For a while there, it seemed that trainers were going to take over the world. Certainly they made good headway; after consolidating their original strongholds - playgrounds, nightclubs, cyber-cafes, the high street - trainers made steady moves on the ground previously held by the court shoe or the wedgy sandal. They cropped up in offices teamed with a sharp trouser suit; they were put with floral dresses to make a cute summer outfit; they made a firm alliance with the cargo pant and appeared everywhere.
But suddenly and silently, a shoe revolution is taking place. Where once day-glo stripes, air pockets, swooshes and ergonomics held sway, now women are talking in terms of kitten heels, patent bows, snakeskin mules and floral silk. Yes, indeed; pretty shoes are the new trainers. The signs of fatigue from sensible shoes were all there. In January of this year Doc Marten, that stalwart manufacturer of sensible shoes once worn by everyone from the Pope to Naomi Campbell, announced that it was closing its Northampton factory. Now Buffalo, a store beloved by the trainer generation, reckons that, whereas last year some 80 per cent of sales were trainers, that figure is now 50 per cent, with the other 50 per cent being made up by shoes.
"That's certainly the case in our London stores - and although we're usually some eight months behind, it's getting that way here," says Neil MacCarthy, owner of Dublin's Buffalo shop. "People are all trainered out. They've done platform, glitter, Nike whatever, and now they're looking for something different."
But if we're really looking for a fashion scapegoat to explain why we just have to blow our wage packets on dainty shoes, we should really blame Miuccia Prada. When the Italian fashion diva decided that the look for this season and next was ladylike - all pussycat bows, pleated skirts and chiffon blouses - she made a decision that was to have a knock-on effect through fashion. Though there aren't many of us who decided to adopt the look hook, line and sinker, we can't help but be drawn in by high heels, little bows, dots, gingham and flowers. Trainers might be comfortable, trendy and suited to the Internet age but, hell, they're hardly glamorous.
"People are coming into our shop and saying `thank God, at last something feminine and elegant'. They're delighted that they don't have to go to London or Paris to find elegant shoes any more," says Lia Photiades of Danos in the Powerscourt Shopping Centre. A treasure trove of heels, slingbacks and mules in floral prints, slippery silks and powdery suedes, Danos was opened just six weeks ago by Owen Madden and Lia and Paola Photiades, the team behind the Cork and Dublin jewellery shops, Equinox.
"Irish women are very well dressed now, very elegant," says Photiades, herself a soignee Cypriot. "They bring in their dresses for weddings, parties and so on, and they've got good taste, but now they want the shoes and handbags to go with them." Photiades and her team are sole agents for the Greek label Danos, and do a comprehensive range by Kalliste as well as bags by Lancel and Coccinelle.
"It's the idea of dressing that French and Italian women have had for years," says Sarah Smith, one of the women behind another groovy new shoe shop, Roman Smith on Temple Bar's Crow Street. "They concentrate on hair, skin, handbags and shoes. Once you have that right you can wear a black T-shirt from Penney's and a pair of black pants from Kookai all summer long and just change your accessories." She and her business partner Catherine Fitzgerald (the name of the shop is made up of Smith's surname and Catherine's young son's name) went hunting for exactly the kind of shoes they couldn't find themselves.
The result is a collection of gingham slingbacks by Marc Jacobs, little bejewelled leopardskin mules, wearable but delicate LK Bennett kitten heels and pink and blue silk mules embroidered with tropical flowers by Ernesto Esposito, all displayed like treasures in perspex cube shelves. "The 1940s are really in this year - it's all kitten heels and slingbacks. Very Audrey Hepburn," murmurs Smith approvingly. Indeed, the only problem she and Fitzgerald had was tracking down enough high heels to please the Irish woman who just can't get enough height. It's a trend also noted by Photiades; "I notice that they just love high heels. They are already tall and still they want heels."
It's not just the boutiques that are making the switch to delicate shoes, either. If you're looking for a pair of cute kitten heels on a budget you should also check out the high street - both Oasis and River Island do very cute colourful shoes in the summer, while Marks & Spencer is doing a range of funky mules bedecked with flowers and butterflies, and denim kitten heels. Over at Clerys, take a look at the Jane Shilton Shoes range for orange patent courts, raffia mules and dainty English floral fabrics. There's plenty of pretty shoes about this summer, so you've no excuse not to have feminine feet. Just don't get carried away and go jogging in stilettos.
