There is probably no more classic a shoe than the loafer. It is a casual and timeless style of shoe that looks relaxed and laid back with both trousers and jeans. Over the years many different designers have had their own version of the loafer, but the best loafers around are from J.P. Tods. Jessica Alba (pictured above) is a fan of the classic and very stylish loafer, not least I am sure because of their combination of practicality and style, which is crucial when running around after a young child.

I love the very versatile tan colour loafers by JP Tods.

Sequin Diamante Trainers

There are times in life (in fact almost all of the time for me) when you head says practical but your heart says pretty and sparkly. Lets face it practical and comfy often means boring. But when it comes to shoes and you have a long way to walk, anything that is not practical and comfy can end up looking outright ridiculous. Think of running for the bus in the pouring rain in a pair of stilettos. This is where the sequin trainers comes into play. Practical and comfy, they look great with jeans or something a bit smarter and add a bit of sparkle (which everyone needs from time to time).

I love the whole urban disco or luxe sports wear trend. That is the sequin and sparkle applied to casual urban clothing or sportwear in greys, blacks, khaki etc. It is perfect for people like myself who need a certain amount of practicality in their lives but can’t get away from the desire for a bit of sparkle.

When it comes to choosing new shoes, yellow is not often a colour that immediately springs to mind. Yellow shoes are an original, fresh and attention grabbing fashion statement. For summer they look great with bare legs and a summer dress. For autumn and winter there are plenty of opportunities to combine with a variety of rich colours for a show stopping look. Try deep purples, oranges, browns and reds. Bright tights are also a great way to make your legs and feet a real talking point.

Fly London Yellow Shoes

Firetrap Desire Yellow Patent Shoes

Ted Baker Camila Yellow Shoes

Firetrap Steele Yellow Patent Shoes

For the last few years Crocs have become a bit of a joke in the fashion world. They are quite possibly the least stylish summer shoes around. Chunky, unflattering and with a plastic look, they are certainly not on most fashionistas list of must have items for the summer. But for many Crocs are the ultimate foot wear purely for their comfort. This brings us to ask the question, at what point to draw the line between comfort and style?

Crocs have helped to answer this question by releasing a whole range of comfy summer sandals that are also suprisingly stylish. For those of us that are on our feet a lot, these shoes are a happy medium between the traditional crocs and a pair of killer heels.

The Crocs Sasari is sleek and retro in style with a wedge heel and soft footbed to massage your foot as you walk.

The Crocs Cyprus is a delicate strapped sandal with a wedge heel that would look great with summer dresses or trousers.

The Crocs Prima is the ultimate comfy ballet pump. Slim fitting with odour resistance, it is ideal for everyday wear.

The Crocs Capri Suede is an ultra comfy version of the very popular traditional flip flop. It also has a trendy two tone sude strap.

The Crocs Patricia is a simple style of sandal with a 2″ wedge. It looks great for both daytime and evening.

Phoebe Philo, former designer at Chloe has showed her long awaited first Celine collection for Resort 2010, a few weeks back. The designer who is hoped will turn the Celine label around with her beautifully designed clothes, is playing it safe for her first season with a collection of very wearable utilitarian pieces characterised by zips and other chunky details. The collection was a stark contrast to her usual fayre of frilly and feminine charm. The clothes were made of Italian fabrics rather than French because of their more masculine textures.

The collection included Celine bags and Celine shoes which are much awaited by many Philo fans. She obviously has not lost her amazing talent for designing irresistable accesories and I expect that most will sell out pretty quickly. My favourites were the shoes which will definitely be added to my ever growing wish list.

If you can’t wait until Phoebe’s debut Celine shoes are available, Celine do also have some very desireable summer shoes like these high heeled sandals.

In the summer time, many people live in their flip flops. They are elegant and casual at the same time. They also keep your feet lovely and cool. But if you want your feet to look gorgeous in flip flops then a little preparation is required. You could invest in a professional pedicure but it is not really necessary. You should be able to get your feet looking gorgeous for wearing flip flops with this Butter London Pedicure Collection.

If you suffer from dry skin then ensure that your feet are silky smooth using this Ped Egg. The rub on plenty of moisturiser.

You can the add the finishing touches by painting toenails with a bright summery colour like this orange from Opi

Then all you need to do is choose yourself some gorgeous flip flops. My favourites are Havianas but there are also plenty of gorgeous beaded and sequinned flip flops to choose from.

Slim Season Tomato Havianas

Sequin Flip Flops

On my list of clothes to buy for the summer is a pair of casual and practical shoes that will look great with jeans, shorts and other casual wear. I have never been  fan of trainers and prefer to wear them when I do sport, which is a fairly rare occurence. I do however have a fairly active life and like to walk every where whenever possible so a comfy pair of casual shoes is essential.

I love these vintage style Fred Perry tennis shoes. Fred Perry, by the way, was a famous tennis player known as one of the worlds greatest players. He was also known for his relationships with film stars including Marlene Dietrich and Helen Vinson. He became associated with his own clothing brand that was associated with polo shirts with the famous laurel logo. These polo shirts were adopted by the Mods in the late fifities and ever since Fred Perry has become associated with British street style.

Picture - Kate and Laura Mulleavy with Kirsten Dunst (centre) from www.style.com 

This year at the CFDA (Coucnil of Fashion Designers of America) awards in the Lincoln Center, the nominees for the womens wear award were Rodarte, Marc Jacobs and Narciso Rodriguez. The Mulleavy sisters Kate and Laura (of Rodarte) finally walked away with the award and it was not really surprising considering their huge contribution to fashion over the last few years. The menwear award was shared by two designers Calvin Klein’s Italo Zucchelli and Band of Outsiders’ Scott Sternberg. Proenza Schouler’s  Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler won the accessories award. Eventually Marc Jacobs got the award that he really deserved in the international category.

Why not get yourself some award winning accessories with these Proenza Schouler shoes.

There is a very simple answer to this question. Because they add height but are also very easy to walk in. Women’s wedge shoes are one of the most versatile pieces of foot wear for summer. They can take you from garden parties and barbeques, to wedding and evening parties, poolside on holiday and even to work. They go equally well with skirts, trousers and jeans. The wedge heel provides a stable base to stop that tottering effect that many high heels cause. But the very best thing about chunky wedge heeled shoes is that their chunkiness will make even the most tree trunk like of ankles look delicate (and that includes mine). They are also perfect for those very feminine outfits like a floaty floral dress that would look too much with a pair of conventional high heeled shoes.

Here are just a few of my favourites for summer 2009.

Autograph T Bar Wedge

Andrea Bernes Wedges

Limited Collection 3 Bar Wedge

Patrizia Pepe Wedges

I love wearing white clothes in the summer. They look fresh, cool and clean and they can be accessorised in so many different ways, a bit like a blank canvas. One thing that I have always struggled with is finding the right pair of shoes to wear with a white outfit. Of course white shoes would be the obvious choice, but coming from the South East, there are far too many connotations associated with the white stiletto and Essex girls and as a result I usually avoid any type of white shoes like the plague, even trainers. There are other options like cream, neutral, natural and tan, all of which have their place but sometimes just don’t look quite right. Colours either bright or pastel can look good with white, but may need some careful co ordination.

This summer white shoes are right on trend and I think they may have finally managed to shrug off their Essex girl image and adopted a very classy and stylish persona (not that Essex girls are not classy and stylish I might add). Chunky heels and cool details make them more elegant than Essex and more stylish than stiletto. I think I may even get myself a pair.

I love these Miss Sixty shoes which would look great with anything from a pair of jeans to floaty floral dress.