From the Street to the Fourth Floor: Trainers Take Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols, one of London's great department stores, has just introduced their Fourth Floor Project, which, along the lines of Paris's Colette, is dedicated to achingly hip merchandise, from handbags to phones. One of the floor's standout features is a trainer wall for ladies only, filled with sneaks by high-end designers going street, among them Christian Louboutin's £660/$1070 gold-studded white high-tops.

High-design trainers are fantastic, as these recent snaps from Barcelona show. But do they need to cost in triple digits? Don't think so. Below are some pairs picked pretty much at random from Etsy, in great condition (obv. a critical requirement for vintage footgear)--high-top Jordaches from back in the day, some adorable Liz Claiborne slip-ons that play into the whole color-block thing going on, and these great great New York Transit neon sneaker/brogues.




A girl can never have too many foot-friendly shoes--and in the vintage world, £660 will nab you quite a few.

Fashion Icons: The King

Sometimes the absolute height of fashion, in terms of popularity, occurs at ground level. I'm thinking about Chuck Taylor Converse All-Star shoes and their clones, which now deck the feet of every other man and woman in London.

I still have trouble accepting them as a personal style option, because my 86-year-old dad wears them (I'm pretty sure they're the same pair he's had since 1965).

So did this other guy, as a change from blue suede.

(And Lisa Marie's stepping out in re-trendy jeans!)