it's Spring 2013: Ankle Strap Shoes

I felt a little smug when this week's ad from Piperlime arrived in my in-box.  

Image from piperlime.com via email.

My initial thought was 'yes, no kidding'.  And then I realized I hadn't shared this with you, our readers!  Shame on me!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you can guess that I am obsessed with finding the right pair of ankle strap, heeled sandals for this spring.  Ankle straps are everywhere.  If you think you can't wear them, try a couple of different styles on; there are cross-strap and single strap ones.  They come in all heights from flats to heels to wedges.  If a color breaks up your leg too much, try a nude pair.  And how to wear them?  Easy - cropped and ankle-length pants are everywhere and a crisp pair of white ones will really put the focus on your shoes' details.  Under long pants is always an option.  Dresses can get an instant update with an ankle-strap shoe.

Piperlime has a nicely curated selection of ankle strap shoes - check it out for inspiration - that range from heels to stacked heels and wedges. 

As for me, I need 2 pairs this spring - a very neutral nude and no-platform, minimal black sandals.  Both heels.

I'll start with the neutral because it's simply easier.  I've had these Classiques Entier strappy sandals for a couple of years now.  They are really great in style and in color, but honestly, not that comfortable. Standing and walking in these shoes is a little painful.  Ah, the sacrifices for fashion!

Image from ebay.com.

If I'm going to replace them, I may as well go for updated look, no?  It was pretty easy to find the updated version of these. It was love at first sight with these Tory Burch Vanetta sandals.  They were sold out of my size online; I called the Boston Tory Burch store and asked a salesperson to find them for me in a store.  She called back within an hour, having found them in NYC. A simple 'charge/ship' and they were on their way.  Slightly lower heel height, updated, and really comfortable.  SOLD!

Image from toryburch.com.

Onto the black pair.  Here's where it's tricky for me.  My obsession started back in January when I purchased that cobalt blue Vince outfit at Saks.  After bringing the outfit home, I started surfing around to see how different online retailers styled the outfit.  (This is something I do regularly, which is useful for taking a piece of clothing and finding different ways of styling it.) Shopbop had it simply paired with black, ankle strap sandals.

Image from shopbop.com.

What were those shoes on the model?  I found them on Shopbop; they are 'Nicholas' Jacket Snake Strap sandals.  At the time, they were full-priced at $240.  Plenty in stock.  I pinned them to my Pinterest board for future consideration.  

Image from shopbop.com.

Fast forward to last week. I happen to be on Shopbop and click over to look at them again.  Not only are they on sale (yippee!), but they are SOLD OUT OF MY SIZE.  Completely.  ARG!  Many Google searches produce NO other online retailers selling this brand!  Shopstyle doesn't turn up anything.  I cannot believe it.  I am stumped.

The only other thing to do is search for similar options.  And when I say search, I have been searching with a capital S.  I've been on Zappos, Amazon, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Shopbop, Revolve Clothing, Ann Taylor, Gap, Piperlime, Banana Republic, Calypso, Reiss, Tory Burch, Zara, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Bluefly, J. Crew, Jildor, Scoop NYC, Comptoir des Cotonniers, etc, etc, etc.  

Here's a short list of my findings so far.  These Givenchy sandals are pretty fab especially with the subtle zipper detail around the sole of the shoe.  The heel height is great and I like the 'covered' heel in the back. But, at $650, I'll have to keep looking.  Oh, and did I mention they are SOLD OUT too on net-a-porter?!  ARG!  What, does everyone want a pair too?!

Image from net-a-porter.com.

Shopbop has these Isa Tapia 'Lia' Sandals are only slight better priced at $395.  Maybe a little more 'precious' than 'sleek' with the scalloped edges, but a great heel height.  Problem?  Oh yeah, they're SOLD OUT of my size too.  

Image from shopbop.com.

How about these Alexander Wang sandals?  At least they are available for pre-order...maybe to ship at the end of April?  The heel is creeping up there in height...

Image from pinterest via saks.com.

How about these much-more-reasonable Everett sandals from Ann Taylor?  At $118 (and they ALWAYS have coupon codes to reduce that price even more) you can't really go wrong in trying them out. But are they too strappy?

Image from anntaylor.com.

The search continues - if you spy anything that looks interesting, please shoot me an email with a link.  In the meantime, if you find yourself in shoe department or store, give the ankle strap shoe a try! ~ JH