What the heck is a Transition Shoe?

by Tracy James


It took 15 years of my being in the fashion industry for the mainstream to finally come up with a name for the type of footwear appropriate during that sometimes warm/sometimes cold period between the end of Winter and full-on Spring. A shoe to fill the style space between boots/booties and bare sandals. While I have been using the term "transition shoe" for a few seasons now, I admit to using other less-eloquent sounding descriptors, including, but not limited to, "in-between shoe," "like a bootie but not really," "more covered-up sandal," and "high-heeled gladiator." No matter what you call them, get yourself a pair to wear with your jeans and tops and even dresses. Here are some of my picks of the season. (Note: be sure to click the arrow to see all of the columns, they like to hide.)