lady shoes

I’m not one for theme-park dressing, so I would bin the brass buttons for something more modern and understated. Take this ysl oversized blazer (£ 935; 020 7235 6706), worn with tapered white trousers, as inspiration. It looks clean, sophisticated and contemporary. If you have become attached to the buttons, keep them for summer, but change them in autumn – that way, you will prolong the wearability of the blazer. A good place for buttons is the haberdashery department at John Lewis; or, if you want something unusual, try The Button Queen (thebuttonqueen.co.uk), which has a huge selection of antique and modern designs.

Top designers featured include Chanel, Dior, ysl boots , Versace and Armani. And a ysl shoes gallery off to the side of the main exhibit hall shows a laced ysl spectator heel, along with two lesser-priced versions.

PARIS At the ysl showroom here recently, retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky had his heart set on a pair of wool pants.

Le Costume Populaire Russe. Fondation Pierre Bergé-ysl .

You might expect that the Fondation Pierre Bergé-ysl would focus on the late designer’s dreams,

Bold costume baubles, including giant cocktail rings, glittering, bejewelled necklaces, striking brooches and swingy chandelier earrings beautified directional collections at Balenciaga, Burberry, ysl boots and Lanvin during the spring/summer and autumn/winter 2008 shows. So striking was the array for next autumn that it prompted Joan Burstein, proprietor of London boutique Browns, to remark: “Jewellery is the new [hand]bag.”

But statement jewellery is not just paste and sparkles. The spring/summer ysl show, for example, included dazzling star-motif Perspex accessories, which have already been snapped up by the celebrity set. Burberry featured lots of alluring metal bracelets, while bangles – in wood, plastic and resin – also emerged as key statement pieces, appearing at Marni and Hermès.

which brings an instant reviving effect to tired, parched skin ysl ’s Collector Powder for the Complexion, GBP34 (01444 255 700) this season is inspired by the white tuxedo and consists of three skin illuminating powders that, used together, impart the complexion with a soft veil of light. One of YSL’s famed limited edition products, it would be advisable to snap it up fast. Another much lusted after limited edition collection to look out for comes from Paul & Joe.

I’ve always been inspired by old films. At a young age I had insomnia so I was always up watching television: silent films, 1920s and 30s films, black and white and technicolour films. Another huge inspiration for me is Alber Elbaz at Lanvin – for me he is really continuing the legacy of ysl shoes and he is doing amazing things.

Want some Manolo Blahniks in your wardrobe, but can’t afford the price tag? Then invest in his budget-friendly shoehorn instead. Blahnik ’s creation is sure to sex up your shoe rack. Apparently, he loves “the fluidity and cold feel of the aluminium”. Enough said.

Make that very upscale: Gianni Versace, Fendi, Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Escada. These days, shes partial to Escada, but her Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes are all-time faves.

MY dream purchase is smaller than a Mercedes and costs less than a vacation to Tahiti. In fact, it fits inside a shoe box. I’m looking for a pair of black, stiletto-heeled Manolo Blahnik pumps. Not just any manolo shoes , these promise to update my staid, suburban cocktail dresses and make me the talk of the neighborhood Christmas party. Unless you’re a shoe junkie like me, you wouldn’t understand the transforming power of pumps.

Problem is, I can’t afford Manolo Blahniks anything, unless I want to skip paying the cable bill this month. I still crave the shoes, however, so I head for Fairfield County, designer consignment shopping capital of the world, to start my quest. Would I find these $400 wonders for a fraction of their original price?

Women may understand this more than men. It’s seems that’s all they ever talk about, those girls in Sex And The City, their beloved shoes. A recent episode was almost entirely concerned with Sarah Jessica Parker’s pair of Manolo Blahniks . Now men will hardly ever mention their manolo blahnik shoes. It would seem unpleasantly odd if a man evinced a strong interest in the subject of footwear.

Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum, mentioned to me in conversation her theory that the sneaker has now become a status indicator of upscale leisure activity. Where people once flaunted their Caribbean suntans in February, now they come into the office wearing a pair of Prada sneakers. These heavy, elaborate sneakers look like something Jack Nicholson might wear to a Lakers game, even though the manolo shoes themselves are no more suited for playing hoops than Sarah Jessica Parker’s pair of Manolo Blahniks . You can see the little telltale signs of baroque elegance in these upmarket sneakers – in the soles, particularly, which sometimes look like the swirls the pastry chef puts on a birthday cake.

Master Designers: They may be few in number, but the real shoe masters – Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Giuseppe Zanotti – still rule the designer business. In fact, their hold is so powerful that many in the industry are concerned about the lack of plausible stars to fill their huge manolo shoes moving forward. Passionate, driven and highly skilled, the “power trio” is impressive for many reasons, not the least of which is a surprising lack of drama and pretense. Zanotti, perhaps the hardest-working and most prolific designer in the business, works Micam from early morning to late evening, showing his numerous lines and personally greeting customers. (Not surprisingly, he told me he gets about two hours of sleep a night!) Blahnik may not visit the trade shows, but he runs an operation that is a model of understatement. Forget the pushy assistants, the entourage and the burly security guards. At Blahnik shoes unassuming London townhouse, the designer answers his own door, serves his favorite snacks and entertains his visitors with hilarious stories and even better gossip – all off the record, of course. Blahnik isn’t interested in hype; he spends his creative energy where it matters. His love for manolo blahnik shoes is powerful and his quest to stay fresh is inspiring. Lesser talents might be wise to rip a page from this master’s book.

At the pinnacle of the supermodel renaissance is Campbell not only has she bagged the holy grail of fashion jobs as the face of ysl , she is Vogue’s sweetheart, with the Brazilian and French editions of the magazine choosing her for their covers.

Campbell, 38, also appears on the cover of London fashion bible ID this month.

Stefano Pilati, creative director for ysl , called her an “untouchable power”. Recalling the heyday of the supermodel, Mr Pilati said: “They were 12 of the most amazing girls. Today there are beautiful girls more or less but they don’t have that attitude.” The resurgence of the supermodel shows a change in direction for a fashion industry accustomed to using very thin and young girls to head big campaigns.

On the spring runways, for instance, there were novel notions: sleeves shaped like Mickey Mouse ears at Dolce & Gabbana, drop-crotch pants at Chloé, ysl and Ralph Lauren, jumpsuits galore and platform gladiator ysl shoes that had models slipping down catwalks from Milan to Montreal.

Floral print shirt by Missoni. Brown silk jacket, trousers and tie all by ysl shoes . Tortoiseshell glasses by Oliver Peoples. Beige and white silk ribbed socks by Harvie & Hudson. Brown suede belt by ysl . Lilac silk handkerchief stylist’s own.

Rust silk three-button blazer by Missoni. Brown, orange and white dot silk-square handkerchief by Tom Ford. Brown, orange and purple silk palm-print shirt by Brioni. Brown and cream check jacquard silk tie by Tom Ford. Salmon linen trousers by Tom Ford. Salmon, cream and brown belt by Tom Ford. Brown glasses by ysl .

At the 2006 menswear shows, the emergence of smarter, unfussy shorts at labels such as ysl and Louis Vuitton first indicated a shift. Vuitton presented a neat navy short worn just above the knee with a blazer and tie. Fast-forward to the following spring/summer and almost every catwalk featured a variation on this tarted-up short theme. In 2008, the short-suit became the logical next step. Robert Johnston, associate editor of GQ, worries about this development. “It’s too much of a ‘look’,” he says. “You end up dressing like a fashion stylist.”

He rebuilt the firm into a profitable business with an enviable cachet and increased sales fivefold to euros 2.4bn (£1.9bn). Last year Puma caught the eye of Francois Pinault’s PPR, the French luxury goods group that owns Gucci, ysl shoes and Stella McCartney. PPR paid more than euros 3bn for a 64% stake and Pinault, who had once tried to hire Zeitz to run Gucci, now sits on the Puma board.

The tailored jacket, nipped in at the waist, is your new best friend, suitable for office wear but also the perfect partner for a cocktail frock or maxi. The juxtaposition of masculine and feminine is a winning combination; think ysl and Karen Walker. The same look can also transform into rock-chick glam with the addition of studded accessories (handbag or leather cuff) and foxy footwear.

Manolo ’s can be spotted across a crowded room. These are shoes without trends; they are just plain sexy, refined and high- heeled. Blahnik was the first to tie a satin ribbon around the ankle. According to him, the perfect foot has a high arch and the second toe should be longer than the big toe.

“I was fortunate enough to have been in contact with him in the last year of his life.” Mr Blahnik explained that when he was put in touch with Beaton to ask him to take part in the campaign, he was told the photographer no longer produced pictures after a stroke had left him paralysed.

But Beaton then started to draw with his left hand and agreed to sketch an impression of Blahnik’s shoes.

Canadian-born Mr Blahnik said he had grown up learning about England through reading the books of Enid Blyton and Charles Dickens.

Manolo Blahnik has crossed the Maginot line that divides a fashionista darling from a mainstream reference point. He’s about to become a guest on Desert Island Discs. However, Sue Lawley would be advised to steer carefully when it comes to shoe fetishism and sex. Blahnik prefers not to discuss such nitty-gritty preoccupations.

Crimson, leopard-print ponyskin toe-thong sandals. The Design Museum is currently hosting an exhibition of Manolo Blahnik shoes , which is an unusual but deserved honour for the man who eats, drinks and sleeps shoe design. This particular model is beautifully crafted and intricately finished by hand.

Where from: Manolo Blahnik , 49-51 Old Church Street, London

Women were purchasing boxes of Manolo Blahniks as if they were biscuits

Sitting at my desk, staring at a blank computer screen, I was interrupted by a delightful sound: the ringing phone. There’s nothing better than receiving a call in the midst of being unproductive: it’s an excuse to take a break.

It was Liza. “Do you want to shop?” she asked. “There’s a sale at Bergdorf Goodman – 60% off all shoes.” My first inclination was to pass. Shopping for me is a chore. But then again, I needed to get out; the grind of not working was exhausting. So, impulsively, I said: “Sure.” Liza couldn’t believe it. “You’ll come?” She sounded so stunned, you’d think I’d agreed to go skydiving.

Having never before tried on a pair of Manolo Blahnik heels, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I found a pair in my size, sexy black leather stilettos – and they were amazing. I walked around on the plush carpet and commented to Liza that I couldn’t get over how comfortable they were. “I could wear them all day,” I said. But where would I wear them to? My life doesn’t live up to the shoes. It’s not like I wear sexy stilettos so often I need a really comfortable pair. But as soon as I saw the sticker on the bottom, the decision was made for me: $600 was 60% off? For that price, they should come with a boyfriend and a house on Fifth Avenue. I looked around: women were purchasing boxes of Blahnik as if they were biscuits.

Will, 25, was ‘discovered’ when he was 18 and working as a builder. In the flesh his thin, angular face is animated and all smiles. You could mistake him for an Essex boy with his geezer charm, but he was born in Greenwich to an artist mother and a property developer father. He now lives in a house he owns, with friends, in Hurst Green, East Sussex.

For our shoot Will wears a straight-leg woollen suit by ysl .

Bloomingdale’s chairman Marvin Traub said the store is so pleased with the collections this season they plan to spend 20 to 25 percent more on these imports than a year ago. Among the collections the store will feature: Armani, Missoni, Valentino, ysl shoes , Nina Ricci, Thierry Mugler and Jap.

“The problem with French fashion is the French,” says Pierre Berge, partner of ysl and this year’s head of the Chambre Syndicale, organizing group for the top designers. He quotes the late French president George Pompidou, who said, “France is no longer the country of couture and champagne.”

After that there was a relative lull; but in recent years Surrealism has come back in full force. Apart from Schiaparelli, the most obvious stars of the Fashion Institute show are contemporary designers such as ysl , Karl Lagerfeld and (since what is fashion if it is not up to the minute?) Christian Lacroix.

One of the current maestros, ysl , pays homage to his most gifted precursor with a beautiful blue-and-gold jacket embroidered with a pair of eyes and the words ”Les Yeux d’Elsa” – the title of a celebrated poem by the one-time Surrealist Louis Aragon. Aragon’s Elsa was his wife, Elsa Triolet; Saint Laurent’s is plainly Schiaparelli.

But PPR’s Weinberg has said he wants different designers at Gucci and ysl . According to financial daily Les Echos, this was one of the sources of tension between the Gucci bosses and the parent company.

There is also growing support among staff at ysl shoes for Stefano Pilati, one of Ford’s most trusted designers, to pick up where his boss leaves off.

Industry analysts say the company will have to work fast to minimize the risk to Gucci and other brands in its stable, including French fashion house ysl , Boucheron jewelry and Sergio Rossi ysl shoes.

He may not be a household name, but Will Chalker is a supermodel by male standards. ‘We don’t get the same publicity as female models, but that doesn’t bother me,’ he says. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to work for all the big designers.’ These include Hedi Slimane, Paul Smith and Gucci (Tom Ford once asked him to open and close a show) and campaigns for John Galliano, Daks, ysl and Moschino. Last year he became the first ever man to be nominated for Best Model at the British Fashion Awards.