Well, Darlings, like Dwight Shrute, we’ve just been faxed from the future, and, we’ve got to tell you, the news on shoes isn’t pretty.  Now that the major fall 2007 shows are over, we’ve gotten our first decent glimpse of the proposed shoe trends that are on the horizon, and it’s time for us to talk about it.. 
Yes, yes, we know—you’re all enjoying your flats and wedges and ignoring high-heeled platforms (really, did anybody actually buy those things?),— and we’re certainly not going to ruin your spring and summer by telling you they won’t be around next year (they will).
But, there continues to be a definite shift in shoe styles “afoot” (sorry) as evidenced by what we saw on the runways last month and on the streets of New York last fall.

And even though you need to know about it, we don’t think you’re going to like it.

Basically, what the designers have in mind for next year can all be summed up this way:  More emphasis on the top of the foot, meaning a higher vamp or upper section.  In other words, if shoes were shirts, scoop-necks would be out and turtlenecks would be in.
Lace-up (Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, Gucci) and zip-up (Versace) oxfords; booties, (Burberry Prorsum, Gucci)
and high cross-straps (Michael Kors, Burberry) were all over the runways in for fall ‘07. 

The problem is, of course, that this kind of “high-necked” shoe is brutally hard to wear because it inevitably shortens the leg and thickens the ankle.  You’ve got to figure that if it makes a 6’ 3” MaxAzria model with legs like chopsticks look like she has cankles, it’s not going to do much for any of us. 
In fact, pretty much the only way to wear a style with a high vamp or ankle-type shoes is with tights, which is how virtually all of them were shown—there wasn’t a nude leg in sight (and, for the record, very few pants as well, but that’s another topic). 

We’re sure that everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line is going to love the tights idea, (you know how those Yankees hate to shave their legs more than once a week) but, of course, it’s bad news for us here in the semi-tropics.

So what does all this mean?  We all know that most of the shoes we see on the runways are just nonsense, especially in Paris.  But, as weird and ridiculous as, for example, these Diors are, the House of Dior is telling us, through their warped, Jerry-Lewis-loving sense of French irony, where they think shoes will be going next year.

The question is, will any of us follow?  Will shoe designers be able to interpret a new look to that’s user-friendly enough to ”play in Peoria”, or are we looking at another version of this year’s platforms, which are still pretty much the province of runway models and fashion victims?

As usual, we’ve sorted through this whole mess for you, and, based on our predictions on how this thing will play out, we do have some suggestions on where to invest your shoe money in the coming months.

Or we will, as soon as the next fax from our Future Selves comes in tomorrow. 

In the meantime, enjoy your toe cleavage while you can.