Ask Style Bard

From the mailbox:

Hi there,
I have a silver ruffle dress from Burberry Prorsum and I do not know what shoes to wear with it – the dress is strapless, knee length and featured in their runway show spring summer 2008.
Any ideas you have would be much appreciated – I was thinking of some Swarovski sandals from Gina.

Thanks and regards,
Chloe

Chloe,

First and foremost may I say on behalf of SBS and its readers: JEALOUS! Regardless of the fact that I don't know which of the following you mean:





I'm personally hoping it's the latter. As you can see in the photos, this dress was originally styled with an ankle boot (although they may be platform pumps with some kind of netting or stocking over them). However, the dresses were also layered with cover-ups and styled with belts and sunglasses, which makes them casual (the line is Ready-to-Wear); from your first choice of shoes, I imagine you're planning to dress the look up for evening wear. In that case, I wholeheartedly agree with your choice of Gina shoes. They're my absolute favorites for shiny, sparkly nighttime looks. However, rather than a sandal I might try something more substantial, so that the shoe doesn't compete with the dress--perhaps something more like the 'Amani' bootie:



This year has been all about pairing edgy, masculine pieces with girly, chic, sleek items. Or try one of these, the 'Jenna' or the 'Mila':





The subtle sparkle will highlight the dress without overpowering it. Of course if you wanted to do an exact homage, you can also try 'Jamelia':



Either way, enjoy your lovely frock! Please feel free to email and let us know how you ended up wearing it--we'd especially enjoy pics!
~SB