This Controversial Vintage Shoe Style Is Making A Comeback

If there's anything that indie accessories label Mansur Gavriel does really well, it's translating classic, timeless shapes for a modern audience. We think of its wares as shapes that fall into "Thrift Store Score of a Lifetime" category — its minimalist bucket bags, slides, and sandals are the perfect versions of what you'd likely spend decades hunting for on eBay, but of course they come without the mysterious stains. Typically, we're buying whatever Mansur Gavriel is selling, but its newest shoe shape is giving us a sort of unsettled feeling we don't expect from the brand.

The classic heel is the exact same shape as those '80s-by-way-of-1950s-secretary shoes you're used to seeing in the back of your parents' shoe rack, or in a dusty corner at certain thrift stores. These shoes always come with a triangular cone heel, a pointed vamp, and a sharp almond toe, and are always more uncomfortable than they look. Sometimes, they come with metallic patches and random wooden beads. Sometimes, they come with a strangely squishy sole and a plasticky leather that cracks rather than bends. It's a shoe style that inspires polemic reactions — and Refinery29 Fashion (a group who typically falls hard for most underdog shoe styles) is a team divided. Click through to see all the shapes and colorways this shoe style takes on in Mansur Gavriel fall '16 collection, and let us know what you think.