The Bits & the Camps are back!
And we are extending the Walking Sandal Preorder until Sunday 12 noon. PST. and a few wandering thoughts on the timing and rising tides of trends.
You never know what is going to hit or miss. I try not to think about it too much because you cannot control what people respond to. I can only really put out into the world what I personally like and hope others like it too. One thing I also have learned is that sometimes, and this is often true for me, I am early. I tend to run about a year ahead and truth be told sometimes I am also behind completely. Who knew with jelly shoes! I had no inkling that jelly shoes & mesh flats would become the thing they are. I also choose to live under a rock a lot of the time & sometimes I completely miss these things until they literally were exploding in popularity.
There are a few ways this works.. meaning trends, momentum and designing…
Your work is derived from intuition. Concepts come from inspiration, random or derivative. Sometimes, as a creative, you are also tapping into something that the collective unconscious is brewing up and sometimes you are on an island. It’s common that there may be there are a few other designers on that island too and you simultaneously are coming up with similar ideas at similar times. I have always leaned into my personal affections and intuitions. I don’t pay a ton of attention to what other people are doing and I prefer it this way. In this lane, I feel most authentic to myself.
As a designer, you might work from trend services & forecast books or visit trade shows that showcase material development. Literally no one is grouping up and saying let’s all do baby blue this season… so when you see widespread trends happening at one time, they are likely being sourced from trend forecast company. Typically these trend forecast companies are spotting special things that more forward designers are doing, and highlighting a potential trend. This creates an actual trend sometimes. I can’t really afford these services so I don’t use them. They also put you into a more inauthentic place as a designer. You end up in chase mode, rather than create mode.
And I’m off topic. I guess where I was going, is that you never know if people will like your designs. When I first put the Camp Loafer out there, there wasn’t a boat shoe -moc thing happening… I launched it Spring 2023, from a place of intuition and affection. AND… No one really bought it from my site. I sold only a few.. A store in Jackson sold out immediately and that was interesting. And then Leandra started posting them.. and the way she styled them felt so right on. Things began to shift. The funny thing is, things shifted a lot in regards to this type of shoe becoming relevant. It was the beginning, one of the first inklings of this look that I saw being talked about. I felt validated, seen! I also started selling out of the camp loafers.
Leandra validated this look, she made it understandable and cool and she kept it up. It wasn’t a one and done, it was a direction she was marching into. She seems to be just scratching the surface of something that hasn’t even fully materialized yet. This more casual masculine shoe is going to continue.
Our camp loafer became hard to keep in stock, because of her. It’s like that 4 minute mile story.. how no one ever ran a 4 minute mile until one person finally did, and then that next year 4 more people ran a four minute mile. Same with this look. Now it’s a thing. You can see it with the Miu Miu boat shoe, all of a sudden, everyone get’s it. I think loafers led us here, to this shoe shape, and Leandra made it a visible thing, where people could see it and get it. But at it’s essence, the camp loafer, moc, canoe shoe, kiltie shoe, this is a classic style, inspired by a lot of similar types of shoes melted into one. I am happy to see these shoes take hold. I am happy to report we finally got our camp loafers back in stock after selling out twice in a row.
A similar story, I launched the walking sandal in 2023.. It was a slower start. Always one of my favorite sandals, I designed it so that I could wear it around Italy, as I walked the cobblestone streets of Florence. I was in Italy with my best friend Abby, this would be Summer 2022. She came with me on an early sourcing trip. She saw the sample and told me she didn’t like it, basically that it was ugly.. And I likely said, I know, but good ugly right? Even in the face of directly being told it was ugly I persisted. The funny thing about having my own line is that I get to do what I want. It didn’t matter that no stores really ordered it that season, or that my friends thought it was ugly. I could make it if I wanted. Being a good designer is having a strong enough sense of self to keep going even when
people tell you it’s ugly. It happens a lot to be honest, you need that confidence to make anything really. It’s the things that makes you a good designer or not a good designer, it’s really all about having a trust in yourself. Back to the shoe, I needed it in my life, a true walk-arounder. And now.. a year and a half later, I can see it rising - It’s at the beginning of becoming a thing. Is the thing ugly sandals, I don’t think so.. I actually think it’s quite lovely and practical, beautifully minimal and architectural, sporty and accessible in a basic core way.
The walking sandal happens to be on Preorder right now, which means you are guaranteed one as long as you order in time. It actually was meant to end Friday night but we are keeping it open until Sunday noon, because Italy is now closed for the weekend so it really doesn’t matter if we end it Friday or Sunday. We will pass this reorder to them Sunday night. We expect them to ship to us by the end of July.. And we likely won’t have more until next spring.
And lastly, we just got the Bit Loafer back in stock, or the bits as I have been calling them. Seen on the ladies you likely follow here on Substack, like Becky & Leandra. These flew off the shelves this Spring and this is the first reorder we could get in. They they feel very summer, I love soulful saddle style colors this time of year. They remind me of vintage leather coach bags and vintage belts, vintage horse saddles and handles of Louis Bags.. These won’t last.
xx Jamie
I hope you restock the camps again!
the walking sandal is the very reason you caught my attention!!