Monday 23 May 2011

A LIFE IN SHOES

About a zillion years ago, one of my favourite bloggers, Christina at Fashion's Most Wanted, tagged me in a shoe meme. It's taken me such a shamefully long time to pick up the baton, I can't actually remember the rules of the meme, other than one had to post pictures of one's favourite shoes. 


This weekend, however, Mr Trefusis made me sort out my shoe cupboard, and I finally got round to taking some (rather bad) pictures. Like all women I have far too many shoes, yet end up wearing only three pairs, and those are either too worn or too boring to show here. My favourite shoes should really go in the bin - they're completely knackered but they're chocolate brown stilettos, with a very pointy Blahnik-style toe and schiaparelli pink detail and I completely love them.


These are Prada: Black kid with a natural coloured lizardskin and silver piping. Sadly, like their owner , they're getting on a bit and are a little tired and worn.  Nevertheless, every time I slide my feet into them, I feel like Zelda Fitzgerald - without the dodgy alcoholism and mental issues, obviously - but in a jazz age kind of way that makes me want to perch elegantly on a bar stool and knock back a couple of Sidecars.
These are also Prada: fabric with ostrich: I fell in love with the print and the bright turquoise toes and heels. Like all Prada shoes they're very comfortable, but they're a little too distinctive to wear often and so, despite being ten years old, they're still in quite good nick.

Bottega Veneta and my most bargainacious shoes ever: they were twenty-five pounds reduced from £250, presumably because there was no call for orange shoes in London 12 years ago when I bought them. Twenty five pounds. More than anything else, they make me feel like Summer's finally arrived: I like to wear them with a pink linen shift dress and with watermelon pink varnish on my toes.

These are Kurt Geiger - satin with swarovski crystal studded heels and cripplingly uncomfortable - taxi shoes if ever there were any. They also upstage me terribly so, fabulous as they are, I've worn them about twice - once to a Harper's Bazaar party where I had to take paracetamol to be able to keep them on, and then once to a dinner party where I knew I'd be sitting down all the time. Are these what magazines call a statement shoe?

'No one would ever mistake you for my mistress in those shoes,' said Mr Trefusis, rather unflatteringly. I don't for one minute suspect him of having a mistress, but I do know what he means: you'd never slap a super-injunction on someone in Ferragamos.  However, what they lack in vampiness, they make up for in sophistication and I love them passionately not least because they remind me of my honorary grandmother, who had immense style, and swore by cashmere jumpers, linen sheets and Ferragamos with every outfit. 
I couldn't work out why these were the only flat shoes in the shoe cupboard - surely I must have other flats, I thought, casting around for evidence. I found a pair of Converse, a couple of pair of really beaten up ballet flats and (the shame) a pair of frog green Crocs: I seem only to wear flats to get from A to B, and then whip out the heels. I must have a terrible complex about being short, or maybe it's that unconsciously I think it's only worth spanking serious shoe money on what the Tiniest Trefusis calls 'heel-high shoes'. However, these glamorous gold Prada flats make me feel a bit Jacqueline Onassis. Is it just me, or do shoes have a transformative power for every woman? Is it the Cinderella thing all over again?

I couldn't photograph these to save my life - they're purple satin and very high and I wore them when I married Mr Trefusis, but that's another story for another time. They're Kurt Geiger.

My favourite shoes don't belong to me at all - the Tiniest Trefusis wore these silver Kicker boots not long after she first learned to walk.  She's very much her mother's daughter - the first word she ever said was 'Shoe'.  




22 comments:

S said...

love all of them. don't get rid of any of them. i remember you wearing most of them and there are so many memories/moments associated with them. you are right about that transformative power of shoes- i love choosing a pair for a party and then deciding on what to wear. it's my "bottom-up" approach ;) xo shayma

Erica said...

They're all killer...and make me long for the days when designers will once again create shoes that can be worn. No more weird platforms and 6 inch heels. I want a beautiful shoe with a heel that doesn't make me want to kill myself! Maybe that's why MY fave shoes are also 5-10 years old.

Christina @ Fashion's Most Wanted said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Linda Back in Canberra said...

Dear Mrs Trefussis, I scurried over when I saw a new post from you and it is a cracker! It is a toss up for me between the Ferregamos and the blue Pradas. I recall buying a pair of Anne Klein red slingbacks when I was feeling a little sad and stressed and was guiltridden by their cost. However, these dear little shoes gave me tremendous pleasure and wear over eight years. I wish they could have lasted forever. Lindaxxx

Christina @ Fashion's Most Wanted said...

Dearest Mrs T, what a gorgeous collection, as I knew it would be. The Zelda Fitzgerald bit made me laugh.

I love them all but I have to single a few out.

The Prada with lizard skin are divine, please don't EVER get rid of them.

I think I remember those orange shoes from Giles' first Bottega collection styled by Katie Grand. I love them. The after party got very messy, there was a sea of Italians dressed in black looking immaculate while we danced on the catwalk wearing fluoro Bottega.

The KG's are are showstoping, the Ferragamo's wonderfully chic and your gold sandals are simple and stylish. I have terrible trouble finding good sandals, these are spot on.

The purple satin boots are stunning. I love it that you wore them to your wedding! I want to know what your dress was like now.

Love, Christina xx

Unknown said...

I love the Ferragamo shoes...they are timeless and I've long been hunting high and low for some classic Ferragamo flats in charity/vintage shops.

I don't think you should ever remove any of these shoes from your life.

Thank you for this post. I am always more retrospective than forward-thinking when it comes to style and you've inspired me today,

Bird x

Unknown said...

You can make a post about shoes so complex... Please promise me you never throw away the little shoes, sadly all that sort of stuff went out during our downsizing cull last summer. I'm trying to hum je ne regrette rien but seeing Tiniest T's shoes I long to touch a pair of red patent Start-rite's my daughter had when little. Luckily there's a picture of her wearing them; better than nothing.

Helena xx

Melissa said...

Fabulous as always .... really made me smile! What is it about shoes and the power they have over us? I remember going to Italy and buying a gorgeous pair of purple Sergio Rossi shoes for my wedding before I had even decided on my dress - 10 years on and i still wear them!
And I still wear a 12 year old pair of YSL heels with purple lips on the front.
All this talk is making me realise i need to start wearing them again and to give the havianas a break! Melissa

jongleuse said...

How lovely. My life in shoes would have to include the red Start-Rites and the Kensington Market winkle-pickers, the YSL platforms I wore when I got married and end up with DDs tiny pink Converse-just edible (though impractical).
Feel must share my new favourite shoe lady www.gwendolyncarrie.com. Boutique off Sloane St but you can order online. Currently am lusting after Freya and Georgina. She does sensible heel heights but utterly covetable shoes.

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous post, and the silver Kickers...! My eldest boy had red Kickers as his first shoes and I remember my husband wearing red Kickers when we started going out (or rather, meeting in the fields behind his parents' house, he armed with smuggled Pimms and turquoise Sobranies). My faves? The wedding boots. Full story when you are ready, please.

Unknown said...

All I can say is - you are so cool. It must run in the family. My grandmother was very much a product of the Great Depression and so the only consideration was cost.

Lisa-Marie said...

Your shoe collection is very varied, I like!

The last ones made me get a throat lump :)

Anonymous said...

That is a lovely collection - and as I looked at it I suddenly realised that my shoe collection is entirely black; even the converse. That's a tad worrying.
I went back and read the post you linked to about your grandmother and honorary grandmother. I thought the final thought was absolutely beautiful.

Miss Cavendish said...

Love all the shoes, especially the delicate beauty of the first pair and the leather of the orange pair.

But the charm of those tiny silver shoes is enduring!

Sarah said...

I think we really need to hear about that wedding...

Rose said...

It's always strangely thrilling looking through other people's wardrobes- thank you for letting us look at your shoe life. I love the orange ones so much! I can imagine them on lovely tanned summer feet. I really enjoyed hearing the stories of the shoes too- a lovely way of presenting them

Patience_Crabstick said...

Serious shoe envy here. My default shoe is a pair of dansko clogs that make me look like I'm walking on wooden stumps.

Cinderellen said...

Apparently orange shoes will be very much in demand this year - you've just been ahead of the curve!

sophie said...

I love all of them. So, so chic.......

Erica said...

Love the shoes, especially the delicate beauty of the first pair.

Year Old Birthday Party Ideas

Wildernesschic said...

I adore shoes.. I live for shoes.. but sadly need to take a taxi to the car.. living on a constant building site with a gravel drive I have developed a rather wobbly walk.. so its wellies at the door and shoes in the car.. I love your Kurt Geiger ones.. I have a thing for a splash of red xx

Blighty said...

How did I miss this lovely post, just divine! What a lovely collection of shoes! I am dying for those orange Bottegas, I have been longing for orange shoes all summer xx