In this Upper Street masterclass we turn our attention to the problems faced by those with petite feet – finding the right shoe design without it looking too cutesy can be something of a challenge.

You want your shoes to look elegant, stylish and grown up, so why not add unique into the equation and design a shoe to flatter your small but perfectly formed feet? Take a look at some dilemmas faced by previous dainty footed clients and take inspiration for your own ideas…

Marine snakeskin T-bar sandal

A T-bar sandal is the perfect grown up shoe shape and manages to combine sexiness and elegance whilst the strap down the middle of the foot gives an illusion of length. These metallic marine snakeskin T-bar sandals with Swarovski crystal embellishment would make the perfect evening heel and can be worn all year round – a worthwhile investment for your shoe wardrobe!

Camel black patent round toe court shoe

A mid heel height is perfect for small feet as the proportions of a high heel can make the foot look even smaller by shortening it. We think this D’Orsay cut round toe in camel and black patent leather is a classic design with a modern contemporary twist and one that would liven up work wear tailoring.

Cobalt suede pointed court shoe

The bonus of having smaller feet is that you can afford to be bold with your choices and where better to experiment with colour than our Upper Street shoe designer? Take advantage of tiny tootsies and design a shoe with a pop of colour like these pointed court shoes in cobalt suede with their striking asymmetric front in yellow patent and snakeskin.

Zebra ballet flat

With our ballet flat options, the sky’s the limit when it comes to material, features and embellishment! Animal print and studs bring your shoe stylishly into grown up territory – take a look at the extensive choice on offer at Upper Street. These zebra ballet flats are turned into a real statement shoe by the addition of a large emerald green snakeskin flower.

White patent peep toe

Why not try a mid or kitten heel? Browse our Shoe Styles Guide to see the heel height options available, design your perfect shoe and simply select the heel of your choice at the checkout stage. These white patent peep toes with a blue structured bow and red heel would make the perfect summer shoe for every social occasion.

Don’t forget Upper Street shoes are available in sizes starting at 33 (UK 1.5, US 3) so even petite feet can now step out in bespoke style! For more inspiration and shoe design ideas, take a look at our feature on designing shoes for smaller feet.

Come and visit our Upper Street Studio in London. Whether you’d like to try shoes on before ordering, view our samples and material swatches or need help with designing your shoes, we’re help to help you.

To book a VIP appointment, email iloveshoes@upperstreet.com or call us on 0845 680 9365.

If you can’t make it the studio but still want to see our full range of luxurious materials, we’ve now opened our Swatch Store. Whether you’d like to experience the richness of our suedes, feel the silken quality of our sumptuous Italian satins or visualise our glossy patents as a shoe, you can order as many swatches as you want!

Upper Street – the made-to-order luxury shoe label where you can design your own shoes and have them delivered right to your door.

Welcome to the second in our series of Upper Street Trend posts; this time it’s the turn of a fashion favourite that seems to have become something of a perma-trend – colour block. Taking colourful contrasts and blocking them together beautifully was a catwalk must do for SS12 designers such as Roksanda Illincic, Balenciaga and Matthew Williamson.

Celebrate Spring / Summer 2012 in shades of tangerine, hot pink, yellow and rich cobalt blues. Experiment with brights for your shoes and step out into the sun ready to tread the path of the fashion forword in a pair of ultra stylish heels.

Pink satin D’Orsay peep toe, Cobalt suede pointed court

Show off your summer bright pedicure in these shocking pink Italian satin peep toes adorned with an ultra purple satin flower – the only decision you have left to make is which colour to paint your toes! Add zingy flashes of yellow snake and patent leather to an elegant cobalt pointed court for an instant statement shoe guaranteed to turn heads.

Green suede round toe court, Pink tangerine clash platform

Colour block from head to toe by wearing a dress in zesty orange or hot pink and then finish off with these elegant vivid green suede round toe courts with an emerald metallic ankle strap that’s been sprinkled with Swarovski diamante. Be a colourful wedding guest and colour block your heels with a pair of eye popping peep toe platforms in fuchsia leather and tangerine snake – Upper Street shoes are always a talking point at weddings!

Turquoise suede platform sandal, Yellow leather heart ballet flat

Conquer two trends in one with these turquoise suede platform sandals with a metallic gold snakeskin heel and dainty single gilda ankle strap. Colour block trend? Tick. Metallics? Tick! With our bespoke ballet flats there are many ways to design with blocks of gorgeous colour and we love this citrus yellow leather ballet flat with it’s contrasting tangerine patent and leather heart.

Whether you opt for the subtle or bold colour block option this summer take a look at our Master class on how to colour block or browse the shoe galleries for more inspiration and start designing your own colour block heels now

Come and visit our Upper Street Studio in London. Whether you’d like to try shoes on before ordering, view our samples and material swatches or need help with designing your shoes, we’re help to help you.

To book a VIP appointment, email iloveshoes@upperstreet.com or call us on 0845 680 9365.

Upper Street – the made-to-order shoe label where you can design your own shoes and have them delivered right to your door.

Image source: Style.com

The legendary Yves Saint Laurent first introduced colour blocking many years ago and every now and again it filters down from catwalks to stores as a leading trend of the season. Spring and summer is the perfect time to mix and clash brights or play with tonal shades. If this is the first time you’re trying the trend, starting out with your shoes is the perfect option.

Take inspiration from the second of our Upper Street Masterclass posts where we look at just a few of the ways you can play with blocks of gorgeous colour – from ballet flats to the highest of platform courts, colour blocking will enable you to design a shoe with instant impact.

Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment
The beauty of our 3D Shoe Designer is the freedom it allows you to create your own individual designs and change the elements around if the finished shoe isn’t quite what you envisaged. Create as many designs as you need to feel confident with colour blocking, save them and scroll through your collection to see which shoes make the perfect statement. Go crazy and clash bold colours such as fuchsia leather and zesty tangerine with a peep toe platform court or add ultra purple satin and cinnamon suede into the equation for a platform sandal

Fuchsia tangerine platform peep toe Cinnamon, tangerine & purple platform sandal

Go Tonal With Texture
If you find clashing bright shades a little too scary, play with colours from the the same spectrum and add in textures for that extra special finish – we love the ocean inspired hues of these turquoise pointed courts with shimmering metallic teal snake panels. For the perfect daytime colour block heel, choose chocolate snake platform courts with a tangerine snake back and heel.

Turquoise teal pointed court, Chocolate tangerine snake platform court

Consult Your Closet
When designing a colour block shoe, take a look at all the shades you have hanging in your wardrobe and establish which are your favourites to maximise the wearability factor of your bespoke Upper Street design. If blues and greys are the predominant hue, then try a gladiator sandal in blue snakeskin and suede, adding a touch of bronze for contrast. Neutral girls will love these coral & tan leather d’Orsay pointed courts with coral fronts and black snake ankle strap.

Cobalt bronze gladiator sandal, Coral & tan leather pointed court

Diversify In Your Design
Step outside your comfort zone and try the same colour blocking design in a different shoe shape. If you’re a ballet flat girl by day then design a pair of statement pointed courts for evening using our extensive collection of snakeskin shades. Or turn your everyday shoes into something fabulous like these multi snakeskin panelled ballet flats or try a similar design using our new Limited Edition Snakeskin shades for SS12. Hurry though as they’re only available until August 2012.

Multi snake ballet flat, Python red & turquoise snakeskin pointed court

For more inspiration take a look at the colour section of our Design Guides or browse our extensive shoe gallery and don’t forget you can come and visit our Upper Street Studio in London. Whether you’d like to try shoes on before ordering, view our samples and material swatches or need help with designing your shoes, we’re help to help you.

To book a VIP appointment please email iloveshoes@upperstreet.com or call us on 0845 680 9365.

Upper Street – the made-to-order shoe label where you can design your own shoes and have them delivered right to your door.

Gucci catwalk image from: janetdolce

Whilst everyone here at Upper Street is a devout lover of beautiful heels, the practicalities of being women with incredibly busy lives means that more often than not, fashion has to be functional. This doesn’t mean abandoning our sense of style as we dash to the school run or run from meeting to meeting – the ballet flat is a versatile yet elegant alternative that can take us from office to evening in one sophisticated step.

After a year of research, Upper Street are incredibly proud to bring you what we believe is the perfect ballet flat. It has a beautifully feminine cut and low vamp that looks super flattering on the foot. It sits with a half inch stacked wooden heel, cushioned leather lining and leather sole to give your feet the little piece of luxury they deserve as they carry you through your busy day.

Leopard ballet flat

Whether you’re looking to create a totally unique shoe that will set your flats apart from the crowd or are simply after the perfect navy leather ballet flat that you can’t find in the shops, it’s all there for the making in our Shoe Design studio. Take a look at some of our designs below that are already proving popular and you’re sure to find a little inspiration to design one of your own…

Studded toe cap ballet flat

Add a tough edge to a classic design by introducing studs to your ballet flat. These sumptuous suede flats are lifted out of the ordinary by adding in contrasting black snake toe cap and counter. Simply add a sprinkle of studs when you reach the embellishment option stage in the shoe design process for a fierce, fashion forward flat. Design your studded ballet flats

Colour block patent ballet flat

We love adding a strap to our shoe designs – not only do they add in a unique touch but they’re perfect for extra security when running around as we go about our busy day. Bring in some bright colour blocking fun to your shoe collection with these navy, green and fuchsia patent leather flats with a Mary Jane strap. Design your pop colour ballet flat

Studded ankle strap ballet flat

For evening wear with style and comfort, step out and shimmer in beautiful jewel tones. These stunning ultra purple satin ballet flats have contrasting bronze piping and a thick ankle strap in black suede that we embellished with studs. If you require a touch of sparkle for your evening flat, adorn with a Swarovski jewel cluster or sprinkle the ankle strap with diamante trim instead. The options for opulence are endless. Design your evening wear ballet flat

Heart ballet flat

Show your love for your shoes and wear your heart on your ballet flat! Teal metallic leather combines with shocking pink and red metallic leather hearts to produce a truly unique design. With the choice of different materials and colours you can customise your ballet flat till your hearts content. Design your heart ballet flat

Triple strap suede ballet flats

Take a rich black suede ballet flat and give it a contemporary feel by adding triple straps in bronze and teal metallic leather and one in turquoise snakeskin. Try a similar design in tones of rich Autumn Berries for an on trend ballet flat to carry you through the season in style. Design your triple strap ballet flat

Whichever design you choose, we hope you love the new Upper Street ballet as much as we do – for more design inspiration including buckles and bows and animal prints, read our new Ballet Flat Design Guide. We’d love your feedback so feel free to leave a comment and tell us what you think of the new ballet flats or take part in our Facebook Style Clinic on Tuesday 8 November between 12.00 and 13.00. Upper Street co-founders Julia and Katy will be on hand to answer all your queries about how to style and design ballet flats.

We’re now open for personal appointments at our studio in London. Whether you’d like to try shoes on before ordering, view our samples and material swatches or need help with designing your shoes, we’re help to help you.

Upper Street shoes come in a huge range of sizes from the petite 33 (UK 1.5) to the generous 43 (UK 10) with 4 width fittings. We also offer free alterations to fit and we’re so confident that you’ll love your final design that we’ll refund you if you don’t!

To book an appointment in our London Studio, email iloveshoes@upperstreet.com or call us on 0845 680 9365.

If you can’t make it the studio but still want to see our full range of luxurious materials, visit our Upper Street Swatch Store.Whether you’d like to experience the richness of our suedes, feel the silken quality of our sumptuous Italian satins or visualise our glossy patents as a shoe, you can order as many swatches as you want!

Upper Street - the made-to-order luxury shoe label where you can design your own individual shoes and have them delivered right to your door.