We love hats. We do.

But really, we love accessories, and fashion in general, because as much as a hat will make an outfit, you need suitable clothes to really make that hat stand out. When I first started working at Edie Hats, a year and a half ago, I dreamed at the ability to wear all those feathered hats, that were in the back of the store. I knew instinctively that it didn’t take an occasion to wear these (though it helps for beginners), if you loved it enough, putting one on your head would be occasion enough.

However, I also noticed the shoes, as any shoe lover would. Edie was beginning to carry these shoes after a trip to Spain for a flamenco festival, and brought back the connection to Senovilla, a small shoe company, we now order from regularly.

Here begins a love affair that I cannot break. As much as I try, I can’t stop dreaming of my next pair, and though its is completely unnecessary and definitely frivilous, I will find myself oohing and awwing over a new colour, or style, or combination. And then oh these shoes steal my heart once again. The thing about these shoes is they are unique. Each pair is made in a shop north of Madrid. Made to cover the feet of flamenco dancers, we have arranged to have these available for streetwear as well.

I love the idea that there is a man behind my shoes, and that I know is name through roughly translated orders and niceties with the help of our Mac’s widgets. You can custom order heel shapes and sizes, widths, and the flexibility of the leather or suedes. The colors taken from a palette of sample leathers, or from the colour swatches on the brochure can vary, so you never know exactly which exact shade you will get. I am never disappointed. Hand crafted shoes are a shoe lover’s dream.

My first pair was a kelly green pair of Mercedes. I am not typically a girl who can dance around the downtown area in tiny little stiletto heels like a certain New Yorker woman. The fear of breaking my ankle prevents me, and just so you know, this is not an impossibility. I prefer a much sturdier heel, like the handcarved rosewood heel that these shoes’ have. They are a beauty unto itself; the clasico shape, a sleek 6 cm heel. After 8 frantic hours of hat seeking and finding, up and down ladders and stairs, my feet are not sore. In fact, they will last me the walk home without complaint. How glamorous is this, I know, but shoes especially have a function, and it is a true measure of a shoe’s greatness.

My second pair was a vivid orange Sandalia Cerrada that matched my vintage 60s shift dress perfectly. A choice full of faith, the color worked with the dress, and I could be seen at many of mod nights doing the twist late into the evening wearing this outfit. They have a curved heel, the carrete, and they were bought to dance in, to be paired with spring florals, to be both nostalgic and relevant, they are a shoe that appeals to the eye.

My third pair was a pair of grey Carmen heels that laced half way up. These were my go-tos. They were a practical enough color choice, a charcoal grey, but still contemporary and interesting. Far from black, these heels worked with outfits galore, in the woman in a man’s world kind of way. Carmen, is a strong name for a shoe, and it reminds me of Flamenco women, pounding their heels into the ground, singing contempt for dependance, and approval.

My most recent pair are flamenco shoes and they have the nails in the heels and toes. They are a rich purple hue, with cross straps, the Cruzado. I chose a thick heel, the cubano because I am a beginner, I make mistakes. When I hit the ground, I want to hit it; I felt insecure in a smaller heel. I felt I would fall, or miss, or slip. While waiting for my order to come, I heard someone refer to the cubano heel as ugly and thick. I grew worried. As soon as the order arrived, I tore open the box to see the heel. I held my breath…Or was I breathless? The shoes were gorgeous; I could prove them wrong.

Oh shoes, I take my hat off for you.