Feet and Balance

Lovely reader Ceej has just bought the dress above in black. It's only £17.13, but she's a habitual jeans wearer, and is a little stumped by her stumps.

Question - shoes. I've high round-toed black courts, or same with 3 mary-jane straps but both make my calves look huge and feet look teeny - big calves make even size 7's look little! Any ideas for trampy shoes that don't make me look like an upside-down triangle? Boots look weird. The thick calves don't really lend themselves to ankle straps, and as it's a posh-ish do, I want to wear stockings. Thinking dark black legs, and heels but the shoes I have make my size 7 feet look small and by legs look big (whereas they're both big, in truth!). I could wear lighter shoes, but then I'd have to wear lighter legs.

Ahh, I do sympathise, having even bigger, shorter calves and considerably smaller feet myself, I am aware of my silhouette below the waist looking like this: W. It's not an easy one to solve. Not least, you have the basic problems to contend with relating to heel height. The higher your heel, the smaller your feet look, and so are less able to balance out the size of your calf. However it's just as true that the higher your heel, the thinner your calf looks... Lose:lose. In some circumstances you can add balance to the feet by choosing quite a chunky high heel, but that isn't appropriate here. One option is to go for a platform shoe, such as these patent shoes from Faith (£49). Taste may vary regarding these: they're quite Minnie Mouse, but I love their curvy-chunky shape. The high gloss finish will also help to make the feet look wider, and the heel is chunky while still being feminine. It's a really good idea that larger-built women choose slightly thicker heels to balance out their rear view.

Ceej is right about mary janes and ankle straps. Any horizontal line will shorten and widen the leg, visually - moreso the higher up the foot it comes. A mary jane strap (or three) - that is a strap across the foot, dolly-style - will also widen and shorten the foot. Now widening isn't a problem, but we don't want shortening. Consequently any detailing on the shoe needs to be as close to the toe as possible, in order that it doesn't interfere with the uninterrupted clean, black leg-line. Detail, though, can add to the visual impact of the feet, and help with that desirable visual balancing. The first pair are £22 from New Look. Again with a concealed platform, the bow adds interest, although the cork effect heel might be a little casual. Not casual at all is the other pair. They're from Schuh and cost £43.87. The knot detailing over the toe adds focus, as does the peep toe (sheer tights with peeptoes? I say 'yes') but most glorious is the subtle shimmer effect. These shoes are less obviously bulky, and so perhaps an 'easier' choice - but their 'balancing out' qualities will be more subtle, too.

Feet of Fabulousness

Notwithstanding my own advice on buying shoes, it's the best time of year to find gorgeous, glorious footwear in the shops. And since there's not much point owning shoes that aren't gorgeous and glorious it would be remiss of me not to have a look at what's around in the pre-xmas ranges.

A recent trend is the covered platform. It gives stilettos a more curvy profile, and balances out weight above the ankle. I also find platforms slightly more comfy than normal heels - not only is your foot at a less extreme angle, but there's an element of shock absorbtion going on. These red beauties above are reduced to £40 at Faith, and would look fab with black sheer or opaque tights, or peeping out under trousers.

Irregular choice make some splendid shoes, and none more sweet than these Cherry Courts. They're reduced to £50 from £79.99 at Schuh - I think you know straight away if you're going to love these or hate them, so I won't try and explain their appeal...

There are lots of animal print shoes around this winter - but these are my favourite for sheer glitz factor, since the zebra print is created with sequins! They also feature the same concealed platform as the first pair, but this time have a peeptoe front for extra sexy pinup style. I stumbled across these shoes on the Barratts website, and I may have to rethink my opinion of Barratts as a result. My first ever paid employment was as a Saturday girl in Barratts and I've never really experienced them to be big on design. Until now. These shoes also come in plain cerise or electric blue sequins, for £30 - with an extra 20% off until Sunday.