Hello friends! The Resort Collection pre-order is in full swing, with four splendid vintage reproduction styles on sale for 15% off through March 2. We are thrilled to see how excited everyone has been about Clementine, Cora, Beverly, and Betty!
We are a historical reproduction shoe company, after all, so it is only appropriate to tell you a little but more about our design process behind the styles in this collection.
First off- why ‘resort’? Well, this time of year is traditionally when designers release their resort-wear collections ahead of spring. We were inspired by this idea- bringing a little sunshine and anticipatory warm-weather excitement into our first launch of 2025. These styles will arrive in the height of summer in the northern hemisphere, so you will be perfectly positioned to traipse around in your new Resort Collection styles. Though, of course, you can always sport your Beverlys and Clementines with thicker socks or tights to make them wearable through all seasons!
Imagine denim/ivory Clementines with some fun tights, or Beverly in cordovan/soft white with some cable-knit socks peeking through cuffed trousers!
Given the overall theme of the collection, we wanted to release some fun, sporty, and all-around versatile shoes that were modelled off of leisure wear, warm-weather shoes, and casual options from the 1930s-1950s.
Clementine is based on ghillie shoes or, ‘ghillie sandals’ from the 1930s and 1940s. All manner of iterations of this sort of shoe were made back in the day.
Some other types of ghillie shoes from period advertisements.
You can find examples of lace-up espadrilles with tabs, without tabs, with slingbacks and with full heel counters. We were especially inspired by the canvas ghillie sandals produced by Kedettes. They are so charming and unique!
We wanted to ensure that Clementine was a super comfortable, easy-breezy option. So, we built it on a new last with a comfortable, rounded toe, and used our super-popular 1.6″/ 4 cm Cuban heel (the same as on Paris and Claire). We also wanted this shoe to be leather-free and textile based. Clementine has beautiful cotton canvas uppers and cotton canvas linings. The tabs are lined with a sturdy synthetic yoke, which reinforces their shape. We picked a series of period-accurate and attractive solid colors, which look wonderful paired with complementary grosgrain piping.
Multi-colored stripes were a fashionable and popular option for summertime footwear in the 1940s. So, we sourced some beautiful multi-colored striped cotton to use for one version of Clementine. They look so iconically vintage!
Just a couple of examples of how multi-colored stripes and themes were popular in 1940s casual footwear.
Betty is our version of a classic, vintage, go-anywhere sandal. We wanted something that had the perfect amount of foot exposure- enough coverage to keep you feeling secure, but open enough to keep the sandal from feeling dowdy or too hot. We also wanted to create a sandal with a vintage wedge heel and platform footbed, to make the shoe really walkable and comfortable. We looked at lots of vintage sandals and archival materials like catalogues and museum collections.
We found a fabulous vintage sandal that we used as our aesthetic inspiration for Betty. With several adjustments for fit and style line perfections, we re-mapped this original shoe into the sandal that would come to be known as Betty.
The original reference for Betty was made in black suede. In addition to the reliable black, we chose red and navy suedes. They look SO 1940s in these colors! For those who are nervous about suede, fear not- Betty is made from specialty suede for footwear, and it is durable and easier to clean that you might expect. With some Angelus Water & Stain Repellant and a Suede & Nubuck Kit on your side, you can keep your suede Bettys looking spiffy!
We also made Betty in one smooth leather colorway, a lovely classic walnut brown. You can pair these with basically everything in your wardrobe. If you’re going on a trip and need one pair of sandals to take you from sightseeing to dinner out, these are the ones.
Beverly is a fun one. There were lots of different vintage shoes that inspired it. We love the look of vintage golf shoes. They really have that leisurely vintage energy that we were going for with this collection. We also adore 1950s ‘flatties’, the grandparents to today’s ballet flats (and the ballet flats of the 1980s, and the 2000s…hey, has anyone ever wondered if fashion is cyclical?).
Inspired by casual sporting shoes from the 1940s and 1950s and the aforementioned flatties, we created Beverly- a smart, sharp spectator-aesthetic shoe that is dreamily soft and comfortable. Some may look at Beverly and think of saddle shoes- and you would be onto something! While saddle shoes typically have white toes and heels with black or brown saddles, they did come in versions that were closer to what you see on Beverly.
Beverly also comes with a rubber sole, which makes it especially durable for any number of activities. Beverly has a very low, rubber heel lift as well. Once you put these shoes on, you will know what we mean- they fit closely and comfortably just like a glove, and with wear, they will mold just perfectly to the foot.
Last but not least…Cora. We first released Cora as a Royal Vintage shoe back in 2019. The original Coras came in two colors- teal and coral- with coordinating grosgrain ribbon laces.
The original Royal Vintage Coras, from 2019.
Cora was originally based on a few different vintage sandals, including a green pair in our collection.
With re-developing this shoe, we wanted to fine-tune the fit and style lines. We made the straps narrower, the cutouts a bit more open, and the shoe as a whole sleeker overall. Just like the first version, Cora 2.0 has our reliable and sexy 3″/7.62 cm Cuban heel.
Color-blocking was very fashionable in the 1930s and 1940s. There are several examples of color-blocked sandals like Cora in museum collections and archives.
We knew we just had to do a color-blocked version of Cora. We experimented with color palettes that felt very evocative of the originals, and we ended up falling in love with not one, but two color-blocking palettes: a pink, coral, and ivory version, and a green, navy and ivory version. Both color-blocked iterations of Cora are simply splendid! They look so chic and very 1940s.
Aren’t they just simply irresistible?
Like with Betty, we also wanted to make Cora in smooth leather, for those who prefer it to suede. So, Cora also comes in a beautiful rich walnut color, and a fresh and clean ivory color. Both are ideal for spring and summer wardrobes. All colorways lace up with a coordinating petersham ribbon lace.
Et voila! There’s some insight into our thoughts and design process for the Resort Collection. We are so pleased with how cohesive and evocative this collection is. Fore!
The Resort Collection is 15% off from Feb. 21- March 2 in our US and UK/EU stores.
Pre-Order is Open
Feb. 21- March 2
15% Discount Per Pair
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