The Golden Era of Shoes : Where Is It Now? {An Opinion Piece}

I've honestly been so uninspired to post individual shoe posts lately. One of the things that I have been doing for the longest time in this blog is to literally post beautiful shoes that I like and love (and can't afford). It's like having  a virtual fantasy closet with all the gorgeous pairs I've come across on the world wide web because it's impossible to own all these shoes unless you had unlimited resources ( even then I'd still be careful with my money). It's also to give inspiration and ideas to those looking for pretty shoe styles. I've curated all the nice ones and weeded the bad ones out. But like I said, I have not been inspired to post because I feel like we are past the golden era of shoes.

But what exactly IS the golden era of shoes? Again, I think I am being subjective because this is my opinion and in accordance to my taste. But in my opinion, the golden era of shoes somehow started during the Sex and The City period where we met the beloved Carrie Bradshaw who brought shoe addiction and appreciation to a whole new level. The show shoecased (see what I did there? haha) some of the prettiest shoes that I have seen in my life. I sometimes remember scenes and story lines based on the shoes that Carrie wore. Those gorgeous hot pink strappy sandals she wore on the episode where Big left New York for Napa Valley. The silver peeeptoe Manolo Blahnik d'orsay stilettos that she lost on Episode 9, season 6. The purple strappy heels that she wore to a souk in Morocco in the second movie. The white pointed stiletto pumps that she wore a LOT in season 4 that seemed to just go with everything she wore. The super high peeptoe platforms in the the very first episode of the last season when she rang the bell at the New York Stock Market. And of course the now super famous Manolo Blahnik blue "hangisi" pumps featured in the first movie that everyone wants to own just because of Carrie. 

We can't deny that most shoe addicts around the world and shoe designers were probably inspired by Carrie and the show. Manolo Blahnik became a household name. Other shoe designers followed suit. Sarah Jessica Parker herself even came out with her own line of shoes! (interestingly they look SO much like the shoes she wore in the series!)

Even way after the movie, new designers popped up like Aquazzura, Sophia Webster, Alexandre Birman, Gianvito Rossi, Franceso Russo and etc. These designers came out with designs just as pretty and whimsical as household names Blahnik and Louboutin. I've enthusiastically posted so many of their shoes over the years (click the links in their names above to take you to all the posts I've done on them) and sometimes I wish I had all the time (and money to buy them!) to peruse and post because there were just so many exciting shoes to covet and write about.

Now, however I can't say the same. I'm not blaming the designers, I really think it's the consumer behavior more than anything. More and more people are shifting towards more comfortable and "practical" shoes. "Ugly" shoes and "mandals" became a trend. At the end of the day all these designers are just running their businesses and they have to make money to sustain their brands. Which is why they need to make shoes that they know the general public will buy. Which is a shame because I believe that you can still have BOTH comfort and practicality and still make them into pretty looking shoes. There's no sense wearing "ugly" shoes for the sake of a trend or for comfort. (Unless, of course you think what I deem "ugly" isn't, thus the disclaimer that this is an opinion post).

One thing that came out of my years of shoe blogging and coveting was that I finally launched my own shoe line with my sister. It's a small but thriving indie label but I'm proud to say that we've come out with designs that we know we really love. Even if in some instances we had to go with the times and create shoes that we know will sell more, we really try to stick to our style aesthetics. We don't make repelling looking shoes for the sake of selling out but we did make comfortable shoes with decadent elements like pretty satin bows, brass embellishments and different pretty colors.

Sala Chaussures Veronica

Sala Chaussures Kraken

Sala Chaussures Nefertiti

Sala Chaussures Brigitte

So what's the takeaway of this post? I didn't put this out to bash designers nor as an excuse to plug my shoe line. Even if I'm making shoes that I know I personally love and wear, it does not mean I don't appreciate other shoes and designers. I still do and that's why I've kept this blog all this years! I'm an all around shoe coveteur and I still get excited over other designers' designs. I just wish that this shoe pond won't dry out because we could use all the inspirations and creativity in this world. Fashion is supposed to be exciting and something of a fantasy - after all how can we all go on and keep dreaming? In short, I think the world needs all the pretty shoes out there and I really hope all the good designers don't ever stop what they're doing and still go on and keep creating these beautiful pieces of art.

IG : @mylifeisashoe

Blog : www.lifeisashoe.blogspot.com

Pinterest : www.pinterest.ph/celynps

Shop : www.salachaussures.com

*** Shoes from my shoe line are unfortunately only  available
 for shipping in the Philippines.