From Hotter with love

Licensed to thrill! Daytime to dancefloor shoes.

Alyson Walsh writes for you …

[dropcap letter=”T”]he one thing that bothered me when I went to see the latest James Bond film Spectre, wasn’t the tightness of Daniel Craig’s trousers, it was the height of the Bond Girls’ shoes, writes Alyson Walsh.

There’s a scene – and I don’t think this requires a spoiler alert – where Monica Bellucci returns home in a pair of towering five-inch heels; and as soon as she walks through the door of her Italian villa, I expected Bellucci to kick off her pointy killer heels. But, no. In typical Bond Girl-style she continues to sashay through room after room of her palatial abode in sky-high court shoes. I know, I know, this is not real life it’s Ian Fleming fantasy and Bond Girls don’t need to consider practicalities, like catching the bus or nipping to the corner shop.  But, I was half hoping 50-year-old Bellucci might lead the way for comfy shoe-lovers like myself, or at least pop a pair of fluffy slippers on…

Which brings me neatly onto Hotter’s  T-bar shoes.

The autumn catwalks saw the welcome return of T-bar shoes and Mary Jane styles. First seen in the 1920s, this type of feminine footwear had a small Louis heel that made it perfect for dancing the Charleston. Flapper girls wore them with highly decorative dresses to trip the light fantastic. For modern day to dance floor, the black glittery Viviene shoe is a fabulous, go-anywhere choice and the plum suede Michelle heel fits the bill perfectly, too. Wear with a shimmering party dress or go for the ‘Garçonne’ look with trousers; slinky, wide leg styles capture the twenties mood and are great for a quick shimmy, or show shoes off with a slimmer, slightly cropped leg shape and a silk blouse or sparkly top.

Proving that you don’t need secret agents and sky-high heels to look glamorous – should the spectre of sore feet not be a big enough deterrent.

Alyson Walsh is a former fashion editor for Good Housekeeping magazine; a regular feature writer for the Guardian, Financial Times ‘How To Spend It’, Saga Magazine and allaboutyou.com. Alyson started her successful style blog, That’s Not My Age, six years ago in order to celebrate the creed that ‘style is forever’. In her book ‘Style Forever’ she explores how the topics of fashion, age and culture are connected. Alyson has also appeared on BBC News and BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour with Jenni Murray www.thatsnotmyage.com