Blue suede shoes

A great pair of shoes can be the starting point for your entire outfit… especially when they command attention in a bold hue, gravity-defying height, or strappy laces. This couldn’t be more true than when I received my second pair of shoes from the DSW Canada #StyleAndDeliver program, with the gorgeous blue lace up heels by Zigi Soho. I paired the bright cobalt shoes with a striped and floral print dress featuring blue flowers that are in the same tone as the sandals. I kept things simple with minimal accessories and a great black leather bag.

I’m wearing a striped floral print dress (similar dress here), blue lace up heels by Zigi Soho c/o DSW Canada, and an Alexander Wang Prisma backpack.

I wore this look for a night out to dinner after work. I actually wore this dress all day at work with black flats and a cardigan, and swapped them for these gravity-defying lace up beauties to amp up my look.

Lace up shoes are the biggest trend in footwear this summer. They’re definitely a sexy accessory and will reinvigorate an old standby piece. I’ve actually worn this same striped dress several times before, with a trench, and with silver sandals, but I love the modern edge of these bright blue lace up heels. The design is very sexy and draws attention to your legs. My tip for wearing lace up shoes is to make sure to tie the laces lower near the ankle and not high up the leg, as that will visually cut your legs short. If you look at the way professional ballerinas tie up their pointe shoes, you will see they are laced around at their ankle. This elongates the leg AND provides ankle support.

Growing up, I spent many hours in the ballet studio, and I love how these lace up styles this summer remind me of tying up a pair of satin pointe shoes. Just like a leotard and pointe shoes, these sandals definitely make the entire look!

Thank you to DSW Canada for sponsoring this post as part of their #StyleAndDeliver program.