Battle of the Heritage Green Shoes: The Lucca Sandals Vs. The Valentina Slingbacks

Good morning! Today I am taking a break from the fitting room posts to blog about two pair of shoes. Some time ago I had promised that I would write a post about the Lucca sandals in heritage green, that I had ordered before my trip to Miami and with Miami in mind, but then I decided to wait for my 20% off order of theValentina slingbacks in the same color to arrive.  I thought it would be more fun (and maybe more helpful) if I did a post comparing the two pairs since they are the same color. To make things even more fun I tried both with the same clothes, so you can have a better judgement of how they look with the same things.

The Luccas, as you probably know, are made of suede and come in five beautiful colors. I hesitated between the green and the navy but then I decided to try the green because it looked more special than navy and also because I had a couple of things that I hoped matched the color:

The color IRL is exactly like it looks on my monitor and it is the same shade of green than the extravagant green in the Blythe blouse (that I have, you will see the pics below), just a touch darker. The suede is very soft. The pair that I got was very well made and didn't have any apparent flawn (like traces of glue, scratches etc). The fit is TTS and when I ordered them I was a little bit worried about the ankle strap being too short (which is an issue that I had with similar JCrew styles) but there is plenty of room. These were really perfect out of the box and also very comfortable (the footbed being a little bit cushioned). By the way, you don't need to unbuckle the two straps to put them on, one is enough to slip your foot in.
I was impressed wit the quality of these; however, probably because of the cone-shaped heel, they look a little bit like Zara shoes more than high-end shoes (but this is just my personal opinion on the look).
Anyway, this is how they look on my feet:

The real problem is that these look better with jeans/pants IMO than skirt/dresses because of the color and the style. They are a bit chunky and because of the color they draw attention on your feet. If your outfit is not offset by a similar green or bright color on top, all you can see is the shoes. They also visually cut the leg instead of elongate it (not very flattering, especially if like mine, your calves are not super-thin or very long).
Demonstration:

Better with a cardigan in the same color:

They are, quite incredibly, the same color of the Lilly Pulitzer dress that you have seen in my Miami post. When I came back from Miami I decided to return this dress (even if I really like it) because a printed merino dress has a very limited season, especially one that I would only wear barelegs (I mean if I didn't wear it in Florida where would I wear it?) Again, not very flattering:

OK, I liked the next pairing a lot, but I can't justify keeping a $200 pair of shoes only to wear with one item (and jeans). The skirt is last year factory version of the cotton double-serge in a beautiful honey color, the shirt is, quite obviously, the Blythe in extravagant green (two sizes bigger than I usually wear but for $34 I will take it and stop stalking it):

During the recent 20% off I decided to give the Valentina slingbacks, that also come in the same heritage green, a try. This was my first pair of Valentinas and I ordered my regular size. When I took them out of the box I thought that they were too small and that I should have ordered a size bigger. The pointy part of the shoe could barely contain my foot and they showed a lot of cleveage, not to mention that they were killing my feet from just standing. Then I tried the regular Valentinas in store in half a size up and they were at least half an inch too long (if much more comfortable) so I thought that I was sized out in these because with a slingback the rigth length is key (otherwise the sling will keep falling off). Truth to be told, I was so afraid of scratching them or soiling the sole (I don't have carpeted floors and wooden floors attract all kind of dust and lints) that I tried them very quickly without even walking in them. This morning, as I was about to return them, I decided to try them again and it was like trying another pair of shoes. They fit perfectly and showed less cleaveage. I think my feet were swallen the other night. As my mom always told me "Never try shoes in the evening". Also I have developped a bit of a bunion on one of my feet after pregnancy (why these things have to happen to us women who give birth?) and some days (when I walk a lot) it is bigger than other days, and it must have been one of these days when I first tried them on because it was peeking out from the edge of the shoe in a very unflattering way (and I suspect it was keeping my foot from slipping all the way down in the shoe). Probably they also need some time to break in, they are not immediately comfortable (like the NW) but I can assure you that after this try-on session I was perfectly comfortable walking in them. The heel is very thin so you may feel like you are lacking stability, but that's the price to pay for sexy shoes (the advantage of a low heel being that you can still walk without twisting your ankle even if you don't have a lot of stability).

Here are on my feet (pic taken this morning. You can still see a slight bugeon on my right foot):

Side view:

This is the last outfit that you have seen above but with the Valentinas instead of the Luccas:

With the paisley blouson dress (here they make a real difference, don't you think?):

You might think that this green is an extravagant (pun intended!) color to own for a pair of shoes and as you know I gravitate more towards neutrals for shoes, but aqua (or whatever they call it) is one of my favorite colors (I think it is absolutely speaking the color I look better in, especially in the summer) and I own quite a few things, especially dresses, that could benefit from a pair of ladylike shoes in the same hue. For exemple, one of my favorite summer dresses, the Piazza or Playa (I never remember), that I usually wear with golden, more casual, shoes:

But also this "occasion" dress that some of you will probably remember:

The surf tweed mini skirt from two years ago is also something that so far I haven't worn with heels because I didn't have a pair in a color light enough:

The fresco pants don't have the exact same green in them but it is still a lovely pairing, especially with a top in the same color (OK, I confess, I got them):

So, all in all I think I will get more wear out of these than the Luccas and they will also be a better investment in the long term because ladylike shoes don't go out of style (unlike the Luccas). I think that the Luccas are probably more suitable if you want to wear them with dresses in a light color (like the apricot mist) that "blends" into the leg but I don't need them in that color. I will maybe try to catch the navy on sale to wear mostly with pants/long skirts (if they pop back AND go on sale).

What do you think? Which one do you prefer? Do you own the Luccas or the Valentina slingbacks? Please share in the comments!