Shoe porn: Re-inventing the heel

I have been bad. Radio silence for too long, but I have been revelling in shoe zen. Having found myself stressed and burnt out after too much hassle and too little me-time, I rediscovered the beauty that can be found in the switching-off-of-mind fashion magazines that abound. What wonderful mental popcorn, these colourful images containing trappings of luxury that I could never hope to afford (on the kind of regular basis that I covet). (but isn't that what knock-offs are for?)[who said that?! knock-offs ruin the stability of the industry! What are you saying??]

Perhaps my mental state is slightly more fragile than I had anticipated. (erm....anyway)

In the autumn/winter collections of the masters of the art of fashion (yes, I know the season's pretty much over, but the shoes are still pretty), this year's shoes had the most wonderfully inventive designs ever. Now I don't know if this has all been done before (only having consciously lived in this century), but suddenly everyone is re-inventing the heel, yes, actually. Why have they never thought of this before? I have no idea! It all started during the winter of last year when Prada (at least I think it was Prada) brought to market the lovely spray painted type colouring and slightly more chunky heel than we had seen before. You will now see this gentle shading effect on everything, from blouses to handbags and yes, knock-off shoes. But something was awakened and this season was a feast of architectural wonders. Feast your eyes...

Charlotte Olympia