So If Cheryl Cole Says Men's Shoes Are A 'Deal-Breaker', What Do You Make Of This Fancy Footwear?

Forget an Armani suit or a black tie; a man's shoes are the key to Cheryl Cole's heart. Speaking to the Mirror newspaper, the popstrel confessed: 'When I meet a guy I check out his smile, his eyes and then his shoes.' So how did Ashley Cole slip through the net, eh?

This does explain why Chezza is such a fan of Will.I.Am who is oft spotted out on the town wearing his beloved pair of gold spiked Christian Louboutin pumps. Meanwhile, Simon Cowell leaves a lot to be desired with those pointy, not to mention HEELED Cuban boots covered by his inexplicable attachment to wide-leg jeans. Bleugh.

Anyhoo, Cheryl's confession has got us ogling the fancy footwear of our favourite men. No, we're not talking about our husbands or boyfriends, silly. We mean, of course, the likes of David Beckham who is always ever so dapper in smart shiny lace-ups and even looks good in flip-flops (nice work, Vicky B). Or even Johnny Depp who verges on the more scruffy side of the shoe spectrum.

Now, if we were to follow Chez's mantra, our dream man would have to be the stylish Mr Olivia Palermo. Johannes Huebl arrived at the Valentino Couture show this week wearing a delightful pair of pale blue suede shoes, which makes sense considering he has the fash-icon-du-jour tottering by his side in sparkling silver peep-toes. What a lot to live up to, hey? Although we're sure OP points his tootsies in the right direction.

Speaking of which, let's not forget Pacey Witter Joshua Jackson who was also dragged to the Couture shows by his fash-tastic missus and chose to wear a pair of slip-on black loafers sans socks. French fabness or totally gross? The jury's out on that one...  

But what a fun game this is! If you wanna judge men based on their footwear merits, take a scroll through the testosterone-filled gallery above. There you'll find the likes of Brad Pitt's initialed slippers and Ed Westwick's red Peter Pan concoctions - which fella gets your fancy footwear vote? As for the Mr Cole wannabes out there (ahem Chace Crawford), we suggest you get Monsieur Louboutin on the blower.