December 12, 2024
Chicago 12, Melborne City, USA
Fashion & Beauty

Vintage Inspired Autumn Shoes

Welcome to September!

It’s officially autumn, but hopefully we’ll still have a few more days of sunshine so I’m not quite ready for lace up brogues and shearling lined boots just yet.

Court shoes are the perfect transitional shoe for that bit of autumn before it’s quite autumn, and that bit of winter when it’s nearly spring.

I’d love to wear vintage shoes, but in all honesty I don’t own a single pair! My big old modern feet rarely fit into them, and if they do they’d not very likely stand up to the amount of tramping around town I do! So today I’ve been trawling the high street for vintage style shoes, whether it’s classic courts, mary janes, and all the other variations of shoe, that will fit in with a vintage inspired style.

I’ve split them into decades, but of course shoe styles don’t have a definite beginning and end. Women didn’t immediately throw away their low heels at the end of the 30s and immediately fill their shoe cupboards with glamorous peep toes.Ā  I found quite a few nice shoes in the shops, so think of the decades more as an arbitrary way of splitting them into groups. This is a shopping guide, not a shoe history lesson!

Office, particularly, seems to have come up trumps with some very cute vintage style shoes for Autumn, and Miss L Fires Autumn winter collection is really pretty gorgeous!

1930s

Rounded toes, low wider heels and Mary Jane or T bar styles for a bit of an Art Deco feel to your early autumn footwear. My favourites here are the Miss L Fire Goddess that also come in peach which would look lovely with evening wear.

30s shoes

Clockwise from top left:

Miss L Fire – Clara Ā£89.99

Miss L Fire – Goddess Ā£89.99

Dune – Laser Cut Court Shoe Ā£85

Office – Hopeful Ā£65

 

1940s

A slightly higher heel, but still blocky and maybe even a platform or a peep toe feels very 1940s. My favourite vintage style shoes here are definitely the Office red suede shoes with a bow. They’ll work equally well for a 30s or 4os look and they come in black as well.40s shoesClockwise from top left:

Dune – Waiver peep toe court Ā£85

Office – Friendly Bow Suede Shoe Ā£80

Peacocks – Ladies Block platform heels Ā£25

Miss L Fire – Tartaruga Ā£89.99

Topshop – Giraffe Black Suede Court Shoe Ā£50


1950s

 

The 50s saw the arrival of stiletto heels and pointy toes, so it’s perfect if you prefer more delicate shoes.50s shoesClockwise from top left:

Ted Baker – Lace detail court shoe Ā£110

Barratts – Bow Trim Pointed Court Ā£30

Barratts – Rascal Patent Almond Court Shoe Ā£20

Topshop – Glacier Pink Suede Bow Court Ā£60

Dune – Sublime D low pointed court Ā£70

18 Comments

  • LandGirl1980 September 5, 2011

    Office – Friendly Bow Red Suede’s – SCHERRRRWOOOOOOOOOOOON!

  • My absolute faves are Tartaruga by Miss L Fire they are swoonworthy!

  • Stephanie September 5, 2011

    Yummy!

  • Wendy S September 5, 2011

    Oh my, oh my. Serious shoe love. The navy Goddess by Miss L Fire definitely have my name on them!!

  • Old Fashioned Susie September 5, 2011

    Great post! Love the Red 1940’s Office ones too- but I’m always wary about buying suede when I know I’ll end up getting rained on a some point! Also love the Black Miss L Fire ones!! Thanks for sharing!

  • MissRayne September 5, 2011

    Ooh lovely foot-goodness, Love the red ofice courts, but I have never had much luck in getting office shoes that fit well (though I have several pairs!)

  • Roxie Roulette September 5, 2011

    I really, really want the Goddess ones from Miss L Fire but just can’t afford them! I hope they’re in the sale!

  • Style Eyes Fashion Blog September 5, 2011

    I love the thirties styles, the lower heels look much easier to walk in but they still look really feminine. I especially love the Miss L Fire ones.

  • Faith September 5, 2011

    I’ve had my eye on those red shoes with bows from Office for a while now. I wish they’d go down a little in price because Ā£80 is just a wee bit too steep for me. I’ve already bought four pairs of shoes from Office in recent months. Sigh. They know me too well šŸ™

  • Fully Fashioned September 6, 2011

    Love these. As a Brit living in Australia this post is making me pine for Barretts, Office and Dune which sadly have no equivalent here. šŸ™

    FF xo

  • Suzy September 6, 2011

    Swoon from me too! I like the deco fan ones best, but the red bow ones are a close second, followed by that fabulous green pair from Miss L Fire. I’d never heard of Miss L Fire until seeing it mentioned on this blog. Indeed, I have my eye on the Ellison shoe boots currently in the sale IN MY SIZE!!!

  • Lori Smith September 6, 2011

    What a fantastic post! I’ve never been 100% sure of the perfect shoes to match a look, so this really helps. Also, you’ve found some delightfully pretty examples there šŸ™‚

  • ConstantlyAlice September 6, 2011

    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the red shoes with the big bow! So cute!!

  • Oh wow *pulls self off floor* I need those Miss L Fire Tartaruga in my life!

    What a gorgeous post :0)

    Em x

  • Kerry from His Girl Friday September 7, 2011

    Finding vintage influenced heels where I am is a near impossible task. BUT it is my birthday this month so I have been scouring the UK sites that do international delivery to find myself a nice birthday present šŸ™‚ Those red courts from Dune would do nicely I think!

  • Coleen September 8, 2011

    These shoes are so cute that I might explode with joy! Do you have any tips for shopping shoes in thrift stores and vintage shops? I’m on a vow not to buy any clothing from stores for a year, but consignment shops are OK. What about online consignment?

    Thanks!

  • Perdita September 12, 2011

    I can’t wear vintage shoes if the generational gap makes it likely the original wearer likely to have passed on (ie 30s-40s) although I’m fine with clothes and accessories … of course this is utterly superstitious of me, haunted shoes!?! I’ll happily wear (well kept) 60s-80s shoes.

    My favourites are those leopard print Dune numbers, but I am banned from accumulating new shoes. Recent moving adventures revealed the true extent of my addiction and my husband has put his foot down the new 3rd bedroom is just full of shoes. He has 3 pairs of shoes: smart, weekend, brown brogues for smart country events. Poor thing, he seems to like it that way.

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