Clarks Orla Kiely Beryl Shoes

I unexpectedly had some "time off" this weekend, waking up on Sunday to discover we had no internet connection and indeed no phone-line. A great excuse for able-bodied people to get on with other things, but not being able to, I was left in limbo. My family were out for the day (but brought back a new phone), so I showered, then took blog photos (not in the shower, of bloggy things)! Not sure what use it was, as I edit all my photos online, so couldn't actually do anything with them! I kept finding things to do, but they always required the internet at some point.  I didn't realise how physically demanding photography could be, when you're moving subject matter around (shoes) and contorting yourself into strange poses (feet/shoe shots), something I used to find a lot easier when I was doing it almost daily, but now with my limited ability, it's rather strenuous. Clearly I'm hopeless at switching off and/or relaxing and need to be doing something!  Anyway I'm feeling the effects today, very sore and barely able to walk and now have hundreds of photos to sort through! Thankfully after a few frustrating phone-calls back and forth last night and this morning, we now have a connection (and didn't need a new phone after all). So onto the shoes and I bought these a few weeks ago, after ogling them for months. You might even recall I styled the other colourway on The Shoe Girl Styles It months ago.

They are part of the Orla Kiely collection for Clarks, named Beryl. I haven't worn Clarks since my school shoes when I was very little, I think the last pair I had were Victorian style ankle boots when I was 12 (which I wore with a circle maxi skirt I made).  I thought they were pretty cool.  Shortly afterwards the "if you want fancy school shoes, you can buy them yourself" rule came in and off to Topshop I trotted!  I definitely would've worn these as a teenager to school though and I think my Mum might've bought them if they were from Clarks and therefore deemed a 'sensible' shoe! My style has evolved (I admit, only slightly) since then, so I did have a few niggles (are they too clumpy/not my style/not high enough?) pre-purchase. At £50 instead of £150 though, it was definitely worth a shot. Brilliant service from Clarks, free and very quick delivery (Hermes) and updates (mobile and emails and they were actually delivered half an hour before the email came through to say they were with my local courier). They came boxed in that instantly recognisable OK print, mirrored on the tissue paper and with two patterned dustbags.
I was unsure which colour to opt for and thought the blue were going to be really navy (actually by the time I ordered, these were the only option). On arrival though, I was pleasantly surprised as they are more of a petrol or teal. There's definitely too much green in them to be navy (don't think it comes across in the photos unfortunately). I'll find that much easier to style. The uppers have a croc effect, large platform, chunky heel and huge Mary Quant style retro flower. The buckle on the strap is really easy to fasten and the leather feels like quality.
The heel is higher than I thought and thankfully not totally eclipsed by the platform (I hate that feeling of having a flat foot in a shoe, hence my desire to constantly wear heels). I think they've been the highest heel they've produced so far and I'd like to think I'm not alone in hoping for more high and higher heels. This has been my reasoning behind not buying any of the collaboration before now, so many of the styles have low or mid heels. I get that it coordinates with the OK retro vibe (and seriously any of these shoes would easily coordinate with the Orla clothing line), but I definitely think you could add a little height without compromising on the style or feeling.  The soles are brightly painted with the OK print which is lovely and there's a grip section, so it's not a total shiny/slippy sole.   They've since disappeared from the site, but the new AW15 collection launches on Friday.  You can see a preview of the styles; my favourites would be the pink Angelina and gold sparkle Abigail, if only the heels were higher.  Oh sizes, they do half sizes, which I'm extremely fond of.  I bought these in a 5.5 and they were perfect.  It's not often I stray from Irregular Choice or designer brands, but I'm glad I did with these.  What do you think, what has caught your eye from the preview?

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