Ah, shoes. They’re the stuff of legends, fairy tales, and an
award-winning HBO series. Cinderella needed the glass slipper to marry
her prince. Dorothy clicked the heels of her ruby slippers three times
to get back home. And Carrie Bradshaw’s collection of Manolo Blahniks
was worth more than a down payment on her New York City apartment. We
admire any gal who throws caution and comfort to the wind for a sexy
stiletto. Meet four Dallas women with collections to covet.
THE HEIRESS Kari Schlegel, shoe size 8
SMU student and Dallas debutante Kari Schlegel has a thing for
heels. In fact, she wore them every day on campus during rush before
surrendering to the pain and purchasing a practical pair of walking
shoes. It must be in the genes: Kari’s mom Myrna wears heels
religiously, and Kari used to play dress-up in her mom’s shoes.
She
continues to do so today. Kari, her sister Kim, and their mother all
wear the same size shoe, so between them, they have quite a collection.
Kari alone has more than 100 pairs of heels neatly displayed—one facing
forward and the other back—on her closet shelves. The most outrageous
shoes she’s ever worn were high heels covered in blue crystals. “For a
costume party, I went as Lady Liberty.” God bless America.
WHY SHOES: “They are the main attraction of a wardrobe. You can build an outfit around shoes alone.”
MOST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $610 orange snakeskin Dolce & Gabbana pumps
LEAST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $12 rubber flip-flops from J. Crew
FAVORITE BRANDS: Dolce & Gabbana, Manolo Blahnik, and Gina
FAVORITE PLACES TO SHOP: Sebastian’s, Gregory’s, Jimmy Choo, and Neiman Marcus NorthPark
THE TRAVELER Amy Lepard, shoe size 10
“The amount of money I spend on shoes could feed a Third World
country,” says Amy Lepard of her shoe obsession, which started with a
pair of black Jimmy Choo heels from Gregory’s. At the time, she was a
teacher at Wellington Elementary School in Flower Mound and soon
garnered a reputation for her shoes. She even credits the bright shoes
she sported for holding the kids’ attention. “It’s psychological,” she
says. “Something about [the shoes] just made them listen and pay
attention to me.”
Since then, Amy has recorded an R&B/pop
album, and she often travels back and forth to LA—but not without her
shoes. She takes at least 50 pairs when she goes out on the road,
toting them in big bags in the back of her Hummer (which, she points
out, costs less than her shoe collection). Amy keeps the original boxes
at her home in Lewisville, so every pair has its place.
WHY SHOES: “You can wear any brand of clothing and put it with great shoes and it will make a difference.”
MOST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $1,500 Azzedine Alaia alligator sandals
LEAST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $9 Texas Tech flip-flops
BEST BARGAIN: Jimmy Choos she got on sale for $250
FAVORITE BRAND: Yves Saint Laurent
FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP: Gregory’s (the only Dallas shoe store she frequents)
THE ENTREPRENEUR Beth Whitman, shoe size 7 1/2 or 8
Beth Whitman has come a long way, baby. “We didn’t have much money
when I was a child,” she says, “so we would get one pair of shoes from
Payless for the whole year.” At age 9, in a shrewd swap, she acquired a
pair of shoes from a neighbor who wanted her Casio keyboard. Her
skillful trading turned into a regular habit until she could afford to
buy her own. For years she sold inexpensive shoes on eBay, taking the
profits and buying better shoes for herself.
At age 16, she
helped open and manage the shoe department at Oshman’s. From there, she
worked for various shoe boutiques, including Marni’s and Saks. In 2003
she opened B. Whitman in Southlake Town Square. Beth now has about 300
pairs, which she stores in boxes labeled with Polaroids. She admits to
having 10 to 15 pairs of unworn shoes. “Sometimes I forget they’re even
there, or I just don’t have the right outfit [with which to wear
them].” Not a bad problem to have.
WHY SHOES: “I like for people to ask, ’Where did you get those?’ They are conversation pieces.”
MOST EXPENSIVE PAIR:: $1,600 Jimmy Choo boots
LEAST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $40 Dr. Scholl’s Mary Jane house shoes
MOST UNUSUAL PAIR: Eugenia Kim’s white patent leather heel with a cat face on the round toe
SHOE OF THE MOMENT: black round-toe pump by Eileen Shields
THE DIVA Krickett Hancock, shoe size 9
Krickett Hancock’s shoes are hard to fill. She’s a model, a jewelry
designer, and a vice president at U.S. Risk Insurance Group. Not to
mention she has a lot of shoes to fill: about 500 pairs. Has she really
worn all of them? “Actually, yes, except the Jimmy Choo buffalo-hair
boots I just bought,” she says. (She wore them for this photo shoot.)
As a thank-you to a stranger who found and returned a newly purchased
ostrich feather bag, which she’d left in a New York taxi, Krickett
purchased 14 pairs of shoes from his friend, Edmundo Castillo, who was
an up-and-coming shoe designer at the time.
Krickett’s advice?
“Always start with the shoe.” Before getting dressed, she asks herself
a series of questions: how long will I be standing? What surface will I
be standing or walking on? What is the weather like? What size heel
works best? What shoe? And, finally, what goes with the shoes?
WHY SHOES: “Shoes really dress up your blue jeans. You can
throw them on with sunglasses, an incredible handbag, awesome shoes,
and a simple top to make a great outfit.”
SHOE SECRET: Krickett gets all of her shoes padded for
traction so she doesn’t take a spill. The pads also protect the soles,
so they last longer.
MOST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $2,600 Jimmy Choo buffalo-hair boots
LEAST EXPENSIVE PAIR: $3.50 rubber flip-flops from Target
FAVORITE DESIGNER: Edmundo Castillo
FAVORITE PLACES TO SHOP: Krista de la Harpe, Stanley Korshak, Jimmy Choo, Escada,
and Chanel
