Gayle King Takes You Behind the Scenes of Sarah Jessica Parker's New Shoe Line
Photo: Jake Rosenberg of The Coveteur
PAGE 2
It's true, the shoes are timeless, exceedingly feminine, seriously sexy knockouts, in shades that range from persimmon to take-no-prisoners poppy; there's an icy lilac, a dove gray, a moody asparagus, a mulberry, a soft cinnamon. There's also a French navy that won't leave anyone debating whether it's actually black. There's a shimmery bittersweet orange, a deep turquoise, and one with leather strips woven together in color combinations that would've done Maud Frizon proud. There are also a couple of nudes for women whose legs don't happen to be alabaster. Gayle zeroes in on Pola, a pointy-toed shoe in gingerbread brown that will blend right in with her skin tone and make her legs look like they go on for miles. "I feel like I've died and gone to shoe heaven," she says with a reverence one usually reserves for an audience with the pope.
It has taken everything Gayle's got not to swan-dive into one of the giant mounds of shoes clustered around the room, scoop as many as she can get into her arms, and make a run for the border. But she knows that if you're planning a getaway on foot, your shoes better feel good when they're pounding the pavement. "Show me something that's really hot but also really comfortable," she says, "and I swear I will marry you!" Gayle has laid down the challenge, and Sarah Jessica is ready, willing, and more than able to respond.
She grabs a pair of minty green Bobbies, kneels at Gayle's feet, and shifts into expert shoemaker mode. "Do you feel that extra padding under the metatarsals?" she asks, as she slips the shoe onto Gayle's foot. "These are all manufactured in Italy. I wanted to make something with great attention to detail," she explains as she traces her finger over the lovely scalloped edge of her label, then slides the shoe onto Gayle's other foot and urges her to go for a walk. Adam, who may have been a geisha in his former life and is certainly an expert in all things Gayle, sweetens the deal with a strategically placed box of her beloved Cronuts 12 feet away. She takes a tentative step, then, realizing that the padding makes a genuine difference, heads straight for the carbs. High heels, fresh pastry...if Adam could get Josh Groban in to serenade her, there's a pretty decent chance she'd never leave the room.
Still, the bargain hunter in her has a question. "How much are they?" she asks, and braces for impact. "They range from just under $200 to just under $500, but most of them are mid-$200s to high $300s," Sarah Jessica says. Gayle nods her approval. The shoes are pricey, until one compares them with virtually any other shoe made by Italian artisans. "Those are hard-earned bucks," Sarah Jessica continues, "so I really tried to give women beautiful silhouettes and colors and excellent quality for their money. I didn't want to do anything that says, 'Oh, these shoes are 2014.' I want my shoes to be part of your world for a long time to come." Between deep bites of Cronut, Gayle agrees: "I want that too!"
She tries shoe after shoe, and they do not disappoint. They're all surprisingly comfortable and carefully made. And they have something else in common: Each shoe has a thin touch of grosgrain ribbon running up the back seam or a tiny ribbon tab on the side of the slip-ons. "What's this?" Gayle asks, charmed by the small surprise.
Sarah Jessica smiles. "The thing is," she says, "when I was growing up, we really didn't have two nickels to rub together, but my mother always made sure that my sisters and I had two grosgrain ribbons in our hair. The rule was that we ironed them every single morning. We even had a special bureau dedicated to hair ribbons." She touches the stripe of ribbon on a jade green Ina. "I have them for my own daughters now, and my nieces wear them too."
Sarah Jessica pauses for a sip of lemonade. "How about trying a flat?" she says, handing Gayle a deceptively simple melon-colored sandal named Wallace. Gayle is shocked and saddened that Sarah Jessica has chosen to drop the F bomb. She stares at Wallace, she stares at Adam, she stares longingly at Etta, a dusty rose T-strap with an ethereal silk flower perched on top.
"See how good it looks on," Sarah Jessica says, scrambling to model the offending flat.
Gayle eyes it suspiciously. "And where would Wallace and I go together?" she asks, as if Sarah Jessica had offered her a grass skirt and a coconut bra.
Sarah Jessica looks to Adam for backup, but he has seen this movie before and knows it will not end with Gayle's opting to become three inches shorter. "Well," she begins slowly, "you could wear it on a boat, or maybe by the pool, or...um...have you met Etta yet?" Sarah Jessica hands the high-heeled beauty to Gayle, and all is instantly right with the world. They chat and laugh, mix and match; they even split a Cronut—sole mates once more.
The collection will be available exclusively at Nordstrom starting February 28th.
First Look! More Glamorous Photos of Sarah Jessica Parker's New Shoe Line, SJP
It has taken everything Gayle's got not to swan-dive into one of the giant mounds of shoes clustered around the room, scoop as many as she can get into her arms, and make a run for the border. But she knows that if you're planning a getaway on foot, your shoes better feel good when they're pounding the pavement. "Show me something that's really hot but also really comfortable," she says, "and I swear I will marry you!" Gayle has laid down the challenge, and Sarah Jessica is ready, willing, and more than able to respond.
She grabs a pair of minty green Bobbies, kneels at Gayle's feet, and shifts into expert shoemaker mode. "Do you feel that extra padding under the metatarsals?" she asks, as she slips the shoe onto Gayle's foot. "These are all manufactured in Italy. I wanted to make something with great attention to detail," she explains as she traces her finger over the lovely scalloped edge of her label, then slides the shoe onto Gayle's other foot and urges her to go for a walk. Adam, who may have been a geisha in his former life and is certainly an expert in all things Gayle, sweetens the deal with a strategically placed box of her beloved Cronuts 12 feet away. She takes a tentative step, then, realizing that the padding makes a genuine difference, heads straight for the carbs. High heels, fresh pastry...if Adam could get Josh Groban in to serenade her, there's a pretty decent chance she'd never leave the room.
Still, the bargain hunter in her has a question. "How much are they?" she asks, and braces for impact. "They range from just under $200 to just under $500, but most of them are mid-$200s to high $300s," Sarah Jessica says. Gayle nods her approval. The shoes are pricey, until one compares them with virtually any other shoe made by Italian artisans. "Those are hard-earned bucks," Sarah Jessica continues, "so I really tried to give women beautiful silhouettes and colors and excellent quality for their money. I didn't want to do anything that says, 'Oh, these shoes are 2014.' I want my shoes to be part of your world for a long time to come." Between deep bites of Cronut, Gayle agrees: "I want that too!"
She tries shoe after shoe, and they do not disappoint. They're all surprisingly comfortable and carefully made. And they have something else in common: Each shoe has a thin touch of grosgrain ribbon running up the back seam or a tiny ribbon tab on the side of the slip-ons. "What's this?" Gayle asks, charmed by the small surprise.
Sarah Jessica smiles. "The thing is," she says, "when I was growing up, we really didn't have two nickels to rub together, but my mother always made sure that my sisters and I had two grosgrain ribbons in our hair. The rule was that we ironed them every single morning. We even had a special bureau dedicated to hair ribbons." She touches the stripe of ribbon on a jade green Ina. "I have them for my own daughters now, and my nieces wear them too."
Sarah Jessica pauses for a sip of lemonade. "How about trying a flat?" she says, handing Gayle a deceptively simple melon-colored sandal named Wallace. Gayle is shocked and saddened that Sarah Jessica has chosen to drop the F bomb. She stares at Wallace, she stares at Adam, she stares longingly at Etta, a dusty rose T-strap with an ethereal silk flower perched on top.
"See how good it looks on," Sarah Jessica says, scrambling to model the offending flat.
Gayle eyes it suspiciously. "And where would Wallace and I go together?" she asks, as if Sarah Jessica had offered her a grass skirt and a coconut bra.
Sarah Jessica looks to Adam for backup, but he has seen this movie before and knows it will not end with Gayle's opting to become three inches shorter. "Well," she begins slowly, "you could wear it on a boat, or maybe by the pool, or...um...have you met Etta yet?" Sarah Jessica hands the high-heeled beauty to Gayle, and all is instantly right with the world. They chat and laugh, mix and match; they even split a Cronut—sole mates once more.
The collection will be available exclusively at Nordstrom starting February 28th.
First Look! More Glamorous Photos of Sarah Jessica Parker's New Shoe Line, SJP
NEXT STORY
