High heel Mary Janes are a great option for professional women who want to add a touch of playfulness to their corporate wardrobe. These shoes work on opposites: on the one hand the rounded toe and the ankle strap are very proper and school-girl like, but on the other hand tall heels signal definite grown-up territory. A case of double identity, if you will. All in all, quite sexy. A pair of good high heel Mary Janes would do a very nice job softening the stereotypical hard-nosed look that many women strive for in order to be taken seriously in the corporate world.
I like to refer to these glamorous “Jarilla” Mary Janes by Pura López as the “velvet seduction“. Being a classical formal dress material, velvet is both sensuous and respectable looking. When we come to look at the shoes closely, the whole concept of these high heel Mary Janes revolves around the idea of softness. The four inch high block heel is covered in suede; its shape, while not bulky, is light years away from the sharpness of a stiletto heel. The narrow ankle strap is made of pliable glossy black leather (which contrasts nicely with the matte velvety exterior).
It is interesting that the burgundy version is made out of suede, not velvet. I don’t think that this has to do with a shortage of burgundy-colored velvet. I venture to guess that this was a deliberate call. Red velvet brings up very strong associations. They may not have been what the designers were going for. As a formal high heeled shoes designer, Pura López abides by her own strict rules of decorum. And so it should be, especially if one of your regular customers is a queen.
