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Capping It Off


Cap toe shoes are all over the damn place this spring. 

Seriously, I can’t wander through a store without those fun little shoes and their contrasting toes peeping out from under racks of clothes like colorful little bunnies.  Lucky me I like cap toe shoes, and own two pair (although they’re both kind of uninspired), which makes me think I really need to add a new pair to my collection. 
I love the metal toe caps from Zara.

The ones I have are the coveted and classic Banana Republic heels I got a few weeks ago, and a pair of Steve Madden heels that happen to have a cap toe, though they were designed and bought far before cap toes became a “thing.” 

What is the obsession of the cap toe all about though? It’s just building on last season’s color-blocking explosion, and really isn’t even that different, it’s just a little less color. And it’s certainly not a new look. Cap toes were originally popular in the 1940’s and were perfect for polishing off those pencil skirts.

These look like a bird. 
Always a classic look, cap toes create an anything goes kind of look. Zara has colored, pointy toe heels with a metal cap toe, and Ann Taylor has surprised the hell out of me by pairing neutral colors with bright neons. Neon just seems so un-Ann Taylor to me, but I’m glad they did it. Banana Republic did it with taupe on beige with a black heel, and Sergio Rossi made me think of tropical birds with their all neon cap toe heels. 

There’s really no wrong answer, or bad way to create this shoe. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular. And with it’s simple shape, lack of pattern and obvious colors, it’s also really hard to screw it up, ruin your outfit and look like a total ass. 

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