How to choose your summer shoes and where to buy them
‘But what shoes shall I wear with it?’ and ‘What do these shoes go with?’ These are hands down my most common questions time and time again because of my role as a Personal Stylist here in London. Especially in summer because there are way more shoe options to choose from. It then becomes even more overwhelming deciding on what style you like and how versatile the shoes will be.
What shoe will suit me?
Another common worry is ‘How do I know what kind of shoe will suit me?’ A general style rule is to follow the frame and shape of your body. For example, if you have curves the rounder shoe and sandal shapes will compliment your figure or if you are petite you don’t want too much of a chunky shoe as it will wear you.
It gets trickier when you want to give a different illusion, for example, if you want your legs to look longer, a pointy shoe with no ankle strap is going to do the trick there rather than a rounded shoe as it elongates your leg.
General summer shoe rules
Curvy figure – rounded with no ankle straps. Medium chunky works
Slender/athletic build – straighter, pointier shoes with lots of angles. Chunky works
Petite – smaller and delicate shoes – the less is more approach. Obvious heels are an instant way of adding height.
Tall – the world is your oyster but if you want to enhance your height, go edgy and pointy shapes or if you want to shorten your legs, opt for ankle straps.
What’s the secret to great-looking shoes and happy feet?
IF YOU LIKE THE SHOE – BUY &WEAR THE SHOE –
It really is that easy.
My style guidelines are there to help inspire you and give you logical reasons to help buy shoes that are guaranteed to suit you. They are great for you starting out with experimenting with your style and for those who like to follow tips and tricks. If you love something, wear it as that will bring you so much more joy and bags of confidence.
How do I decide on what kind of shoe?
There are three things to consider when buying your summer shoes and styling them (plus sticking to your budget)
1- Your actual personal taste, what do you actually like? Understanding your style personality will help with that… if you don’t know yours find out more here. If you have a creative style, you will prefer a brightly coloured or textured shoe compared to if you have an edgier style where you may want a metallic or glitzy shoe. A classic lady may want a timeless leather shoe compared to a natural gal’ who may want a chunky espadrille, you get the vibe!
2- Your body shape, follow my above guide to help or use it to change your shape in the way you want it to e.g shorten or lengthen legs. Do you want a stamen summer shoe to get you rlegs noticed? Or do you want a shoe that will subtly work with your outfit? Top tip – if you have a warm skin tone, choose a gold shoe as it will work with the warmth in your skin tone. Choose a silver shoe to highlight your cool skin tone and harmonise with it that way. If you aren’t sure of your skin tone check out more about colour analysis in London here.
3- Consider your lifestyle and the versatility of the summer shoe – as a mum can you run down the street chasing your little one in your sandals or if you are amongst the wedding madness, can you last all day in the summer heel and will it work with all of your wedding outfits? You want the shoe to work hard for you and your amazing outfits.
Where to get your summer trainers and how to style them
Trainers work with literally ANYTHING. Trainers and a dress, jumpsuit, wide leg trousers, floaty skirt, mini or maxi skirt, shorts, you name it. The hardest thing will be keeping your white trainer clean, my secret to this is to choose a metallic leather instead or a textured or printed one, oh, or a colourful trainer for summer haha. Canvas will be cooler than a leather trainer so this is where your converse come into their own. And yes… you can wear canvas trainers with anything too.
Where to get your summer mules and how to style them.
A Mule is a style of shoe that has no back or constraint around the foot's heel, this is ideal for summer as you can whack them off anytime to help cool your feet down. I have been wearing them to weddings and when I am out Personal shopping with clients here in London. They are on the smarter scale and you could consider them more for work, weekends, special occasions and date nights. Probably best for you taller ladies but don’t let that stop you if you’re petite. Just careful you don’t lose them on the tube… are mind the sides of your feet when wearing them the first time, get some compeeds!
Where to get the best summer sandals and how to style them
Firstly, you can wear them with anything, even jeans. Think of them the equb=vilant of a winter boot, they go with anything you put them with. Just be mindful of ankle straps or wearing ones that are too chunky or fall off even. Its hard to know how much to spend but with the reassurance from a Personal stylist, you can splurge as much as your purse allows. The more you spend the likelihood of the leather being softer and lasting longer is ten fold… so summer sales are the one!
What to wear if you need a heel for the summer
First things first, your feet are going to swell, whether you like it or not, and it’s not going to be pretty. Don’t buy a shoe that just about fits, go half a size up, to be honest. There’s nothing worse than seeing someone in a gorge outfit hobbling away. A platform and a wide heel will be comfier and less pressure on your feet. Choose open toes to keep you cool (any excuse for a Pedi) and practice hoovering in them to break them in. Ankle straps are better for keeping you safe lol.
There we have all you need to know on how to choose your summer shoes and how to style them. Remember not to overthink them, follow your personal style, body shape and lean into your lifestyle to make sure you get the very best summer shoes for you.
For me personally, I am a gold sandal, converse, and mule wearing Personal stylist and I just love summer style with all my heart!
Enjoy and happy shopping,
Sian x