Here is another celebrity fashion brand, this time by male singer, Carlos Santana who teamed up with Brown.

 

His hip shoe brand, ”Carlos by Carlos Santana” offers a huge collection of fashionable shoes inspired by the passion and energy that surround Santana’s music. The footwear shoes has an intense and special look reflective of Santana’s music.

"Carlos footwear is designed for women who demand fashion and love shoes. We bring the latest trends in materials, colors, shapes and detailing with a hip Carlos point-of-view that appeals to "fashionistas" - who want shoes that will "make" an outfit - not "match" it. Carlos Santana and Brown Shoe Company bring you Carlos by Carlos Santana footwear. The shoes reflect the same passion and energy that is generated by Carlos Santana’s music. You will find boots, pumps, clogs, wedges, platforms and more that follow the latest trends and are made of the finest materials. And you always get free shipping, free return shipping and guaranteed prices. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this footwear will be donated to the Milagro Foundation, which partners with the nonprofit community to serve the needs of children and youth.

Spring will soon be with us and we have to think about shoes to wear in this really beautiful season.

The spring trends are more or less predictable but there are some new tendencies that you should be aware of.
So, here you are the styles which are going to be in vogue in the forthcoming season:

Hot tints: Orange and Pink

Orange is a top trend color for shoes in spring 2009. It is bright, lively and dynamic.

There will be plenty of bright tints this spring in garments as well but it is better to combine flesh hues in clothes with bright colors in shoes to create a nice-looking image.

Orange is good for young girls but maybe too loud for older ladies.

If you are unsure you can dare to wear orange, pay attention to the pink or white.

They are softer, more charming and tender and very sweet. Any woman of any age will look pretty feminine and nice wearing footwear of these colors.

Among other popular tints we saw red, purple, violet, all shades of grey, metallics and browns.

Choose what goes the best with you.

Flower Femininity

As we have already mentioned flowers will be highly in vogue this season, both in garments and shoes.

Floral appliquйs, embellishments and prints will be seen in a diversity of forms: from subtle to extreme.

Floral patterns look very exquisite and sophisticated.

Heavy Metal

Buckles, zippers, snaps are used in everything from pumps to sandals.

Probably it does not look very womanly but it sure looks modern and very comfortable to wear.

Cut-Out Booties

They’ve been trendy for a few seasons already and this spring designers found a way to extend the life of booties by cutting away parts of them.

They can be open-toed, with cut-away sides or cut-out heels. No matter what they are like they will be very popular.

I guess it won’t be a mistake if I say the booties will soon become classic.

Gladiator Shoes

Some critics say gladiator shoes were the worst trend last season but designers don’t seem to take that into account.

They keep on making shoes of this style and even make them bigger than before.

High knee gladiator shoes will be the top trend.

Heavily strapped heeled versions are about the hottest thing going, and the season’s bold colors will make them even more dynamic.

The height of the heel also depends. So, if you like this style you will certainly find something for you.

Flats

Of course shoes of this season are mostly heeled but flats are also presented in collections.

And it is no wonder as designers feel many women like and prefer wearing flat shoes rather than high-heeled stilettos despite all that sexy look they give.

Variety of Materials

You’ll see a lot of mixed media like canvas and leather side by side, as well as ultra-soft leathers and more patents. A lot of brands are also using printed fabrics and textiles.

Reptile leather

Reptile lether ahs been popular throughout 2008 and we see the trend flowing on into the new season with a range of new interpretations.

If you don’t feel right about wearing natural leather you may as well opt for faux material but keep in mind the quality.

Folk motives

This season we see a variety of shoes in folk motif style. The most widely presented are  Egyptian-inspired sandals and Greek-style shoes.

Fringing

Fringe is used everywhere: garments, bags, footwear, even some accessories.

This style reminds me of those old western movies. Stick to genuine suede in colors like camels, tans, browns and black.

                                                       Embellishments

Luxurious, opulent gems and rhinestones will catch the eye, as well as studs and grommets. Bows, faux fur and fringes are widely used as well. All those make the shoes look chic and very much special.

And of course don’t forget about classics: high-stiletto pumps, beautiful wedges, chunky heels that are considered as classic due to the fact they are comfortable and no matter what designers think about them, they are worn all over the world by women of all professions and status.

 

I hope you like the models I’ve told you above. To me they seem really nice-looking and very appropriate for spring time.

 

 

"You can take my Fendi baguette, you can take my ring and my watch, but don’t take my Manolo Blahniks."
This phrase pronounced by Carrie Bradshaw, the shoe-loving main character of Sex And The City, when she found herself face-to-face with a mugger, has become world-known and illustrates the common love to Manolo Blahnik shoes.

No wonder we all love them so much. They are perfect - perfect-looking and perfect to wear, feminine and comfortable.

These shoes are popular with celebrities, fashion icons and ordinary women as well.

The story of Manolo Blahnik began in Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands. The family lived far from civilization but often travelled to Paris and Madrid, where his parents ordered clothes from his mother’s favorite couturiers, like Cristobбl Balenciaga, and his father’s tailor.

Manolo’s mother used to subscribe to fashion magazines, such as US Vogue, Glamour and Silhuetos, which would dock at the Canary Islands months after their original publication. So, Manolo was more or less aware of what was trendy at the continent.

He’s never had any formal training in shoe-making. As he said to his friend Michael Roberts he didn’t need it, because he has got “the best taste in the world.”

His professional career as a shoe-maker began in 1970 when Zapanta store offered him a job. He had to move to London but he wasn’t afraid of changes. His first collection was created for Ossie Clark, one of the most famous fashion houses in Britain and soon he opened his own shoe shop in the heart of London.

Blahnik is solely responsible for the design and prototype of every shoe that bears his name. He prefers to work alone with no apprentices or assistants sketching his shoes, chiseling the wooden lasts on which they are molded and creating the heels.

Besides, he personally supervises their production and even works on the illustrations for his advertising campaigns.

"I have the advantage of study,” he says. “I’ve been studying the art of the shoe… for over twenty years. I know every process. I know how to cut and cut away here (the side of the shoe) and still make it so that it stays on the foot. And the secret of toe cleavage, a very important part of the sexuality of the shoe. You must only show the first two cracks. And the heel. Even if it’s twelve centimeters high it still has to feel secure – and that’s a question of balance. That’s why I carve each heel personally myself – on the machine and then by hand with a chisel and file, until it’s exactly right.”

It is hard work but it is highly appreciated by the lovers. It’s not a secret that shoes by the “king of stilettos” are exceptionally feminine and those ladies who had a chance to put on Manolo Blahniks even once don’t want to wear any other shoes since that.

In 200 BC the heel made its way into the world of fashion among Roman actors with the arrival of wood and cork platform soles called kothorni.In the 1600s the heel once again became a practical item as they were added to men"s shoes to help keep their feet in stirrups when riding.

1533 saw the first women"s heel designed to lengthen the legs. They were most notably worn by Catherine d"Medici for her wedding, at age 14, to make her appear two inches taller. Also around this time Mary Tudor began to wear high heels. Again in the 16th century, a busy time for the development of heels, the kothorni made a reappearance but this time as 24-inch pedestals called chopines, which were popular across Europe.

Later, and named after their inspiration, Louis XIV, the “Louis” heel became popular with both men and women. Some of the shoes owned by Louis XIV had five-inch heels resplendent with miniature battle scenes. In 1793 Marie Antoinette, so fond of her fashion and shoes she is said to have spent the fortunes of France on them, went to her execution wearing two-inch heels. (For the Sophia Coppola film Marie Antoinette, Manolo Blahnik designed over 100 pairs of shoes.)

From the 1850s to the 1950s the heel stayed around and below two inches, but the "50s saw the arrival of screen sirens such Marilyn Monroe and the shoe that encouraged her seductive wiggle, which was the stiletto. The stiletto was invented in Italy and shares its name with a short daggerlike knife. Also in fashion was the kitten heel, which looked much like a miniature stiletto. While the stiletto was the Marilyn of the shoe world, the kitten heel was the Audrey Hepburn.

The 70s saw a dramatic about-turn in heel style. The slim stiletto was shunned for the chunky platform sole. This was the new Flower-Power breed of the kothorni and chopine shoes of earlier centuries, and was worn by both men and women.

Heels of the 21st CenturyIn the 21st century all heels have their place in women"s wardrobes (even high-heeled tennis shoes and flip flops), but there are some particularly beautiful though entirely impractical heels that are found in very few.

In 2006 Manolo Blahnik, to some considered an artist as much as he is a shoe designer, designed a heelless shoe balanced on an S-spring. Ballet-heeled boots and shoes are not as comfortable as they sound. They are a style of heel most often seen in the context of fetish or burlesque and have a vertiginous heel which forces the foot to stay in the position it would be in if dancing ballet en pointe. They are definitely liked more for their beauty than their practicality.

When our passion for shoes has become obsession?
What is the number of too much pairs of shoes?
Is it wrong to buy every season new pair of shoes or every month or every week?
I buy only from sales but never resist when I pass the sign "sale".

Is the shoe accessory or regular part of the outfit?
Do you first pick the shoes and then search for dress to match ?

Do you have some similar habits ? Feel welcome to share :)
Are you excited about the last spring / summer shoe trends feel welcome to share :)

History
The earliest known shoes date from about 8000 to 7000 BCE and were found in Oregon, USA in 1938.

The earliest designs were simple affairs, often mere "foot bags" of leather to protect the feet from rocks, debris, and cold. Since a shoe uses more leather than a sandal, their use was more common amongst people in cold climates. By the Middle Ages, turn-shoes had been developed with toggled flaps or drawstrings to tighten the leather around the foot for a better fit. As Europe gained in wealth and power, fancy shoes became status symbols. Toes became long and pointed, often to ridiculous proportions. Artisans created unique footwear for rich patrons, and new styles developed. Eventually the modern shoe, with a sewn-on sole, was devised. Since the 17th century, most leather shoes have used a sewn-on sole. This remains the standard for finer-quality dress shoes today.

 

 

Since the mid-20th Century, advances in rubber, plastics, synthetic cloth, and industrial adhesives have allowed manufacturers to create shoes that stray considerably from traditional crafting techniques. Leather, which had been the primary material in earlier styles, has remained standard in expensive dress shoes, but athletic shoes often have little or no real leather. Soles, which were once laboriously stitched on, are more often glued today.

Shoe etiquette

In most parts of the world (Asia, Eastern Europe, parts of the Middle East and Africa, much of Northern Europe and Canada, as well as Alaska) it is customary to remove shoes when entering a house. In some areas of the United States, especially the Midwest, it is expected that visitors remove their shoes unless a host specifically invites them to leave their shoes on. People do this to avoid bringing dirt, mud or snow into the house. For some societies, including those in Asia, indoor footwear may be provided for guests.

 

In the Middle East, parts of Africa, Korea and Thailand, it is con

sidered rude to show the soles of the feet to others (even accidentally, such as by crossing the legs). Shoe throwing is a great insult in some areas in the Middle East and in India, according to Jamal Elias, an Islamic Stuides professor from the University of Pennsylvania.^[2] In addition, in Thailand, it is an extreme insult for the foot, socks, or shoes to touch someone"s head or be placed over it. Although feet touching heads is an extremely rare occurrence in any society, some Muay Thai boxers insult each other by "kicking" the opponent"s head with their foot (most Muay Thai kicks are executed with the shin).