Interview with Sindy of The Odd Slipper!

Hi everyone! First of all, I want to say sorry for going somewhat MIA these past couple of weeks...what with a rather impromptu visit from a close friend (from London, no less!) and then a much less welcome visit from a vicious bout of the common cold, I haven't had time for much at all. 

But today, I wanted to share with you a conversation I had with the lovely Sindy, founder of the online petite shoe store The Odd Slipper (and fellow petite herself, at 4'10'')! I discussed the concept behind The Odd Slipper briefly in this post, but wanted to really find out how Sindy was inspired, and what her plans for The Odd Slipper were for the future.

Sindy and me!

Why were you inspired to create a shoe site targeted towards the petite market in particular? 

It comes from not having a place anymore. I did try shopping at Nordstrom, but it didn't do it for me - they've gotten pricier, and that doesn't help women that want to spend in the range of $65 to a $150. It comes from that frustration.  

I've noticed these shoes are definitely both more budget-conscious than other petite shoe brands.  

We want to target that market of women who want quality shoes, but don't want to pay ridiculous prices for it. The more we grow, the more we hope to bring prices even further down - somewhere within the $60 to $120 range. 

A lot of these shoes are also more fashion-forward than other petite shoes I've seen.  

We definitely wanted to provide the basics - and we have - but we also wanted to provide petite women with those fun shoes that they aren't always necessarily able to wear. Since heels aren't great for small feet, a lot of these shoes also have platforms to help alleviate some of the stress.

Some of the various shoes available on theoddslipper.com, including basic black pumps

How did you come up with the voting concept in particular?  

That comes from wanting to make it fun and have people more involved in the process. People sometimes complain about not really being involved in what goes into stores. At the beginning, people were a bit apprehensive about the idea, but now it's pretty active. People are commenting - even if they don't like a shoe.  

And it's surprising because the one that wins isn't necessarily the one I would vote for. 

Are you required to vote to shop on the site? 

 If you don't want to vote, that's fine too - you can just shop! But we appreciate it, and why not take advantage of the opportunity? 

Agreed! You get to incorporate a wide array of views. 

Definitely. And we've had people email us about shoes that didn't win, and sometimes we're able to provide them, or make a batch of them if there's enough interest anyway. 

So you have some flexibility with customization? One thing I've noticed is that you don't make shoes specifically for wide feet - is that coming in the future? 

Wide shoes are definitely the biggest thing that people have requested. We're definitely looking to take it to the next level, create a collaborative effort with the petite community.  We do do custom heel heights - if you like a certain shoe but want the heel to be lower, you can email us and let us know.  

That's awesome! There are definitely shoes I like, but would prefer slightly higher. Does that cost extra? 

No extra. We've also done custom colors in the past, and if a size isn't available online, but someone needs it urgently, we can sometimes speed up the process. 

I know that you also have an apparel line in the works. Can you tell me a little about that? 

We want to start an apparel line targeted specifically for petites 5'2'' and under, since right now, the broad definition of petite is 5'4 and under, and that covers a huge number of women. We're hopefully aiming for something by next fall!  

What sorts of items in particular are you aiming to produce? 

We're starting with premium wool or denim that could retail somewhere like Ann Taylor - but with a lower price. And then hopefully we'll expand into other apparel as well. 

Currently, The Odd Slipper has a pop-up store in the East Village, in conjunction with The Little Shoe Store - a vintage petite shoe shop hosted by the equally lovely Sidney. They're looking to expand into a more permanent location soon, so hopefully both will have a strong online and in-store presence.

Sidney of thelittleshoestore.com and me

Until then, definitely check out both theoddslipper.com and thelittleshoestore.com if you have petite feet. The quality at The Odd Slipper is amazing, especially for the price - and Sindy's ideas for the future have me super excited.

Speaking of super-excited, Happy Super Bowl, everyone! I won't tell you who I'm rooting for but, well, I am from New York...