White shoes a hot ticket

Toss the practical earth-tone shoes into the back of the closet. It’s summer, and every fashion traditionalist will tell you that it is officially white shoe season.

And this year, white shoes have the added boon of actually being in style. The trend began, unofficially of course, sometime last year and picked up sartorial steam when Sarah Jessica Parker donned snow-white pumps for several episodes of Sex and the City. This spring, shoe stores are blossoming with white-hot slides, sandals and slingbacks of all sorts and styles.

A few practical tips for those inclined toward these somewhat impractical foot fashions: Balance your white shoes with clothing that is equally light and bright. The eye tends to be drawn toward light, and if you pair white shoes with a navy suit, people may tend to stare at your glaring feet.

Also, to avoid a nurselike look, shoot for shoes that have 2003 touches, such as beading, metal accents, shell and stone ornamentation or lace. Cork, wood, rubber and rubber-that-looks-like-wood heels add a color contrast and will save you from a completely retro, hello-Dinah-Shore appearance.