FASHIONS IN FOOTWEAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19550, 1 February 1927, Page 7

FASHIONS IN FOOTWEAR.

Shoes aro divided into two classes, tho oruato and tho fiimplo; and sinca a modern woman needs shoes in quantities, it is likely that sho will have several pairs of both. Fanciful effects are achieved with reptile skins. Lizard, however, is no longer considered smart when fashioning tho whole shoe, and its latest vogue is for piping and very restrained trimming. .? This type of ornamentation requires something more ambitious than a pump, and so there is a return to the sandal shapes. They are characterised by thin straps and quaintly-shaped vamps, which, if they are not dissected into fantastical triangles of patent leather bound with reptile, or vice versa, are perforated with a unique .design. The unadorned examples are works of art in the cut. Usually thoy aro cut high on the foot, with "spike" heels. Sometimes rectangulstr buckles aro seen, but they are there solely to match tho clasp on the bag. Black is by no means the only colour. There is a return to the crazo fof blue footwear, while grey end beige are wotn with matching dresses. It may bo that reptile skins aro less popular for formal uhcres on account 'of their tremendous popularity for sports weaf. The low-shaped model with the broad strap, buckling on one side, is still tho most sought-after design, and second in order of popularity comes the stout leather design which hugs the back of the leg tightly and finishes round tho, ankle with cross-oveir lacing, like a ballerina's slipper. A new kind of Russian boot has been sprung upon us. It is mads with a leg like a concertina, which fits snugly by virtue 6f its elastic padding. Evening shoes are certainly recovering from the frivolous designs which marked the models worn last season, and, although tho elaborate sandal in by no means superseded, there is a tendency toward a plain slipper, which manages by the simple process of colour what its forerunner did with dazzla, It is considered smart at tho moment; to wear vivid green slippers with a white dress, providing that tho green is tho one height note of colour in the whole effect. Naturally, any other bright colour is worn in a similar fashion.