You’ve heard of the “wrong-shoe theory”—the nonchalant outfit shortcut proffered by stylist Allison Bornstein, which sees beachy flats teamed with tailoring, and buckled biker boots mis-matched with tennis dresses—but what about when the shoe itself is wrong?
I’m talking about the return of the peep-toe, the Frankenstein of footwear design, which is back in all its podal glory this autumn thanks to Miuccia Prada and the dishevelled kink of Miu Miu’s brilliant fall 2023 show. This collection, which closed Paris Fashion Week back in March, offered a tongue-in-cheek counterpoint to the exhausting perfectionism of the “clean girl” aesthetic. The hair was intentionally off, unruly, seemingly rushed… the functional white knickers beneath the fancy knickers were visible, as was a slither of toe poking out from a pair of corporate beige pumps. Just a slither, but enough to spark hushed whispers of “ew-but-I-kinda-like-it” on the front row. This is, after all, the same house that brought us summer’s ultra-divisive flip flop boot – a wrong-right silhouette I confess I like almost as much as Victoria Beckham does – and 2022’s ubiquitous ballet slipper, which is continuing to inspire countless replicas.
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Why, then, does the Internet love to raise its eyebrows over a glimpse of toe? Beats me. Google isn’t shy about telling us that foot fetishism is the UK’s most-common fetish, which begs the question: are we not excited, titillated even, to see more toes on the streets of our towns and cities? Maybe it’s that toes have an image problem, simply by virtue of the fact that they’re extremely unphotogenic. Beyond a pedicure and a splash of polish, feet can’t “glow-up”. Feet are feet: functional, animal-like, blistered, and forgotten. Back in the early spring, I snapped a close-up of mine in Miu Miu’s exposed-toe boots. And then zoomed in to discover the creatures that flourish 4,000 metres under the sea which pass as my “toes”. (It was February and I hadn’t laid eyes on them since October the preceding year.) Seeing them peer out of a boot (of all things), which should offer the consolation of toe concealment, will come as a surprise. But, this is fashion in 2023: along with runaway TikTok trends named after fruit, we’re here to keep you on your toes.
Shop our peep-toe picks, below.
