Mr. La Rose - a style original

Take a peek at this display of gorgeous shoes. At first glance you may think you see a hint of different designers in the embellishments or the shape of the heel or the styling of the slingback. They all look quirky and unique and totally in style right now. What you may be surprised to know is that most of these shoes are almost 40 years old.


Joseph La Rose designed from the 1940’s through the 1980's. Clients included some of fashions greatest icons: Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, Joan Crawford and Jane Mansfield.

What is great is that many of his shoes are still available. Vintage is huge in fashion today but when it comes to shoes what is available can be kind of sketchy - there is either the "gross" factor or they can be very worn looking. That is where vintage "dead-stock" comes into play. Mr. La Rose didn't believe that his shoes should ever be sold at a discount. And coupled with his commitment to not selling a shoe to a customer if he didn't feel there was a good match, when La Rose died a huge warehouse of unworn treasures was discovered. Some of this same collection was auctioned off at Sotheby’s to collectors and designers like Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade and Donna Karan. Today, his collectors include celebrities like Winona Ryder, Cameron Diaz, Kirsten Dunst and Renee Zellweger. All of the shoes in the movie Down with Love were original La Rose shoes. They can be found in costume departments all over the world.



His styles are amazing and if you want truly beautiful shoes with gorgeous details you should check them out. I did purchase two pairs, one of which are these amazing red velvet pumps with the perfect retro heel.



The other pair were an almost olive green pump with a green iridescent scalloped edge. One thing to remember is that vintage shoes run VERY small, so make sure to check your foot measurements against the shoe's.

I'm telling you this in confidence - don't take all the good ones in my size. They aren't making them anymore.

Find La Rose at Circa Sixty Three or at Cherry.
Copy and to learn more read the whole New York Times article here.