Bruno Magli leather shoes £3.99 PDSA
One of my favourite bloggers, Char from Charity Shop Gold, recently posted about buying shoes from charity shops. It's a funny one; I've got friends who look at me aghast when I tell them my shoes are from the chazza, but then some people don't care at all! I'm of the latter camp; it doesn't fuss me if shoes are second hand, although I have a 'used limit' for example if they are worn so you can see foot marks in them (ugh!) I would steer clear and I wouldn't buy trainers particularly from a chazza unless nearly new (potential for stinkiness: high) but otherwise, I think why not?
Like Char, I am a half size and so struggle to find shoes anywhere (not that you'd know it by the size of my shoe collection!) and ideally a 36.5 is my perfect fitting size. As very few places on the high street have this size (I'm not sure many places even offer a half size?) I have increasingly found that my most comfortable shoes have been second hand ones that I've managed to find in my correct shoe size. That said, vintage shoes, like vintage clothing, are somewhat of an anomaly; I've purchased shoes in the past ranging from a 35.5 through to a 37.5 so it just goes to show that the size marked on the shoe doesn't necessarily reflect the actual fit in terms of today's sizing.
Anyway, back to the subject of the post: these leather Bruno Magli sandals, which I found in the PDSA shop for a bargainous £3.99. Navy leather straps, leather insole and out, stamped with the brand's insignia and barely worn, they have barely been off my feet since I bought them! I've actually shot an outfit post featuring them too which will be up soon.
As my interest in brand Magli had been piqued after this find, I thought I'd investigate the company a little more. Turns out, they are an Italian shoemaker (of course) who were founded in 1936, with Bruno and his sisters making women's footwear from a basement workshop. The brand continued to develop and by 1947 they had a factory building and were also producing mens shoes, moving to a bigger facility in 1969. Over the years brand Magli saw many successes and during the 90's they were the shoe to be seen in, appearing in Pretty Woman (when Julia Robert's character goes shopping for more appropriate clothing to wear!) and were also worn by Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. They were also centered in controversy when a pair became cited as evidence during the OJ Simpson trial.
Bruno Magli shoes are still in production today and worn by celebrities and fashionistas alike who love their understated, elegant and classic Italian styling. I'm not sure the stiletto heels on the website would be as comfortable as these grannyish little block heeled ones I've got but I know I'll certainly get a lot of wear from them!
XO Amie
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