Source: own image. Original price: £39.99

The shoes share the same heel height and gold detailing, both are pointed and both are trimmed with studs, pyramid in the Valentino's, spikes in Zara. While the they are sling back in design, the Zara differ in that they have additional studded ankle straps, a definite plus for me. The main difference though, aside from the price tag and origin, has to be material; the Valentino pair are made of leather rather than suede. Suede, though pretty, tends to be fairly delicate, and is best avoided on wetter occasions (trust me, I learnt the hard way). There is also the plastic (or acrylic, can't quite tell) trim lining the front of the Valentino pair which I can really do without. The only real let down with the Zara pair is that they come in the one colour, black when it was the pink I was lusting after. Having put it off, again and again, my first trip back into city centre after exams brought me to Zara's doors. It look some searching for, the way the store display their shoes is particularly unhelpful. And after trying them on for size, I was in love! Not so surprisingly they came home with me that afternoon.

To wear: I've only taken my studded sling backs out once, a shopping trip that was cut short due to the onset of uncontrollable hay fever. I can report that they are fairly easy to walk in given the small heel, however be sure to keep the ankle strap loose as they do tend to pull when walking and of course it is going to hurt when one foot accidently catches against another, so tread with care. All in all, these shoes look stunning and demure in black with a playful but dangerous streak, perhaps not the most comfortable pair of shoes in the world but then most beautiful shoes aren't.

Currently on sale at Zara, reduced to £29.99, grab them before they go!
http://www.zara.com/uk/en/woman/shoes/high-heels/studded-sling-back-c434554p1049680.html