el blog

Comfort Finds a Conga Partner (and She's Cute)

By Meghan Dryzga

Hi. My name's Meghan and I have an affinity for comfort. I don't find any glory in being fashionably in pain.

But you know who comfort looks good on? Not me. Like, five-foot-ten, long, lean, trend-ily waify, glossy skinned, moisturizer mandatory, makeup optional... not me.

I'm five foot nuthin'. A hundred and sumthin'. Wait, that's not the saying. (Yah, the saying goes "five foot nuthin', a hundred and nuthin'." No typo there. "Sumthin'" was every bit of intentional.) So when you slide even the finest yogawear onto this petite stature, there's enough puddling at the ankle to wash me clear out cuteville.

And my dramatic conga with comfort doesn't end there. Take the short stroll from my hip to my heel and there's a fair chance you'll find that I may not be wearing shoes. Where's this girl from? Good God. Is she employed? Alright, alright, alright. I moved to Arkansas two years ago, but I swear that has nothing to do with it. The rumored Arkansan barefoot inclination is all rumor, not reality. And yes, Good God, I'm employed. I've worked in the advertising industry for nearly 10 years now. But sometimes, between meetings, you can find me milling around sans shoes. But it's not my fault.

Thing is, finding the utopian collaboration of comfort and cute/professional appearance in a shoe has been near impossible for me. Finding a set of heels that don't turn on my pinky toe by noon, and attempt to turn a 5-piggy picnic into four pigs and a strip of bacon has been discouraging.

And the flats. The flats?! Hey - "E" for effort on the flatty selection, Dillard's. Not that I don't love the loafers; always grateful for the opportunity to revisit my days as a tomboy. OH, but you have Mary Janes. Forgive me. Is it me, or did I just walk onto the set of a Britney music video. Those'll go great with my school girl uniform; you know how I like to wear it to client presentations. Do you have coordinating pigtail accessories? As much as I want to accent my less-than-lankiness with a pair of shoes that make passersby question if I've given up altogether, eh, I don't.

So what IS she looking for? Is she just passionate or wildly picky.  I'm just - ugh - both. If I just had a sole, a swatch and a thread handy, I'd be able to show you what I'm... I'd be able to... I'm sorry. Do you hear that? Are those angels singing? Trumpets? Doves all aflutter for Eidia in all her Lushness. Well, sweet Georgia peach, I'll be smitten as a school girl with a box full of Christmas puppies. Nobody get alarmed, but I am nose to nose with one dangerously adorable pair of Audrey-style flats that don't put my femininity in peril. That emphasize my appreciation for "professional yet darling" but do not ignore my deep desire for heel-less-ness and my aversion to ankle pain. Oh sweet Blueberry Pie (that's what I named them), you understand me better than my husband when I explain to him (again) that there IS no dirty-dish fairy. Scoot over Santa; Eidia's moving into the workshop, and she's got a luscious line of comfortably cute toys for all the girls that made the "good" list.

 

Guess Who's Back?

By Danielle Blasko

Hello Eidia Lush ladies! We know we’ve been MIA for awhile (we’re sorry we had to take a break from the blogosphere) but we’re back in business! We have spent the last several months rethinking our concept and completely revamping our image for a new and improved, totally haute couture Eidia Lush product line.

 

Our loyal blog readers may remember the post "Women's Feet Are Getting Bigger" from way back in May, in which we expressed our desire to accommodate women of all shapes and sizes. After all, uniqueness is exactly what being an Eidia Lush lady is all about!

 

Regrettably in the past, we were only able to offer a Total Custom Design service for women who didn’t quite “fit the mold,” which was much more costly to buyers than our main line.

 

While we realize that women's feet have been evolving, “standard shoe sizes” are still considered sizes 5 though 9, which made it difficult for us, as an up-and-coming company to provide for the ladies with larger or smaller or wider than “average” shoe sizes.

 

Well we vowed to expand our size selection as soon as resources would allow it and that is exactly what we have done! Eidia Lush now offers sizes ranging from 4 to 14 as well as a wide width option at no additional cost to our buyers.

 

Although we are truly pleased about our ability to offer such a wide range of sizing options, there are many other exciting changes to explore, including a greater variety of shoe styles and to choose from and dozens of embellishment options. So, what are you waiting for, head on over to Eidia Lush.com and experience first-class, couture custom designing just like you’ve always hoped it could be.

 

 

It's All About the Details

By Nicole Tongson, CEO & Owner of Eidia Lush

A work-packed, hands-on weekend with the shoes has brought me closer to them than ever.  After getting some very valuable feedback from you, our customers over the past few weeks, I locked myself in our studio, cranked up the radio and forced myself to think, "How can we make these shoes perfect?  What things can we do to make them even better?" 

While having a heart-to-heart with my babies (yes, I refer to them as my babies now), I came to the conclusion that our team of craftsman are human and we are spending hour upon hour hand-perfecting every stitch, cut, and detail...coming as close to perfection as humanly possible.  The fact that our shoes are not manufactured in a factory or assembly line is their biggest charm quality-wise.  They are worked on by one of our experienced craftsman from beginning to end.  This one person has your shoe vision in mind from the very minute they pick up your order slip to the time it's loaded up in the delivery truck getting shipped out.  This person knows your name because he or she will see it on their order box every day they work on it.  This person knows what your style is because they will put together your custom design piece-by-piece.  There really is love and hard work put into every pair.  For a person cannot do this trade without having love for it, and a person cannot succeed within our company without having immaculate attention to detail.

So what can you expect from our shoes?  What are some of these 'perfect details' I'm referring to and what are some of the minor issues we're still working on making perfect?  Please see some of the up-close-and-personal photos I took of one of the shoes that was recently shipped out.  

You can see we've nailed everything in the looks department...these shoes are hot.  The fabric is smooth on the outside, there are virtually no imperfections...

...until we get to the sole.  You can see here that towards the bottom of the heel, the sole has a slight imperfection in the way it was glued back on.  This sole will not, by any means, come off because of the industrial-strength glue we use...but we need to figure out a way to have it be applied perfectly, without any bumpity bumps.

For our insoles, we custom cut them and hand-brand them.  We joke with the team that once they've been with us a year, they get branded with the same logo.  We all kind of hate using the brander because the burning smell STINKS...but look how pretty it comes out!

Now here's where we have the most problems...the back end of the inside.  No matter how spot-on our patterns are for the fabric used, we always usually get a few wrinkles on the inside.  Some experiments are under way on how we can eliminate these pesky little wrinkles, but until we've figured it out 100% here is what the inside of your shoes may look like:

 
In a nutshell, you'll be getting a gorgeous head-turning shoe that is literally made with love.  Almost every day one of us comes up with a way to better the process and/or end product.  We love getting feedback, ideas, and suggestions...and we really do listen to what our customers have to say, so keep em' coming!

For being a reader/fan of ours, use code ELBLOGROCKS to get 15% off your very own pair of custom-designed Eidia Lush shoes.  We're looking forward to making them already!

Women's Feet Are Getting Bigger!

By Danielle Blasko

 

Currently, the average size shoe for a woman is size 6 but just five years ago the average woman wore a size 5. Further, sales research in 2009 showed that the sale of ladies’ size 9 shoes increased by 23 percent and sales of size 6 shoes rose 17 percent, proving that women’s feet on average are growing.

 

Basing their stock on averages (and demands), most companies only carry the range of “standard shoe sizes:” sizes 5 through 9.  However, faced with changing statistics, shoe companies are being forced to reconsider the definition of standard sizes. More shoemakers are starting to carry size 10s in all styles in order to meet the demands of the evolving feet of women. 

 

Eidia Lush is at the forefront of the progressive companies that are carrying size 10 heels in all styles. As demands increase and the company is able to manufacture shoe parts, we will continue to expand the selection of available sizes to meet the needs of all Eidia Lush Girls.  

 

And for you lovely ladies who just don’t fit the mold, we want you to know that Eidia Lush has not forgotten about you! If you have a larger (or smaller) or wider shoe size than we are presently able to offer as a permanent option, we offer Total Custom Design and Special Requests services that allow you to re-design your own shoe Eidia Lush custom design style!

Dream Products For Shoe Lovers

By Danielle Blasko

Back when Eidia Lush was first starting out, blogger Kelly LaVaute alerted readers to some of the “weird ass sh*t” people have done with shoes in her August 2009, NOT FIT FOR FEET post.

It turns out there are a slew of other shoe oddities on the market, including some quite fashionable, artistic pieces, at least in comparison to say Bacon Shoes or Gameboy Shoes. Seriously though, the diehard shoe fanatic might find themselves fantasizing about owning one (or more) of these curious creations.

 

5. Croc Shaped Pet Bed

  

4. Shoe Boat

  

3. Shoe-Shaped Bottle Opener

  

 

2. SICIS Shoe Bathtub

 
 

1. Custom Design Shoe Chairs

 

OH SO FIFTIES!

By Danielle Blasko           

After designing my very own pair of “Oh so fifties!” Eidia Lush pumps, I was on an accessorizing mission to do justice to my fifties fashion inspired heels. I knew when I ordered my shoes exactly what pants I would first pair with my newly designed shoes: black and red retro DKNY boot-cut stretch jeans.

 

Once I received my shoes, I felt that I couldn’t rightly rock my dazzling dream-pumps without some further 1950s-inspired accessorizing.

You can imagine how thrilled I was to discover that my custom designed pumps and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland were simultaneously in the making. The Red Queen, known for her red and black fashion sensibility as much as her temper, is played by Helena Bonham Carter who is far more fashion inspiring than the animated Disney character of the 1950s.

Designers haven’t wasted any time in showcasing their Alice in Wonderland fashion designs just in time for the film premier and spring trending. Why not treat yourself to a pair of Eidia Lush pumps, accessorize with what’s guaranteed to be this spring season's hottest accessory collection, and throw yourself that tea party you’ve always dreamed of!

EIDIA LUSH GIRL #2 - Iga

By Nicole Tongson

To be an Eidia Lush Girl is to be a woman of individuality - one that is sexy, charming, and free-spirited in her own unique way.  We believe that every woman has a custom statement to make and here is where we showcase them. 

Iga is special to our team because it were her feet you saw on our homepage for the big launch last September.  Read on to see why we're proud to name Iga as our 2nd Eidia Lush Girl.  Below is the picture she submitted to go along with her interview...Nice photo Iga.  Where'd ya get those shoes? ;)

My name is:    Jadwiga    But you can call me: Iga

Birthplace: Bielsko-Biala, Poland

My style can be described as: casual, comfortable. I draw inspiration from european boutiques and what I see on the streets when I go home for a visit.

My favorite outfit consists of: Some kind of pants, and of course good shoes

Right now, I'm really into: leggins, and actually setting my eyes on, what I believe will be the next big thing - very light blue, vintage looking, skinny jeans

I know it's considered a fashion faux pas, but I still love this: leg warmers. I am serious! I wear leg warmers at least a few times a week. 80's are back!

My fashion icon is: for everyday dressing, I have to admit it is Katie Holmes (I know, I know...), Chloe Sevigny

The current trend I can't honestly stand is: Flip-flops worn to office and matched with dress pants and blazer, especially when it's below 70º outside, Ugg boots, and velcro sandals. I truly cannot stand these three.

On my days off, I love to: skate. I have three pairs of skating boots. They are made of carbon fiber covered in electric blue, or white and black leather, they are heat moldable and very expensive :) I love them!

The colors you can find most in my closet are: black, blue, grey

When I'm not daydreaming about shoes, you can find me: shopping, or looking for beautifully designed objects

The coolest place my shoes have taken me is: Machu Pichhu

I'm sexy because: I feel good about myself

I'm one-of-a-kind because: I never follow, I always try to have my own opinion about things

I'm an Eidia Lush girl because: I can have the shoes exactly the way I want them

My Eidia Lush design is: Look At Me

If you think you're an Eidia Lush Girl, please email me at [email protected] to be interviewed. We're already looking forward to it!

Eidia Lush Girl #1 - HighHeelVic

By Nicole Tongson

To be an Eidia Lush Girl is to be a woman of individuality - one that is sexy, charming, and free-spirited in her own unique way.  We believe that every woman has a custom statement to make and we want to start showcasing them.  To show our appreciation for the amazing response we've had to our concept since launch, we'd like to throw some love back at our members by featuring those who we believe represent what we're all about to the fullest.  We'll show you what type of custom statement they are making in their lives.  

Read on to see why HighHeelVic is a puuurfect candidate for the very first Eidia Lush Girl:

Online, they know me as: HighHeelVic   But you can call me: Vicky

The 3 words that best desribe my personality are: sweet, charming, independent = a little cupcake

My favorite fashion accessory is: nothing but high heels  Because: they give me height, power, and femininity

My proudest accomplishment is: Passing Saks Fifth Avenue, able to not stop in

My fashion icon is: Kate Moss

Sometimes I go a little overboard with: (forgetting everything else) when hunting for shoes

When getting ready to go out with the girls, you can hear this song blasting from my stereo: "the one" by Mary J. Blige

I like to describe my personal style as: sexy tomboy ( casual tee & jeans with gorgeous heels )

When I'm not daydreaming about shoes, you can find me: having a chocolate fix at a bakery shop in new york city

The coolest place my shoes have taken me is: a sky-high penthouse overlooking pyramids in Egypt

I'm sexy because: i can dance my booty off all night with 5 inch heels

I'm charming because: never forget to put a smile on my face

I'm an Eidia Lush girl because: I am a fun loving fashionista who wouldn't mind living in a shoe, shares her passion with others by keeping up with the latest designers, deals, and trends.

My Eidia Lush design is:  http://www.eidialush.com/eidia/designs/view/113

HighHeelVic also put her own twist on her Eidia Lush shoe design!  Check it out below:

If you can't get enough of HighHeelVic, please follow her on Twitter. She's got tons of amazing tweets and one of the hottest shoe collections in NYC!