Vintage shoes: a buyer’s guide
There’s a feature in the Daily Mail about vintage shoes: the “latest celebrity fashion fad”, according to the newspaper. The piece provides a rundown of the “top six iconic shoes”, with a credit-crunchy theme:
Vintage shoes are in general still cheap compared with other items of clothing: you can pick up a pair of Chanel shoes for a fraction of the price of a blouse or a belt.
There are still plenty of retro shoes available, many of them by iconic designers, for relatively little money.
It’s an interesting read; although, being a contrary Miss, I take issue with the “latest celebrity fad” angle and the thrift argument. The great and the good have been wearing vintage shoes for yonks (I was going to write out a short list here, but refrained after realising that I would expose myself as an uber-shoe geek), and some of the featured shoes are on the dear side. Louboutins for £400 and 1960s Courreges ankle boots for £200, for example.
I do like vintage shoes and I have some much-loved pairs. My silver shoes (pictured above) are probably my favourites – I like the classic shape and the sparkles – and if you know what to look for, you can pick up some good bargains.
So here’s my whistlestop guide for the more (ho ho) down-at-heel vintage shoe buyer: (more…)
