Name- Nicole Smallwood- Age 35-Occupation- Fashion and Celebrity Stylist- Shoe size 9/10UK-Biggest Bug-Bare -Never being able to find fashionable shoes that fit !!
Being a stylist you'd think I'd have the pick of the bunch when it comes to finding fabulous stylish shoes in larger sizes.. Wrong....it's a chore to find shoes I can actually squeeze my feet into never mind them being socially acceptable to wear out in public. For those of you with standard size feet (what ever that is these days ?) you can't even begin to understand what a complete emotional drama it is shoe shopping on the High St.
Don't get me wrong there are the occasional pair you can shoe horn your feet into, but the majority of time it's a living nightmare.. From being directed to the men's department, to a shop assistant saying "why don't I bring out the 7 for you to try".. What part of "I'm a size 9" did you not understand. To getting totally overwhelmed by the whole shoe shopping experience and ending up really emotional sometimes even crying.
When you finally locate those 'Specialist' shops that sell shoes for larger feet, well what can I say as a stylist, lover of fashion but a realist about what you should and shouldn't be wearing, these shops would not be on my go to list. Bad heels, bad toes, bad fabrics I wouldn't be seen dead in 99% of their offering.
Having spent 10 years working for Marie Claire magazine and 3 as a freelancer, I thought it was about time I did something to solve this long standing problem.. On the 1st October I'm launching my collaboration- Upper Street by Nicole Smallwood a shoe line specifically targeted at size 40-44 feet (although available in all other sizes to order) fashionable foot wear in larger sizes, differing heel heights and two width fittings.
http://www.upperstreet.com/partner/comingsoonlargesizecollection/
This is my journey to help find the perfect shoe, Cinderella shall go to the ball.
http://www.nicolesmallwood.com