My First Design Collaboration

Shoes of Prey Design Collaboration, Camel Block Heel Pumps and Taupe Boots

Happy Wednesday loves, and thank you for stopping by! This is the first blog post of 2018, and I'm quite excited about it! We have a whole new year ahead of us, and I can't wait to see what it has in store.

I'm also quite excited about the content of this post; it's all about my first design collaboration!! As many of you know, I wanted to be a fashion designer growing up, so getting to design shoes with Shoes of Prey was that dream coming come true in a special little way. It was so fun and fulfilling to get to create different pairs of shoes that embodied my style. If I'm honest, I designed well over 10 different pairs, even though only 2 were actually brought to life. I went with 2 neutral and versatile pairs for this first collaboration, but hopefully I'll get to bring more of my ideas to life in the future!

The first pair I designed was a rich camel suede pump. I'd been on the hunt for a beautiful camel pump but wasn't able to find one that that I truly loved... so I was thrilled to be able to create exactly what I was looking for with Shoes of Prey!

Camel is one of those colors that can be worn year-round and looks great with so many colors, especially black!

I decided to go with the shade they call 'gingerbread' and opted for suede. I have also been loving block heels lately, since they're so comfortable compared to stilettos while still give me the extra few inches, so I went with a 3.9 inch block heel.

For the lining and soles, I went with black, to add a bit of contrast. One of my favorite details though, is the inscription that I added inside the shoes:

"always be different" -CC

It's a snippet of this full quote by Coco Chanel... "In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."

I love it because it reminds me to stop comparing myself to others & feeling pressured to conform, and to just be me. Growing up I always hated that I was different, especially in high school, but now I'm slowly learning to celebrate it.

We're each unique, with our gifts and our flaws, and it's a wonderful, beautiful thing to be embraced.

The second pair of shoes I created actually embodies that quote beautifully, I only wish I'd had in inscribed on them as well! I originally didn't since it's harder to see inside a pair of boots.

But I love the option of being able to add an inscription with your name, IG handle, or some snippet of inspiration! It makes your shoe design even more special and personal! (Keep reading for a fun coupon code for this!)

But back to design #2...

I love the color taupe, and wanted a pair that were slightly reminiscent of these Chanel ones (I might be a bit of a Chanel fan), without looking like a dupe attempt. What I created fit the bill perfectly.

Made of luxurious soft taupe suede, with the exception of one jet black strip down the side, they're sophisticated and elegant. Then for an edgy twist, I opted to have the heel made from black crocodile leather.

Opening these when they arrived was such a special moment. The shoes were honestly even more beautiful in person than I imagined they'd be. The colors rich and materials high quality & luxurious. I've absolutely loved wearing them the past few weeks, and hope to design another pair soon!

If you want to design your own pair, just head to Shoes of Prey and click 'Create'. There are so, so many ways to customize! Or, you can even go to 'Shop' and choose predesigned pairs and tweak them to make them exactly what you're looking for. I loved both ways of designing, as you can either start from scratch, or find a template for something you like, but change up the heel, colors, or materials to create what your own version!

Don't forget that you can inscribe something inside of your shoes, after you've designed them! Shoes of Prey was kind enough to give me a coupon code for you guys so you can get the inscription added for free: just use 'BELLEBYLAURELLE' at checkout.

If you have any questions at all about the design process, please feel free to drop a comment below, or shoot me an email or IG DM. Thanks for dropping by!

Bisous,

Laurelle

This post was in collaboration with Shoes of Prey, but as always, all thought and opinions are 100% my own!