Tuesday Shoesday – Sun, sea & shoes

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The school half term holidays are over and we’re finally entering the last term of the year. That means only one thing; the countdown to the summer holidays has begun! The last week has been rather grey and drizzly here but, as if by magic, today the sun is shining and it’s the warmest weather we’ve seen in weeks. It’s as if the world knows that summer is on its way and is making us all look forward to our impending holidays.

I’m really looking forward to the summer this year. I’m hoping for lazy walks along the coast, delicious fresh lunches and lots of excuses to wear floral dresses and pretty pumps! In fact, the new season has inspired my blog post today because I’ve been searching for the ideal summer shoes. I want just one pair that will go with everything. I don’t think I’m being unreasonable with that request – I simply want a pair of shoes that I can slip on every day and don’t have to think about what to wear so I can spend more time outdoors enjoying my summer. But is it possible? Let’s find out…So the shoes need to be 1) comfortable 2) low cost and 3) on trend. They also need to look great with dresses on sunny days and look equally as good with a pair of jeans when the sun goes behind the clouds. The trouble with the Great British Summer is that I can’t guarantee that we’ll have any good days of weather, and it would be just typical if the time I’m taking off work would be one of those grey weeks! Having recently chatted with my friend about her sun-drenched honeymoon (and becoming more and more envious as I heard where she’d been and what she’d been up to!)

I’m certain that a holiday abroad should be on my ‘to-do’ list for this summer. I usually enjoy a ‘Staycation’ in the UK each year, but I’m already sitting at my laptop searching for searching for Malaga flights, checking out Italian hotels on Trip Advisor and researching European tourist hotspots..! So having just one pair of shoes I need for summer will be easy to pack if I do get to jet off anywhere exciting, and they’ll be comfortable for any activity, no matter what the country. So what shoes will do all this AND look good? I’m going for a pair of lace espadrilles.They remind me of my year-round favourite canvas pumps, with enough foot coverage to work well with jeans if needed. Yet they are undoubtedly summer shoes; the lace makes them feel lighter and more delicate, and the sole is a traditional espadrille sole which screams ‘holiday’ to me! They’re easy to slip on and off as I run into the sea (that’s wishful thinking here in the UK) and I think that the flat sole will be comfortable no matter how much sight-seeing I do. Plus, it’s a rather ‘girly’ style that will look great with all those floral dresses I’m planning to wear this summer. The added bonus is that there are no straps to leave interesting-looking tan marks (unlike the shoes I blogged about last summer!) Both the red and white lace espadrilles in this blog post are from River Island via ASOS and are definitely on my summer wish-list. They are a good price at £18 and a really versatile style, so I think that the cost-per-wear will be very low by the end of the summer!What do you think of my idea of an ‘ultimate’ summer shoe? What would you choose to wear all summer if you could only pick one style of shoe? Where are you going on holiday this summer and, more importantly, what will you be packing in your suitcase?? Leave me a comment below or tweet me with you summer shoe photos to @cassiefairy.

 

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