Tights and heels - there was never a better partnership. Not many people outside of the frontiers of fashion would dare to wear designer shoes and socks together ... and while bare feet and heels are great sometimes, the weather usually factors into your comfort level by either making you freezing with no leg protection, or too sweaty. Today we're looking at some unusual, fascinating, fun, funky, and fashionable combinations of women's high heels and tights, in picture form.  Read More...

Best known as the designer label of choice for the devil (her) self, Prada was actually founded in the early 1900s by Mario Prada, an Italian designer. It is one of the oldest high heel shoe brands, and is currently headed up by the original founder's granddaughter, Miuccia Bianchi Prada who has a degree in political science in addition to some very creative ideas about shoemaking! The Prada label acquired (most famously) Helmut Lang in the recent past, as well as rival shoemaker Chruch and Co, and the label Jil Sander. Their style is eclectic - while high heel shoes from designers like Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik are instantly recognizable for their well-defined lines and set styles, Prada is not so pigeonholed. Their shoe collection changes year to year - one of its most universal characteristics is a focus on the design of the heel as much as the design of the shoe ... as you'll see below! Miu Miu, the pet project of Miuccia, is more for everyday wear and oriented towards a younger market, and has made just as many gorgeous additions to the world of high heel shoes. Here we look at some that encapsulate the feel of the two lines.  Read More...

The most famous name in high heel shoe design, Manolo Blahnik, comes from Czech and Spanish ancestry and a childhood in the Canary Islands. So that's where the magic comes from! dHe is a household name, mostly thanks to the efforts of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, though he was a top-end designer in his own right well before the series started. He has his own stores all over the world (though not in the Canary Islands), and his current season high heels are carried in Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barney's and Bloomingdales among others. His high heel shoe designs are ultra-feminine, with his Mary Janes that hark back to your carefree schoolyard days one of the most popular styles. Manolo Blahnik heels are lower than Louboutins and therefore much more comfortable; where Louboutin recently raised the maximum height (in response to customer demand) from seven inches to eight inches, Manolo Blahniks max out at a much comfier six inches. Here we look at his creative takes on the d'Orsay heel, summer sandals, 'heelless' heels and the humble Mary Jane.  Read More...

Perhaps one of the most famous graduates of Parsons's New School of Design, Marc Jacobs has some hefty sections on his curriculum vitae! As the head designer at Marc Jacobs, his own fashion house, and for the diffusion line 'Marc', this success hasn't gone unrecognized elsewhere in the fashion community. He is currently Creative Director at Louis Vuitton's fashion house also. He takes an interesting position about his high heel and fashion designs - where most designers overtly promote the idea that their line is about sexiness, sexual domination, and so forth, Jacobs dissents, saying: "What I prefer is that even if someone feels hedonistic, they don’t look it. Curiosity about sex is much more interesting to me than domination. ... My clothes are not hot. Never. Never.". Let's take a stroll through the hall of fame for a high heel designer that counts Victoria Beckham, Mischa Barton and Lady Gaga among his nearest and dearest customers.  Read More...

Make a statement with Bella Moda shoes - a summer tan and bare legs.
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Mention the name in a room full of women, and a sigh both audible and palpable rushes over you. "Ah! Louboutins ...". Christian Louboutin loves high heels, and their effect on women's bodies, as much as women themselves do. He cites one of his main influences in the fashion world as the showgirls he would sneak out to see when he was twelve, fascinated by the effect of the ultra-high heels on their physique and the way the shoes themselves characterized the women's bodies. Today we are looking at some of the high heel shoe designs from Christian Louboutin that have made the largest and most lasting impact on the world of foot-fashion. Read More...