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One fashion rule that applies to all ages, year in year out, is get the shoes right and you’re more than half way there.
And it works both ways, of course. The wrong shoes will kill the buzz of your new-season clothes, and a no-longer-fashionable shoe can age your outfit – and you – faster than a stiff blow dry.
While every season is ‘Get Your Shoes Right’ season, spring/summer 2026 is an ‘all change’ footwear moment. There’s a shift in the fashion mood away from casual towards a sleeker, chicer approach and, if we’re going to join in (you bet we are!), then finding the right shoes will, as ever, be key.
You won’t need all of the styles below but here’s a selection of the main contenders.
High-cut pump
Heels are back, even under jeans, and this shape – with a smooth glove fit, cut high on the foot or with a deep V in front – is the modern, sharper and more wearable alternative to a court shoe.
The new-look heel (though it owes a lot to designer Phoebe Philo) is less spindly and a lot more practical than those arch-warping power heels and it grounds skirts and trousers, making them less precious or formal.
On the fashion editors’ wish list is Stella McCartney’s red V-front shoe. But for us civilians a good place to start is Marks & Spencer’s taupe suede slingback (£30, marksandspencer.com). This one has a kitten heel – still, along with sling backs, top of the shoe charts.
Grown-up ballet
A SOFT ballet pump is challenging for most of us 50-plusers – too flat, too light, too unsupported – but a lean polished ‘ballet-inspired’ shoe is something we can do business with.
M&S has a selection including Jaeger’s smart flat pump with a cut-out detail and bow tie (£89). A can’t-go-wrong classic for wearing under trousers.
Off-white
We’re not talking about a bright white Barbie stiletto, but a new love affair designers have with white and off-white shoes in all styles.
If you’re a bit bored by black loafers (still everywhere for spring), the idea of an off-white loafer feels fresh (£39, mintvelvet.com) and a low kitten-heeled ‘soft white’ pump – M&S has one that’s selling fast (£36) – seems like a shoe that could work with everything come March.
T-bar mid-heel
This vintage style – a little bit Great Gatsby, a little bit Coco Chanel – is making a strong bid to be the summer’s new elevating shoe, taking soft tailoring into smarter territory.
The details that make the difference now are: an almond toe; a walkable mid-height or smaller heel; two-tone colour or texture (like mock ostrich) and a T-bar, or a low-on-the-ankle strap.
The shape is a sophisticated step on from Mary-Janes – glamorous, flattering and wearable, not to mention the key to getting us all wearing just-below-the-knee skirts.
M&S has a croc embossed T-bar mule with a medium heel (£60), which could be just the thing to elevate last year’s tailored trousers and for wearing with skirts later.
Providing they’re well cut and not too high, mules like this are almost as easy to wear as slingbacks.
Spring knee-boot
The big pendulum swing of the season is away from trousers towards skirts – and for that to work we need options.
The vintage-inspired shoe is one, but another skirt-wearing solution, that has the advantage of full calf coverage, is a great knee-boot.
The one you’ll wear year-round is polished black with a low to medium heel – smart with a skirt and sweater or cropped trousers, easy with a co-ord or dress.
You can wear the pair you already own (leather or pleather, rather than suede, keeps the look polished) or scour the sales.
Dune still has a few pairs of its ‘smoothly black’ style (£119, dunelondon.com) or some with a kitten heel (£99).
Retro trainer
Trainers are still a big part of our lives but they no longer have quite the same explosive fashion impact they did and you’re not wearing them with a floaty dress come the summer.
Slimmer, pared-back, neater and plainer than the colourful suede trainers we’ve taken to our hearts over the past few years, the best of the bunch are one colour, nut brown or dark red, like Cos’ minimal trainers (£65, cos.com) to wear as you would a moccasin or loafer.
