Laura Marano brought one of her more dramatic red-carpet looks to the 2019 Teen Choice Awards in Hermosa Beach, California, on August 11, 2019, pairing a hot-pink Raisa Vanessa Fall 2019 mini dress with towering black Ruthie Davis platform sandals.
The shoes provided a sharp counterpoint to the dress’s layers of ruffles and pleating. Ruthie Davis’ Trophy Bling sandals combined a substantial front platform with a high stiletto heel, slim crisscross toe straps, and T-strap ankle detailing, giving the footwear enough visual weight to register against the exaggerated rose-pink dress.
At about 5’1″ (154.9 cm), Laura Marano wears a US size 7 shoe, and this was not her only Raisa Vanessa pairing of 2019. At the MTV Movie TV Awards that June, she wore a crystal-embellished Raisa Vanessa two-piece with Stella Luna XXL Chain sandals, showing another way she used statement footwear with the label’s highly detailed clothing.
Laura Marano pairs a hot-pink Raisa Vanessa ruffled mini dress with towering black Ruthie Davis platform sandals at the Teen Choice Awards in Hermosa Beach, California, on August 11, 2019 (Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN / Apega)
Marano had another reason to celebrate that night: she won Choice Comedy Movie Actress for her performance as Celia Lieberman in The Perfect Date. She was also nominated for Choice Ship with her co-star Noah Centineo.
A closer look at the oversized ruffles, asymmetric shoulder, and contrasting black belt on Laura Marano’s Raisa Vanessa mini dress
She finished the ensemble with statement jewelry from the Atelier Swarovski Moonsun Collection by Penélope Cruz, keeping the focus squarely on her dramatic footwear.
The black heels featured a thick platform, slender stiletto heel, crisscross straps over the toes, and studded T-strap detailing around the ankle.
Laura Marano’s one-shoulder Raisa Vanessa dress combines layers of rose-pink ruffles with the dramatic height of Ruthie Davis Trophy Bling platforms
Laura Marano’s Shoes: Ruthie Davis Trophy Bling Platform Sandals
The Trophy Bling sandals belonged to the same statement-shoe vocabulary Marano had explored on earlier red carpets. At the 2016 Kids’ Choice Awards, for example, she paired a colorful Moschino look with Alejandra G “Wanda 4 Pink” caged booties featuring 4.3-inch heels.
Here, the Ruthie Davis design pushed the proportions further with a tall stiletto balanced by a thick front platform. That construction is common in dramatic red-carpet sandals: the platform adds height while reducing the effective foot angle compared with a heel of similar height without one, as seen in other celebrity favorites such as the Jimmy Choo Max 150 platform sandal.
A side view highlights the substantial platforms, slender stiletto heels, and ankle T-straps of Laura Marano’s Ruthie Davis Trophy Bling sandals
From the front, the Ruthie Davis platforms reveal their slim crisscross toe straps and studded ankle detailing
The Trophy Bling sandals were listed at $357 at the time of Marano’s 2019 appearance.
Ruthie Davis Trophy Bling black platform sandals with T-straps, stud detailing, and stiletto heels
From Pink Platforms to Cobalt Tailoring: Laura Marano’s Other August 2019 Look
Five days earlier, on August 6, 2019, Marano showed the other side of her red-carpet style at Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event at The H Club Los Angeles. She wore a metallic cobalt-blue Cavanagh Baker pantsuit with wide-leg trousers and Hearts On Fire jewelry, replacing the Teen Choice Awards’ exaggerated ruffles and towering platforms with a cleaner, ’70s-influenced tailored silhouette.
Taken together, the two appearances captured two distinct strands of Marano’s red-carpet style in August 2019: high-impact glamour built around dramatic volume and towering heels, and tailored retro chic shaped by metallic fabric and wide-leg proportions.
Five days before the Teen Choice Awards, Laura Marano chose metallic cobalt tailoring by Cavanagh Baker for Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event at The H Club Los Angeles on August 6, 2019
Why Platform Sandals Work So Well on Petite Frames
For petite dressers, platform sandals can add noticeable height without creating the same steep foot angle as a comparably tall single-sole heel. The raised forefoot helps offset part of the heel height, while a substantial sole can give the shoe a steadier base and enough visual weight to balance minis, wide-leg trousers, and longer gowns. The key is proportion: platforms work best when the shape complements the outfit rather than cutting abruptly across the leg.
Laura Marano’s Ruthie Davis sandals are a good example. Their towering heel adds drama, but the thick front platform helps balance the pitch and gives the otherwise delicate strappy design more presence beneath her ruffled mini dress.
👠 Petite Stars Who Make Platform Sandals Work:
- 📏 See how celebrities 5’2″ and under use heels and platforms to play with proportion, from streamlined leg-lengthening shoes to bolder height-boosting silhouettes.
- 🖤 Vanessa Hudgens uses sculptural platform sandals to amplify her 5’1″ frame, including a dramatic Michael Kors Met Gala look where the footwear supports the gown’s strong proportions.
- 🎮 Bel Powley pairs Nicholas Kirkwood Maya Pac-Man platforms with a Mary Katrantzou mini, letting the substantial sole add height while remaining deliberately visible beneath the short hemline.
- ✨ Sarah Hyland shows how Jimmy Choo Holly platforms can work on a 5’1″ frame, using the bold sandal shape as part of the outfit rather than treating the shoes as an afterthought.
- 🌈 Teala Dunn goes all-in on height with psychedelic Y.R.U. platform sandals, turning the exaggerated sole into the focal point of an already playful look.
- 🪩 Lea Michele balances a petite frame with six-inch Stuart Weitzman Hollywood platforms, pairing extreme height with a substantial forefoot platform that tempers the shoe’s pitch.
- 🥈 Kylie Minogue makes silver Dolce Gabbana platforms part of her red-carpet formula, using the towering sandals to complement gowns and minis while keeping the footwear visibly integrated into the look.