Wacky Shoes

The Idiosyncratist used to think of herself as a "shoe person."  As recently as last spring, she received several compliments when she wore strappy red sandals to a social event.

But since that time, the variety of women's shoe styles, colors and embellishments has exploded.  Designers have indulged their creative fantasies and come up with the most eye-catching footwear designs ever.

Here are some looks from recent collections.

Gucci's leaf-printed mule caught fashion editors' eyes at the Milan spring 2016 show last fall.  The upper is leather shaped into leaves with metallic gold piping, and the block heel is finished with hand-painted snake coils.

This over-the-top sandal includes leather elements in five different colors, plus spikes and studs.

Miu Miu, a subsidiary of the Italy's Prada, is featuring a peep-toed boot (an odd idea that has been a thing for several seasons now) that combines silver glitter and apricot leather elements.

Here is a Bright pink Miu Miu sandal with major rhinestone embellishments. 

These three Rodarte numbers were unveiled a couple weeks ago during New York Fashion Week.  The one in the middle is described a "ruffled multicolor snakeskin boot," not the sort of thing you see on every street corner.

Alexander Wang combined pink leather with studs of many sizes.  (There seem to be many more pink shoes for women these days than in previous years. )

In Paris, a big hit at the spring Rochas show was this plain-fronted shoe with a back and heel crusted with beads and pins that catch the light and glitter as the wearer walks.

Conclusion

Manufacturing complex shoes is expensive.  Add the designer name to the shoebox, and you end up with a minimum price of $1,000 a pair.  It is a lot of money for shoes that can't be worn every day or even several times a month and that will be out of fashion in a year or so.  

Much as I like shoes, these are not the sort of shoes I would buy, even if I could afford them.  But they seem to be part of a trend in fashion -- more complex clothes -- while a counter-trend of minimalism also has been gathering steam.    

Perhaps over time, women are separating themselves into two groups, some in elaborate costumes and others in basic colors and styles.  More on this later.