There is a specific gap in the market between a shoe that looks right at a wedding and a shoe you can stand in for six hours, and Tony Bianco has built a business inside it. Tony bianco heels cover stiletto heights and kitten heights in the same range, with the same materials and the same finish quality, which lets you make an honest decision about the evening rather than an aspirational one. The slingback is the house's best shape here. A back strap adds security a plain mule cannot and does not interfere with the line of the shoe.

The stiletto group covers the Emily slingback pump in Tan Vintage and Taupe, the Mixa slingback in black suede, the Dima strappy mule in black nappa patent, the Demure thong sandal in silver glomesh and the Savant pointed mule in taupe suede with tan. Of these, the two slingbacks are the most wearable for a long evening and the mules are the least secure. The Samar in Milk Capretto is a slingback pump at a moderate height and the most comfortable of the pumps. The kitten heel group, the Dana sandal in white nappa and the Kassy thong sandal in black vintage, offers the same design language at a height you can genuinely walk in. Capretto is a soft kid leather, nappa is smooth and supple, and glomesh is the metallic mesh used on the Demure.

If you take one thing away, the slingback is the shape to buy and the kitten heel is the height most people should choose. A strappy mule looks the best in photographs and is the least stable thing you can put on for a night that involves grass, stairs or dancing. Nappa and capretto leather will mould to your foot within a few wears, which suede will not. Patent shows every scuff and cannot be repaired. The glomesh Demure is the most striking piece here and the most specific. Sizing runs true with a narrow fit through the toe, and the pointed styles run shorter than the round ones, so size up a half in those.