A Letter From Michelle — The Elisa
A Letter From Michelle
You still love the old shoes. You just do not want to look like you never left them.
On the one detail that dates a pretty shoe, the six things I would not compromise on, and why they are $64.95.
A woman picked up a pair in the store last month, turned them over, looked pleased, and put them straight back down. I asked why. She said her mother had shoes like these.
That is the difficulty with a shoe you actually like. The details that make it pretty — the strap, the buckle, the stitching around the toe — are the same ones that can date you, and you feel it from across a room without being able to say what did it.
So look at what is underneath. The sole on these is thick and squared off, nothing like the thin sole your mother stood on. That one change moves the shoe forward fifty years, and everything above it can stay as pretty as you like.
Six things I would not compromise on.
The stitching around the toe is real brogue work
Brogue detail is the first thing most makers drop at this price. Here it is punched around the toe and run along the edge, and on the brown a darker shading at the front makes the stitching show. It is what reads as a shoe rather than a flat.
“I love the little brogue details around the toe. They remind me of shoes I wore years ago, but the chunky sole gives them a more modern look. Very cute with jeans.”
Helen M., LancasterThe strap buckles, so your heel stays in
A T-strap across the instep on a small silver buckle — not an elastic, not a snap that works loose by the afternoon. A buckle has holes, so you set it where your foot is today. That is the end of curling your toes to keep a shoe on.
“The buckle strap is what sold me. I prefer shoes that stay securely on my feet, especially now that I’m older. And I think the little silver buckle is lovely.”
Marilyn B., WinchesterThe sole is thicker than you expect
A thin sole is what dates this shape. Put the same upper on a thick squared sole and it stops being your mother’s shoe and starts being one you chose. It also puts something under you on a sidewalk.
“I wasn’t sure about the thicker sole at first, but I really like how it looks with straight-leg pants. The T-strap and decorative stitching make these different from my ordinary flats.”
Elaine T., StauntonA Mary Jane, without being dressed as one
I will not pretend this is a modern shoe in disguise. It is a Mary Jane and means it. What keeps it the right side of the line is that nothing is exaggerated — the toe is round but not bulbous, the buckle small, the strap where a strap should be.
“I’m 72 and still have a soft spot for Mary Janes! The rounded toe and old-fashioned stitching are absolutely charming. 😊”
Dorothy K., BloomingtonThree colors, and the brown is not flat
Brown, black and beige. The brown is the one I would take: warm rather than muddy, and shaded darker around the toe so the brogue work has something to show against. The black and beige are plainer, which some days is the point.
“That warm brown color goes beautifully with my fall wardrobe. I have several pairs of black shoes, so these were a nice change. The darker shading around the toe is a lovely detail.”
Patricia W., RoanokeIt goes either way, and one catch on the brown
With jeans it reads casual, with cream trousers it reads dressed. Now the catch, and I would rather you heard it from me: black and beige run US 4 to US 13, but the brown stops at US 11.
“Wore my brown pair to lunch with my sister and paired them with cream pants and a cardigan. Just the right mix of casual and dressy.”
Joanne R., AshevilleThe Elisa, against what else $65 buys
| Most $65 Mary Janes | The Elisa | |
|---|---|---|
| The toe | Plain, with a seam and nothing else | Rounded, with brogue stitching punched around it |
| The strap | Elastic, or a snap that works loose | A T-strap that buckles, on a small silver buckle |
| The sole | Thin, flat and dated on sight | Thick and squared off, which is what updates it |
| The stitching | None, or printed on to look like it | Decorative, run around the toe and the edge |
| The color | Black, and then black again | Three — brown, black and beige |
| Sizing | Stops at US 10, if you are lucky | US 4 to US 13 in black and in beige |
Why we are clearing them out now
The Elisa was $152.95, and that number was for brogue stitching punched around the toe, a strap on a buckle rather than an elastic, decorative stitching run along the edge and a thick squared sole built under all of it. A good deal of work on a shoe most makers would have sent out plain. But the store turns twenty this year, and my daughters Julie and Amy are both at the counter most days now, which is not something I let myself count on in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept those doors open, so they are going out at well under half of what they were.
And the honest reasoning. A woman does not stop liking pretty shoes at sixty. She starts being offered shoes that are only sensible, and she is expected to be pleased about it. I have never once been pleased by a plain shoe, and I am not going to start selling them now.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$152.95$64.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 58%
- Brogue stitching punched around the toe
- A T-strap that buckles, not elastic
- A small silver buckle
- A thick, squared sole
- Decorative stitching along the edge
- Three colors — brown, black, beige
- US 4 to US 13 in black and beige
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every color and every size the same price · while sizes last
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Think of the last pretty shoe you put back on the shelf.
I would guess it was not the shoe. It was the sole under it.
Look at the sole on these, then decide. Thirty days to send them back if I am wrong.
Go and pick your color.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
PICK YOUR COLOR — $64.95 →This is a personal letter from Michelle Hayes, co-founder of The Hayes Family Hamptons. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.