Shoe Trends on a Shoestring

This is a guest post from Danielle Datu of MyStyle.com, a site that shares fashion, beauty and home tips. They do a great job of finding celebrity clothing trends at regular people prices, as in their shoe comparisons below.

Shoes are the perpetual It accessory for many women. But with the multitude of oh-so-stylish options available, it can be challenging for true fans of fashion to keep their footwear finances in check. How’s a girl to choose sensibly? To make your shopping experience easier, we’ve zeroed in on the five must-have shoe trends this fall—and found wallet-friendly versions of each.

1. Over-the-Knee Boots

It’s hard to strut in over-the-knee boots without looking like, well, a Pretty Woman—but not if you wear them over (A) tights/leggings or (B) skinny jeans. (If you insist on flashing your bare thighs, balance out the look with a sweet floral dress on top.) Which boots to bag? No matter how many pairs of spendy Chloé OTKBs Lindsay Lohan tweets about owning, we just can’t fathom spending over a grand on shoes. Enter Miss Me’s $30 pair, which is equally gorgeous!

2. Studded Pumps

Give your look some attitude with a pair of studded pumps, the shoe of choice for everyone from Ashley Tisdale to Diane Kruger. For a couple hundred bucks, you could make a rockin’ statement in Dolce Vita’s platforms—but we’ve got our eye on Queen’s version for less than half that price.

3. Nude Heels

Nude, schmude! Just make sure the color of your shoes is as close to your skin tone as possible. Aside from making your legs look miles long, nude shoes can class up any look. Although Maison Martin Margiela’s $575 lovelies are to die for, we’re going to spend our hard-earned cash on Type Z’s camel-hued heels. They’re only $69!

4. Ankle Boots

Just about every A-list celeb has been wearing ankle boots instead of platforms on the red carpet lately. We can’t blame them! Booties are just so darn comfortable, not to mention fierce (just look at YSL’s pricey leopard-print bad boys). Torrid has a black patent-leather pair named after Rihanna, and it’s currently on sale for just $29.99.

5. Ruffle Shoes

We saved the best for last. Why do we love this category so much? Because it allows us to gush about three trends at once. Yep, we’re sneaky like that! Ruffles scream fall. You’ve got your regular ol’ ruffle shoes, like Linea Paolo $130 slingbacks. (We prefer Zigi Soho Gloria’s version for $50.) But there are some other truly special ruffle shoes…

The girlie girl in us drooled over the oversize ruffles on Christian Louboutin’s and Alexander McQueen’s petal heels. Luckily, we don’t have to break the bank to get the same look: Dollhouse has knockoffs of the Louboutins for $49.95—practically pennies compared to the original $1,695 price tag—and Bakers’ replica of McQueen’s magnificent design is currently on sale for $59.99. That reminds us: We know it’s hard, but we strongly advise against buying anything at Bakers that isn’t marked down. You don’t know how many times we’ve bought something there only to find out it’s on sale the next weekend. It pays to be patient!

Another swirly rendition of this trend we adore is the zipper-trim ruffle. It’s the perfect mix of edge and femme. Pour La Victoire makes a fabulous pair for about $150. Too steep? Yeah, we think so too—so we’re grabbing Wet Seal’s equally stylish pair for $22.50.

For more great ways to save on all the latest trends, check out mystyle’s Steals ‘n’ Splurges page.