Angie is the Skylar reflective oxford queen, so perhaps she will weigh in later. But many of you fabbers have light- colored footwear this season.

I was not remotely interested in these to begin with because 1) I wear mostly dark pants including black and 2) I’m brunette so light footwear doesn’t really bookend.

After many oxford misses, I went to a local dept store to re-try some of the Cole Haans for fit and color. Again, had nixed the light grays offered and did not want the neon soles. Tried the Skylar in a size too big just for fun and still said, too light for me. This even though they were on sale elsewhere (Nordies). But the CH fit is quite good for a pretty serious workday shoe in several of their styles and TTS. Also the comparison of several styles proved to me I like the dark sole better than the neon sole—no one would care if I wore lemon or pink soled-oxfords but it is not a goal for work.

Then I began to wonder if I were missing an opportunity and should at least try the Skylars at home and make a final decision—maybe it would just be a clear “no”.

Here are some results and my issues: One minute I worry they could look clownish, since they stand out so much, and the next minute, could look fashionably sporty-refined for my purposes. My eye is just not used to light footwear with dark trousers. Very light footwear at work is NOT a real style goal, nor are total metallics like true silver, so I’d be trying to think whether these are somehow right for other reasons—saved by some elements of the black soles, overlap perhaps with sport shoe in a good way, meaning, something different about “reflective” vs. metallic, and that the message is serious foot comfort for hard work. The sole is rubbery which is actually better for busy workdays than the hard leather clacky sole of some very nice Italian oxfords. Also not shown is the ubiquitous white coat, which may mitigate the shock of light footwear somewhat.

I’ve tried to show “worst case scenario’s with my FFBO’s, using several somewhat overly-wide trousers that I’m still wearing. Of course the shoes look much more modern with a tapered pant or ankle pant, but I don’t have much of that for work, now. I have shown tops that include some gray,white or cream, and jewelry, to "bookend" a bit

So to be really useful, they probably should work right away, with outfits something like this, including several colors shown and not just black. Then doing outfits with jeans, white jeans, track pants or some new tapered pants would be gravy. (not shown are 2 straighter-leg trousers, at the tailor). Also, ideally they should not be “dated” for about a year--say wearing into next spring—beyond that would not be a problem at this price point if I wear them to work regularly.

The final issue is that I began to realize CH has made a LOT of other colors in their oxfords, even the Skylar style, just not available now, and so I could wait and see what comes out, and skip summer.

1) AT black trousers with cardi 2) BR sweater 3) olive-y trouser 4) taupe colors 5) WHBM tweedy flare 6) skinny pant 7)Gray bootcut