Arriving With Something: Gifts for the Host, From Candles to Crystal
Gifts to take to a dinner or a weekend away: candles from Trudon and Aerin, glassware from Cabana, Lalique and Baccarat, Creed fragrance, and small leather and silver pieces.
Fashion /
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
See all our Heels, checked for price and stock every morning.
Shop the Edit
Heels
Shop now →
The Journal
Keep Reading
Floor-length for the Season: Evening Gowns for Galas, Awards and Black Tie
Long evening gowns for the gala and black-tie season, from Costarellos, Jenny Packham, Elie Saab and Valentino, grouped by colour, with the clutch and sandals to finish.
Jewellery With a Past: How to Buy Pre-owned and Vintage Pieces Well
Pre-owned and vintage jewellery from Givenchy, Saint Laurent, Monet, Van Cleef & Arpels and William May, with what to check before you buy: hallmarks, carat marks, condition and fit.
