Elegant by Jeffrey Campbell

Under the See: JC's Elegant dives into the nautical trend and surfaces with a visual feast.

We're going to be totally frank with you: The Elegant was our second choice for Shoe of the Week. The first, Jeffrey Campbell's Groovie, was featured in a mailer this week. It sold out in five minutes. It was gone before the mailer had finished sending—a big "psyche!" to those email addresses starting with letters in the nether half of the alphabet. It's OK: you did not want a five-inch-tall, puffy rainbowed, nude platform anyway. No, you didn't.

We know what you want: white leather, silver studs. Lots of both.

This is where Elegant is so timely, even if it is the stepchild of our reportage. The Elegant is an update on the classic loafer/driver moc shape with a rounded, more structured toe, a low-cut profile and modest one-inch heel. What is not very modest about the Elegant is the carpeting of silvered studs in the shape of cones, barnacles and stars. If Davy Jones had a wife in "Pirates of the Caribbean," she probably had a pair of these in her slimy footlocker.

We're advocating shorts with this one. Jack by BB Dakota just sent us a pair of lovely linens with a casual cuff. It's the perfect counterpart to Elegant's nubbly, maritime vibe. (Of course, you could always force the issue with the ubiquitous blue-and-white striped look that is everywhere at the moment, but we feel you'd be taking the visual cues of this shoe a little too much to heart.) Another option is the less-traveled (but soon to be much-traveled) bootcut or wide-leg jean or chino, which would hit just above Elegant's low silhouette. The studs would lend nice texture to that outfit.

Elegant is just that: a sophisticated rendition of JC's usually manic and over-the-top styling. That's not to say this shoe is subtle, but it will sparkle and wink with a nautical theme that from afar looked like the most badass biker flat you ever saw. And we think that with some summery shorts is one H-O-T look.