TRADING LACES

As you can tell from some of my posts, I LOVE shoes.  I also love color.  So when I’m able to combine the two I love it even more.  While I own and wear several of the more traditional styles of shoes, I also own some colorful variations of them.  

The “twist” in my blog description, eludes to my love of color and how that plays out in my wardrobe.  My shoes are just one of the ways I like to play with color, but even there I like to shake it up a little by trading out the laces.  Trading out laces is the best way to give a pair of shoes a fresh look.  It’s inexpensive, can be done to match different outfits, and is just plain fun.

Here are just a few examples of how I’ve completely altered the look of my shoes just by trading out the laces.  Pictured above are two pairs of Calvin Klein suede shoes (actually the same style shoe) in mustard yellow and red.  Both came with white laces which I liked for summer.  White is always the best way to lighten up the look of an outfit.  As summer started to wind down, I traded out the white laces in the yellow shoes for sage green laces.  The two colors compliment each other and the look extended the shoes into early fall.  With the red shoes I traded out the white laces for navy which also extended their wear well into fall.  The white laces would seem out of place going into September and October, but the sage green and navy laces work perfect.

In the second photo I’ve done a similar thing with the rust colored suede shoes from Bass.  They came with laces that matched but I traded them out immediately for the forrest green laces because I like how the rust color really enhances them.  I have worn the shoes with the rust laces a couple times but I much prefer the green.  The second pair featured above are contemporary saddle shoes from Nordstrom’s in powder blue with a pink saddle.  These shoes came with navy laces which I really didn’t like and felt gave the shoes a “flat” look.  I immediately traded them out for the lavender laces you see on the right.  Pink and lavender have become one of my favorite color combinations and I love the way it plays out in the shoes.  The lavender laces really pop against the the pink and blue and gives the shoes a fresher look and feel.  I am very happy with the result.

Finally, just as an added bonus, in this last photo I have added black laces to the rust shoes.  I first did this near Halloween, but I liked the look so much that I am using it to extend the shoes well into November.  This is an especially good look when paired with black jeans.

So there you have it.  Just a few examples of how you can completely change the look of an outfit, simply by changing the laces in your shoes.  This trick is easy, simple and very inexpensive, plus it’s a lot of fun.  So take a look at your own shoes, and see how this idea might work for you.  Above all, relax, enjoy yourself, and have a good time with it.