The summer months seem to be the ones worth celebrating. Occasions crop up like weddings, garden parties, baby showers, race days, and suddenly every weekend calls for a different outfit, a different venue, and, inevitably, the same familiar question: what am I going to wear?
When the occasion season arrives, styling can quickly feel overwhelming. But one of the easiest ways to approach event dressing is to start from the ground up. The right shoe doesn’t simply complete an outfit; it helps shape it. Heel height influences the length of a dress or trousers, an open toe changes the overall feel of a look, and colour or texture can guide everything from accessories to tailoring choices.
Sometimes all it takes is one beautifully crafted shoe to make the rest of the outfit fall effortlessly into place. Here’s our guide to occasionwear styling this summer, with shoes designed to take you everywhere your diary leads.
The Races
Race day dressing is all about elevated glamour, sophisticated silhouettes, luxurious textures and shoes that feel as good as they look from morning through to evening. That’s where Maddy truly shines.
This sophisticated slingback court heel brings together timeless design with subtle statement detailing. Crafted in premium leather with a supportive thermoplastic rubber sole, it feels secure and wearable without compromising on occasion-ready polish. For events like the races, where hours on your feet are inevitable, that combination of elevation and stability becomes essential.
What truly makes Maddy stand out is the colourful chevron pattern along each side of the shoe. Pairing soft pinks, warm oranges, rich blues, yellows, and neutral tones, it transforms a classic silhouette into something fresh and modern. It also makes styling surprisingly simple; rather than searching for an exact colour match, you can pull out one shade and build your outfit around it.
Here, we’ve leaned into the softer pink tones of the Maddy, with coordinating accessories for a look that feels feminine and elevated. An elegant fascinator helps tie everything together beautifully, creating a polished outfit from head to toe. The result feels elegant, modern, and effortlessly occasion-ready.
The Baby Shower
Baby showers tend to sit somewhere between relaxed and occasion-ready; you want to feel put together, but not overly formal. The Tangle feels like the perfect choice for when this happens. The soft, pale blue suede instantly brings a lighter, fresher feel that works beautifully for daytime celebrations, while the chunky ribbed sole adds a more modern, relaxed edge. With a wearable 3.5cm lift, Tangle offers enough elevation to feel dressed up while remaining comfortable for long lunches, garden gatherings, and afternoons spent socialising.
To style, we leaned into the powder blue tones with crisp white pleated trousers and an embroidered blouse for a look that feels fresh and effortless. Silver jewellery complements the cooler tones perfectly, adding a soft shine without overpowering the outfit; the delicate stitched detailing adds subtle texture and craftsmanship throughout.
It’s the kind of look that feels easy to wear while still making you feel considered and pulled together.
The Garden Party
Garden parties call for something playful, stylish and practical enough to move easily from outside to in. The Wick captures that balance beautifully. The butter yellow tone feels especially on trend this season, bringing warmth and softness to occasion dressing without feeling overpowering. Crafted and lined in leather, Wick balances statement style with premium comfort, while the layered flatform sole gives an added 5cm height without the discomfort that comes with traditional heels.
The layered sole detailing gives the sandal added personality, while discreet riptape fastening hidden beneath the buckle ensures an easy, secure fit throughout the day. To keep the sandals as the focal point, pair them with light-wash denim and soft neutral layers. Butter yellow and pale blue work beautifully together during summer, creating a colour palette that feels fresh and easy to wear. A soft, yellow-collared blouse ties the look together, while warm brown accessories subtly echo the layered tones within the sole.
If the weather inevitably cools later in the evening, a lightweight denim jacket or pale knit layers effortlessly over the look without taking away from the overall feel.
The Wedding Guest
For weddings, elegance always comes first. You want something refined, comfortable enough to wear all day and versatile enough to style in multiple ways throughout the season. Enter: Embrace.
The peanut suede colourway feels rich, versatile and timeless, while the soft wraparound upper creates an elegant silhouette that supports the foot beautifully. At 7.5cm high, the wedge adds height and elongates the leg, but because the weight is distributed more evenly, it remains far more wearable throughout the day.
The raffia-effect buckle detail adds texture and warmth while cleverly concealing the easy riptape fastening beneath. It’s a subtle design feature that blends practicality with a polished, luxury finish. For styling, we paired Embrace with an olive-green satin dress to create contrast with the softness of the suede. A raffia belt and warm gold jewellery complement the natural tones beautifully, while richer brown accents help ground the overall look.
Whether your diary is filled with weddings, garden parties or spontaneous celebrations in the sunshine, starting with the right shoe allows everything else to fall naturally into place.
Because when you feel good from the ground up, every occasion feels that little bit more effortless with Gabor!
