Hate Boring Evening Shoes? SJP Can Help You Out

We have Sarah Jessica Parker to thank for plenty of fond sole memories — from the first time we ever considered whispering "hello, lover" to a pair of beautiful heels to the time we wore a totally impractical pair of shoes to run errands, just because. And, for her arrival on the red carpet at last night's New York City Ballet fall gala, she once again inspired us to rethink the convention of footwear. More specifically, the evening kind.

As one of the chairwomen of last night's event, Parker was not only repping the Lincoln Center establishment, but also an evening of fashion collaborators who put the graceful ballerinas in silhouettes that might not seem conducive to twirling, leaping, and floating through the air (which they did). Among the superstar partners were Thom Browne, Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, and Mary Katrantzou, who supplied Parker's dress for the event, plucked from the fall '14 runway. To keep with the theme of the unexpected and the somewhat irreverent, SJP chose a knee-high boot (from her namesake collection, no less) to pair beneath her black-tie ensemble. And, in a sea of evening pumps and high-heeled sandals, once again, the petite style muse and dance fan stood out from the crowd.

While the sartorial choice might have been different from those of her fellow gala-goers (including this writer), the tall, pointed-toe, cut-out design didn't stick out in a sore thumb sort of way. Rather, they peeked out from beneath her long-sleeved, pleated-skirt dress, and even subtly print-clashed with Katrantzou's famously elaborate patterns.

Sure, the look is a bit kookier than your classic red-carpet ensemble, but for those who always found basic cocktail footwear a bore, consider this an invite to switch things up.