Take me shoe shopping

July 25, 2012 4:13 PM

What shoes should I wear with this dress? I don't want to be too match-matchy, but I'm stumped on good color choices and styles.

I just love this dress, but I'm not sure what shoes to wear with it. I tried a pair of gray patent heels, but they were too stuffy looking.

Rules:
-My big toes can't be visible (there's a fungus amongus).
-A little lift is good, like a wedge or low heel, but super high is a no-no.
-I'd like to be able to buy them at Zappos if possible.
-I need comfort, or at least not painful-for-the-sake-of-fashion.

I'm a US 8, medium-wide-ish. I like quirky styles, like Camper and LeBunnyBlue, but also sensible-ish styles that can be worn with lots of different things, like Clarks, so I'm open to lots of different ideas.

posted by dayintoday to clothing, beauty, & fashion (29 answers total)

So cute!! I think you should wear pink flats with that dress - not matchy, but nice contrast.
posted by echo0720 at 4:19 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Love this dress! I'd choose a peep-toe heel, which should cover up your big toe but has a similar retro vibe.
posted by lalex at 4:22 PM on July 25, 2012

I was thinking pink too. Maybe something that had polka dots to match the dress - like these, but with a lower heel and a lower price tag.
posted by Mittenz at 4:24 PM on July 25, 2012

I would go with a nice lime green on that. Or a melony-salmon.
posted by oflinkey at 4:26 PM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm thinking neon yellow pumps, like these, but with a softer and lower heel. Really, any nice neon color will do - pink, yellow, turquoise (though that might be too matching for you).
posted by Laura Macbeth at 4:27 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

I would go with a neutral low heel or flat, something in a beige or taupe like these.
posted by RainyJay at 4:28 PM on July 25, 2012

Oh, look, the Taryns come in orange as well.
posted by oflinkey at 4:29 PM on July 25, 2012

I would wear my black patent sling back flats. The dress is so cute that it would be a shame to draw attention away from it with pink or red or any majorly contrasting color shoe. Let the dress speak -- it has lots to say.
posted by Dolley at 4:29 PM on July 25, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think these Miz Mooz Ella Black shoes would be cute - they're a little funky, but the black coloue keeps them versatile for other outfits too. The buttons mimic the dots on the dress. The toe is closed, but the back is open so they're not clunky. They have heels, but they're not so tall with a shorter dress that you'd be teetering and not too dressy that they're "night time" heels only. The reviews said they run short, but that they're comfortable. It's a super cute dress, and a little retro -- so that's why I'd continue the retro theme with the shoes.
posted by peagood at 4:31 PM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'd wear silver flats like: sparkle! or more refined

These clogs are very matchy-matchy, but I saw them in person at the cobbler today and they're super cute: plus, they look better in person
posted by quince at 4:49 PM on July 25, 2012

These nude Trotters Olivia are pretty. Peep toe, but not a big peep, and very cute and versatile. Here's another nude patent shoe, also with a baby peep, but in a wedge.

I think to take advantage of the retro feel of the dress the front of the shoe should be a box, not a point. Which is why I think I'm so attracted to peep toes for this dress. =D
posted by xyzzy at 4:52 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'd do the heels RainyJay suggested in black, or something very similar. Or maybe something like this. although I'd want to try them on with to see if the white trim was a no-no. There's also a green in that style but it's hard to say on a screen whether the colors would go well.
posted by immlass at 4:57 PM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

Something bright for a pop of color contrast. I'd go pink, orange, or yellow. It's such a playful dress, nude or black seems too dull, to me at least. Pointy toes are too formal (and not really the best with such a retro silhouette.), so round or peep toes would be best. Not sky-high wedges are a win for comfort and awesomeness. I'm at work, so I can't hunt down examples, but that's the direction I'd go in.
posted by mostlymartha at 5:06 PM on July 25, 2012 [8 favorites]

If you decide to go with a versatile neutral, you'll want navy, rather than black. Perhaps these low-heeled slingbacks: they're reviewed as comfy, and they share with the dress a retro vision of MODERNE.
posted by feral_goldfish at 5:37 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yep, opposite the color wheel would be yellow/orange. Here's one with a very small peep-toe. Because it's a cute summer dress, I'm finding it hard to see any closed toe shoes that I like.
posted by politikitty at 5:38 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

I agree with Dolley and peagood - you want black shoes with that dress. It's a very busy print, a bright shoe with it would be overkill. Navy would work too, or a darker version of the dot colour. A cute retro-looking kitten heel would be great with it. I know that the trend these days is to veer away from matching as far as you can go without actively clashing, but I don't think it's a good look, personally. I'm always careful to not favour trendy over timeless.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:22 PM on July 25, 2012 [3 favorites]

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned by I'd always been taught that wearing black shoes with navy was a fashion faux-pas. I'd agree with feral_goldfish that if you want to do a dark neutral, than go with navy. I don't think that it would be too matchy-matchy, because it is a neutral. The one thing you don't want to do is try to match the green. If you manage to find shoes in the exact shade, it might look too matchy-matchy and if you don't it will just look off. Otherwise I'd agree with something on the opposite end of the color wheel (the yellow or orange as suggested by politkitty) as an unexpected pop of color or beige if you want to go with a light neutral. If your looking for comfort, I think that dress would look cute with a pair of ballet flats and those are readily available in an endless selection of colors.
posted by kaybdc at 7:00 PM on July 25, 2012

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned by I'd always been taught that wearing black shoes with navy was a fashion faux-pas.

Aha, this is what I mean about screen color, as the dots looked black to me. Yes, navy with navy.
posted by immlass at 7:15 PM on July 25, 2012

Alrighty, home from work (at ModCloth, oddly enough). I particularly adore that dress, by the way. Closed toe is hard to find during the summer, but different peep toes expose different amounts of big toe. Regardless, here's some directions to think in, from a quick Zappos search:
1, 2, 3, 4, closed toe, maybe a smidge chunky, but cute, 5, 6, 7

And a few from ModCloth:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Basically, none of those shoes have anything in common with each other other than the "pop of color" factor. I'm not sure that any is the perfect shoe for you, but I do really think that the dress is just screaming for color. It's a whimsical, flirty, retro dress; if you go for dull or super understated shoes, you're fighting the dress's natural vibe in a way that, to my eye, clashes. It would be like wearing rhinestone stilettos with a floral sundress or cowboy boots with a Calvin Klein shift.
posted by mostlymartha at 7:18 PM on July 25, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm picturing patent coral or neon heels. A pump would work, but so would a a slingback. I'd avoid anything that seems too vintagey, because that might get a bit costumey, but maybe you can pull that off. Patent nude would work too.
posted by snickerdoodle at 7:26 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

I definitely fall in the colourful shoe camp... but my searches have been for shorter heels.

What about these beige metallic pumps?

This may be a case of thinking everyone else needs to love Fluevogs because I do... but how about purple Ayers or burnt orange Gertrude or cherry Gracias?

I like these yellow shoes, but fear there may be too much toe exposure for you
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 7:31 PM on July 25, 2012

I think these are perfect, which naturally means I can't find the right size for love or money. Maybe it helps as inspiration, though?
posted by Space Kitty at 8:30 PM on July 25, 2012

No question - navy or orange. And I think orange is your best bet. (Graphic designer opinion)
posted by b33j at 11:02 PM on July 25, 2012

How about these coral suede pumps? (The color is better in the user-submitted pictures, which I usually think are more accurate.) The triangular heel is current but not overly trendy, they're simple enough to be versatile, and they're $39 for real leather. If you like a lower heel, these in yellow (they're similar) might be nice.
posted by ostro at 11:23 PM on July 25, 2012

Yes! Matching shoes to dresses is a tiny hobby of mine, and since I'm a single guy and have huge feet, I don't get to do this much.

Please don't go with beige or brown. Nthing the case for black/navy shoes, preferably big shoes, like these or these or maybe something navy-ier. If you're gonna wear some darker shoes, you're going to want to change that awful belt. I'd look at at way to match a different belt to the shoes that you're gonna wear.

Emphasize the black/navy in your dress rather than the bright blue or god forbid going with another color. Why are so many people recommending beige/yellow? Coral? Really? Why not red or crimson then? Because they don't match at all.

In addition, knowing how tall you are helps a ton in these askmes. If you're 5'2" I'm gonna recommend a different shoe than if you're 5'11".

/dammit, I love me some matching shoes to dresses talk.
posted by Sphinx at 11:50 PM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

I don't think there's a problem with wearing black shoes with navy in some cases. This is not one of them, however. The dress looked black/turquoise on my screen, therefore my suggestion of black shoes. But now that I see it's navy/turquoise...

Navy all the way. I don't understand this "pop of color" stuff, expecially on your feet. Why would you want to distract from the cuteness of the dress with bright shoes? Again, let the dress speak! Don't drown it out with loud shoes.

I'm not crazy about the belt, either, but if you wear navy shoes, it will probably look all right.
posted by Dolley at 7:41 AM on July 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Margot from Hasbeens in mint :)

margot
posted by cartoonella at 9:47 AM on July 26, 2012

ha! that's funny, I saw the dress bagckground as being black too - and that was on a fancy supposedly colour calibrated monitor at work - now at home on my wee netbook I can see the navy. weird. so yea, navy shoes, but they don't have to be the exact same shade as the dress (which miht be hard to match) - darker would be fine.

also, if you're going with the retro vibe of the dress, a well dressed lady of the '50s would never dream of wearing clashing coloured shoes with that. pop of colour statment items were strictly reserved for neutral-coloured outfits.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:51 AM on July 26, 2012

Ha. I totally didn't see that the link itself paired the dress with coral shoes. It's really a matter of preference: do you want to play off the navy background or the bright foreground. If the former, then navy, silver, nude, or even white would work. If the aqua speaks to you, then pick up some cute trendy colorful shoes and wear them with pride. It's a really fun dress in a classic cut; you can go either way.
posted by snickerdoodle at 2:08 PM on July 27, 2012