What’s so special about the Alice Bow shape?

There’s no other insoles on the market that has been so carefully fitted to women’s shoes. Not on hypothetical lasts or shoe shapes. And no need to trim to get, at best, an OK-ish fit.

I started with a prototype, which I tested in my own shoes. I’m size 37/UK4/US7, which is sample size - the size designers make their initial shoes on and the size that is usually on display in shops. (If size 37 isn’t on display, it usually means the size is sold out.)

Whilst I’ve got a few pairs of shoes (ahem...), they by no way stretch across all brands.

So I traced my sample insole shape onto a clean piece of paper, cut it out with a bit extra around it and went to town - literally. I hit the major London department stores - esp @selfridges and @liberty - and literally tried the insole shape in all the different shoe shapes and brands they had out in size 37.

Each time, I’d mark with a pencil - so it gradually became clear what the best shape would be.

Did the store staff wonder what I was doing?!

Hell, yes! They thought I was bonkers! But I just told them I was studying shoe design and doing a research project. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Then I shaped the insoles at the front, so they could be worn in either open or closed toe shoes. (You get a cute little underfoot peak of colour when work in open shoes.)

So that, in a shoe shape, is the story of how we achieved the iconic Alice Bow fit.