City Chic in Jordans?!

As the recession, the tube strike and the damp British weather settles in and the clocks go back an hour, the choice of the City girls footwear seems to falter.

Gone are teetering, heart stopping, sky rocketing wedges in acid brights. The beautiful vanilla Giuseppe Zanotti heeled gladiators which give the woman wearing it the power of Xena Warrior but sexiness a Roman goddess all tied up in leather straps and golden studs. The KG crystal “Love” sandals that adorned feet, which had been buffed and painted with Atomic Orange and Cha-ching Cherry, have been neatly stacked away in their boxes labelled Summer 2010. Instead, when I look around on my daily travels, I find my fellow City girls giving way to more imaginative footwear, ranging from the unsightly Ugg boots, to a pair of Michael Jordans! Ladies, what are you thinking?

Although many will say I am not one to comment as I love my ballet slippers, and that is just a cop-out of a shoe, what they do not realise the humble ballet slipper is a saviour of London chicness. One specific friend of mine may recall a birthday where my feet could no longer take the elegant, leg lengthening strappy heels worn earlier that evening and it was either her soft gold leopard print pumps or my bare minxed adorned feet skipping past a row of pilots and a dog down Shaftesbury Avenue at 4am in pursue of a kebab, whilst wearing an electric purple cocktail dress ... I will always be grateful, especially since it took four months to swap our shoes back. Also coupled with the amount of time I have had to run for trains, planes and taxi’s to get to appointments and meetings, the beautifully sculpted, elegant ballet slipper has held its own in the fashion stakes teamed with jeans, a work suit or the latest skirt trend. Fasionistas and Models all over the world slip their pedicured soles into these slip of a shoe, lightweight, easily transportable in a clutch bag and always in-vogue so why are my City sisters forgetting this? I beg of you, give the Uggs away!

When discussing this matter with a few colleagues, one piped up that when it rains or snows trainers keep all your feet dry whilst pretty stilettos can not provide the grip or support required, or when you have to go to the gym it saves you having to carry the weight of them, or when you have to walk a lot during London’s regular tube strikes they support your feet and ankles. Although all of these are interesting and somewhat valid points, what happened to London being a leader in the fashion stakes, not a follower? Does that moto not extend to footware?

French Sole was founded on the belief that London women could be chic and still look trendy whilst being comfortable. Or has the accessibility of global footware trends (and mistakes) via the internet diversified the belief that chic-ness is still important? Is it all about comfort now?  

If you need a bit of height there are always other alternatives. The slouched or wedged suede ankle boot, Balenciaga’s  industrial-style bracketed heeled loafers, heeled brogues which seem to still be gracing the a/w catwalks and of course the Mad Men classic 1950’s style thick heeled court shoe which is in every colour and texture imaginable.

Ladies, Uggs should be worn by Soldiers and Surfers (its original use) and not by chic, coiffed women of the City, so please do us all a favour, put them back in the closet and put your best foot forward by popping down to Bond Street.