Everything You Need to Know About the Saint Laurent Opyum Pump

I have never seen the fashion world hype up a shoe as much as they did with the Saint Laurent Opyum Pump.  From the moment it hit the catwalk, journalists, bloggers and fashionistas were going gaga for it and for good reason.  This shoe is a feat of beautiful design and impressive engineering.

The Opyum is the perfect patent stiletto.  It somehow straddles the line between being a wardrobe staple (every girl needs a pair of killer black heels) and a crazy extravagance (that heel doesn’t exactly allow for frequent wear).  Let’s be honest this isn’t a practical shoe, this is statement.  I would even go as far as to call it a piece of art.

The Opyum Pump is as classic and timeless as you can get.  Wear it now, wear it in 10 years time, I truly believe we’re looking at a shoe which transcend trends.

Like most of the fashion world I was enchanted by the sculptural  heel.  Although tracking down this mythical shoe was no easy task.  Boutiques had waiting lists longer than my arm, online retailers went directly from “coming soon” to “sold out” and it didn’t make it onto most shop floors.

Despite the elusiveness of this shoe I wasn’t going to let it outwit me, I was like a dog with a bone!  I didn’t give up, even when I thought I’d managed to order a pair through Matches Fashion, only to be left very disappointed a week later when they couldn’t fulfil my order.

I made endless calls and enquiries to just about every retailer and finally tracked them down from the independent boutique Cricket, who were incredibly sweet and helpful.  I highly recommend them, especially if you’re looking for sold out or must have items.

The good news is Saint Laurent have carried the Opyum through into their Autumn/Winter collection, so if you missed out on the first round, you should be able to get your hands on the new and improved version.  I call it improved because they’ve chromed the YSL heel to make it even more of a knock out shoe.  They’re absolutely stunning!  Plus, they now offer two heel heights, 110mm and 85mm.

As if that isn’t enough, they’ve also introduced an ankle boot version which has the choice of a black or chrome heel.  If I’d known they were launching a boot I would have held out for it and forgone the pump but c’est la vie.  You need to check out just how beautiful they are HERE and HERE.

I’ve found these come up large so I would recommend sizing at least half a size down.  I have a size 36 which is my regular size but I would go as far as to say they’re a whole size too big.  In the end, I decided to make it work with the help of in-soles and heel grips as I couldn’t locate a size 35.

It’s fairly obvious these are not the most wearable shoes.  They’re tricky to walk in, not all that comfortable and are pretty “out there” so you’re limited to the number of occasions you’ll be able to wear them.  However, if you adore your fashion, then you’ll understand the notion of “display only” shoes. In a nutshell, the Opyum is a wardrobe trophy for die hard shoes fans.

Outfit details: Trousers – Maje (similar HERE & HERE) | Tee – Ivy Park (similar HERE) | Blazer – Stella McCartney (find HERE) | Shoes – Saint Laurent (find HERE with black heel in limited sizes, HERE with chrome heel & HERE for the boots version) | Bag – Chanel (similar HERE & HERE)

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