A red heeled sandal earns its place through the strength of the red, not the height of the heel. The good ones commit to a true, confident tone, something closer to a poppy or a cherry than a muted brick, because a washed out red on a sandal tends to look apologetic, as if it wishes it were nude. Patent and smooth leather carry the colour best, since they catch the light and keep the shade looking rich rather than chalky, while suede in red can be lovely but needs saturated dye to avoid looking dusty by midsummer. Look at the last before anything else, a rounded or slightly tapered toe wears better with bare summer feet than a sharp point, and a footbed with proper shape, not just a flat sole slapped under leather, will still feel comfortable after a full day on cobbled streets.
Heel height should suit where the shoes are actually going. A block or wedge in the seventy to eighty millimetre range holds up on gravel, sand paths and uneven pavement, which matters more on holiday than at home.
A slender stiletto version belongs to dinners and evenings out, not to a day of walking, and the ones that try to do both usually do neither well. Ankle ties and slim straps are worth the fuss they cause when dressing, since they lengthen the leg and stop the foot looking cut off at the arch, which a plain slip on sandal can sometimes do.
Styling them is straightforward once the colour is respected.
Red does not need to be matched or echoed elsewhere in the outfit, and often looks best against ivory linen, denim, olive, camel or a simple black slip dress, letting the shoe do the work as the only accent. It sits happily with gold jewellery, a woven bag and sun warmed skin, and looks equally right with tailored shorts for lunch or a fluid dress for dinner.
These are occasion shoes in the loosest, most useful sense, built for the stretch of the year when evenings are long and pavements are warm. They suit beach town dinners, a wedding abroad, a birthday held outdoors, or simply the kind of holiday where the right shoe becomes the outfit’s whole argument.
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