The Tantalizingly Pretty Shoe Trend Fashion People Are Losing It Over This Fall
After fashion month, it's pretty much commonplace that everything floating around the style side of Instagram and TikTok is dangerously pretty. From handbags to jewelry items to dresses, the content that came out of September's shows and street style is designed to tantalize and make you want to buy things. It's as simple as that. One thing that no fashion person I've met is capable of resisting at the moment is a pair of kitten-heel pumps à la Prada (yes, I'm talking about the Bunny Floras), The Row, and more.
If you somehow haven't noticed them yet, go back through a few of your favorite fashion people's Instagram feeds from the last—I don't know—three months. I guarantee you'll spot at least one pair of one-inch-tall pumps of some form, whether it's a super-classic pair like the ones women in the '50s and '60s wore with circle skirts and matching opera coats (or was that only in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?) or modern slingbacks with various embellishments, like tiny crystals, bite-size buckles, and toe rings. Whatever you find, I already know it'll be gorgeous and impossible to avoid buying. That's practically a given when it comes to this trend.
Below, shop the shoe style that has every person in fashion searching for whatever's left in stock in their size.
There's just something so retro and chic about wearing kitten heels and stockings, and yes, I'm talking about fishnet stockings.
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Nothing says "I'm rich" like a pair of satin shoes purchased right before winter.
Prada's Bunny Flora heels are arguably 2023's most talked-about, hard-to-find, and photographed shoes. Trust me—I went to four different Prada locations between Italy and Switzerland and couldn't find a single pair in my size.
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Luckily, Nordstrom came through, and I snagged one of the last pairs when I returned to the States.
The internet isn't talking about these metal-hardware pumps from COS.
Or these $56 Charles & Keith strappy slingbacks.
The key to dressing up a very casual outfit is adding a sleek handbag, big earrings, and kitten-heel pumps.
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I'm between this color and the black pair, but I'm leaning toward these. What do you think?
I love heels you can slide on without having to bend down and wrinkle your outfit to buckle.
It's true—Kendall Jenner and her kitten heels in Paris fully influenced me.
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I usually don't love a chunkier heel, but something about this one just feels so Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy to me.
These croc pumps in the shade that took over the spring/summer 2024 runways look far more expensive than they are.
Apologies for the dramatics, but the fact that I didn't secure a pair of these The Row pumps when they were in stock will haunt me for the rest of my life.
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Martiniano's Glove shoes of all varieties and heel heights deserve 1000% more hype than they get online. I've had a pair of the flats since my sophomore year of college and continue to wear them regularly to this day. The pumps are next.
These completely sold out, but thankfully, Nordstrom knew what we wanted and brought them back for fall. Thank you, Nordy.
I've never wanted to copy and paste a groutfit more than I do this one thanks in large part to the gray Prada pumps Eva Chen's wearing here.
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Zara has a similar pair that won't stay in stock for long. Quote me on that.
I swear all of the fashion people—whether they're in Paris, NYC, L.A., or London—are wearing kitten heels this fall.
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Ferragamo is on a serious roll right now. Maximilian Davis, you are a genius.
Our editorial director Lauren bought these in Milan, and I've been living in a state of constant jealousy ever since.
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Tory Burch's line of pierced shoes made it to Lyst's Q3 2023 Hottest Products Index with a number six spot.
Nothing says fall night out like a pair of sheer tights and pointed-toe pumps. Add a floor-sweeping wool coat and you've hit the fashion trifecta.
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Nothing says fall like a pair of suede heels. Don't even try to argue with me.
Eliza Huber is a New York City–based fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and celebrity style. She joined Who What Wear in 2021 after almost four years on the fashion editorial team at Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Iowa. She has since launched two monthly columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled the likes of Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, and Sabrina Carpenter for WWW's monthly cover features; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top trends from fashion month, season after season. Eliza now lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, running in Central Park, and scouring eBay for '90s Prada and '80s Yves Saint Laurent.
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