Jazzing up your shoes

I'm a hopeless sucker for vintage jewelries - I just think they had a different touch on things back in those days so you can usually tell straight away if an item is true vintage or not. I collect everything vintage from brooches to bracelets, from pendants to shoe clips. Recently I'm getting a little obsessed with antique/vintage shoe clips - what are the better ways to dress up your lil feet than to clip on some drama with a gorgeous pair of shoe clips? Shoe clips are to shoes what brooches are to your coat lapel, no? ;)

Shoe clips were being worn prominently in the 1930s. Most vintage shoe clips you find are usually from that era up til early 1960s. Some fashion chains are doing the "vintage-feel" shoe clips these days but somehow they just feel different - they just don't have that delicacy like the real thing does.

Great vintage shoe clips are difficult to come by. If you're lucky you might be able to find a pair or two at your local antique shop, but that doesn't happen very often. Since they don't have many great antique stores here in Sydney I'd have to resort to the good ol' eBay (where else lol). However, there are not many great ones (if at all) offered on there - and eBay is supposed to the THE place for the hard-to-find items! Anyways, I still managed to find these little gems on eBay - without any competition! They are so sparkly and just glam up my plain Gucci heels instantly (see pic) :D

The other night I found myself searching on the Internet for cute vintage/antique shoe clips. These are the ones I found and totally drool over:

These ones are similar to the ones I got on eBay, except they are a tad more curved than mine

*squirm* Oh. My. God. The shell-shaped ones are beeeeaaaaauuutiful - I adore old-schooled glamour so these are definitely my favorite out of the whole bunch! I'm in love. Too bad they are sold - damn! :( Well the diamond-shaped ones are cute too. If you're a minimalist and are after simplicity, these might just be the ticket!









I love the intricate details of the oval ones on the left - they would look absolutely stunning on dark colored shoes as the pattern will just stand out all the more. The leaf-shaped ones on the right are simple yet still elegant.


This is a really unique style. Something different, you know. If you are the kind of person who begs to differ, these are great! As the style is so unique, it's best to wear them with shoes that have very, very simple designs, if at all. Plain-colored pumps or sandals are perfect as they won't "upstage" your darling shoe clips!




The sharp angles of the rectangular ones on the left would definitely add a modern edge to your shoes - actually they are one of my favorite styles :) And the gold ones on the right would blend perfectly with brown shoes, or black ones with gold accents.

One of the basic rules of thumb when it comes to shoe clips: use more decorative clips on simpler shoes; and for more elaborate shoe styles, stick with simple clips. And while most shoe clips will not mark your shoes, it's still a good idea to make sure your shoe clips are free of any rust/dirt or oil before using them. One good way is to first try them out on less expensive shoes so you don't ruin your precious Choos and Manolos with those nasty rusty marks later on.

So, have fun dressing up your sexy lil feet ladies! And if you own/spotted any cute vintage shoe clips, I'd love to see the pictures - yes, I just can't get enough of them hehe =)