Kate’s a big fan of L.K. Bennett, we know she owns several pairs of their shoes, including the Sledge pumps in taupe. Here we see Kate wearing the shoes on a number of different occasions through 2011:
Kate wears L.K. Bennett Sledge platform pumps
Kate has worn her L.K. Bennett Sledge shoes on many occasions throughout 2012 too, including during numerous engagements on the recent tour of Asia on behalf of The Queen’s Jubilee. Kate’s continued wear of these shoes suggest they’re both comfortable and durable. I put them to the test below – scroll down for my personal review!
Where to buy L.K. Bennett Pumps:
If you want to get your hands on a pair of these shoes, the following stores have the Taupe Sledge/Sledge2 shoe in stock:
L.K. Bennett are obviously the first choice for buying your Sledge shoes – they have many colours available, plus they deliver in the UK, Europe and internationally. Generally you’re looking at £4.50 delivery in the UK and £20 for the rest of the world:
Click to buy:
Sarenza also sell a few styles of the Sledge shoes for the same price as L.K. Bennett but they only deliver to the UK – HOWEVER they do not charge any delivery fees:
Click to buy:
For those in the USA, you’ll be pleased to hear Nordstrom offer L.K. Bennett shoes, PLUS they have exclusive colours from the brand. Nordstrom offer free standard shipping in the USA. They also offer shipping to the UK if you love one of the exclusive colours:
Click to buy:
John Lewis don’t ship for free, but they do ship outside of the UK. Of course, Kate and Pippa Middleton often shop in John Lewis (known as Peter Jones in London.)
Click to buy:
Finally, House of Fraser ship for free inside the UK on orders over £50. They ship internationally too:
Click to buy:
All delivery prices are general, please double check on the retailer’s site.
What is the difference between Sledge and Sledge2?
L.K. Bennett only carry the Taupe shoe in the Sledge2 style, but other stockists of the shoe are calling the taupe shoe “Sledge” instead of “Sledge2″ This can be confusing for Kate fans. It is thought that Kate wears the older ‘Sledge’ style.
What’s the difference? Hardly anything.
L.K. Bennett told me:
“Sledge is a patent leather finish and Sledge2 is a high shine leather, other than that the 2 styles are identical!”
Both are shiny, but just treated differently by the looks of it! Now you know!
Review of Kate’s L.K. Bennett Sledge heels:
I wanted to buy a pair of Sledge pumps for a wedding I attended in July 2012 as a treat for loosing nearly 2 stone weight. I originally wanted to buy the patent taupe pair like Kate’s, but instead I bought them in charcoal grey, also patent, because they matched my outfit better. I also thought I might be able to get more wear about of the grey Sledges over the taupe/nude colour. Here’s a rather grainy picture of me wearing them on two different occasions (I will try and update these images soon!)
As you can see in the photo on the left, I have a little toe cleavage. This was first time I’d worn the Sledges out of the house, but the leather (fine Italian leather no less) soon stretched and the nasty toes disappeared! I found the Sledge platforms to be super comfortable; I can see why Kate wears them so often. You don’t feel like you’re wearing super high heels. I bought the Sledges in a UK size 7 and I’d say I’m a 7.5 with wide feet. I think a 7.5 would have been perfect for me, but the 8 was too big. I’ve worn my Sledges several times now and each time I find they really do fit like a glove. Further, I have chunky ankles and I think these really elongate the leg. They made me feel very ladylike!
Reheeling and resoling:
I was worried about water damage to the bottom of my Sledge shoes, so I took them to Timpson and had a very thin, beige half sole applied to the bottom after the first wear (this was recommended to me by someone else). L.K. Bennett also provide a spare heel tip with the shoes (very useful!) I scuffed a bit of the patent leather on the heel and the Cobbler was able to put a little glue on the shoe which fixed the issue nicely. Just be careful when getting them resoled – tell the Cobbler explicitly that the shoes are expensive and need extra care.
Please note: In no way was I compensated for this review; I paid full price for my L.K. Bennett Sledge heels.
Am amazed a pair of LK Bennett Sledge 2 Taupe shoes on ebay (and used) currently on at £142!! I bought some new ones for £150 last week after your tip off re availability at Selfridges! Am v pleased.
That’s great news Angela, glad you managed to get a pair because they sold out awful quick after I put the link up!
They were also approx £20 cheaper than LK bennett, House of Fraser & John Lewis!!!
It’s amazing how there’s an (approx) £30/40 quid second hand Zara dress on eBay (monochrome one worn recently) that’s now up to around £90 in bids. If that particular garment was actually worn by Kate I’d understand… but come on… that’s mad! I’d rather pay less and buy one similar!
What is the difference in the taupe and light taupe colours? There is only light taupe Sledge shoes available on the LK Bennett website. Is it the same one that Kate wears?
I *believe* Kate does wear the light taupe colour.
It says “Taupe – light taupe” in the description. The others say “Grey – charcoal” and “Purple – plum” as well. It’s almost like they’re giving two colour names for every style. Hope this helps.