Melissa Shoes Ultragirl – IV vs Vivienne Westwood Bow Flats

Well, the long awaited review of my Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Shoes Ultragirl Bow Flats is finally here!  I also decided to trial a pair of Melissa Ultragirl IV alongside them, you know, just to make it fair ;o)

Vivienne Westwood Bow Flats Ultragirl     Melissa Ultragirl Green IV and Vivienne Westwood     Melissa Ultragirl Vivienne Westwood Bow Flats

As you may have read here before*, I’ve been waiting a long time for these Vivienne Westwood beauties as hubby hid them away for my birthday! And they don’t disappoint!  They’re so beautiful that I’m forever bumping into things because I’m staring at the floor and not at where I’m headed!  I also don’t get anywhere very quickly, because people are always stopping to ask where I got my gorgeous shoes!

So, what are they like to wear?  Well, they’re extremely comfortable, thanks to the wonders of the Melflex material they’re made from, which conforms to the shape of your foot for a custom fit.  They’ve been great worn at work, smart daytime occasions and nights out as well.  I never thought I’d go out dancing in flats but I haven’t worn heels since I got them!

Perhaps I shouldn’t have bought the regular Ultragirl flats as well (mine are model IV), but I was intrigued to see if there was any difference…and there is!  The IVs are actually even more comfortable because they have a padded lining that offers more support underfoot and stops your feet getting as hot as the flat liner in the VWs.  I’m sad to say as well, that the lovely pattern inside the VWs has started to wear away already and I’ve only had them for three weeks.  This isn’t a big problem obviously, but given the price I didn’t expect it to happen. 

Otherwise they’re pretty similar – both are scented with the signature bubblegum smell and the shape seems to be identical – I guess Vivienne Westwood customised them from Melissa Shoes’ original design. 

I am totally in love with the VWs and I would definitely recommend them if you’re looking for a beautiful pair of flats – I’m sure like me, you’d get lots of wear out of them.  Click here to buy them from a retailer in the UK.

If you’re on a budget, or are not worried about the extra detail on the VWs, the regular Melissas will also serve you very well, if not in quite as beautiful a way! 

 Buy Melissa Shoes now on Amazon UK! 

*Read all of my posts about Melissa Shoes here.

My birthday goodies – shoes, Trollbeads and more!!

Last weekend was my birthday and I am happy to report that I was totally spoilt rotten!!  I finally got my hands on those yummy Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Melissa Shoes (brown bow flats) – thank you hubby :O)  I was also treated to two Trollbeads from my Dad – black armadillo and 3rd eye chakra – which looks stunning on my black/gold/purple combo!  A friend also sent me a beautiful artisan bead, a reddy purple armadillo that is just gorgeous and my Mum gave me a rather scrummy iPod shuffle in a lovely aqua colour!  Very spoilt indeed…

My birthday celebrations included a LOT of eating, seeing Toy Story 3 in 3D, visiting Lord Snowdon’s ‘In Camera’ photography exhibition and spending a day up in London.  I visited the Neal Street stores of Crocs and Filofax and bought a beautiful vintage laboradite and silver ring in the Covent Garden antiques market!  I will blog reviews of the two stores and my fabulous new shoes in the near future – keep an eye out!

Melissa Shoes – an update on those comfy heels!

A couple of months ago, I blogged about my experience with Melissa Shoes (you can read it here).  Now that I’ve worn them some more, I felt it only fair to give you a little update…

You might remember I tried out the Neon  in Mostard (yellow) and Hello III in Purple Flock:

neon hello III melissa shoes

The Neons are still my favourite, they’re really comfy and so easy to walk in, both when wearing tights and without, I think because of the support the ankle strap gives.  They’re a real conversation piece too – the colour is fab!  The only discomfort I get when wearing these is at the balls of my feet after long periods of standing – if you’re used to wearing heels a lot of the time I don’t think you’d have this problem.

I braved wearing the Hello III pair out for a night of dancing at the weekend and was a little worried about the problems I’d had before with a blister where the strap meets inside the shoe.  As I mentioned before, I used a blister pad over that area and I managed to dance for 3 hours straight without any rubbing anywhere – a miracle!!

Girls, I’m seriously impressed with this brand (and no I don’t work for them!), I think it’s the first time I’ve ever had heels that don’t rub anywhere and are genuinely a joy to wear.  I’m not saying you can wear them for hours and hours on end without any pain, but they’re certainly the closest I’ve ever found in heels!  If you have any other tips or brands to recommend, please leave a comment and I’ll continue my search!

In the meantime, I’m eagerly awaiting my birthday next month, as I happen to know my lovely husband has hidden away a pair of these beauties:

melissa vivienne westwood bow flats anglomania

These gorgeous Ultragirl Bow Flats were designed as part of a collaboration by Melissa Shoes with Vivenne Westwood called ‘Anglomania’ – I just had to have a pair – can’t wait!  Look out for my full review of those in a couple of month’s time…

In the meantime, why not check out some of the range and other Vivienne Westwood shoes on Amazon UK here…

Read all my posts about Melissa shoes here.