The daffodils are blooming, the days are getting longer and the new fashion season is officially here. We'll be putting spring in our step with some of the fantastic footwear hitting stores this month - in particular, our two new favourite styles, the clog and the midi heel.

Clogs were all over the catwalk, with designers including Betty Jackson, Chanel, PPQ and Felder and Felder all embracing the wooden shoe. Meanwhile, Prada, Marni, chloe and Missoni came over all kittenish with restrained mid-height sandals.

I've already extolled the virtues (and pitfalls) of both shoes here, so now it's time to convince you with a selection of the high street's finest. Kurt Geiger and ASOS have the best clogs we've seen, to bring a little Dutch charm to your denim and prairie dresses (see Alexa Chung for styling tips). Meanwhile, the midi heel is making an appearance in several guises; cone-shaped on sexy gladiator sandals, sturdy on simple pumps and in wedge form on 70s-inspired mumsie styles.

After several years of skyscraper heels and gladiator flats, these chunky and, dare we say it, sensible mid-height heels might be a shock to the system at first. But once you see how chic they look, we reckon you'll be springing (or clumping) into the new season in style.

View our gallery below for our pick of the best spring footwear.

Here's a question for you to ponder over your latte: what is the greatest fashion faux-pas of all time?

By 'greatest' I naturally mean 'worst', rather in the same vein as 'the Great War' or VH1's 'Greatest Power Ballads of the 80s'. There's double denim, that tragic affliction of late 80s country rockers and science teachers on non-uniform days. There's cycling shorts, the sweaty-crotched, cellulite-hugging, wear of a Rosemary Conley-shaped devil. Then there's the ultimate, the uniform of elderly men on beaches, with knotted hankies on their heads and a fluttering copy of the Telegraph on their faces. Socks and sandals. And guess what folks? This year, they're all back! Go on, at least fake some excitement.

With April Fool's Day only a fortnight away, I can feel your scepticism. While there aren't many styles that are safe from a sudden catwalk revival when designers run out of all other ideas, I think we all assumed that socks and sandals were immune. Too strong is their association with Sunday school teachers, hairy-legged eco-campaigners and people with fungal foot infections. But no longer! They've leaped off the crown green bowls lawn and onto the catwalk - and here are the pictures to prove it.

Burberry pulled off the look with aplomb, teaming scrunched-down knee socks with clunky platform wedges in a sort of safari-meets-70s-yachting-holiday fusion. Dior played it cutesy, again with wedges but this time in little white ankle socks, of the sort we used to wear in lower primary with our gingham summer dresses. Less convincing, though, was Marni's effort, with kitten heels and beige socks straight off the orthopedic ward.

Meanwhile on the high street, Jonathan Aston is evangelising for the cause. That's Jonathan Aston, purveyor of jazzy hosiery to well-dressed legs throughout the land, not BHS or Country Casuals. And the brand's take on the trend, with slouchy knee-highs in khaki and sorbet shades, is so wearable you'll wonder why you didn't take style tips from your Grandad earlier (the armpit-waisters with a little shirt poking through the fly, though, might be one step too far even for these innovative times).

So are we doing it? Are we really? I'd like some sort of fashion pact here, where we all hold up our right hands and solemnly swear to embrace socks and sandals as a bonafide trend, for better or worse, for Burberry or Bon Marché. That way nobody can turn up wearing them at a party to be greeted by mocking squeals and cries of "You didn't ACTUALLY believe that one, did you?"

A few guidelines might help too, to keep us out of drippy-hippy territory. So here are my top 3 tips for doing socks and sandals with style:

1) Keep it well-heeled. I know, I know, we've been cheerleading for the midi-heel and heralding the demise of the debilitating super-stilt. But when you're wearing socks, you need to keep them high to fight the frump... even Chloe Sevigny can't quite work it with flats, I think you'll agree.

2) Keep it chunky. That's not to say you can't work it with stilettos, but on the catwalk the S'n'S looks that worked the best were those in super stompy wedges. A little clunk makes it modern.

3) Keep it pretty. The greying socks you wear to the gym will not cut it. Go with pastel colours or sheer lacy styles for a look that says "I did this on purpose" rather than "I have toenail issues."

Good luck, ladies. I bid you, go forth and makes socks sexy. And look at it this way - even if we spend a summer looking like a Derby and Joan day trip, at least it'll save us from blisters.

When it comes to double denim, however, I'm afraid you're on your own.

Wear your heart on your feet and step into Valentines day in creative style with Converse's new collection. The retro footwear designer has launched RED RED LOVE, which includes a range of heart adorned trainers sporting a "I heart ........." logo.

The idea is you fill in the blank with whatever it is you love with a waterproof fabric pen.
And if you think that sounds good then you'll be even more pleased to hear that proceeds from this creative range go to fight AIDS in Africa.

We think we may have to buy more than one of these pairs as we just can't decide what it is we love the most (yes, we know, any excuse).

It seems the fashion world has gone trainer mad today.

Earlier this morning we reported that Diana Ross and Steve Madden had teamed up to create a range of these and now Jimmy Choo, which is already collaborating with Uggs to create casual footwear, has stepped into the limelight announcing the launch of its street-cool sneaker line.

The brand best known for its gorgeous superhigh stilletoe heels, has created a collection of eight trainers, which include, suede and snakeskin designs finished with gold touches in low and high-top styles.

Could trainers be the next Manolos? And with so many fashionable trainers hitting the shelves will the "no trainers" policy in clubs be lifted?

[via Elle]

Do you want celebrity shoes at an ethical price? If the answers yes then you'll love this new range by Beyond Skin.

The brand, which has been favoured by celebs such as Cheryl Cole and Natalie Portman, has just launched a new collection, which will be sold at the newly opened Anthropologie store in London's Regent Street.

The new collection of ballet pumps are made from vintage fabric, sourced from the charity Traid Remade, they may be tad expensive at £68 a pair but with only around 10 versions of each design made, we think it's definitely worth it.

And ladies who like their shoes with a bit of height are also in luck. The company will be launching a range of evening styles and a range made from recycled bottle tops in March.

We'll see you at the tills.

Don't worry we're not getting all granny style on you, but with the winter weather making socks and tights soggy, we all many of you want to do when you get home after the wet and long commute is slip your feet into something warm and cosy (go on admit it).

Slippers have become an essential part of the winter wardrobe for many of us, and comapnies have woken up to this with even top brands such as (dare we say it) Uggs producing a range of this comforting footwear.

We've put together a gallery of fashionable, quirky and novelty slippers that will have your feet sighing with delight after a hard day in the office. However, wearing them out to the local shops a la many celebs is still a fashion no no in our book.

Click on the picture below to begin the gallery.

With the snow hitting every part of Britain, getting out and about and into work could prove difficult, especially for those of us who face train cancellations and don't have the right footwear. Soggy shoes and socks, are after all not a good start to a working day, once you finally get in, or if you just want to bring out your childlike side and start a snowball fight.

In this type of weather the only shoe that will get us through the day is either a snow or ski boot. However we assume many of you won't want to fork out for these, so we've put together a gallery of the next best alternative, and that's of course the trusty wellington boot.

Yes, we know, many of you haven't seen one of these since you were a child, unless you were one of those girls who armed yourself with a pair for last years festivals, but these fantastic plastic and rubber shoes will do the job of keeping out that soggy snow, and there are many fashionable ones out there now. Buy a size bigger and double up on those socks for toasty toes.

Click on the picture below to take a look at some of our favourite pairs.

We love finding brands that aren't really that well known in the UK (makes us feel as though we're unwrapping a Christmas present) and Neosens has made us feel just that.

The Spanish shoe brand has a range of amazing quality shoes and accessories and has been stocked in Selfridges for a while (that explains why we hadn't really heard about them). However, it's just launched a website where we can now view and buy the collections.

And its made it simple for us to find exactly what we're looking for with the ranges displayed in varying colours. Other special features include a special offers/discounts drop down menu giving customers the chance to preview, sale products.

The shoes may be a little different to what you're used to, but in our eyes fashion's all about individuality.

We love limited edition ranges. Not only do they mean we'll be less likely to bump into someone wearing the same thing but we also love the thrill of queueing and grabbing the latest limited edition must have.

So you can imagine how excited we are at the news of Zara's limited-edition sandal.

The 1000 NUMBERED Edition is a high-heel black suede sandal with thick metal chains and comes in a specially-designed box with its own black cloth carrying bag.

But you'd better hurry as there are only 1,000 pairs of the £129 shoes available in 45 cities worldwide. We'll race you to the checkouts.

We know some of you will be split over our latest must haves but since we're on the topic of Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and The City and heels we couldn't resist telling you about these new shoes from Geox.

Taking inspiration from New York's most iconic skyscraper, each of the three limited edition styles is characterised by a 12cm titanium heel, crafted to honour the height and form of the Empire State Building.

The heel, in gold or silver, are appliquéd with rhinestones in several of the shoes, from top to the bottom representing the windows of the skyscraper.

The collection features a choice of open toe or close toe court shoes, and includes a choice of leopard print, purple and blue sequins or black sequins.

We're sure we'll be toddling back with a pair from Geox's UK Flagship store at Long Acre in Covent Garden when we can get our hands on a pair of these limited edition heels. They cost £250 but there's lots of saving time as they won't be available until February 2010.

I've become a bit of a health fanatic since I started my 7 day detox and with the New Year closing in as quickly as you're other halves wallet when he sees the £500 bag you want, I'm sure you will too soon embark on one of those resolutions you drunkenly blurted out.

For many the turkey and mince pie fuelled Christmas will be the catalyst for "I'll join the gym", where we'll sign up in January with good intentions, which we hope will continue.

To add to your motivation we've put together a gallery of fashionable fitness clothing making you look like a trendsetter on the treadmill.

Click on the picture below to begin the gallery.

We don't know about you, but when we think about Christmas parties the third thing that comes into our mind after drink and dancing is the pain we've got from wearing our high heels.

We know heels are an essential part of the Christmas outfit, and we've even done a gallery with the best skyscraper heels out there. Yes we know, were glutton's for punishment.

Although we included a pair of flat shoes in there for after the copious amounts of champagne, there are some girls, who would rather just be comfortable all night. We've therefore put together a gallery of the best flat shoes out there, which will ensure you look stylish as well as keeping you comfortable.

Click on the picture below to begin the gallery.

Last week we got a little bit too overexcited at the (incorrect) news regarding a vegetarian clothing collaboration between Stella McCartney and Leona Lewis, and we were crushed when we found out it was just a pesky rumour.

However, another week brings with it another rumour, this time that Stella is teaming up with Morrissey to launch a range of leather free footwear.

We think this partnership is nearly as good as the Leona one, after all Morrissey has a track record of saying no to meat. Not only was his 1985 album entitled Meat Is Murder, but he also bans any food that 'used to have a face' from his tours.

In fact he feels so strongly about the cause that earlier this year he also stormed off stage at a music festival because he was so disgusted by the smell of cooking meat from a nearby burger stand.

And it seems this collaboration really is going ahead with Stella telling the Daily Mail last week: "I'm working with Morrissey on a line of leather-free shoes which I'm really excited about."

The range is still is its early stages but Stella also added it could be ready for next year. We're going to start saving from now.

We knew there was a reason why we stuck to flat shoes most of the time. They may not look as good as heels, and next to our friends who can bear the pain, we're also a darn sight shorter.

However, at least we won't have to worry about getting problems like Victoria Beckham.
According to rumours the Spice Girl turned fashion designer, has been advised to have surgery to remove bunions on her feet after years of wearing skyscraper heels.

But despite the warnings Victoria has pulled out every trick on the book, including doing exercises and having insoles put into her shoes, to prevent having the op as it means she won't be able to wear heels for a good few months.

Now that's true fashion dedication.

We've been split on Ugg boots and similar ever since Lauren bought the fashion to light in her column. Looking at the comments we received and the number of you who Twittered, it seems there's a divide between those of us who define them as trend and those who think they are tragic.

So we want to get to the bottom of this. We've put together a gallery of boots for this year which, we think fall into the love them or hate them category. Take a look at the gallery by clicking on the picture below and then let us know your thoughts by voting.

We look forward to reading your views.