When it comes to shoes, I must admit to being a little bit obsessed. I can often resist the urge to buy new clothes, or jewellery, or even gorgeous handbags, but resisting then urge to buy gorgeous shoes is another matter. If there is such a thing as a shoe-pie(bit of a play on a magpie there), or a Shoe-nista, or just a plain shoe fiend, that would definitely be a label to fit me.

So an opportunity to review shoes is one I will never turn down. Especially when the offer comes from one of my old favourite brands, with the chance to chose the shoes. Barratts has been a shoe stockist I have spent lots of time in over the years.  I was totally gutted when Barratts disappeared from the High Street, it was a favourite shoe haunt of mine for years, particularly the lovely big branch in Birmingham. However, the brand still survives online and the choice is as good as ever.

Barratts
Mary Jane Wedge Court Shoes

My choice from the extensive Barratts website were the Mary Jane Wedge Court shoe. As you can imagine from their name, these shoes combine the best elements of many different kind of shoes. The smartness of a court shoe with round toe and court shoe shape. The front strap details of the Mary Jane shoe, which makes them cute as a button in my eyes. And then there is the wedge heel which makes them as stylish, but twice as comfortable as a heeled court.

These are a simply gorgeous pair of shoes. The neutral beige colour means they are a perfect match for any outfit, and will look as great with chunky tights as they do with bare legs. I really liked the suede feel of them, a nice change from leather and patent wedges. Being a wedge, the shoes elongate the legs, but as previously mentioned, they are so much more comfortable than my traditional high heels, which makes them a good choice as a work shoe too.

I wore these shoes for the first time for the opening of the new Primark in West Bromwich (you can read that post here.) and I was surprised at how comfortable they were. However, I need to mention that I went a size up in these, choosing a six rather than a five, mainly because I am mostly comfortable in half sizes, a 5.5 being perfect for me. I would say if you wear a half size, or suffer from your feet swelling when they get hot, I would chose the next size up. But, all in all, a pretty perfect and practical pair of shoes.

With huge thanks to Kieron Casey and Barratts for the wonderful shoes.