Notes on Styling | 28 | The shoe brands I've loved in 2023 & a little edit of my picks, Pt 2.

I’m in Scotland this week. It’s -5 and I’ve 3 Jumpers on writing this. We are in a friend’s Air B&B for a week in a lovely town by the sea called North Berwick. Their daughter goes to college in Exeter, close to Topsham where we live and we swap places now and again. They come south, we go north. It’s lovely. We’ve even had snow. A pretty nice start to the Christmas season.

I hope you all enjoyed my Pt 1 on shoes last week.. ‘but what shoes would I wear with that’? because, yes, shoes really do contribute a lot to what we want to feel in our clothes. They either help us lean into our style or make us feel out of sync, like a little duckling never quite looking in step.

In part 2 today, In appreciation of the mammoth task it is to research and find new and different shoe brands that might be a good match for your style, I have a little shoe edit to share with you today. I’ve picked what have been my go-to brands with clients this year. The more affordable but slightly off-beat brands that feel wide-ranging and do what they do really well. Within each brand, I have chosen an edit of 5 or 6 of my favourite pairs right now.

But first, as I’m sharing lots of lovely things you might want to buy today, let me caveat it by saying here’s why I love Substack over Instagram. This little place doesn’t feel like it’s about selling things to people. It feels to me to have more meaning and depth behind the things shared. A softness that Instagram has lost. I hope my writing and content here helps you to feel that styling is not all about the buying of items but finding your way to feeling more connected to what you do buy, knowing it’s ok to be on a journey to figuring out your style and what those things might be for you and not feeling rushed by any of it.

In my experience, the most stylish women don’t have 1,000 pairs of shoes but have a smaller edit, which gets worn lots across all the outfits they enjoy the most. Connecting to a style you love means feeling aligned with all the little parts that add to it and make it up, of which shoes are central.

So although I’m about to show you lots of beautiful shoes, this is about the choices you make that will feel good for your wardrobe. Perhaps today's post will introduce you to a brand that’s new to you or maybe inspire you to try a pair of shoes that is an exploration of something new for you. 

BOBBIES

Bobbies is a relatively new brand this year for me and I love it. It is a brand that perfectly captures a feeling of effortless elegance. You can see they lean towards soft, neutral tones and have a beautiful range across all categories - heels, boots, flats and trainers. They cover all bases well. Manufactured in Spain and Portugal, which is always a winner for beautiful leather, here are 6 of my top picks right now. But oh the Anya heel - what beauties.

RUSSELL & BROMLEY

Though pricey for high street, I think Russell & Bromley do quality really well. It’s also worth remembering that we can pigeonhole brands into what we think they do or don’t do. I think R&B have come on with a wide range of styles done with a solid everyday wardrobe feel (which are the wardrobes my clients are building!). If I was buying from this edit, it would have the be the navy all-day chukka boot. I’m picturing with cosy socks, denim and a big oversized coat. Quite streamlined and elegant for this style of high top loafer. They also come in a sand/ neutral tone but the navy to me is just the right mix of modern and classic.

JONAK

Jonak is a French shoe brand that just oozes elegance. They have stores (in France) but otherwise, you can buy easily online. I have had my eye on their pointed boots with leather and velvet in burgundy. Gorgeous. This brand has a classic french sensibility but with just enough je ne sais quoi to feel interesting and fresh.

ALOHAS

Started in Hawaii, this brand is proof of how online shopping gives us access to so much more when we know where to look and who to trust when we shop. Alohas is one of the first on-demand shoe brands on the market, which means they take orders for styles on a pre-order basis so they can forecast demand before production, reducing waste. Good things come to those who wait! I would say this brand (along with Mint Velvet) has been my most picked from with clients this year.

Some styling with the Alohas grey leather sandals during the summer.

MINT VELVET

Which leads me to here. A high street favourite and often not so much known for it’s shoes. You will find a better selection online than instore so that’s always where I go. With a definite feminine, elegant feel, Mint Velvet suits anyone who loves a classic feel to their shoes but still soft and interesting. It is for sure a brand for the girlie girl but does offer a wider range worth looking at even if that’s not you.

CARVELA

An old-school brand right? In the uk you can buy Carvela through a couple of different department stores (John Lewis being the holy grail over here) but also on their own website. I think of Carvela for really solid trainers and boots (by solid I mean a nice chunky heel) with a classic, almost functional, neutral feel. You know a boot that doesn’t feel overtly blingy or patent or detailed, just simple? Understated and functional. They also tend to work well for a wider foot and I also think of Carvela for sqaure and chunky heels, which I like to try with anyone who feels more bottom-heavy/ pear. It’s a proportion thing.

SEZANE

It definitely would not feel right to write about my favourite shoe brands for styling without mentioning Sezane. It’s perfection for colourful, functional options that have just the right amount of girlie but are also sexy, cool and interesting. Their Albane Loafer gives definite Jamie Haller Loafer vibes (an American brand that do THE BEST leather loafers) so they would be my pick from this edit.

MIISTA

Every styling edit needs a wildcard. I remember visiting a Miista store in London a few years ago and thinking wow, this is why styling is so powerful - how a brand can feel so at home for one person and to another, they just don’t work at all. I love how unique and interesting Miista shoes and boots are. I bought one of my first chunky boots from Miista, a rather boring black pair it must be said but the chunkiness felt wild to me at the time. I loved having a brand that just felt so different in my wardrobe. There is so much to why and how we connect to the things we buy and why they feel special. This is the joy of thinking more deeply about the ideas you would like to explore and why.

FREE PEOPLE

Free People brings together a range of brands that are top notch including Vagabond (definitely have a look at this brand, it’s come a long way), Gola Trainers, Veja, GH Bass, Birkenstock, We are Free alongside their own FP Collection (which I love for it’s wildness!).

What we all want from our shoes is maximum outfits created from an edit of shoes and boots that work across them all. That’s it. Not a hundred pairs but more of what feels true to your style and offers flexibility to you when you are getting dressed and putting your clothes together in the morning.

Here are a couple of ways my styling brain likes to consider shoes.

When you picture a pair of shoes you love, away from the brand (like seeing them laid out above without knowing what brand they are from), you can see them for what they are, for what they look and feel like to you. You will see more clearly if they feel like you without the influence of what you feel that brand represents, you know?

Pick one pair you are drawn to above and bring that picture of your chosen pair to your wardrobe doors in your mind and see how many outfits you can team them with. This is the key question. The more outfits you can create, the more aligned the choice. Obviously, this is best to do with those outfits that you love and feel good in, the ones you want to create more of.

Secondly, think of it the other way around. Look in your wardrobe first - at what you struggle to wear because of the shoe dilemma and ask yourself, what from above feels closest in look and feel to what I want to create with this? Is it a heel? A delicate loafer? Is it a trainer or maybe something quirky and colourful? Picture the outfit + add a shoe that leans a certain way = creating a look that feels good to you. Your shoes are one of the ingredients that help you finish your outfit in your way.

Literally, no one will combine clothes and shoes in the same way as you will. Let shoes be one of the ingredients that help you really feel like yourself when put that outfit on and step out.

See you soon again,

Julie x