Against all natural instinct, I've bought cheap shoes for my wedding.
I ummed and arred over frou frou Louboutin's, crazy Kirkwood's, doll-like Miu Miu's and butterfly Aruna Seth's for months, but it eventually dawned on me: I don't have an extra £500/£600/£700 for this! I've gone over budget on the dress, we're sorely tempted by a premium economy honeymoon flight followed by a further 15 days filled with as many London-priced cocktails as our heads can carry and, without giving too much away about the gown, unsurprisingly you are not going to see them. Yes, you can dye your ivory shoes to wear again but I've yet to find anyone who's actually done it, years on from their wedding day.
Salvation came as our news editor Emily excitedly exclaimed that a US shoe website called Endless was now shipping to the UK. Now this website has hundreds of labels on its books so there's a whole lot of tat to wade through, but labels like Camilla Skovgaard, Guiseppe Zanotti, Proenza Schouler, Kate Spade and Alexander McQueen make you sit up and scroll.
A lot of it is discounted old season stock but I question whether you'd be able to tell the difference between a spring summer '09 white satin shoe and an autumn winter '11 white satin shoe. And with such huge volumes, you can type in your specifications (ivory, size 3, high heels) to find hundreds of options. The pound is pretty strong against the dollar, so at a very pleasing price too.
Badgley Mischka's Lelah sandal. Pretty, non?
I chose Badgley Mischka's Lelah sandals (above) for $180 with free international shipping, that's £109 and I have a whopping 365 days to return them if I change my mind and regret the coloured soles. What qualifies as cheap shoes is subjective, but I'm pleased as punch having been staring down the barrel of monkey. The question is, are they comfortable?
Visit Endless.com here
