Morning Uniform: A Coat, Good Jeans and Trainers for the School Run
The coats, jeans, knits, trainers, totes and sunglasses we would wear on the school run and through the rest of the day.
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Spend or Save: Four Designer Heels and the Pairs That Cost Less
Four designer heels from Tom Ford, Saint Laurent and Manolo Blahnik, each set beside a lower-priced pair in the same shape, from £90.
By Taiwo AdedayoEvery piece here has been chosen by our editors. We may earn a commission on some products.
Four shapes account for most of the heels women wear: the black pointed pump, the slingback, the buckled court and the strappy gold sandal. For each we have set a designer pair beside a lower-priced one in the same shape, from £90 to £979, all in stock now.
The black pump 
Tom Ford or Calvin Klein
Spend: Tom Ford’s Eva is black leather with a pointed toe on a 110mm stiletto. £870.
Save: Calvin Klein’s black pointed-toe pump is also a slip-on stiletto, for £142. Reiss’s Marlene, £90, adds cut-out twist detailing around the vamp and a cushioned leather insole.
The slingback 
Saint Laurent or Reiss
Spend: Saint Laurent’s Babylone Breteuil is brown lambskin with an elongated toe, a low stiletto heel and the Cassandre at the front. £979.
Save: Reiss’s Carla, in chocolate, is smooth leather with an elongated pointed toe, a slender slingback strap and a low kitten heel. £170.
The buckle 
Manolo Blahnik or Reiss
Spend: Manolo Blahnik’s Maysale has been made since 1991. This one is dark brown suede with the buckle at the pointed toe, on a 70mm heel. £795.
Save: Reiss’s Beatrice is chocolate suede with two buckled straps, a slingback, a pointed toe and a higher stiletto. £98.
The gold sandal 
Manolo Blahnik, Stuart Weitzman or Reiss
Spend: Manolo Blahnik’s Callasli is gold-tone, open at the toe, on a 90mm heel. £775.
Between: Stuart Weitzman’s has two gold-tone straps on a stiletto, £313. Save: Reiss’s Alex is metallic leather with twisted cord straps and a tapered heel, £98.
Where the money goes
The difference between a £90 heel and a £900 one is mostly in what you cannot see: the last the shoe is shaped on, the leather sole, the way the heel is set and how well it keeps its line after a season. Spend on the shape you wear every week, such as a black pump; save on the pair you wear twice a year. Walk on a hard floor before you decide, and buy in the afternoon, when feet are at their largest.
Watch: save or splurge
Every pair in this story
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