Last year, you couldn’t scroll through any fashion magazine’s website without hitting the phrase “wrong shoe theory.” The term, coined by stylist Allison Bornstein, is used to describe the self-explanatory incongruous styling hack employed by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Ashley Olsen, and Katie Holmes. Now, over a year after it entered the zeitgeist, Emily Ratajkowski is testing out the trick herself.
Ratajkowski is among a sect of “wrong shoe” acolytes who spice up a quotidian outfit with an ugly shoe. (She’s in community with a lot of fashion industry folks here, not to mention Gwyneth Paltrow and Kylie Jenner.) In this case, she wore a perfectly inoffensive dog-walking look: a body-hugging eggplant-hued spaghetti strap tank top and sporty olive green drawstring pants. She added some flirty, femme accessories: a smattering of gold jewelry and black cat-eye Prada sunglasses. But while others would perhaps style the same outfit with ballet flats or maybe a pair of Sambas, EmRata is zigging where others zag.
The model and writer wore a pair of Brain Dead x Oakley slip-ons patterned with imitation python and pockets of purple-blue gel. Dubbed the “Team Flesh” silhouette, the shoe isn’t intended for anyone but fashion risk-takers. (Or guys who are a little too into indoor climbing.)
While she’s been a longtime supporter of sporty shoes, from the Adidas Sambas to Vans checkerboard slip-ons, Emily Ratajkowski is upping the ante by committing the summer to this freaky shoe. Yesterday, she wore it with an asymmetrical black off-the-shoulder tee, a slate gray miniskirt with contrast stitching, and a burgundy leather shoulder bag from Gimaguas lined with metallic studs. On other instances, she’s worn them with a simple tank and shorts, or a sexy, sheer white pointelle skirt set. Where this ugly shoe will go next is up to EmRata and EmRata alone.
