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The inspiration
Before I begin, I have to confess that I never was ‘into’ shoes and viewed them purely as a practical item rather than a thing of beauty or an accessory to obsess or lust over. That was, until I found the perfect wedding dress (that’s a whole other story and one which I won’t bore you with now) and then needed equally beautiful bridal shoes...
After months of searching for the perfect shoe in local wedding shops, I was beginning to think that high-heeled, pointy-toed silk bridal shoes perhaps just didn’t exist. All the shoes on display in shops seemed to be, well, a little uninspiring to say the least - dusty, frumpy and not at all what I was looking for. There were tons of fabulous sexy bridal shoes featured in all the wedding magazines (believe me, I bought them all!), but where were they? Finding shoes to extend just how wonderful my dress felt to wear became a priority and this Bride wasn’t looking to compromise.
When I did finally track down the perfect pair in a magazine (the beautiful ‘Kendall’ by Paradox), it seemed they were still out of reach. Travelling a couple hours each way into London solely to visit the nearest stockist to order them just wasn’t a viable option - I was battling with ME, struggling to hold down a demanding job through my poor health and also planning our wedding.
Along with location (stores being few and far between), policy was also an issue. It appeared that most stores seemed to want a full deposit on a shoe which would be ordered in especially for me (delivery taking up to 8 weeks), but no refund or exchange would be given if they arrived and didn´t fit or suit me. With samples of shoes hit and miss and no shop displaying the particular shoe I was after, it looked like ordering from a bridal shop was going to be a leap of faith I’d have to take.
Luckily, after much pleading I found a little shop the other side of the country who agreed to sell me my shoes by phone and post them to me and thankfully, they were everything I hoped for and a perfect fit. Cue one very relieved Groom...although little did he realise that the world of bridal shoes would continue to be the topic of conversation at the dinner table for years to come.
Our wedding came and went and my beautiful shoes did an amazing job on the day (no kicking them off to dance barefoot, those beauties stayed on till 3am!), but I was still frustrated at the lack of choice on offer and knew there just had to be other Brides who, like me, also craved beautiful and high quality wedding shoes and who needed a convenient way of purchasing them… The Accessory Boutique was born.
Who we are
Today, The Accessory Boutique is a partnership run by my husband and I and remains a small and family based busiess (based in Suffolk, UK) although we ship bridal shoes and other goodies all over the world to gorgoeus-wedding-shoe starved brides.
What we do
5 years on, The Accessory Boutique has exceeded all our expectations. We’ve been lucky enough to work with some wonderful suppliers who and the pleasure to work with some amazing customers and have built up a solid reputation from simply doing ‘what we do’ well.
Rather than any PR, thousands of delighted Brides and word-of-mouth have helped us grow into one of the leading independent bridal shoe retailers in the UK and we promise to continue to set the high standard for which others try to imitate or follow. Spring 2007 saw us in the finals for the coveted Drapers Footwear "Etailer of the year" award and we made the finals of the Wrapit Wedding Industry "Accessories" Award in February 2008.
We strongly believe that choosing and buying your bridal shoes and accessories should be as easy and enjoyable as possible. We also want you to be delighted with your purchases and thrilled with the service you receive. The entire shopping experience should feel like a treat - indulgent and special – and it’s another reason so many customers come back to us long after their Wedding Day for other goodies.
We also understand that each customer is individual has a different style or look she wishes to achieve. For this reason we offer free no obligation advice by email or phone on sizing, fit, colours and style (based on your own requirements style) to help your find the perfect accessory to make you feel or look special, whatever the occasion.
Kylie
***NEWSFLASH***
For those who haven´t visited us in person recently (as my massive bump is hard to miss!), I´m expecting our 1st baby early July, but am sadly having to start my maternity leave a little earlier than expected for health reasons.
This means we´ll be sadly short-staffed and unable to accept bridal appointments for a little while, so please accept my apologies if you had hoped to visit us during June or July. We shall be reinstating our appointment system as soon as possible and will post any news or updates on our News pages. In the meantime thankfully all our other services will remain unchanged.
Kylie - 22nd May, 2008
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