Jose sent me this great article on designing ladies shoes this week and yesterday when we were communicating through email there was an earthquake! Fortunately, nothing fell down! Jose will be expanding on this topic over the next few weeks and I am excited to learn all about it!!

A lot of people ask what inspires me to design cool working women’s shoes and what things I consider as I am going through the process….

The first question that comes to mind is who is the brand audience that will be buying my designs.   Are they a Junior or Contemporary audience? How do I  incorporate Brand Image and Design?  Do they fit or complement each other?  Can I stretch the boundaries to bring in another audience without alienating my target audience?  These are just a few questions I would need to answer before even beginning the design phase.

Good designs come from how well you do your home work in answering some of the above questions.  Homework means, how well you know your trend, constructions, materials, finally how all this fits into the price constraints you are given.   When it comes to working women, not all trends, and styles translate. 

So, I tend to stay with classic designs where incorporating touches of…. a bow here,  a stone there, an elegant material,  etc.  that accentuates and makes the shoe fresh and new.  This makes the shoe ageless, fresh and fun!   Most people think a career shoe has to be black, a pump with no expression of style,  just another uniform item.  For me expressing myself includes the office place.  Do not get me wrong, there are boundaries.  I find it interesting that even with all the fashion info around us, knowing what to wear is drama.  How can I be fun, fashionable, and professional at the same time?  Remember shoes are accessories that compliment an outfit, but you can definitely make a statement with the right ones.  Why not have some rhinestones, some ruffles, a little crocco, or some satin on your shoes that accent your outfit?   So all this said,   when designing my career shoes, I picture in my mind a total package/ total women — form head to toe.   

 I like my shoes to be  conversation pieces for the women that wear them.  Making her standout in the crowd of sameness.  Making her special,  fun, exciting,  still not forgetting that she is a true professional.

There you have it… sounds simple, right?  Well………