by Chrissy Iley
I’ve always believed in the power of footwear.
A single purchase can change your life, your height and the way you walk.
Shoes are how we receive the world and how we present ourselves to it. comfortable shoes say I need comfort more than joy, more than sex. They say I work hard.
Shoes that have teetering heels and toe cleavage say I want sex more than life. They’re a little bit desperate, a little bit needy but some days perhaps we need to be needy and some days we need to be comfortable.
However since I discovered some time ago a shop called Henry Beguelin that makes beautifully crafted, incredibly exclusive small runs of wonderful footwear, I realised that you can have both.
With these shoes you can be sexy and comfortable. These shoes open the possibilities of your life. They are the gateways to nirvana. They are better than heroin but as addictive.
The boot that currently is the object of my lust is a soft leather thigh high platform with a single buckle strap just over the knee. All at once you have dominatrix yet cosiness. Who would have ever thought those words would go together in the same sentence let alone in the same boot.
The heels are about four inches, the outer and inner platform combined about an inch. The leather itself is so soft you could scrunch it up into a ball and shine windows with it, not that you want to of course. It’s the softness that makes it look classy.
You can run in them and wear them all day – they are miraculous !
They look more functional than elegant and that in itself is powerful and sophisticated. Henry Beguelin have a shop in LA and a shop in New York another in Aspen and some other high end stores throughout the world may carry selected pieces.
These boots cost $1375 but there are only around 30 pairs in the world so what you’re buying is shoe couture.
I remember wearing some exquisitely formed brown stressed platform sandals that looked a little 1940s inspired by Henry Beguelin when I last interviewed Kylie Minogue who was somewhat of a shoe queen. She loved them. She hadn’t seen them anywhere, she couldn’t get them and that was of course a very nice moment for me.
The history of Henry Beguelin is that in the early 80s a group of friends on the island of Elba started to assemble almost by chance belts and bags in natural cowhide and recycled materials. They created hand made unique items that have since become legendary. Sometimes they decorated the belts with recycled waste. Always there was an embroidered stylised stick figure and they were also commissioned for a collection using recycled cans for Comme de Garcons.
Then this entertaining pastime took a serious turn and the Henry Beguelin brand was born although its spirit remained. Bags, belts, shoes, crafted by hand with ancient mastery. Timeless pieces that are always current because they go beyond the constant fads. They in fact became an expression of luxury.
The company expanded from small leather goods to a few leather baskets and recently have included clothing, leather jackets in the softest and delicious leather and cashmere knitwear.
Recently another sandal, platform with a tassel and beaded with miniature stones has become a firm favourite. It’s teeteringly high yet massively comfortable. It’s sexy and functional though it makes you walk with pride and it lifts your spirits just to know that beautiful sexy objects are on your feet.