We’ve seen the butterflies on Valentino and Marc Jacobs spring shoes, studs and chains at Christian Dior, and the mega buckles that started it all at Bruno Frisoni a few years back, but shoe accoutrements, although they muscled into the mainstream of fashion, haven’t seen the likes of SHY, a five year old brand out of Riviera del Brenta, in Fiesso d’Artico, Italy, or Blond, from New York. SHY, sold at Tracey Ross in Los Angeles, Joyce in Hong Kong, and La Scarpa in Istanbul, is designed by Tiziano and Paolo Tommasin and brings decorative shoes to new levels-adding Swarovski crystals to treated Nappa metallic leather, gold rings and rainbow python to wedge heeled sandals, diamante buckles to square toed fuchsia ’60s-inspired pumps, and swirling cutouts and contrasting stitching to ballet flats, resulting in wearable art that makes a pedi purr. Blond, available at Patricia Field’s Hotel Venus in New York and Ash & Diamonds in Tokyo, is more about taking shoe accoutrements to new heights literally. Their “highest heel” creations use everything from actual shells and starfish, to cutout Day-Glo lightning rods and diamante studding with glossy puffy paint for raised and textured effects, all embedded in glittering four-inch metallic stilettos. You can be a blond to wear these two labels, but definitely not shy.

-Meghan Cleary

Photos: Shy shoes
Blond shoes