Like on Pixie Lott’s Miu Miu Satin Cat Print Mary Janes, we’re slowly starting to see more and more of whole animal prints on clothing, shoes and accessories. It’s a lighthearted, quirky trend that’s really fun to wear this summer, but the question is, which animal should we “wear”?

No one’s actually decided on one yet. Perhaps it’s better that the fickle-minded fashion industry never settles on just one animal because that way, we get a lot more choices. Also, showing your wild side doesn’t have to be limited to leopards or lions and neither does wearing animal print always have to be sexy, sensual or seductive.

Just take these other animal print shoes from Miu Miu. Pixie Lott wore her Miu Mius to complement her offbeat style and these just-as-wacky sparrow print ballet flats and the non-platform version of her shoes would fit right in into her wardrobe:

Miu Miu Satin Cat Print Mary Janes, $263.00 and Miu Miu  Light Blue Bird Satin Mary Jane Flats, $360.00

(By the way, other shoes from the same Miu Miu Spring 2010 RTW collection like the Miu Miu Duchesse Flower Clogs are available at MyTheresa.com for €350.00 and the Miu Miu Floral Satin Mary Jane Flats for $360.00 at BlueFly.com.)

Like what Michael Kors said on Project Runway, “Lighten up, it’s just fashion!”. Here are 6 more fun animal shoes that show that you don’t always have to take fashion so seriously:

1. Draven Cat Flat, $33.00
2. Sugar Princess Grace Pumps, $79.95
3. Converse Chuck Taylor Animal Ox Sneakers, $49.99
4. Jessica Simpson Mocca Moccasins, $61.95
5. Irregular Choice Birdie 3117 1 Flats, $34.95
6. Marc by Marc Jacobs Mouse Ballerinas, € 215.00

Very cute eh? The mouse ballerina flats would be fun to wear and I’d probably get a lot of mileage out of the brown moccasins with the beaded eagle.

To wrap up this animal print post, I’d like to leave you with this shoe porn picture that I like to imagine was taken backstage at the Miu Miu fashion show:

Posted by member beduina at The Purse Forum.

Enjoy!

Have you seen the limited edition Gucci Ronson sneakers?

Mark Ronson and the Gucci Ronson Sneaker

Gucci Icon-Temporary Gucci Ronson Sneakers

These aren’t exactly new, but it is hard to find since it can only be purchased from Gucci’s Icon-Temporary boutique.

And what’s so special about this Gucci Icon-Temporary boutique?

Well, for starters, the boutique travels from one major city to another. And for another, it sells limited edition pieces, like these sneakers developed in collaboration with Mark Ronson.

The Icon-Temporary boutique kicked off in New York last October 2009; then it  went to Tokyo; and last week, it popped up in Covent Garden, London.

The opening was well celebrated with a party attended by none other than Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini, and the inspiration behind the shoes, gorgeous Mark Ronson.

Mark Ronson, Frida Giannini, and Idris Elba

Each pair of Gucci Ronson sneakers cost around US$500. If you want a pair, you’ll have to catch the flash boutique because these aren’t available for sale online either.

Now if you like how these colorful shoes look but you don’t exactly want to spend half a thousand dollars for a pair, then simply go with these hot and very in-season colorful boat shoes instead!

Born Haven in Navy, US$120

Polo Ralph Lauren Lander Canvas Boater in White/Navy, US$55

Sperry Top Sider A/O 2-Eye in Navy/Avocado/Corn, US$85

Impulse P1213 in Navy, US$79

Sebago Spinnaker in Green/Yellow/Red, US$90

Converse Jack Purcell Boat Shoe in Green/Navy/Orange, US$70

Distressed clothes are nothing new and have become a mainstay on clothing store racks. It was in fact a point of contention for denim jean brands in the early 00s when expensive distressed jeans became the in thing, but the hole-y, ripped, and tattered jean eventually became accepted when people started realizing how well they fit.

But on shoes – well, distressing shoes are entirely different from distressing jeans. The denim jean is the king of all casual getups so while we’ve come to expect jeans to be soft, comfy, and feel like we’ve worn them forever, we don’t necessarily expect the same thing for our shoes.

I know there are those of you who like shoes that you can wear straight out of the box with no break in period, so maybe a bit of distressing and wearing out on some shoes is necessary. But when does the look become, well, too worn out? Can distressing be applied to all types of shoes like how it can be be applied to all types of jeans? And how much would you pay for shoes that have been pre-scuffed and pre-worn down for you?

Check out these 4 really distressed shoes and judge for yourself:

These look like the boots you only wear during a specific time of the year and leave at the back of the closet when you’re not using them. Then after how many months of being in there, you take them out and they look like this. These Golden Goose Star Zip Very Distressed Ankle Boots are $1,192 though, a price that means these boots demand proper shoe care even if they look like that.

These Converse by John Varvatos Chuck Taylor As Eyelets take the whole fun out of scuffing new shoes yourself. And on a pair of shoes as iconic as Chuck Taylors, doesn’t it reek of poserdom when you buy them already scuffed and dirty like this? It may be just a shoe, but you gotta earn every mark on your Chuck Taylors. These are $150.00 as opposed to the 40-dollar regular Chucks.

Were they in the middle of waxing these shoes when someone decided that they look good like that with the wax all white and dried out? Frye Rogan Engineer Studded boots, $262.40 down from $328.00.

Okay these D&G Dolce & Gabbana DU1036 E7612 8S033 men’s suede boots aren’t as distressed as the first three, but maybe someone can explain why they thought the oil stain on the toes and heels of these shoes look appealing. It’s not even a “natural’ distressed effect like say, the sandblasted design on the thighs of jeans. I mean, who’d wear suede boots and then get oil stains on the toes and the heels? These are inexplicably $499.00.

Do you think these shoes are reasonably priced or overpriced? Would you spend money on shoes that already look like these or would you rather scuff your own shoes yourself?

How’s this for your next pair of shoes, the invisible shoes:

If you don’t get conversations started while you have these on, then I don’t know what will.

These invisible shoes are technically wedge ankle booties. The mirrors on them reflect the shoe’s surrounding area, thereby camouflaging itself and making itself “invisible”:

These mirrored booties are part of a line of concept shoes by Brazilian designer Andreia Chaves, who says that living in the very busy metropolis of Sao Paolo has inspired her to see order amidst chaos (or something like that). Her footwear line includes a pair that looks like shredded paper, one with extended velcro straps, and one with small wooden cubes for heels, all guaranteed to make you stare and gaze in awe – or maybe just scratch your head.

As of writing, invisible shoes remain a design concept. How they’re going to make this acceptable to other people other than Lady Gaga is a big question, and how they’re going to make it comfortable to wear is an even bigger mystery. Perhaps the shoes are lined with fur and clouds and teddy bears, but judging from the top of the booties in the pictures, the insides just look like gaping, empty black holes.

The closest we’ve got to invisible shoes are clear shoes. No, not lucite stripper heels (that’s for another blog post), just clear shoes like this one:

Touch Ups by Benjamin Walk Cinderella

These look like they’ll disappear on your feet, excellent for freaking people out.

We also have clear sneaker choices, such as this pair from Converse:

Converse Chuck Taylor® All Star® Clear Ox

But the ultimate invisible shoe so far are these, a pair that you just basically stick on to the soles of your feet:

Look ma, no tan lines!

If they find a way to mass produce those invisible mirrored booties, then short skirts better not be its accompanying trend.