Super-Bright Loafers: The Ultimate Neon Librarian Shoe?

As much as I love my little brown loafers, I am very much into all the super-bright footwear that's around at the moment. I came across a particularly gorgeous neon pink pair in Topshop at the weekend (see below), but colourful flats are cropping up all over the place right now.

• Pink Tassel Brogues by Topshop, £30

• Leather Tassel Loafers by Asos, £50

• Bow Loafer Flats by Schuh, £65

• Suede Loafers by Topshop, £28 

• Coral Canvas Loafer by Office, £30

I think what I like best about these shoes is the juxtaposition between their neat, scholastic shape and their jolly festive colour schemes. There is a real sense of a joyful disjunction between function and frivolity here, and I love it. I'm sure all five pairs would prove a valuable edition to my wardrobe; coupled with some contrasting coloured tights, they would fit in perfectly with my current 'Revenge of the Neon Nerd' look. 

Indeed, I did come perilously close to buying that pink Topshop pair - £30 is so cheap for something so beautiful! - but I was already buying a coat, a spotted dress, and some austere black wedge-heeled boots, and the shopper's guilt would have been too much. Plus, I already have a perfectly functional pair of non-garish loafers and some purple lace-up brogues; all of my sartorial bases are pretty much covered without the addition of these lovelies. Nonetheless, should anybody out there be looking to get me a PhD viva present, I can assure you that the neon pink pair in a size 6 would go down a storm!

Pink - A - Boo: How to do a Neon Brow

I never used to be very brave with make up, suffering as I do from a lack of patience and a tendency toward cack handedness. I've never perfected that perfect eyeliner flick, and I'm prone to stabbing myself in the eye with my mascara wand, so for me, less has traditionally been more; a dib of concealer there and a dab of Vaseline there, and that's usually my lot. This summer, however, something's changed. With the advent of easy-to-use lip pens like Revlon's Just Bitten and Max Factor's Lipfinity Lip Tint, I've felt more confident trowelling on the slap, and have started incorporating elements of bright colour into my make up (as you can just about discern beneath all the filters in the images below).

But for all the pinks and purples and orangey-reds that I've been trying out on my lips, I've been content to let the rest of my face remain relatively sober. Perhaps it's time to take a leaf out of Chanel's books, and introduce some crazy colour into a less expected facial territory. In the Carine Roitfeld-styled autumn/winter 2011 campaign, the ever-lovely Freya Beha Erichsen can be seen sporting a fine pair of neon pink eyebrows.

I am quite possibly the only person in England foolish enough to think that this might actually work beyond the confines of a glossy magazine, but damn does she look fine. I am honestly tempted to give it a go (minus the Tavi-grey hair). My clothes seem to be getting exponentially brighter as the days get darker anyway, so a garish brow would really just be catching my face up with the rest of me. Plus, Australia's Next Top Model hopeful Izzy has been rocking less-than-subtle pink eyebrows for a while now, and every time I see her I think how incredible she looks.

Amazing, right? And according to this video tutorial that I found up on YouTube, I could easily give the bold brow look a go without having to commit to a full-on dye job; just a little bit of magenta lip-liner and I'm away, apparently! Is Brighton and Hove ready for me to add even more neon into my look? If the advice in this brilliant little tutorial works, we might just find out.