fashiontern, ha, I don't think I've ever thought of myself as much of a darling but I did grow up, in part, South of the Mason-Dixon line so if the shoe fits (pun intended)...
Ok, some thoughts. They are not very linear, sorry about that.
I do think that metallic flats/loafers would work great with the skinnies outfit that you posted yesterday. For example the gold loafers that are the first find in Aida's post. You could just swap those in and change nothing else and it would just bring a little bit of lightness/lift to the outfit.
To be clear, I don't think there was anything wrong with the outfit you posted yesterday -- it's just another option; sometimes you might be in the mood for a dark shoe, sometimes a lighter shoe.
In fact, Aida's metallic loafers could probably sub in for your dark patterned loafers in almost any outfit. I get that you are very happy wearing the dark loafers so I am not trying to talk you out of those! But, if those have become a workhorse for you it may be useful to duplicate the style in a different colorway. (I actually had to click through both your find and Aida's to see that they weren't actually the same shoe -- the shapes look VERY similar to my eye!)
If you wanted to try out the look I think the loafer in your 3rd picture above might give the closest approximation. I do think a metallic adds a bit more zing than a matte light shoe, and looks more current.
I hear what you are saying about wanting to toughen up the look. A metallic flat/loafer does often lend a "pretty" element to an outfit. (What's interesting to me is that the block-heel loafers that you started this thread with read as very "ladylike" to me, so it might be worth thinking more about what appealed to you about them.) Maybe a darker metallic like copper, or some stud detailing, would have that effect.
Would metallic loafers look *better* than the metallic boots in your skinnies outfit? I don't know. I think the boots would probably work just fine. I am not sure about their appropriateness for your current climate. BUT, my climate is very different, and I am having a bit of trouble shifting my thinking from how I wear ankle boots in my climate to how you might do so in yours. (Like genuinely, I am realizing: Oh, my assumptions about when/how one wears ankle boots may not be appropriate here.)
I do worry that we are talking you out of something that makes your heart sing (the metallic booties) and talking you in to something that you never wanted in the first place (metallic flats/loafers) which doesn't sit great with me.
How exciting that your longed-for move may actually be on the horizon!
