Run for your life

I hardly ever get excited about flat shoes. There's something about stomping down the road in a chunky wedge that instantly lifts my mood, and you can't fail but feel sophisticated in a skinny heel (although they're not my usual weapon of choice).

But for the next couple of weeks I'm going to be working as a runner for my cousin, and the advice I'm hearing again and again is 'get some good shoes'. By 'good shoes' I don't think they mean Celine's incredible wooden soled, suede topped sandel-esque drops of heaven. I think it's time to embrace the flats.

I think the reason flats never send a fire through my veins/give me heart palpitations in the same way heels do is that they always seem so dull. The shape of a heeled shoe is simply incomparable. No unusual material or interesting pattern can elevate a flat shoe to the lust-worthy levels of a beautiful, chunky, 4 inch heel.

But I've got to get rid of this negative attitude of mine for the next two weeks if I want to look down at my feet and not feel abject horror. So I started doing a bit of flat shoe research. It's difficult to know what kind of flat to go for. There's so many different styles! Firstly, I investigated the brogue:

This fuschia pair is from Office. Although I'd enjoy glancing down at suede everyday, I think the colour's a little limiting. I did get excited by these though (not wedge style palpitations, but definite flickers):The nude colour of this Irregular Choice pair is lovely. Plus I love the way the pretty detailing contrasts with the masculine shape of the shoe.

But I don't think the brogue is for me. I'm going to have fourteen outfits and I just don't think the brogue has a wide enough repatoire. It looks best with a skinny jean or a short floaty skirt, but fails dramatically in the style stakes when combined with hareems or a patterned maxi. So, I started looking at the sneak. Undoubtedly the comfiest of the flat shoe collection, it can also be a tricky one to style. I feel like the way to go with sneaks is either completely over the top, like this Irregular Choice pair:Or to opt for the sleek sneak, in the form of these sequinned Converse beauties:

But again, I'm unsure about the range of the sneaker. I'm going to be waking up early. And I want to sleep as much as possible. I don't have time to ponder whether or not my shoes are going to look ridiculous paired with my gigantic floral trousers (although I can predict what the outcome would be without alot of brainwork).

Feeling uninspired, I'd almost lost faith in existence of the perfect flat shoe. But then I found these:This lovely pair are from Office and combine two of my biggest current fashion crushes: leopard print and maroon. I think they're suede too. It would still be preferable if there was a monsterous heel attatched to their backhalf. But as flats go, I think these are ideal. They look comfy and stylish, and the blast of pattern keeps them interesting. I can definitely imagine running around with these cuddling my feet. You never know; I might even ditch the heels and become a flat convert. Hmm...nah.