Yay or Nay: Kitten Heels

Meow, kittens.

Here's your latest Spring '10 trend to rip to shreds, or, as we like to say, "discuss."

Let's start off with this: we never could stand kitten heels. We always found them either dowdy in the old lady sense, or self-consciously "sexy" in an old-fashioned sense (we tend to associate them with a pair of maribou feather mules like something Ginger Grant would have worn or Jayne Mansfield on a day when her back was bothering her from lugging those jugs).

Now, before you jump all over us, we'll say this: Mega high heels are not for every woman (in fact, they're not for most women*), so we aren't saying Go High or Go Home. One can find a flattering and stylish low-heeled shoe and certainly one can always find a cute pair of flats to wear, although they don't always look good with certain hem lengths. But there's just something so half-assed about so-called kitten heels.

Not surprisingly, with our Amazonian First Lady sporting them frequently, the kitten heel is making another comeback to the runways. Let's take a look:

Missoni Spring 2010 Collection

Marni Spring 2010 Collection

Louis Vuitton Spring 2010 Collection

Uniformly AWFUL. To our eyes, the best thing to do with a kitten heel is to slap it on a very low-key, practically minimalist shoe. These all look like platform shoes with the platforms sawed off. And seriously, what the hell is up with that Marni collection? Is that supposed to be some sort of joke? Because yeah, if you're going to market kitten heels, the very best thing to do would be to make everyone think of old ladies with their knee-highs puddled around their ankles.

We say YAY to the idea of kitten heels, so women who care about their foot and lower back health can feel stylish and make choices, but we say NAY to these kitten heels because they are an assault on our eyes.

*And to the first person who says "Of course you like them. You don't have to wear them," we retort with "Neither do you."

[Photos: Style.com]

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Yea or Nay: Tie-Dye

Come on people now, smile on your brother!

Let's get this out of the way first before hoards of nitpickers beat us to it: yes, technically speaking, most of these looks aren't really "tie-dyed," rather, they evoke real tie-dying.

Okay, having said that...

This is one of those things that fade in and out of the spotlight, but you can bet that a couple times a decade, some designers will return to the hippy well once again. Now, we could go down the list and offer our thoughts on each look, but why bother? We like all of them, which is unusual for us, we know.

However, our fabulosity forces to go off-topic for a moment and shriek at the HIDEOUS shoes the poor Tory Burch model is wearing (last pic). Honey, you wear those to take your garbage to the curb; you don't wear them on a runway.

Blumarine, Calvin Klein, Etro


Hervé Léger by Max Azria, Lela Rose, Peter Pilotto


Ports 1961, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte


Salvatore Ferragamo, Tibi, Tory Burch

[Photos: Style.com]


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Yea or Nay: Feathers

Bird is the word, bitches.

Let's talk feathers, ladies.

Adam, Azzaro. Badgley Mischka, Chado Ralph Rucci

Whether as a simple embellishment or the whole nine yards, there was a considerable amount of plumage on the runways this season.

Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Giles, Giambattista Valli

But like any trend or embellishment, determining whether it works or not is all in how you use it.

Jason Wu, Koi Suwannagate, L'Wren Scott, Marchesa

Truth be told, we love almost every single look in this post, but we're more partial to the ones that use the feathers sparingly, rather than as the centerpiece of all the whole look.

Mark Fast, Naeem Khan, Ohne Titel, Proenza Schouler

Laura Bennett may see fit to end our friendship when she hears this, but we're a little over skirts made entirely out of feathers.

Roksanda Ilincic, Temperley London, Vanessa Bruno, Zac Posen

But jackets, collars, cuffs, hems? Works for us. What do you guys think?

[Photos: Style.com]


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