Ah, the espadrille. Nothing says summer to me like a pair of espadrilles, perhaps because I grew up on Cape Cod where Pappagallo espadrilles were an absolute requirement. These days the espadrille is a bit peppier than my old kelly green ones although they still maintain the braided fiber-wrapped sole and fabric topper that are the espadrille signature. They are updated with kicky fabrics, platforms, slingbacks and other stylish fillips that make them a bit less undyingly preppy.

Why two espadrilles? One of these shoes costs $310 and is a Christian Louboutin, he of those craveworthy red-soled shoes that have nearly supplanted the adored Manolos and Choos as the ultimate footwear status brand. The other is from the humble yet increasingly chic Payless and costs $22.99. As you can see, the soles are similar and both are a heavy dose of summer cute.

I'm all for paying more when the shoe is going to be a part of my life for a long time but for a neat little fashion fix, I'm all about the cheap. So my choice would be the Payless shoe (that would be the one on the top, the Louboutin is available at Barney's). Plus. I'm a sucker for all things red.