Sensible shoes are en vogue

French Vogue’s top style setter now has her feet firmly on the ground, and the fashion pack is falling into step behind her. Karen Dacre applauds a stylish, down-to-earth approach to footwear
1/3
9 October 2012

The way I see it there are two types of people in this world. Those who care if Emmanuelle Alt deviates from her normal shoe of choice, and those who would have more understanding of the first half of this sentence if it had been written in Swahili.

Not surprisingly, given my line of work, I fall into the first category. For years now, I’ve taken a keen interest in the sartorial choices of French Vogue’s formidable editor-in-chief. When I was a wide-eyed intern and she a minion of her predecessor, Carine Roitfeld, I watched from afar as she arrived at fashion shows sporting a studded biker jacket by Isabel Marant. Latterly, it was her pin-sharp stilettos — always black — that captivated my attention. Alt’s appeal is her ability to look impossibly — and I mean impossibly — chic on all occasions despite rarely deviating from her signature look.

Imagine, then, my amusement on discovering that the object of my affection was trying something new on her feet for autumn. And we’re not just talking a slight change in stiletto shape here but real rip-up-the-rulebook stuff. Mrs Alt’s latest shoe crush is a round-toe court shoe that comes complete with an ankle strap and — get ready for the really shocking part — a low Cuban heel.

Now, let’s just take a moment to ponder this development. It does, after all, suggest that sensible shoes are at last en vogue. While Alt’s trademark vertiginous stilettos remain in favour this season, they are joined by a host of beautifully formed, invitingly low court shoes, most of which come with ankle straps — a quick glance through the “new in” section of Net-A-Porter will confirm it.

While Alt prefers a black patent style by Chanel, a host of designers offer variations on this sensible shoe style this winter. Of course, they don’t all come with sensible prices.

During Paris Fashion Week, a pair of Valentino’s crystal-embellished ankle-strap pumps with a price of a cool £890 were in favour among fashion’s big earners. Miu Miu’s equivalent, also popular among the style set, will set you back a slightly more affordable £500. Thankfully for those of us who want to share in the joy of comfort without the threat of bankruptcy, the high street has also been paying close attention to this trend. Try Zara for patent ankle-strap pumps and Topshop for a slightly higher option.

While the key perk of investing in Alt’s latest shoe aesthetic is obvious — you can run for the bus in a pair — like most things in life, it has its drawbacks. Namely, that this sensible breed of shoes looks best on tall girls. If you’re small, seek out a slip-on Cuban-heeled court instead of one with an ankle strap. And if your legs are of the non-Alexa Chung variety, team with trousers rather than daring to bare your legs.

If it’s good enough for Emmanuelle …

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in