They were very disappointing. I spent hours looking at shoes but was not inspired. Styling was for the most part boring, repetitive and not foot-friendly. Few interesting design details, little flair and not enough variety. The only shoe brands that tickled my fancy were actually American. More detailed observations…

• 60% of all shoes were cream or white. I enjoyed this aspect because cream is my favourite colour for footwear. I love how they contrast against a dark pair of jeans. It’s simply delicious.
• Grey, black, metallic and red were the next hottest footwear colours. I was surprised to see huge volumes of grey patent sandals and ballet flats because they’re not popular in America. But red shoes are popular in Europe and regarded a basic. You can’t go wrong with a pair of red shoes.
• Gladiator sandals were the “it” strappy shoe. I’m talking major Roman gladiator styling that’s fairly simplistic and wraps around the ankle.
• Huge assortment of wearable heel heights. Unlike America, one to two inch heeled shoes were widely available. Soaring heel heights were there, but not the norm. Too bad the styles weren’t so fab.
• Few brightly coloured shoes. All brights were represented but they were in the minority (except for red).
• Loads of plain mary jane, round-toed, snip-toed and almond-toed ballet flats. Nauseatingly so. No bells and whistles or interesting strap and buckle treatment.
• Loads of plain, narrow heeled, pointy-toed pumps. This was the “it” heel. So ‘80’s. I personally prefer the look and stability of chunky heels and they were few and far between.
• Few wedges, few peep-toes and no espadrilles.
• Huge wall displays of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers. Each display offered a selection of at least five shades of grey.
• No animal prints other than cream and grey snakeskin. I like cream snakeskin shoes, but couldn’t find a pair for my fussy feet.
• Patent, patent and more patent. We can safely assume that this fashion trend is here to stay.

Be grateful if you live in America and love shoes, because you’re having a better footwear season. There is a greater variety for foot types, style preferences, budgets and fashion personas.

The last time I took pictures of merchandise in Paris I was chased down the street with a broomstick (occupational hazards of being a fashion buyer). So no real pictures of Parisian peds to share, but hopefully the above styles will give you an idea. Gladiators, converse sneakers, pointy-toe pumps and almond-tow flats. Nothing to write home about.