Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 24, 1991 TAG: 9103220361
SECTION: SPRINF FASHION PAGE: E-18 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCINE PARNES/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For a bit more kick, try a '60s look; airy styles such as mules, sandals and sling-backs, or open-work materials like macrame and mesh.
Forget black. "It's been around for the past umpteen years," said Caryl Foster, associate fashion editor of Footwear News, a trade publication.
Subdued metallics in gold, bronze and silver are a good choice. Not only are they worthy of black-tie evenings, they're showing up as low-heeled sandals for day.
But the biggest influence this season, Foster said, is the '60s. "It's ubiquitous in everything from ready-to-wear to street fashion to shoes."
Revivals from the Woodstock Generation include Beatle boots, chunky heels and platform soles. Hippie wannabes will delight in flower-power and peace-sign ornamentation, macrame, Buffalo sandals and psychedelic colors.
"It's a '60s look with a '90s nuance," said Margaret Pennes, marketing director for The National Shoe Fair, a trade show. "That means that Beatle boots, for example, now look a little sleeker, more subdued."
Meanwhile, toes are squaring off, a look that has redawned from the Age of Aquarius, and flats are giving way to a chunky, 1-inch heel.
"Shoes are looking a lot more architectural," Foster said.
They're also recalling the fashion influence of Jacqueline Kennedy and Babe Paley, a la big Pilgrim buckles and white patent leather. Both look great when paired with demure chemise and structured handbag.
Color, likewise, goes retro chic. Inherited from the days of Camelot are the pastels - mint green, ice pink, powder blue and buttery yellow. Charles Jourdan, for example, offers a high-heel suede sling in pale pink, mint or bone.
For pastel footwear, choose hosiery that complements, not contrasts. "Your stockings don't have to match exactly," Foster said, "but keep them in the same tonal family."
The point is to elongate the leg, not break it up.
In his spring show, designer Bill Blass sent almost every model down the runway in nude stockings and sand-color suede pumps by Manolo Blahnik.
"Bill wanted the shoe to be the color of the girl's leg," explained Tom Fallon, publicity director. "It looks like the only thing that stops the legs is the floor."
A major new look is open spaces.
"The spring forecast spotlights slings, T-straps, mules and simply lots of shoes that bare the foot," said Mercedes Lamamie. The fashion director for the Commercial Office of Spain, which promotes the Spanish footwear industry, points to clear vinyls, flesh-baring mesh, perforations and cut-outs.
A third of Manolo Blahnik's spring line is backless mules, said company spokesman David Goren. Blahnik's most important mule for spring, he said, has a low Louis heel and a suede Pilgrim buckle. It was worn by every model in Isaac Mizrahi's spring show and comes in a multitude of bright and pale suedes and patents.
For heels, Foster said, the most important height is 1 inch, compatible with today's hemlines.
"Flats are looking just too casual with short dresses," she said.
The killer stiletto isn't playing a starring role this season, either. That's good news for slaves to both fashion and comfort.
by CNB