REAL LIFE:
Bespoke boots a click away
Boot fit problems, begone. Sisters Justine and Kendall Barber are staging a comeback for bespoke footwear.
In November, the Edmonton-based duo launched an online company called Poppy Barley Made to Measure Footwear. Their goal is clear: Not just to make boots that fit women of all foot and calf sizes, but to give fashion-lovers exciting creative reign. Though they’ve started with just three styles, the sisters have big plans.
“We want to revolutionize the way women — and potentially men, too — buy footwear,” says Kendall, 30. “We believe this is a better way to buy shoes.”
The process is accomplished online at poppybarley.com, where you first choose one of three knee-high boot styles — a sleek city boot, a classic riding boot or a military-inspired boot with straps across the back (prices range from $450 to $475). Next, decide between black, cognac and khaki leather, as well as on the hardware details, like the finish of your snaps. The sole is customizable, too, and can be leather, which is more breathable, or leather with a rubber toe, which gives better grip. Finally, punch in seven key measurements that will ensure the right fit and place your order. Wait four to six weeks. Badabing, badaboom: Bespoke boots — complete with the girls’ signature turquoise goat leather lining — will turn up on your doorstep.
The Barbers’ business idea was born early last year, while Justine was on vacation in southern Bali. She was on the hunt for the perfect pair of leather boots and, when she found them, was disappointed to find the store didn’t carry her size. With high arches and slightly wide feet, she says she’d always had a hard time finding boots that fit her well. The salesman told her not to worry — they’d just measure her, make the boots and ship them straight to her door in Canada.
When the boots arrived in Edmonton a few weeks later, she was thrilled. “It was a great experience. You forget that that’s the way all footwear used to be made,” says the 29-year-old.
Indeed, the name Poppy Barley is a nod to how shoemakers “used barleycorns and poppy seeds as measurement units to make made to measure footwear,” says the site. Inspired by the experience, Justine, who had been working in affordable housing for the City of Edmonton, came home with the glimmer of a business idea. She teamed up with Kendall, who has a bespoke eyewear business with her husband, as well a popular website, CityandDale.com, to get Poppy Barley up and running. Longtime fashion lovers, they spent most of last year researching fit issues, working with footwear designers to develop prototypes and developing their website.
They also tracked down a manufacturer in Leon, Mexico, which is a hub for the leather industry and shoe manufacturing. Of course, there was plenty of trial and error with the first samples.
“The first pair we received, we laughed so hard because it was like, ‘Wow, my calves are really large!’” says Kendall. “It took a couple of months before we each had a pair we were really proud of. There was a lot of back and forth.”
The adjustments paid off. The girls estimate that, as of early January, they’d sold nearly 80 pairs of boots. “We’ve had two types of customers,” says Kendall. “The first has fit issues and has found it hard to find boots. The second is the type who loves the idea of something being handcrafted just for her. They really care about the story behind the product.”
Either way, the feedback has been good. There is one regular request, however: More styles and more leather colours. It’s something the women are working toward.
Aside from an expanded line of flat boots, plans are in the works for a line of flats, which will launch in the spring, and a collection of heeled boots, which should launch in fall 2013. Ankle boots and men’s footwear are on their radar, too. As for their current personal favourites, Justine’s is the military-inspired Off-Duty Boot. “It’s trendy right now but it’s always a look I like,” she says. Kendall is more of an Everyday City Boot girl. “I can wear it with skirts and be more formal but also on the weekend with jeans. It’s really versatile.”
The sisters say that building a business together has been an exciting venture.
“It’s amazing to do this with someone else,” says Kendall. “There’s no separation between you and your work, and it’s great to have someone as equally committed as you are who’s going through the same emotions.”
“So much has happened in one year,” says Justine, who left her City of Edmonton job to focus on Poppy Barley. The Barbers are excited to grow the business in the same way they built it — one step, or boot, at a time. “We want to build something that we’re very proud of. That will guide our decisions.”