Since Spring started pointing its sunny nose – only to see it freeze these past couple of days courtesy of London’s ever moody weather, it brought with its usual sartorial challenges:
- How do I transition from my live-in opaque tights to bare legs without resorting to sheer tights (my pet hate)?
- How do I move from my tailored and instant pick-me-up brown/black/blue blaser to a more summery cover up without exclusively wearing my jeans’ jacket or a cardigan (I used to love cardigan but since my love affair with blazers , I just can’t do them anymore).
- How will I replace my gorgeous, trusted and comfy biker boots with an as perfect week-end alternative?…

Pause. Wait.

Week-End Shoes. By far, the biggest and most urgent challenge I have had to face so far (drama, drama, drama).

I think I don’t need to explain anymore how shoes are a cornerstone to my life wardrobe but I simply can’t get out of the house (literally) if I don’t have the right shoes one.

And although for the week options, I have a car boot full of high heeled options that work through every season, I always struggle for the week-end alternative.

If I look at the past week-end shoes and how they delivered vs. the initial objective,  I can classify them in 3 categories (not based on their aesthetics as of course I won’t be wearing anything I don’t like!):

The Good: Biker Boots (the very best)
The Bad: Flat ballerinas (is it just me or is it actually a myth that flat shoes are actually comfy ….they always kill my feet)
The Ugly (for their utter un-comfiness and clash with the rest of wardrobe): Havaianas. Good for the beach, not so good for stomping the London streets.

So going into the new season, my vision was to match the “good” biker option and find a pair of shoes that is i) week-end friendly (can go with more chilled out week-end outfits), ii) comfy (can absorb an average of 6hours a day running after an energetic toddler) and iii) kind of cute (make me feel cool, I am a girl after all!).

As I have had to go through 2 week-ends with suboptimal back up options – Tory Burch silver flats which I love but Oh My God they are not made for running around on kids playgrounds, I had to act. And act fast.

So I decided to pay my favourite brand Ash a visit on their website. They have “saved me” so many times, I trusted I could find what I was looking for. And I did.

Let me introduce the Ash Virgo Gold Leather Vulcanised Trainer.

Against all odds, it was love at first sight: I don’t do gold and I certainly don’t do trainers – so why? why? why?

One answer – coup de foudre. I can’t explain it but suddenly this pair of shoes was ticking all my WE shoe brief options. And I have to confess the fact it was sold out everywhere online did add in a bit of desire.

So here I am heading to the Ash store on the Kings Road, hopping they would have my size.

But as soon as I entered the shop, another (and obviously completely different) option caught my keen eye. The Ash Jalouse Camel Suede Ankle Boot.

I tried them both on, hopping that one will look better than the other and make the decision easier for me. Nope. They both looked great (even the Little Man, who likes these days to share some fashion feedback, said “NICE” to both options).

Mmm dilemma, dilemma.

The only way I thought I would solve this is by being “fair”: I came to this shop with the intention of buying the trainer lace up pump, so this is what I will do (I realise it is a bit creepey talking about shoes as if there were living beings but hey who knows…so in doubt, I prefer to think that everything has feelings….and no this is not the fever+nurofen talking).

Now, as soon as I got back home. I started talking myself into the really truly best win-win option: what about buying them both? Surely, there are some week-ends where a timeless mini-boot will be more useful than a pair “trainers”, no matter how stylish they are?

I need help – let me know what you would do? Would you add in the boots?

bisous bisous