 Elegant Prom Dress ShoesHow to select and buy the perfect formal prom shoesCinderella, the romantic fairytale, has special footwear at the center of it. The glass slipper. If you remember the end of the story, Cinderella tried on the special slipper, and when it fit perfectly, she was able to marry the prince. A romantic prom also has shoes as one focal point. The romance of shoes is seen in a store called Cinderella's Gowns that sells prom dresses and prom shoes. There is an internet store at promshoe.com which sells a special prom night shoe called the Cinderella that looks like it's made of glass. Whether you think of Cinderella at prom or not, or want footwear like hers, shoes are a very important part of the romantic prom experience. What's a hot new prom gown without special evening shoes? A mistake. There's no way that a complete prom evening style can look right without appropriately formal and color-coordinated evening dress shoes. Perfect from head to toeIf you have the perfect dress, hair, makeup, and nails, you also need glamorous shoes. And it's not just because of how elegant prom shoes will make you look; it's how walking in them can make you feel. "It takes a three-inch heel to help you walk with purpose, presence, and elegance," observes Vanessa Williams, the former beauty pageant winner who plays a creative director for a fashion magazine on Ugly Betty. "A flat doesn't always cut it." Dress shoes can make or break your prom look, so your prom shoe shopping need not be the last thing you do, or an afterthought. In fact, some girls can't wait to get new shoes; it's more important than the dress!
When to buy"Pick your shoes well," advises Kate Walsh (Grey's Anatomy). "Try on different pairs with an outfit. Or start from the ground up--shoes are everything." Kate isn't the only woman who makes shoes the starting point of her glamorous evening style planning. "My outfit starts with stilettos," says Ali Larter. "I love putting on a pair--and the rest of the look goes from there." Prom shoe colorWhat color prom shoes will complement your prom dress? You can choose a matching color or one that is different but looks good or coordinates well. Red prom shoes are popular because red is the color of glamour and prom is all about glamour. Also, red goes with so many other colors. Red dress shoes with a prom gown that is red, black, white, yellow, gold, or various other colors, can look stunning. (See the menu on the left to view a photo gallery of different celebrity evening looks showing their glamorous designer gowns and colorful formal footwear.) ProportionBesides color, an important element of elegant styling is proportion. It's not only an issue for your prom dress; it's also something to keep in mind when you look for prom shoes. "I have tiny feet," reveals Rachael Leigh Cook, "so I wear shoes with extended or pointy toes; so everything looks in proportion, especially in photos." Pointy shoes work for some girls, but others don't feel super comfortable in them. They aren't the best for dancing. "If you want to wear comfortable heels," says Julia Stiles, "go for a pair of Cole Haans--some have Nike Air pockets in them." Excellent prom heelsYou want prom shoes that don't irritate you, and you might also like high-quality shoes that you could wear again. Unless you've already done a lot of high heel shoe shopping, you may not fully appreciate the difference between cheap prom shoes and more expensive elegant styles. If you want formal evening shoes that make you look like a star--and ready to walk on a red carpet--you might like a pair of Christian Louboutin heels. Seeing redChristian Louboutins are the favorite formal shoes of many ladies in Hollywood. You see them everywhere, because they are now the most popular designer dress shoes. The French shoe designer, Mr. Christian Louboutin, designs the elegant footwear in Paris. The one defining characteristic of his high fashion shoes is the color of their soles. He makes women's shoes in many different colors, but usually their soles are red.
"Nothing is sexier," says Lindsay Lohan, "than the red sole of a Christian Louboutin heel." (That's not her in the above picture, by the way; it's Sarah. She likes Louboutin shoes so much she has more than one pair.)
"Your gait changes when you wear Christian Louboutin shoes," explains Sarah Michelle Gellar, the fashionable celebrity. "No clomping around!" Why heels?"I usually wear flats," says Scarlett Johansson, "but on the red carpet I always wear heels to look ladylike." How high heels?If like Scarlett you want to wear heels at prom to look ladylike, how high should you go? One, two, three, four, five or six inches? Two or three inches is quite common. Sometimes you can wear heels that are a little higher and still be comfortable if they are platform heels. Christian Louboutin makes shoes that are higher than average, including 4.5" heels, but they are so well made, it can be as easy to walk in them as walking in lower heels of other brands. If the shoe fits your personalityChoose your fancy shoe height based on what makes you feel elegant and how well you can walk in them. There's no point buying super high heels because you think they look amazing in an online store, but when you try them on, you can't walk more than a few feet. If you haven't worn high heels before, or very high-heel shoes, don't assume it will be easy, just because other girls walk in them all the time.
Claudia Schiffer didn't want to walk on the catwalks, she revealed in an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine (July 1990). "I love Karl Lagerfeld, the designer behind Chanel," the supermodel said early in her modeling career when she was still 20. "He's German, like me, so we understand each other. And he's got a great sense of humour. I have a contract now to do their runway shows. "At first I didn't want to do it--Karl really had to convince me. I was so nervous about having a thousand people staring at me. Plus, it's not so easy walking in high heels." You can also decide the best dress shoe height based on how conservative your high school is, or how demure you are. When you go higher than about a four-inch heel, it could look trashy. "I stay away from super high heels," reveals Jessica Alba, "super-short skirts, revealing tops. That's not the kind of attention I want." "To me a little bit of sexy--a heel--is plenty sexy," says Gwen Stefani. "You don't need to give it all away in the first few seconds." Large prom shoesIf you're a girl with bigger than average feet looking for large prom shoes, but there isn't much good quality female footwear available in your town or city, shopping online could work out really well for you. "Zappos.com," gushes supermodel Gabrielle Reece, "is a large-footed girl's dream. I have a size 11 foot and find everything I need there!" WarningPlease be advised that shoe shopping for prom could cause a lifelong addiction to shoe buying. You could end up with so many dress shoes in the years ahead, you need a filing cabinet to keep track of them. "I take photos of my shoes," says Garcelle Beauvais, "and tape them to boxes. Finding the right shoes is so easy." Vanessa HudgensIf you could go shoe shopping with a teen celebrity like Vanessa Hudgens, what kind of special shoes do you think you would buy? Life and Style Weekly had a cover story on the popular star, "Shopping with Vanessa" (Sept. 3, 2007). It showed she likes high-heeled dress shoes, especially a pair of red leather Nuria heels from Miss Sixty.
"These are amazing," Vanessa said. They do look amazing, don't they? Gorgeous deep red high heels! "I don't know who invented the high heel," Marilyn Monroe once said, "but all women owe him a lot." Isn't that the truth? Jessica Simpson dress shoesVanessa Hudgens doesn't have her own line of shoes just yet, but another celebrity not much older than her does: Jessica Simpson. Jessica's line, in fact, includes many different styles of high heels you could get for prom. One, for instance, is a shiny peep-toe style; and another is a pretty satin heel. Both those are available in red, among other colors. Ashley Tisdale's formal shoesVanessa's friend, Ashley Tisdale, was also interviewed for the same issue of the celebrity news magazine, and she shared her style secrets. "I don't go right to the expensive stuff," Ashley said. "I love flats," she added, "they're so comfortable." But that doesn't mean Ashley dislikes heels. When she was asked what she wanted for Christmas in 2007, Ashley said: "Christian Louboutin heels." Looks like her wish came true. In January 2008, Ashley Tisdale was wearing a really cute pair of CLs at a movie premiere. The young star said she also likes wedges.
Mandy Moore loves fashion, has her own line, mblem, and she was at the New York Fashion Week shows in February 2008. She wore Christian Louboutin dress shoes, but said her favorites are ivory heels by another shoe designer. The best gift she ever gave and was given, Mandy said, "are these amazing peep-toe patent leather Manolo Blahniks. I bought them for Diane Keaton when we finished shooting our new movie, Because I Said So. She had bought me the same pair!" If you don't like heels, you could wear flats for prom. "They're sexy now," Mandy Moore told Glamour magazine (Feb. 2007), "and it's finally acceptable to wear them with a nice dress. Marc Jacobs makes great ones." |
