Bianca by Pour La Victoire

Architectural Integrity: Pour La Victoire's Bianca builds up excitement for Spring.

As we mentioned in our blog the other week, the Bianca by Pour La Victoire epitomizes the platform pump trend this Spring as well as designs inspired by modern architecture. We are absolutely wowed by the crazy laticework uppers in black leather or dove grey suede. They are aggressive and forward while referencing work by contemporary masters like Koolhaas, Gehry, Calatrava and (our favorite) Le Courbusier (we're thinking Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut Ronchamp).

Another trend we heart is the use of brightly colored leather linings and other secretive pops of color on standard-issue blacks, browns and greys. There's an excitement there; this sense of something more than just the lines of the shoe. It's a secret surprise. Surely the woman who wears these has some tantalizing secrets of her own, n'est pas? While the black Bianca is lined in screaming yellow-lime, the grey is paired to a gentle aqua ... but the sole is sheathed in cobalt blue. These shoes reveal something new with each wear. It brings the structure inside. As a stained glass window builds a luminous image out of fragments, the Bianca hints at your character through color and shape, fullness and absence.

The Bianca is a very forward gal. She's complex and confident. Despite her architectural lines, some might call her mercurial (but we think she just takes time to unfold). Aggressive, but not easy. A bit of a wildcat and definitely a patron of the beautiful, this shoe requires a confident woman that can harness Bianca's energy. Otherwise you may just find that the Bianca isn't something you wear, it's something that wears you.

And we like a shoe that makes us work for it.

Electra by Nina

Taken into Account: Nina's Electra is in the red and in the black.

Given that the color of money these days isn't green -- it's the red or black of our balance sheets -- we found the Electra by Nina in red or black satin to be apropos to a Shoe of the Week. That, and it's a real charmer balancing several sexy elements.

There's a lot going on here. The masterminds at Nina cobble it together in a way that doesn't overpower. The satin at the front of the foot is draped in sweeping folds that meet at a fat bow offset over a demure peeptoe. The effect is part debutante, part flirty cheek. The look taps into the rosette shoe trend seen recently on Scarlett Johansson and Cameron Diaz.

From there the leather sole arches dramatically up to a full satin heel cup and adjustable anklet, the better to sit atop a 4-1/2" heel. This slender spike is rendered in hard, glossy plastic. It is a fantastic contrast to the softly luminescent satin -- the hard heart under a yielding flesh. We like that. The full, richly saturated black and red satin cover your foot with soft lines and giving texture, while the hard heel flashes and clacks as it should when you walk down the street. Let them hear you coming; these shoes are worth the attention.

Under the satin wrap a leather heel cup and a padded gold footbed make it comfortable throughout, as does a one-half-inch hidden platform that offsets some of that lift for stability. With the full heel and sweep of the front foot, this shoe covers more than it seems, which is the beauty of it: a dramatic curving sole and a modest peeptoe lend the impression of a foot en plein aire without actually subjecting you to it.

These shoes project confidence, sex appeal, and not a little attitude, yet are far from louche. They have balance. The combination of hard and soft textures, deeply saturated colors and the high heel with hidden platform -- all for $80 -- makes this a look that's sure to keep you looking recession-proof at firesale prices.

Jamila by Joan & David

Shine On: Jamila by Joan & David in black, $130.00

We were suffering from a real dearth of heels in this season of boots, so it was with relief verging on tears that we unwrapped a shipment from Joan & David containing three new pumps: the Jamila (shown), Halley and Lana. Choosing just one to feature as Shoe of the Week wasn't easy, but after much debate the Jamila won our hearts and the feature.

Its elegant simplicity did it. The graceful taper on the 4-1/2" stiletto looks like an illustration on the Golden Mean and a 1/2" platform blends artfully into the upper. That platform helps you maintain towering sexy-height without the teetering. The whole thing is wrapped in supple, flawless Napa leather that screams a price tag higher than its 130 bucks.

Our favorite detail, however, is lower to the ground. The captoe ever-so-subtly references menswear trends while retaining a maryjane feel. A slight gloss separates it from the upper, making the whole toebox seem snubbed and thus smaller. Matching gloss on that heel means the overall focus goes in and up, making your foot seem smaller and your legs longer, all in a package designed for a comfortable long wear.

The focus on subtle detailing and austere, clean lines makes this a chameleon of a shoe. You can dress the Jamila up, keep it laid-back, wear it to work or the movies. Its quality helps keep your look polished, no matter what the occasion or locale. A shoe that makes you longer, more petite and works regardless of the circumstance? Tear-filled relief indeed.