Angelina Jolie made a most unusual styling decision for her latest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Right in the middle of watching her discuss her children and her starring role in the Maria Callas biopic, I suddenly realized the Mr. & Mrs. Smith star wasn't wearing any shoes. Instead, the mother of six was sporting only a vampy dark cherry pedicure that paired perfectly with her long black shift dress.
My first reaction was horror. I'm of the opinion that getting your toes out in public should be a fineable offense. Yes, even on airplanes. And yes, even if the flight is really long. I know I don't speak for everyone on this, but nothing kills my vibe faster than unsolicited feet. That said, I may have to adjust my stance on the issue. Because, as it turns out, Jolie had a very good reason for flashing her pedicure during the taping.
“I broke my toe yesterday, and I tried to find a comfortable shoe, but I just decided to not," she explained sheepishly before Fallon quickly transitioned the conversation to more important topics.
Writer Laura Pitcher recently wrote a piece for The Cut about 2024 as the year everyone decided to let the dogs out. Thanks to the rise of the naked shoe runway trend, it's easier than ever to flash a little toe cleavage in styles like Sandy Liang's mesh Mary Janes, Brandon Maxwell's transparent jelly sandals, and Tibi's clear rain boots. Think of the naked shoe as the next evolution of the naked dress trend. Whereas other body parts have begun to lose their shock value through repeated exposure, the elusive foot has managed to retain its nasty-sexy allure.
Being shoeless on national television was probably far from ideal for Jolie, a notoriously private person, but at least her toes were on trend. In fashion and beauty alike, burgundy is basically the only color trend that matters this season. In October, Hailey Bieber showed off her juicy wine-red manicure in a TikTok makeup tutorial. Zendaya, meanwhile, favored a rich shade of eggplant reddish purple for her fall manicure. Even the queen of glossy nude hues Jennifer Lopez ditched her usual bubblebath nails for a black cherry manicure in November.
Angelina Jolie evidently got the memo about the dark cherry nail trend before she broke her toe, and for that I think we should all be grateful. At least her feet weren't completely without cover up there.
