What Shoe When - the score card.

A physical one rather than a mental one. Here.

The hardest working shoes in my closet give equal effort to the downside as the upside. They can get low and dirty and then can give style with the best of them. On Style Class this week, Keturah and I deep dived shoe by shoe. Explaining the why behind them: what was top of mind in mine and Alanna’s head when we were working with our Paris based footwear designer Pauline. We talked about functionality - what Cecilia based in Florence is focused on when working with the factories - from both a fit and material perspective. We didn’t get so much into the styling of them - that’s for later. The convo was rooted heavily in form and function.

Clothing, our style, it’s heavily rooted in desire - but I don’t need to say that here. That stories been communicated over centuries - style to include or exclude, to lift someone’s status or hold them down, to finally “get the [girl/guy/job/respect]. All rooted in truisms, sure. But the conversation we’ll have here is about viewing items in your closet, or items you are considering adding, as a tool. Specifically, which tool is needed to build outfits that reflect your style, no matter the temp/terrain/vibe or activity.

Now, shoes are shoes - they’re not Ginsu knives, they’re not supposed to litteraly do everything for you. If you have one shoe that does everything for you, then I would argue that you have a more limited view than me of the range of emotions/terrains you experience or desire. Regardless, setting expectations is key. I personally don’t need one shoe to do everything. BUT I do need to know what that shoe will do. Only then can I make up my mind whether or not it meets my expectations. Like the Bottega apricot feather sandal I bought below - I’ve worn him only once, but I’m not angry. He was clear about what he could deliver, I knew what I was getting in to when we got together.

But my big surprise was when I bought the black Celine slides here. In that spring of 2013, I thought I was buying a runway moment, I thought my CPW (cost per wear) would be abismal, but whatever, I love shoes. But these I’ve worn to death. And then you have the more feminine but seemingly basic Manolo here. I thought he’d be my throw on, my tool to feminize when things leaned to masculine, to “de-sport” something too athletic. But alas, for me, the shoe had the classic nailed, the chill was questionable though there a bit in the navy, suede and non-fussy style - but I think that was negated by the preciousness of the fit and the heel height. And then the modernity was missing. Because he didn’t have the balance of my three adjectives, he operated in a more one dimensional way. Every time I wore them, I felt my style lacked a connectedness. Now that I’ve laid this out, go back to the Celine in the middle - it’s defiantly chill, the shape and the texture certainly modern - referential but not a complete lift of the o.g. Birkenstock. And then it’s a classic, afterall. The ultimate blend of CMC. And the reason the Bottega’s have gotten permission to stay in the closet, even with the minimal wear, is they are CMC - even though entirely different from the Celines. At first glance, it may be surprising the that Manolo’s would score so low for me on a personal level - but now that I know what I’m looking for, this shit doesn’t sneak up on me anymore (most times), because I know the whys and whats that I’m looking for. Good thing, I’ve saved lots - in $$$ and in future design missteps for the collection.

Here are the considerations for determining how I score a shoe:

Can I wear it to the mailbox, to walk a dog with purpose, grocery shopping, to Barre class, on a plane, for a long day of walking in the city, lunch with friends, commuting to work, at work, fancy dinner, chill dinner. What’s the range of temps I can get through in the shoe? Can I walk on cobblestone, stroll across grass, hike on dirt, hang at the beach, or beat it to the office?

So below, a scorecard on some of the shoes. I’ve done a handful here, you may find this helpful. I certainly do from a design point of view, and it gives me a lot of insight into which shoes ultimately work best for us. And which were so amazing, we thought, but didn’t perform as we had hoped.

THE HARRY.

A high scorer, and I thought he would be - he’s been years in the making. It’s the shoe meant to “un-bifurcate” your life. Make the most pragmatic moments more creative - those times when you know a gross shoe would do “just fine” but it will chip away at you, in that way when we just “don’t feel like ourselves.” He really works everywhere but at the formal dinner or “banky” type office. We just were able to get Italy to send us more before their well deserved August break. PHEW!

THE TRIS SLIDE

When we created these, I was so pumped - the ultimate rain shoe. What I didn’t realize is how much we’d be leaning on this style when we want to add some good strange, or when an outfit is screaming a “lot” and you want the foot to just chill things out a bit. It adds the “skin” to big/slim/skin”, the good “ick” to anything to precious/tailored, and stying irony when paired with a sock. Well done, Tris.

The BRONSON

When I originally designed this boot with Pauline, the directive was I wanted a boot with a bit of heel, chill like a cowboy boot but without the role play, refined enough to go to an office, but not so refined that you don’t throw it on for a long Sunday walk in Manhattan. We introduced this two years ago. It’s just so damn functional and that never goes out of style. I’m sorry I only did two colors and I can’t make more this season - we are slow fashion, things take time. But he will come around next year if you missed this year. FYI: I gave him yellow for a plane - for a short business flight yes, but I don’t wear a taller more fitted boot on a plane. I like olives too much.

THE CHRISTOPHER HEEL

I wanted a sandal with a bit more gravitas this season. One that would feel natural with a chunky sock. I love a delicate single soled shoe, but with thicker fall socks, there’s a tension there I don’t lie. The non-good friction, my opinion. This one we designed with a welt, but importantly, the leather extends and covers the welt. See below:

The far left is single soled- a bit more delicate. In the middle is Christopher, he has a welt but it is covered in the leather - it makes a shoe very modern, less overtly classic. On the right the black shoe has a brown leather welt, and at the end a wood stacked welt. To me, this is a design detail - it either adds to an outfit or it can detract. It’s good to know what you’re buying in to with a welt covered in the same material as the upper - something clean, modern with a lot of practicality. This one has the 1.5” heel - so it’s super super walkable. And the addition of socks make it seasonless; a welt also lifts the shoe a bit making wet morning after rain non-threatening. His heel is skinnier so he got yellow marks on cobblestone and grass.

THE MATT HEEL

He is what he is, and he’s not apologizing. But like that feathery Bottega, he’s got all that pomp but with CMC. That means we wear him. A lot. Not a ton. But a lot.

THE HERBERT

He’s been at the top of my list. I had a lot of travel in Europe this summer and found the animal prints so damn functional - giving irony/friction/ick to all the summer cottons and silks in my bag. It was the shoe everytime when I wanted more, but also the one that made air travel really simple. We’ve cautioned people if you have a high arch, you may need to size up 1/2 and (only initially) you’ll use one of those foot spoon thingys. But this shoe has nice give over time, the leather is so rich - you’ll see. We are ordering more cows - they’ll come by the end of September.

THE KUDA BOOT

So good, the wider shaft. Optical illusion but when you’re wearing a straighter skirt over it, it gives the illusion of a skirt over pants. This shoe is so comfortable with an inside wedge. You see, I always loved the idea of wearing a flat boot - but I often felt a little “horse-rider-poser” (that’s a me problem, not a judgement). And sometimes it made my outfit too equestrian. These keep it super modern, they’re great for a range of calf sizes, and they’re crazy rich.

Please check out the class if you missed it - we deep dive on sizing as well - you’ll find it informative. You can WATCH IT HERE. Also, if you reach out to our stylist Acacia (@acacia.tibi) on instagram, she makes it fully her business to know how everything is fitting - she records observations on her clients and her background has her steeped in the technology behind the fits. She’s a basic Reddit review - only you’ll know from whom the information is coming from - and that’s a really good thing.