Whatever your size, shoes are sure to give you a lift. Some serious collectors talk to Deirdre McQuillan.
RÉACHBHA FITZGERALD
Third-year student of history and politics at TCD
FitzGerald reckons she must have at least 30 to 40 pairs of shoes, kept in two wardrobes, one at home in Rathgar, the other in her rooms in Trinity. Her latest and favourite pair are green leather boots "very high and very hard to walk in" from Miss Sixty, which were a surprise Christmas present from her mother, the artist Mary FitzGerald. She tends to get shoes as presents. For her 20th birthday, last December, she received three pairs, including black velvet cocktail shoes with bows from her grandfather, Garret, though she reckons the former Taoiseach didn't go into Pia Bang himself to buy them. "He had a little help from my mum."
She'd never been seen out in trainers, and wears them only when she's running. "I am much more of a formal shoe person," she says, her only concession to flats being ballerina pumps, currently very much in vogue. For this year's Trinity Ball, she wore flats rather than her favourite stilettos "because I have learned from hard experience that you have to, in your cocktail dress, with all those cobbles."
Her passion for shoes started early; she remembers vividly a pair of jigsaw panel shoes belonging to a family friend, and begged her to leave them to her in her will. "I called them the cock-cock shoes because of the sound they made when worn." Even though they don't share the same taste in footwear, she loves shopping with her mother, whose shoes tend to be primarily about comfort. Clothes shops with shoes, such as Oasis, Office and Zara are preferred destinations, though she lusted last season after a pair of stack-heeled loafers by YSL that cost an unattainable €595. "My budget does not stretch to designer shoes." Admitting that she is a bit of a fashion magazine junkie, she's always on the lookout for something new. "I have shoes in all colours: black, green, red, gold and silver."
TRACEY TUCKER,
Buyer for Costume, in Castle Market, Dublin 2
Given that she buys for Costume and wears the clothes the shop sells, Tracey Tucker's only indulgence, she says, is buying shoes for herself. Her most recent purchase was a pair of Marc Jacobs wedges from Cherche Midi. "I am a size 39, which is the most common shoe size, so I never get a bargain in the sales, except for the ugly ones nobody wants." One exception, however, was a pair of tapestry shoes with gold snakeskin heels from Fendi. In Paris, she heads straight for the shoe departments in Le Bon Marché and to Printemps, or to the Rue de Grenelle; in New York it's Bergdorf Goodman and Jeffrey. The most she ever paid for a pair of shoes was €500 "for a pair of green Prada high heels, but I never wore them".
Irish people buy shoes to go with an outfit, she maintains, whereas she buys them "because I love them, and then figure out what to wear with them. My sister Leigh is the same; she is getting married in four weeks and has no dress, but she has the shoes, yellow leather platforms by Barbara Bui, bought in Paris." They both love Barbara Bui shoes. "Everyone's favourite pair of shoes are the ones most recently purchased, or about to be purchased."
She has run out of space for her shoe collection, which is piled high in boxes beside a wardrobe. "I have 12 pairs of Converse, in every colour, including a pair with skulls all over them." She admits to loving every kind of shoe except plain ones - the only plain pair she has are by Alexander McQueen, and are a bit hoofy, with curvy heels that frighten her mother. Her sole pair of Manolos were won in a sponsored event, and are blue fish-skin with a little kitten heel. "And I don't wear them - they are so uncomfortable to wear," she says, dismissing the designer's claim to the contrary.
She is fond of Marc Jacobs flats, and her current favourites are sparkly ones. Other favourites include a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes "as white as snow, but when do you get to wear white shoes?"
"I think women like shoes because it doesn't matter if you're having a bad day, your favourite shoes will always give you a lift. Besides, feet don't get fat."
SIMONE ROCHA
Second-year fashion student, NCAD
Simone Rocha must be one of the few people in the country who can honestly say that she wears both her father's and her mother's shoes as well as her own. She shares the same shoe size as her mother, and occasionally gets shoes from her father's seasonal collections. "I remember dressing up in my mum's shoes when I was a child. Recently, she's more reluctant to lend them, maybe because she doesn't get them back in the same condition. I love high heels, but I have one pair of Puma runners which I have worn for the past four years. I look for something individual when I go shopping, and I love chunky shoes. I am not into fiddly things."
A person of very definite tastes, Rocha prefers wedges and platforms which are relatively comfortable. "My favourites at the moment are a pair of canvas shoes by Miu Miu with a big jewel on them, which I bought in London. I buy a lot in Marc Jacobs or Browns Focus in London, which is my favourite place. I also love second-hand shoes and buy from Harlequin and from Jenny Vander. Sometimes I spend a fiver and sometimes an unnecessary amount," she admits.
"My favourite pair of my mother's is some old black Prada wedges. I wear Dad's shoes too, there's always a pair of size fives, although it is always a challenge trying to get them. I think women like shoes so much because they make you feel so feminine and ladylike, and if you are short it always helps."
ANITA HEGARTY,
TV presenter and head of personal shopping at Harvey Nichols, Dublin
Her first love affair was with her Holy Communion shoes. "They were tiny white pumps with a satin ribbon and tied with a red satin bow. My mother bought them in Cash's of Cork. I had them for years." A compulsive shoe buyer, Hegarty has them in all colours, though she describes her dress style as classic. "But when it comes to shoes, I believe that they make an outfit."
She has an "amazing" pair of Wellingtons she bought in Amsterdam, where her mother lives, and where she occasionally goes on a shopping spree. Her three best buys are purple slingbacks with high, purple heels, by Lorna Bri, Roberto Vianni black shoes bought in Marbella ("appalling, but funny"), and the mad green Wellington boots with green circles on them.
How many pairs of shoes does she own? "Oh God, I couldn't begin to count. One whole part of my wardrobe is dedicated to boxes of shoes, and underneath the bed is dedicated to boxes of boots. All I do is buy shoes and boots, and the sad thing is that I don't always wear them."
The most she ever spent on a pair of shoes was €640, for a classic cream and black patent and linen shoe which she wore to her son's First Communion. She has bought an adorable pair of bamboo shoes tied with a scarf, from Guiseppi Zanotti, and currently has her eyes on a pair of "gorgeous, green" Lanvin shoes costing €569. "I am working to pay for my shoe collection. There are times when I take them all out and wear them around the bedroom."
SHARON BLANKSON
Stylist. Works with musicians such as PJ Harvey, Andrea Corr and U2
Because she tours with U2, Blankson is constantly on the move. "I am on my feet a lot, travelling from airports, to venues, to hotels, and my Heidi Cloon Birkenstocks, all jewels and studs, get me through thick and thin. And they look good with socks and jeans."
She says that once a pair "registers on my brain, that's it. I have to have them." Blankson's passion for shoes was inherited from her mother. "Looking at her 1960s stilettos must have had a huge impact on me because I tend to look for glamorous shoes. My whole life is basically about scouring shops and markets for things, and when I see something I like, I buy on the spot. I am not brand-conscious, but I do like Chanel shoes. I remember at a dinner in France sitting beside the photographer, Helmut Newton, and wearing a pair of Chanel shoes with mad birdcage heels. He looked at my feet and told me that he had just photographed them for Vogue and Anna Wintour."
Though she loves all her shoes, a pair by Emilio Pucci with disco balls on the front and lots of colour, is a particular favourite. "I also have flats by Alaia, black with silver stud, that I bought in Los Angeles. I find New York and Los Angeles the best places to buy shoes, but so, too, is Brown Thomas. I am a 40 or size seven and I like buying in the sales. I have no idea how many pairs I have, and my mother would kill me if she knew how much I have spent on Chanel shoes."
"I try to keep my shoes in boxes, both here and in London, and I want to be one of those who have polaroids on each pair, but it is not in my personality. I think it's a bit anally retentive. Mine are all around the floor in boxes."
As one who notices what others wear all the time, she believes that shoes are essentially flights of fancy that can change an outfit easily. "They can pull an outfit together. They can be distractions, nice distractions. I have just come back from Argentina and was mesmerised by the tango dancers and the way in which their shoes enhanced the dance."