Shoe blog

Phootlery… Not Just a Fun Word Anymore

A while back, I was invited to the showroom of a woman with a brilliant idea.

What if you wanted to go travelling and didn’t want to fill up your suitcase with heavy, bulky pairs upon pairs of shoes?

Not surprisingly, the answer she came up with is shoes with interchangeable uppers.  We’ve talked about this idea before, but Phootlery’s offering is a particularly smart and stylish way of going about it.  Instead of a clunky or challenging method of swapping out your uppers, these different strap combinations hook onto the sole with the ingenious idea of little lingerie hooks that you insert into elastic loops on the sole.  It’s a delicate, discreet way of jazzing up your footwear that won’t fall apart on you, either.

With Phootlery sandals, you start with a choice of sole: silver, gold, or chocolate (all leather) and flat or low wedge (so you’re comfily set up no matter what you pick).  The soles have a bit of padding and are made of Italian leathers and trust me—I tried a pair on—they’re comfortable.

OK, got your sole chosen (they cost $100 and run from EU 35/US 5 to EU 41/US 11)?  Here’s the fun part.  Time to pick out your uppers.

Black crocodile embossed gladiator style?

Intertwined lemon-yellow and snakeskin ankle strapping?

There are bunches of options.  Here are only some of the ones I got to see to give you some idea of the variety you’ve got at your fingertips.

And the New York Times has just featured Phootlery in its TMagazine, so I imagine the order volume will be jumping.  Get in on this one early.  These are winners, especially in a time where many of us are worrying about spending tons of money on more and more shoes.  How about getting just the one sole with a few different uppers instead.  Change up your sandals without doing too much damage to your wallet.