works best with anything that isn’t a miniskirt.
• Jess wears shoes, £250, lkbennett.com. Leather effect dress, £49.99, zara.com.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Sharon Ive at Carol Hayes Management.
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