With the world still tilting on a slightly different axel, our closets have seemed to reorder themselves. The tailored pieces and dry-clean-only fabrics we used to reach for have been pushed to the back, with comfy, easy options moved up to take their place. Our shoe rotation has changed, too. These days we’re more likely to be in a buttery soft Demi or a slip-on Mule than a heel—but, to be honest, we’re missing some of our old heeled favorites.
Because there’s no reason a dinner at home for two or backyard cocktails shouldn’t be an occasion to dress up, we asked our friend Venita Aspen—a multi-hyphenate tastemaker, producer, and podcast host based in Charleston—to show us how she’s wearing The Uptown Sandal right now.
[THE UPTOWN SANDAL IN ALMOND SUEDE, SHOP HERE]
“I never went through the leggings-and-a-t-shirt stage. During the pandemic, I’ve always made it a point to get dressed up because that was the only thing that’d get me out of the pandemic blues. Everything’s up in the air, and you don’t know anything, but I do know if I get up, get dressed, and put on a good heel, I feel so much better, like I have my life together in some way, shape, or form,” she told us.
Here, the three ways she’s been styling her Margaux heels recently.
1. WITH JEANS AND A TEE
“If I do wear something that’s more relaxed, I still find a way to dressed it up with a fun shoe. A tee and jeans is my WFH go-to, so dressing it up with The Uptown Sandal makes it feel a little more elevated.”
2. WITH A FLIRTY DRESS
“I’d wear this when I have people in the backyard at a socially distanced rendezvous. I’ve done a lot of that—I’ll have a friend or two over, get dressed up, and set the picnic table like we were at a fancy restaurant.
“A monochromatic look is easy for me to throw on and get out the door because people see the color, not necessarily the full outfit, first.”
3. WITH A REIMAGINED BUTTON-UP
“I think I’d wear this to go on a walk with one of my girlfriends in Hampden Park because it’s an excuse to get dressed up. It looks like I’m doing a lot, but I’m not because I’m just wearing an oversized men’s shirt and a pair of heels. With something like this you just have to play because you never know what it looks like until you try it. Last year I would’ve belted this because I wouldn’t have wanted to look like the shirt was swallowing me, but this year I don’t care.”
Shop all six colors of The Uptown Sandal here.
Photos by Jesse Volk and Kirk Robert