First up are the new offerings from Vivienne Westwood Anglomania. The Ultragirl style is the main focus this season and we are treated to these Ultragirl flower orb flats £95 (above). They come in turquoise, white or black (all matte) and I'm seriously loving that bold floral pattern. Very Spring-like and happy. There's a gold orb detail on the front above the small hole (peep toe).
Then we have the Ultragirl bow £95 in blush, coral or smoke. They are a bit of a funny one because the Ultragirl is known to feature a non-traditional peep-toe, sitting on top of the foot (well toes) and not necessarily focusing on the big toe like an ordinary one would. The weird bit is, the bow sits on a metallic disc and that disc, well it kinda obstructs or at least detracts from the peep toe. It's a minor detail and I doubt it would be enough to put anyone off buying them. I like that they've used a 'real' bow this time instead of plastic. The blush come with a cream bow and what looks like a violet disc (could be pink), the coral a gold disc and turquoise bow and smoke come with a black bow and bronze disc. The coral have a glossy finish, the other two do too but are also slightly sheer.
Then we move onto the heels and for once, there are no Lady Dragon slingbacks. I know, the scandal! All is not lost though, instead they've come up with the Ultragirl heel with heart £160. Available in just one colour, pearl (shimmering finish) with a red heart, the style isn't too far removed from the Lady Dragon (actually just an old colourway reworked), with a slingback and peep toe. The peep toe does take the form of the flat version and sits on top of the toes and they generally have a more rounded, chunkier feel than the LD. The curved hard, heart is exactly the same as the ones used on LD's.
If that colourway doesn't excite you then you've got the option of the Ultragirl heel with stamp £160, which is bound to appeal in one of five colourways. You've got blush with pink stamp and from top clockwise, coral with silver stamp, black with bronze, sky blue with pink and finally ivory (white) with black stamp. All are glossy, the sky and blush are slightly sheer and the silver and bronze stamps are metallic. The stamp is heart-ish shaped, unlike the older stamp we've seen on the LD. It seems to me and I'm only surmising because I haven't seen them in real life yet, that the heel is slightly chunkier than the LD and also there appears to be more of a concealed platform.
I thought you'd also be interested in the Karl Lagerfeld/Melissa collaboration. I found the KL range has taken some time to find it's stride. The first season (other than the ice-cream heels) was rather poor, with clumpy shapes and strange colour combinations. Then we saw the Ultragirl heels (as used in VW this season) and flats, with sunglasses adornment, cute monochrome 'tie' sandals and I definitely got more of a Lagerfeld vibe from them. This season there's flattering shapes, softer colours and cute touches like cats and pearls.
You'll perhaps have seen me style these Ultragirl cat flats £85 last week on The Shoe Girl Diaries. Not a pump wearer myself, I was bowled over by these cuties. They come in glossy black or matte white or dove grey. Adorable Choupette and her big blue eyes grace the toes and that peep toe just reveals itself underneath. I predict these will (quite rightly) fly off the shelves.
Pearls are definitely something we associate with Chanel, so I'm glad to see Karl add a feminine touch to his sandals this year. The Violatta £86 come in glossy black or matte frost (white) and are strappy with an open toe, ankle strap (with buckle) and four large pearls down the front. You're going to throw these on with everything this summer. Perfect beach holiday shoes.
There's an alternative version for those of us that prefer heels, with the Pearl £145. Available in rose gold sheen (shimmering dusky blush) or pearl sheen (shimmering off-white). They feature a traditional peep toe, low cut sides and a curvy silhouette. The focal point though is a stunning 'beaded' pearl like silver heel. Yes Karl, you can do fancy things with plastic, thank you for noticing!
All of the KL range feature a small side profile of Karl in silver at the back-side of the shoes and Vivienne Westwood have followed with the gold orb logo. You'll find it on the side at the base of the slingback on the heels and the back-side of the bow Ultragirl flats, but not on the floral ones. The orb emblem has only featured on a few other styles previously, but never the Lady Dragons. It's a bit of a shame that for fussy me the gold orb clashes with the silver stamp on the coral pair, I'd rather they were both the same colour. Do you think they've exhausted all possibilities with the LD and the Ultragirl heel style will become the norm now? I certainly think it could be possible and am surprised they managed to think up new combos each season for so long! Does anything here take your fancy?
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My favourites have to be the anglomania. I would have to have the classic orb as I love Vivienne Westwood, but she is far outside my price range!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I found my invoice for my original Lady Dragons the other week. I think they were £75 and I recall thinking that was a lot of money at the time. They've doubled in price these days and seem to go up and up every season.
DeleteOoh, the KL cat ones are to die for, and so are the flower flats. I must say I can't wear heels but most of these designs make me wish 1. I could, and 2. I was very rich. xx
ReplyDeleteYes! Love those little kitties, might consider getting them for physio if I'll still be going long-term.
DeleteI do like Melissa shoes- I would buy the first ones if they were just Melissa (ie cheaper) not Vivienne! x
ReplyDeleteThe Mel and Melissa ranges have some lovely items too, but yes there's a difference in price when they're part of the designer ranges. I usually get mine in the sale, because they've gotten more pricey. They've got some beautiful baby shoes too, if only I had nieces!
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