Randa Spring Summer 2011 Collection

Although it’s just hit Autumn here in Australia, elsewhere in the world March 1 marked the first day of Spring! Time to go checking what the new trends are, and what better to check out than shoe trends in Japan?

Randa is one of my fave Japanese shoe stores and they’ve released their Spring Summer 2011 collection, “Natural and Luxury“.

Obviously very on board with the 70’s theme seen everywhere at the moment, I’m pleased to see that chunky platforms are featured heavily, yet with a girly, feminine twist.

 Not the clodhoppers from the 70’s as such, here the chunkiness of the platform is offset by delicate flower cutouts.  Heels are either wooden or covered in leather.

As the word “natural” suggests, the colour theme is overwhelmingly taupe, sand and beige. Not my favourites, as I tend to go for black or bright colours, yet I can see how versatile these will be with many outfits in the 70’s vibe.

There is embellishment galore, with beading in evidence, my favourite pair with hidden/covered platform seen below. 

Even the beaded Winter models that used to be in black, have been introduced in the new pastels: pink, cream and dove grey.

Or for those who prefer closed toes:

Others have embellishment by way of brass detailing and silk scarves, or tribal design inserts (love these!):

There ARE pops of colour, for those like me who love it, as in these snakeskin print shoes which each have a mauve underside, or the yellow boots with twisted leather detailing:

There’s even a version of the Jeffrey Campbell “Lita”, so popular has this style proved with bloggers and models alike:

The “real deal” below

There are also dainty beaded flats and flower embellished shoes, as well as bright coloured pumps and espadrille type wedges with rope heels, but why not hop on over to the Randa webstore and check them all out for yourself?

They are also available at the Rakuten website: New Arrivals, Re-arrivals, Bootees. And the good news is, you can get items shipped internationally, even if some stores on Rakuten wouldn’t normally ship to your country.  Tenso.com will buy it for you, package multiple items together if you buy several, and send them onto you – all you need is Paypal. Check out the Tenso buying guide here. There is also the Buy Japanese shopping service, but they are not accepting new orders just at the moment – keep it bookmarked for later.

Oh, I just know I’m gonna be in agony deciding what shoes to buy over there, yet again, this season. Which are your faves?