Whip out those summer shoes, Seattle! It was a stunning 68 degrees today and the weather is only supposed to improve over the next few days, calling for some sweet sandals  and platforms to show off the legs you’ve been hiding since September.

 

Lucky for us, Seattle is home to some great little shoes stores, and one of the best is Shoefly. With stores in Belltown and Bellevue Square (as well as Portland), they're a great place to pick up shoes your out-of-town friends will coo over and lament when they realize they’re Pacific Northwest exclusives. (Never fear, Seattle ex-patriots; there's now a website, but you won't get the personalized service of a physical store)

 

One of Shoefly’s strengths is catering to a specifically Seattle-based style. There are lots of neutrals here and tons of gorgeous leather pieces at pretty reasonable prices for the style and quality you're getting, leaving you little reason to stick with Rainbows or Birkenstocks when you could look so much prettier. All of the shoes are very much in-style, but nothing is so trendy that you won't be able to wear them for at least a few years, appealing to that Pacific Northwest sensibility that if you can’t actually wear something and wear it often, it’s not worth getting.

 

That said, the shoes certainly get a lot of their features from high fashion. The Arch wedge by Faryl Robin definitely echoes some of the same crazy wedges and platforms we saw on the runways at Alexander McQueen in February, so you know these shoes will make it through the summer and transition into fall without any problem. Better yet, they're infinitely wearable. With a sweet skirt, either color gives a feminine look a tough edge, or the wedge gives you a good 3.5” of height without the pain of a stiletto heel.

 

Another great pair is the London wedge by Pink Studio. Pick up the teal pair to be especially on top of the trends: bright sandals will be everywhere this spring, and the stripes on the wedge are a more subdued way of getting a pattern or print into even the simplest outfit. The T-Strap design has been hot for a few seasons now and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down but be careful if you’re short-legged- an ankle strap won’t do you any favors. This is easily remedied by wearing a great pair of skinny jeans that comes just past the ankle, covering up the strap but showing off the rest of the shoe.

 

Finally, the Delight sandal by A. Marinelli is a great way to do double duty- you can play with the gladiator sandal trend that will be hot again this summer without committing too much, and you get the bonus of a great embellished shoe that will be hot for years to come. These sandals would work with pretty much any outfit; wear them in place of flip-flops  to look hip even when you’re out running errands, with a short skirt to ensure your look stays sweet instead of sexy, or with jeans as you transition into and out of the summer months.