Sugar fiends, this is a safe space
There’s an ancient shopping proverb that says it pays to invest in any purchase that comes between you and the ground – including bedding, carpet, and high-quality footwear.
If that doesn’t inspire you to drop some serious coin at your closest shoe store, maybe consider the health benefits of rerouting your sugar cravings from something that exists in your head, to something you wear on your feet. Surely it’s better to chip away at your savings than your teeth?
Not the dodgiest piece of girl math we’ve pedalled to enable bad shopping habits across Aotearoa, we simply say sweet-as to all of the below.
Is Neapolitan Girl the next aesthetic? Scarpa says yes.
Move over lemon meringue and Tutti-Frutti girls – the logical evolution of dessert-based trends is coming and we are calling it Neapolitan Girl Summer. Leading the way locally is Scarpa‘s in-house label, Scarpa The Label, which has taken a concoction of ice-cream-inspired colourways and piped them into the puffified straps of the Santorini mule, its crossover counterpart the Como slide, and the profiterole filling in heel-form, the Positano. Thick soles keep a safe distance between your pedicured feet and hot sand, squashed field strawberries and rosé spills.
Where to wear them: To summer get-togethers under the strict condition that they stay on your feet. You are not a tricolour container of Tip Top with just the strawberry scooped out.
Best paired with: A totally colour-blocked outfit in equally dessert-like tones, and the confidence of being a trendsetter, not a follower.
Bratz Dolls are the new Barbie, according to Bronwyn
Flatforms for all skill-levels are here just in time for the warmer weather, thank you Bronwyn Footwear. Built for cobblestone courtyards and Christmas shopping half-marathons, start with the Britt (ultra-beginner level with the added security of an ankle strap), before moving up to the intermediate-level Billie with its very ’90s-era cross-toe straps. If you’re a seasoned flatform user, keep an eye out for the soon-to-drop Blake and Tobi slides. Heroing shades of hot pink and rosewater, Bronwyn Collection 5 is giving Bratz Dolls in a post-Barbie world, and we’re here for it.
Where to wear them: To a Y2K-themed party, or a summer wedding with an ambiguous indoor-outdoor situation (or again, ideally, both).
What we’d pair them with: layers and layers of lip oil.
From bank job to bachelorette party with Nicole Rebstock
Having already carved a niche out of classics fit for more formal functions, Nicole Rebstock is running in block heels this season. Rectangular heels *just* on the steeper side of midi-height are to thank for such free-range capabilities, namely the buckled black Mariah mules and a suede interpretation of the ruby slipper, the Asher slingback. Even notoriously-impractical bridal shoes take a sensible segue with the Anna in off-white: tall enough to keep you from tripping on your train, but supportive enough to see your calves through a punishing bachelorette party as well as the d-floor demands of the big day itself.
Where to wear them: Dressing the part as a high-end honeymooner in the hopes of bagging a business class flight upgrade.
What we’d pair them with: A chic cashmere scarf and an abundance of respect for customer service providers.
More ice cream-inspired goodness with Chaos and Harmony
We’re telling you, Neapolitan Girl Summer is the next big thing. A menu replete with mochas, pinks and milky tones, Chaos & Harmony’s Luminaries collection presents a number of delicious additions to your new season shoe-drobe. A solid foundation comes in the form of statement soles, from the two-tiered Vista slide and Evolve sandal, to the subtly scalloped Global Mule and the leathery layers of the Sphere heel. Bringing some extra bite to the table, python-print leathers in neutral and gold are an unexpected highlight, elevating the offering from corner dairy to Michelin-star experience.
Where to wear them: Corner dairies and Michelin-star experiences.
What we’d pair them with: Copious amounts of linen.
Platinum puffification with FENTY x PUMA
The latest FENTY x PUMA collab is proof that whatever Rihanna touches turns to gold. Or in the case of the brand new Avanti sneaker, platinum. Fresh off the back of the phenomenally successful Fifa Women’s World Cup, fashion magpies are welcoming the sleek treatment of the iconic Puma King football boot that’s been kicking around for over half a century. Featuring pillowy stitching that speaks to this summer’s puffification trend, and ready to style up or down to suit both minimalist and loud luxury sensibilities, the FENTY x PUMA Avanti is the sport-luxe sneaker of the season.
Where to wear them: ‘Soft’ launching yourself at your significant other’s footie game.
What we’d pair them with: Plausible deniability, and later, a sleek black pantsuit for a Scandi-chic moment.