Couture Wedding Shoes

Most Couture Bridal shoes come from Italian wedding shoe designers. If you are looking for a high quality Italian bridal shoe then you should look at Italian designer Felippa Scott’s Fifi brand of shoes. These are showcased along with her line of Filippa Scott London shoes at Advantage Bridal
These have high heels that range from 2.5 to 3.5 inches. So this fashion fierce line of top quality leather pumps and sandals is definitely a favorite of the shorter bride.

Fifi shoes are world reknonwned The signature of the designer is the aqua blue interior of the shoe, which helps you provide that “something blue” dress requirement of your wedding day. These are also known as really comfortable shoes as they each have an extra three millimeters of padding so that you are thinking about your special day and not how much your feet hurt when you are standing at the alter.

Cynthia Rowley Bridal Shoes have always been quite reasonably priced at about $200 per pair, which is a great price for designer wedding shoes. Furthermore she makes an incredible number of styles. You can see the variety available at My Glass Slipper – a couture shoe site.,

Rowley makes the classic ankle strap with the narrow 2.5 inch heel – a model called Splash. She also makes a long elegant shoe with a sexy open side and oblong squared off toe called the Spark. However the shoe that makes her one of the hippest and still affordable shoe designers is called the Signa which is a very sexy Mary Jane that looks young and hip.

There is a type of wedding shoe that is made by Vera Wang that has become so popular it is just about sold out everywhere. One of the reasons they are so popular is that even though they have a three and a quarter inch heel most brides who wore them found them to be really comfortable and wore them for more than eight hours straight.

The Vera Wang shoe is also stunning looking and features a T shaped slingback with a bare heel and pointed toe. The toe itself is leather that is embedded with thousands of tiny glittering crystals. The parts of the shoe that are not crystallized are a gorgeous soft matte white leather. There is probably not a contemporary wedding dress in the world that would not go with this classic looking shoe which could also be dyed and worn to other functions later.

Weirdest Wedding Shoes

The sixties era of fashion is definitely back again and more brides than ever before are dressing up in Barbarella style outfits with metallic touches or wearing cute little white minidresses – like the kind that Sharon Tate or Mia Farrow would wear way back then. Of course if you are going to dress up to look this type of wedding costuming also calls for a nice pair of thigh high boots. Right now this type of look is considered to be very hip.

Some of the greatest looking thigh high wedding boots are made out of faux velvet, Lycra or metallic fabric that is molded up the thigh and makes the legs look really shiny and long. If your wedding is Victorian or Elvish in style you can also get lace up boots that tie up via the back of the calf and thigh or at the front. The effect looks a bit bondage fetish but more vintage.

You won’t find thigh high wedding boots in most wedding boutiques but you will find them in stores meant more for fetish or stripper wear such as Hot Heels.

You can also get a pair of medieval wedding moccasins. These are usually handcrafted out of very soft leather and are based on designs that were also around hundreds of years ago. They also suit Victorian or Elvish style weddings.

Just what is a moccasin? In essence this is a flat slipper through which a think rope of leather is tied back and forth across the foot and then up the bride’s calf. The leather itself is pleated in an attractive winding shape from the soft sole.

Not only are these flat wedding moccasins one of the most comfortable of bridal shoes that you could wear they are also an attractive and customizable option for the very tall bride. “The Original Medieval Moccasins” offers them in many different colors . Even though they are moccasin they can look quite sexy as the ties can go thigh high.

Summer is coming and if you are wearing a tea length style wedding dress or a more casual looking wedding dress (like a Marilyn Monroe or forties style white cotton frock) then you might want to look into wearing Wedgie wedding shoes.

It is hard to find a pair of wedgies that don’t look too casual but the shoe company Special Occasions has them. The wedgie they offered has a white satin toe. The style is espredilla so there is an ankle strap has well. The shoe itself is white satin.

The good news too is that you can dye the entire shoe, including the cord to match any type of dress or color scheme that you might have for your wedding.

Summer is coming and if you are wearing a tea length style wedding dress or a more casual looking wedding dress (like a Marilyn Monroe or forties style white cotton frock) then you might want to look into wearing Wedgie wedding shoes.

Clear Wedding Shoes

Clear wedding shoes (meaning that they are completely see-through) are usually made of plastic, vinyl or Lucite and they are the hottest thing going.

Clear Cinderella pumps have become almost a fetish amongst brides. Basically the attraction is that it looks like the proverbial glass slipper out of the fairy tale… The most sought after of cellar wedding shoes looks like the one that Prince Charming slips on Cinderella’s foot. In fact some brides make this part of the wedding ceremony.

No bride would really be wearing a shoe made of glass down an aisle. The closest would be a shoe made out of Lucite or clear vinyl. Some surfing around on the Internet did reveal a completely clear “glass slipper” made out of clear vinyl. One place to find this item is the Dyeable Shoe Store. It is a stock item there.

The entire shoe, which looks like a dress pump that you would wear to work or like a shoe that Barbie would wear, is completely see through so you better paint your toenails to match your dress! There is one silver strip of sparkles lining the entire shoe to give it a bit of dimension. The insole in the shoe is also metallic silver. It should do the trick though when it comes to making you feel like you are Cinderella. Furthermore this type of see through glass slipper comes cheap at less than fifty dollars for a pair.

There is a certain type of very high-heeled clear shoe that could also qualify as being a Cinderella style of slipper. This is the type of shoe that we sometimes associate with strippers. They have a Lucite see through plastic platform on the sole and then either a chunky or spiked heel that is also see-through. The chunky type of heel is known as the “tip jar” style. If you are lucky enough to find a vintage pair of these you can also find interesting items embedded in the Lucite such as fake flowers, little fish or rhinestones.

This type of shoe can be a strappy shoe or it can be topped with a clear vinyl casing that matches the platform sole. These really do look like the type of shoe a Pussycat Doll might wear if she was going to get married. Be prepared to totter around on them. With this style of shoe, there is a subtle elastic band attached to the shoe t o help keep your foot strapped to it.

want to find the most spectacular pair possible to wear during your wedding then you need to check out the stripy shoes at the Electrique Boutique. Sure this they are kind of sleazy many of them can be worn as wedding shoes.

One interesting choice for a wedding shoe might be the Lucite shoe that has pom poms. You can get these Lucite shoes with trailing pom pom front ties in every color imaginable.

If you really want to light up your wedding day you can get a pair of Lucite platform sandals that have diodes inside of them. They light up every time you take a step.

Breaking In and Caring For Wedding Shoes

Wedding shoes don’t get dirty until you try and break them in. Of course you want to break them in before the wedding so you don’t end up limping down the aisle. This takes some brides a night and others need to walk around in the shoes for two weeks. Of course the more you walk around in them the more you risk actually stressing out and damaging the shoes in some way. White shoes start getting these grayish looking creases that can make the shoe look much less attractive. This is true of both fabric and leather shoes. The best way to avoid damaging our shoes while trying to get used to them is to wear a thick pair of nylons over the shoes. If you want to be extra careful slip a pair of socks over the wedding shoes.

This protects the soles of the shoes too which might be an issue – especially if they are an expensive pair of Christian Loubatains with bright blue or red soles. Only wear the shoes as much as you have to in order to finally break them in and they should not look too battered for the special day.

It is also good to store your wedding shoes properly. If you do not have those commercial wood shoe shapers then you can stuff them with socks, which also helps them keep their shape and body.

Sometimes no matter what you do you can end up with are gray or black marks on the toe of your dyed silk or satin wedding shoes. Is there any way to clean them?

Just take the shoes and soak them in a large bucket filled with warm soapy water. Stuff them with a pair of sports socks first so they don’t get lose their shape. This can be a bit of a weird experience because once you are done washing them they can look weirder than ever. Until the shoe dries it will seem patchy or discolored. However don’t be dismayed as this effect will go away. If you want you can dry them out beneath a radiator or next to a space heater. If you are in a real hurry you can dry them out with a blow dryer.

A word to the wise – if your feet start bleeding or blistering while you have the shoes on takes them off immediately. Blood is very hard to get out of shoe fabric – especially white shoe fabric.

Ugly Yet Cool Wedding Shoes

Not everyone can wear those high-heeled wedding shoes. Some people really don’t like the look of those ballet flats, which are so out of style, and eighties looking. However if you have problems with your feet or gait or can’t wear heels because it hurts the ball of your foot then you may not have any other choice than to wear them.

Runaway Bride is the place to buy more comfortable, dignified looking custom bridal shoes. These look like hush puppies and come in luxurious fabrics like suede or velvet. The laces are satin or sheer chiffon and can match your bridal colors. They come in all the whites, creams and pastels and look quite cool.

These shoes are not a bad choice for the mother of the bride either who may not be up for a day of teetering around on high heels.

The coolest ugliest wedding shoes are the ones that are plastic. This is a perfect example of this all being a matter of individual taste as there are quite a few people out there that really want to wear those clear plastic Cinderella style shoes. These look exactly like the ones that Cinderella wore in the Disney cartoons. They are formal looking but completely see-through.

Lucite shoes that have rhinestones in them are tacky looking but beautiful. Some of them have heels that look like spiral glass vibrators. They look like something that looks like a Pussy Cat Doll would wear down the aisle.

Sometimes a shoe that would otherwise be considered ugly in another year is very hip. For instance this is probably the year for a wedding shoe that is brown and say trimmed in orange or lime green.
Some people have a real problem with plastic or vinyl shoes. These shoes can cut into the skin and also they can make the feet feel really sweaty.

No matter what type of shoe you choose the best idea is always going to be to try and break them in for a bit as well. Also choose shoes that fit. A sloppy fit can cause problems from blisters, to bleeding to your shoe falling right off of your foot while you walk down the aisle.

Perfect Wedding Pedicures and Flip Flops

If you are wearing flip-flops to your wedding then it really is a great idea to get a great pedicure. You do not have to spend a fortune at a fancy spa to get your toenails done. You can buy do it yourself kits. In fact they make great gifts for all of your bridesmaids who might be wearing flip-flops at your wedding as well. Many brides just hold a party where everyone paints their toes shortly before the wedding. It gives the wedding party an opportunity to know one another and also have a great deal of fun.

These kits are quite cheap and on sites like The Knot they only cost about $25.00. These types of kits usually include everything that you need to give yourself a salon quality pedicure. Usually they include a pair of flip-flops in a bag plus all the clippers, files and buffing instruments you need to have great toes.

Usually though you have to get your own nail polish especially if you want your toenails to be an offbeat color like violet. Some kits available only have a limited selection of nail polish in them. There are many wedding pedicure kits that sell everything you need to give your toes a nice French Manicure as well.

According to experts there are few essential things that you need to do if you are going to conduct a do it yourself manicure at home. First of all start with a long soak in water to soften up your toenail cuticles. If you do not do this you might accidentally over cut the cuticles and injure yourself. To prevent infection make sure that everything that you use is clean. If you do cut or hurt yourself during the pedicure process be sure to have hydrogen peroxide on hand to deal with it.

After you have soaked your nails –trim and file them and make sure they are a soft square shape. Try to make sure that they look even so that they look great in your open toed wedding sandals. Never leave your toenails too long as they can easily become ingrown. After you have done this be sure to moisturize your feet so they look smooth and soft for your wedding day as well.

Make sure your feet are completely dry before you add polish or you may get an uneven finish. Whatever you do don’t try on wedding sandals before the polish is dry – especially if they are white.

The Best Silver Wedding Shoes

The silver shoe is going to be one of the hottest colors in bridal shoes for falls. Hot for late summer and fall is a kitten heel. These are grey shoes that have a bit of a higher heel. To be more elaborate get a pair with a lot of diamante and shiny gray patent leather on the front. Beading and braiding are also very fashion fierce.

Grey that features a sleek silver satin rounded toe with a low cleavage in the toe that is very popular. Any satin grey pump is very fashion fierce this fall!

The wrap sandal that has a super high heel is also going to be on the coolest of altar-bound feet. Look for tall kitten four and a half inch heels attached with a gorgeous rhinestone strap across the cleavage of the toe. With this type of wrap shoe arch of the foot is then wrapped with a swap of criss crossing satin that attaches to a collar around the ankle that is festooned with a starburst of rhinestones. Ellie Shoes makes a couple of great versions of this type of wrap shoe. These shoes go great with any type of shorter wedding dress as well as the long sweeping Greek Goddess style of dresses that are so popular lately.

You have seen those arm bracelets that look like snakes and that coil up the upper arm. Well know you can get wedding shoes that have a similar design.
These shoes are high heel but and have a kind of flexible chain that cuts across the toe to strap the shoe on the foot. Then winding up from beneath the arch of the sole is a long w coiling of chain that curls around the ankle and then around the leg three or four times. If you want a really distinctive look that is both gladiator and kind of Egyptian in style these are what you want. They would certainly fit the bill if you wanted to wear them with a Greek Goddess style of dress that have tunic or empire waist styles or with a wedding dress that has an irregular hem of some kind.

Vince Cameo Raven makes silver shoes almost look as streamlined as a passenger airplane from the 1930s. Also outstanding is the Jessica Simpson four and a half inch winklepicker style of wedding shoes with a big arch. There is deep toe cleavage on these gleaming silver shoes, which are bound to be a favorite, not just for fall brides but for the cocktail party and disco going set as well.

All About Bridal Stockings

There is just so much that you need to pay attention to on your big day that it is probably a good idea to buy a one piece bridal stocking combo. You can get a matching set that includes a bridal thong, bridal suspenders and bridal stockings that attaché in a way that is slick and fashionable. The other good thing about this attached type bridal rigging is that it makes it really easy to do things like visit the bathroom just before you walk up the aisle.

A good brand is Asia stockings. You can get the attached thong, suspender and stocking set for about seventy bucks. These types of tights come in ivory or white and with matte or sheer toe. They are gorgeous but if you are a larger woman you might find it problematic finding a larger pair.

A little shopping around on the net or in local bridal stores will probably turn up a similar type of lingerie stock. Just make sure you splurge because a cheap set will develop runs.

There are also, any of different bridal thigh high stockings on the market. There is some incredibly cute white and ivory stay up styles on here. There are ones with gently elasticized tops and ones with the thick vinyl tops that won’t dare slop down your leg as you walk down that aisle. You can get these adorned with satin ribbons or trimmed with bunches of satin roses.

If you like the black and white look you will might want to spring for a pair that is bright white but that has a black inseam going up the back. This gives a bride a very nice Bette Page effect.

Bridal garters are very interesting because they vary so much in their construction and design. Who knew that so many different crated designs could be made from one little elastic band that is meant only to strap on your leg for one day in your life. There is an incredible variety of gorgeously designed garters including ones in the popular blue, white and pink satin.

You can also get white garters with little red fabric roses or pink ones with black tuxedo bows. You can even get them in gold, copper and bronze hues.

However the most traditional of garters is a strip of elastic that is ringed with a skirt of chiffon and buttoned up with a bow. Just make sure it can slide easily up and down your leg.

Golf Fashions for Women

With close to six million female golfers on the continent, it should be something of a surprise to learn that on-course fashion trends have tended to proceed somewhat tentatively, with a somewhat rigid clothing style dominating through the decades. But with more and more designers beginning to take a second look, all that may be about to change.

Female golf fashions traditionally have not wandered far from the styles passing through generations of their male counterparts on the gold course. Along with the men, crisp golf shirts and spikes were de rigeur, with the principal difference in the style of pantwear: in short, women’s golf attire featured shorts and, eventually, golf skirts.

Fashions were usually developed first for professional golfers, whose influence would then pass to weekend players and country club dabblers. The watershed change in women’s professional golf fashion occurred when second-generation stars — that is, female pros appearing in the late 1960s and early 1970s — suddenly took to the course sporting visors. The trendy and colorful visor accessory, more helpful for players and slightly more stylish than sunglasses, was the rage in the era following the domination of such legendary golfing figures as Mickey Wright and Kathy Whitworth.

The emergence of such sex symbols as Laura Baugh and Jan Stephenson on the pro golf tour in the 70s and 80s coincided with a new era of clothing sponsorship and marketing, leading to more controversial and daring designs – or to put it more simply, golf skirts got a lot shorter. Professional decorum continued to be strictly observed in other areas – in one strange case, British pro Laura Davies was censured for wearing a pair of golfing trousers deemed “too close to denim” – but otherwise, dress code began to loosen as overall tour revenues went up. More recently, the heavily-sponsored golfing prodigy/oddity Michelle Wie began to appear on the course with an all-black ensemble of sleeveless shirt plus skirt of death-defying short length. However, her sponsor promised to lengthen skirts the following season, backpedaling on what appeared to be a fashionable race to the bottom.

But the point had been made, over and over, and designer clothing labels responded in kind. Female golf fashions are no longer a top-down trendsetting process from pro to Flo; instead designers have turned the tables and are communicating their ideas directly to a fast-growing community of young recreational female golfers. Golf Punk, a hip magazine devoted primarily to tracking golf fashion, appeared recently in Britain, and a growing number of golf clothing lines, as well as established labels introducing golf-apparel departments, have piled on the bandwagon and advertised heavily. With more aggressive colors and curvier designs, looking good may be the only sure thing in one of the world’s most difficult and heartbreaking individual sports.

Golf Fashions for Men

They say it’s not fashionable until someone breaks the rules, but in the world of professional athletics, it’s definitely not a new fashion if the rule breaker isn’t one of the biggest names in his or her sport. Where the players on top dare, so follow the rest. And no more is this in evidence than in the turbulent, ever-changing world of professional tennis.

Tennis historians speak constantly of the “Open era” and “pre-Open era”, but in fashion terms tennis was truly defined by the pre- and post-shorts era. The division occurred in 1933 when British tennis player Bunny Austin decided to drop the cricket-uniform long pants style (championed in the Big Bill Tilden era and thought to be a permanent fashion fixture on the court) and switch to shorts. The sport, as they say, would never be the same again.

When the subsequent and predictable heat died down, players and audience alike adjusted well to the change: players claimed a better sense of movement on the court, and, well, spectators had more of a physical spectacle for their ticket buck. Shorts were on the tour to stay, but changing fashions would not be denied, and one of the driving forces helping along the change was the emergence of a parallel trend dominating sports today: sponsorship and marketing of the top stars.

Arguably the first color TV-era tennis superstar was Bjorn Borg, the Swedish giant of the game whose cool demeanor and genius shotmaking paralyzed the opposition through the 70s. One of the first international sports celebrities to embrace brand marketing, Borg’s entry into corporate sponsorship took the fashionable form of added color coding to his tennis uniform. This began with his sponsorship of a European brewery by sporting its colors on his headband; other players, from professional to amateur and sandlot, suddenly began to sport colorful headbands. Color coding on shirts, shorts and sneakers followed, first as a branding strategy for the top pros, followed by others taking the lead and running with it. Suddenly tennis whites were a thing of the past – it was a color show and everyone wanted to do things a bit differently to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Another barrier was smashed more than a decade after Borg’s domination, when a brash and day glo-colored figure entered the tennis world, announced he was the next big thing, and proved it with more than just his fashion innovations. This was Andre Agassi, whose on-court color explosions started with streaked hair and finished with lycra bicycle tights worn underneath his tennis shorts. Agassi is now retired, but such was his influence that no one has yet appeared on the landscape to push a new fashion era onto the tennis world. Rafael Nadal’s apparel is just another shade of terrain already blazed by Agassi; perhaps soon we will have a fashion innovator at the top of their game and, eventually, our game as well.