Kurt Geiger

*Sigh* Kurt. How you have hurt my feet in the past. How you have caused me to bash my knees, how you have given me backache and caused an intense burning feeling in the balls of my soles. And yet come sale season still I return with the use of my friend’s staff discount and buy from you.
Actually, it’s been a very long time since I’ve bought Kurt Geiger shoes. Let’s face it, they’re expensive. They’re particularly expensive for what they are. It’s not like you’re getting hardwearing Doc Martens or Timberlands that’ll last you for years (although you can get the latter from the men’s department). For we laydeez, Kurt Geiger specialises in dress shoes, satin shoes, shoes with designs so ludicrous they’re clearly catwalk inspired (bubbles and spheres on heels?), shoes with heels so tall you’ll totter like you’re stop motion animated and shoes in an array of bright and cheery colours.
You can get Kurt Geiger shoes all over the place now, but the reason I’m focussing in on the House of Fraser concession is that it’s pretty substantial. Stretched over three floors the Kendal’s Kurt has a large men’s section in the basement, a substantial young fashion section two floors up and above that, a women’s section, the largest of the three. There can be some crossovers between women and young fashion but if you imagine the young fashion stuff going up to about 30 or 35, the women’s floor has the Gabor and the Hush Puppies and the sort of stuff your grandma says is ‘sensible’ nestled alongside some very snazzy offerings indeed.
I have to say though, while I used to be a Geiger girl at heart, things have changed somewhat. Kurt opened his first store back in 1963, and since then things were pretty and kind of traditional and you could always rely on a Geiger shop to provide something that’d go with everything. Now, seemingly under the influence of Sex and the City and the sadomasochist movement, everything’s gone a wee bit over the top and a tiny bit… I hate to say it… raunchy. I’m now seeing the kind of fluorescent baubles that would adorn the feet of the body-​con wearing masses with their L plates on tottering around the Printworks.
I now don’t see much in Geiger that I wouldn’t see in Primark, who’ve almost been sued for copying a Geiger design. With prices only STARTING at about £80 for a pair of heels, this is the high end of high street. I will say that in my experience, the Carvela brand at Kurt is pretty great with its soft leather, KG is a little plasticky to be so expensive, the Kurt Geiger shoes are the ones that’ll break the bank but if you’re going for something stylish, hardwearing and comfortable, look no further than Solea. They’re Spanish, they’re vintage-​looking and they’re just darling, and they will last you ages. The male offerings here can be even more expensive but the House of Fraser concession does stock the likes of Churchs and Barkers, proper ‘man’ shoes if you get my drift, sometimes over £300 a pop. There’s an eclectic mix of dress and dinner shoes alongside casual French Connection pumps, some dubious sandals and G-​Star trainers, but for a good pair of work shoes the KG ones are a-​okay. I just hope Geiger’s female department finds its identity again, because right now it’s pretty interchangeable with any high street shoe store out there.