Fashion Guidelines for Shoes

If you have a thing for shoes, you're not alone. Shoes are an addicting fetish, but so worth it! If you know where to shop, you can find great shoes for great prices, and let's face it—anytime is a good time go buy a pair of shoes! However, there is one thing you must remember: not all shoes are good shoes, and you need to have good fashion sense if you're going to successfully pull off your penchant for shoes.

I can't really tell you what shoes to buy, because taste varies from person to person, and as much as I would like to sometimes, I can't legislate taste. What I can do, though, is give you guidelines for when and how to wear shoes, guidelines that may not cross over into the taste category (an essential aspect of fashion), but will at the very least give your love of shoes some more direction.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your shoes should be appropriate for the occasion—not too dressy and not too casual (however, I think that overdressing is usually better than underdressing). For example, don't wear flip flops to your graduation or to a graduation, period. Don't wear flip flops to a wedding or to church. It's just not classy, folks. However, feel free to pull out the flip flops for a day to the mall, a day to the beach, or a day hanging out with your friends. It's easier to get away with wearing dressier shoes, because dressy shoes can really add some style and class to otherwise banal outfits; however, don't wear them to something that's obviously casual, like a barbeque. Wearing high heels in the grass is not such a great fashion decision: apart from the fact that you'll look a little silly, the heels will likely sink into the ground, making it even harder to walk.

You should also take your body shape and size into account when choosing shoes. If you're shorter and stockier, then it might not be a good idea to wear chunky shoes. Instead choose shoes that are tinier and more sleek; the slim shoe will help slim the look of your body, whereas chunky shoes can often make you look heavy when you're not. (Again, this is if you are shorter.)

I hope these fashion guidelines for shoes helped point in the right direction for when to wear them, because legislating taste is something I don't want to get involved in. Sure I may love patent leather flats and metallic pumps, but not everyone will, and there are plenty of shoes out there that aren't patent leather or metallic. Defining and refining your taste will take time and experience, but at least you can go forth with a better sense of fashion knowing when and where to wear the shoes you already have!