Point your toes, ladies!

Women in Britain may wish to begin carrying some spare plasters in their handbags if the latest news from the fashion industry is anything to go by.

It seems shoes with pointed toes are back in, ousting the beloved ballet pump as next season's style of choice, reports the Guardian.

Designers Balenciaga and Marc Jacobs have both featured the styles in their collections for autumn 2008, replacing summer's popular gladiator shoe.

The celebrities have been quick to respond, with Hollywood star Kate Hudson already having been pictured wearing a pair of pointy toe-pinchers
Shoe designer Rupert Sanderson, however, said that women should not be afraid at the prospect of wearing such a style.

"In our collection for next season, the shoes are pointed but foreshortened, in more of a 50s, Marilyn Monroe, very sexy, confident, grown-up way," he insisted, adding that the shoes are different to their 80s predecessors.

Balenciaga is favoured by celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and its founder Cristobal was once referred to as the "master of all" by Christian Dior.

The brand is also famed for its motorcycle-inspired handbags, such as the Lariat.

Marc Jacobs, meanwhile, is notorious for his peculiar choices in models for his advertising campaigns. In 2007, he chose War of the Worlds actress Dakota Fanning, shrinking his clothes to accommodate her.