4.11.06

heels and hemlines

The Italians

- versus -

The French

Distinctly different. Equally elegant. A locale-specific uniform for the Voguish fashionettes among us. I would love to see photos comparing the footwear on clusters of well shod femmes from fashion weeks around the world. Imagine India versus London, Melborne versus New York... Carine Roitfeld's brigade of apprentices (above) would probably come out on top in my opinion though. YSL booties just look better when worn with a mini and Gallic nonchalance.

From: The Sarto

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

france. gold doesn't work for me!.

Anonymous said...

The Italians have got nothing on the French. Just look at that 2.55 peeking in the upper left corner, and those legs!

la chipie said...

yeah, i would have to go for the french too , I love the booties better . It be cool to see one for NY in particular

RD said...

It could be the French taste, but it could also be that they are genetically endowed with shapely legs. No number of hours on the Stairmaster will produce such an elegant shape.

BB

Anonymous said...

These shots were originally taken from the Sartorialist...check out his October archives. The top photo was taken at a Dries Van Noten show, and the bottom is of the Paris Vogue staff members.

Unknown said...

You crack me up. I was sent by Paris Breakfast and liked this so much I have linked you. Do stop by and say hello!

Anonymous said...

French. Love this topic btw.

Chris said...

j'aime le style francais et l'élégance de ce blog raffiné
love
christophe

Katie said...

No surprise there. But I'll say that I love the Italians better. The just-below-the-knee skirts are really refreshing, and the legs are telling of the curvy Italian women.

The French have legs like pins, which certainly goes with just about everything. I love the legs second in from the left. They're skinny but shapely.

Anonymous said...

that would be interesting! comparing footwear from different cities...

i agree with bombay beauty though - the french women are miniscule and seem to have perfect thigh-less legs.

i also notice the prevalence of the black tights here. high heels not as frequent as one'd think though. most women i see wear flats.

Carissa Duhamel said...

Generally, the French, although that isn't the most fantastic example of Italian footwear.
I suppose I'm partial to both since I am both Italian and French.

Anonymous said...

i guess the french do it better..

are those dries van noten shoes on the italians?

Gillian Young said...

I love this observation. And I can see, by looking down at my legs, fitted pencil skirt, sheer black tights and boots, that France probably did affect my way of dressing.

I always look at shoes in the subway here in Toronto and feel embarassed about Canadian fashion sense..

Anonymous said...

I guess I'm the lone dissenter. The Italians look far better to me.

Anonymous said...

gotta say something about the italian legs, coz' tough i said the french side have the best heels, i dislike a lot legs like pins, they seem unhealthy!, and the italians ones are curvy, in good shape but not in a fat way...

Anonymous said...

i like the french shoes better (but I'm from Paris and I must say that most of parisian girls wear only flats)
the pic is very beautiful, sounds like a book cover

Tongue in Cheek Antiques said...

Comparing French and Italians to these two photos is a tad unfair.

In general I would say those photos are reversed in real life!

la femme said...

Quite right, but they are funny in-the-moment photos...

Wanderlusting said...

Yay! This means I can wear ankle-boots with flair now!

Erm, providing I live in Paris. Well, I am going at the end of the year. Perhaps I could start wearing them when I get back and say Paris rubbed off on me.

Ah who am I kidding. People in my neighbourhood wear dalmation coats and tutus. Ankle-boots be damned!

Katie said...

Gillian Young: "I always look at shoes in the subway here in Toronto and feel embarassed about Canadian fashion sense.."

Ooh, too true.

It's a bit sad when you see a well-dressed woman, instead of thinking "That's a good take on those boots," you think "High heels! Stylish trench coat! Beautiful skirt!" as though you've just spotted a lion walking amid the jeaned masses.

Jared said...

I love the french! Tres chic!

The Girl said...

I just love this ankle boot trend... these girls make it look hot.

Anonymous said...

love the french...so sexy!!

Anonymous said...

The "Italians" might be actually Belgians... They are the Dries Van Noten team outside the show in Paris, or so says the Satorialist:
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2006/10/dries-van-noten-team.html

Anonymous said...

Those are definitely Dries shoes from Fall/Winter 2006-7 so the ladies are probably indeed Belgian not Italian...