Diors are Best

Dior 61 Slingback , $675 at Saks Fifth AvenueA favorite pair of shoes is always a favorite pair of shoes; time, trend, and style cannot change one’s affection for that singular pair of footwear that is like an old friend. They make you smile, stand straight, feel glamorous, and well-dressed even when the aren’t new.

Today I reached for just such a pair. Nested in my closet, I pulled out the soft white felt bag with “Dior” printed on it, and shook them free: black, leather, kitten heel, pointed toe, cursive metal plaque stating the brand’s name in a way that’s eye-catching but demure. Yes, they’re pretty close to perfect. Although I’ve had them for a number of years the leather still emerges buttery and soft, smelling like a new luxury car. On top of all of this, they’re actually bedroom-slipper comfortable.

Dior Cannage Ankle Booties, $675 at Saks Fifth AvenueI love Dior shoes. I too appreciate the super-star Manolos or Lou-Boos like everyone else, or the enfant terrible Pierre Hardy, but given my choice I’d probably go Dior. Different shoe lines have different personalities - it’s a quirk of the fit, the rise of the last, the cut of the vamp – and my feet are perfectly in tune with the Dior personality. They get along famously. (Did you see  the ones I wore to the Coutorture gathering ?...)

In fact, my most favorite pair of shoes is from Dior. A pair of acid green tartan plaid pumps with a high-gloss silver nameplate across the bright kiltie on the vamp. A pop of unexpected color mixed with black and white in the plaid with a black heel – in other words: wear with jeans and black, which is a lot of my wardrobe. The heel is at least four inches, but so beautifully-balanced that I can do anything in them – chase down a bus or go out all night.

Dior Swing Mary Janes, $750 at Saks Fifth AvenueLike a true athlete, I tend to ignore small pains and push ahead, demanding that all things keep up with me no matter the consequences. My fabulous acid-green Diors began to falter with a small crack in the heel. What? My magnifique Galliano Brit-punk perfection shoes are less than pure magic? In denial, I let the problem grow. Now the shoes lie in their box at the bottom of my closet, completely unwearable. They have been there for about two years now, sad, unloved, peeking at me from within their tissue paper. The fracture is complete. I wait for the day when, by cryogenics or astro-physics or whatever, medical science has developed a cure for the severed heel shank. Until then, my favorite shoes will remain in my possession for I cannot bear to part with them.

This Fall’s Dior shoes are pretty spectacular too. Gorgeous magentas, hot pinks, deep purples, and lots of black. I only mention it because there comes a time when a girl just needs to get out of mourning and make some new friends, just so they can one day become the favorite old ones.

Comments

[maura]

my shoe guy in new york fixes severed heel shanks! he did it for a pair of CL that popped completely in half. it can be done!

[WendyB]

Those shoes are all beauties.