Girls, can you help me (and us out), please?
Bottom line, I need to know what your shoe needs, wants, complaints and loves are so we can make shoes for us – women with extended size calves, swollen feet, and sassy attitudes (OK I just threw that in). I’m setting up five zoom sessions on Friday May 20 to do what is called market research. It’ll be casual and fun. But I need to hear you so we can build this with all of us, in all the stages, in mind.
If you’re interested, email LegsLikeMine@gmail.com with the subject: SHOES. I’ll need your email addresses and phone numbers, but promise not to put you on any crazy mailing list or share it. Also you could reply here with your email if you’d like.
And you know, I love getting pictures to help tell the story. If you have pics of your shoe challenges you’d let me share, I’d love it. I’ll have to send you a media release. I’ll get my people to get with your people…(I don’t have people, yet!)
Now, on to my story, if you’re interested…
I’ve worn a size 13WW shoe since I was 12. Shoe shopping was irregular, unpleasant, and expensive after that. In OKC, we had one store (After 9 shoes) with a guy that we called Elvis working there, that could accommodate my feet. They closed, and I started buying shoes during work trips to Vegas and San Francisco where the gay population saved me from going barefoot. Seriously. Also, I wear a lot of men’s shoes, sadly. Due to my calf size, boots are completely out of the question and this past three years I got my first pairs of both ankle boots and actual women’s sandals (thank you David Tate shoes and Aravon!)
You’ve heard my story about my mom. I have numerous memories of going to to the store, her trying on boots, or us bringing her internet wide-calf boots to try. We’d get our hopes up, she’d pull them partway up, then immediately pull them off and throw the boot across the room. She usually muttered something about hating her deformed legs as we walked away. Over and over it goes.
Eventually, we quit looking in stores at all. We just gave up.
So, fast forward. I now am part of the lipedema community – one of millions who are not being served by the fashion and shoe industry. I see pictures of women with their feet spilling out the top, burns on the ankle cuffs due to shoe rubbing. I’ve even heard stories of women who have gone for YEARS without shoes because they aren’t available, and women walking in snow with SARAN WRAP on their feet because there are simply not winter boots in our extended sizes. I’m mad about it. So I’ve decided to do something about it. Girls, we deserve better!!!
I’m starting a shoe company. Just for us. The tiny feet people can’t play. LegsLikeMine in one year, will have shoes and boots for us, so help me. I’m speaking and typing it into existence.
I’ve connected with the right Shoe Consultant, have joined the groups, and am taking classes on the shoe business. Who knew it’s complicated. Once I’m educated, I’ll have the full business plan in place and will meet with designers to bring my ideas to life. We’ll prototype, we’ll test, we’ll kickstart, we’ll patent, we’ll preorder. It’ll be great!
Also, I want ALL the shoe companies and budding entrepreneurs to compete – PLEASE dear GOD, someone make more choices for us! I’ll have some offerings, but we need ALL the companies to address us as a big chunk of the population, who it turns out, need shoes!
Thanks for your support and already, excitement. I cannot wait to make this happen!
Susan
