September 2013

If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter you’ll already know I’m somewhat enamoured with my latest shoe find – Mr. W & Me.  It’s fair to say that this online shoe store has become a little bit of an obsession since receiving my beyond-amazing, gold leather loafers.  So I thought I’d share with you a little bit more about the mysterious Mr. W & Me.  I say mysterious because since posting a picture of my shoes on Instagram, Twitter and my personal FB page, accompanied by a wee blurb about where I got them, a flurry of messages and txts soon followed asking “but who is Mr. W, and who is, well, Me?” “are they based here? what other shoes do they have? What’s the website address?” and well you get the picture – I had a lot of questions! So here’s a little bit more info about this fabulous shoe haven, the story behind it and of course – my BEAUTIFUL gold loafers….

So, a couple of weeks ago a friend messaged me about a fabulous online shoe store she had discovered. Soon after, I’m rummaging through the crazy amount of NZFW bags on my floor (yes that’s right, I’m guilty of still not having unpacked a single goodie bag from New Zealand Fashion Week) when I came across the latest Remix magazine, and low and behold there’s a writeup about Mr. W & Me.  Ok, now I’m really intrigued.  I jump online to see if they’re as amazing as the writeup’s and referrals suggest; and without even getting so far as the ‘about’ section, I’ve chosen a pair of gold loafers entitled ‘sweet revenge’. I decide I simply must own these italian, white soled, golden delights!  They arrive at the office to ‘oohs and aahs’ and ‘girly shoe squeals of glee’, the girls in the office become just as quickly enamoured with my beautiful new Italian loafers as I am (which by the way, are delivered free of charge, New Zealand wide) and I may have taken a few snaps from the comfort of the meeting room table….

So, who is Mr W?  Here’s a small blurb that I discovered (and loved) on the website….
“Everybody has a dark secret and Mr. W is no exception.  His love affair with beautiful things began long ago.  Most comfortable behind the lens, he’s always on the lookout for anything fresh and intriguing.  That’s why he wants to introduce a boutique range of shoes that are not only contemporary and unique but affordable too.  Choosing the shoes for our collection is a collaboration between Mr. W and Me.  With my experience as a footwear buyer and Mr. W’s eye for detail, it is no surprise we travelled to Italy and the Far-East to source our exclusive selection of styles.  But this is just the beginning – you never know what Mr W’s got his eye on next”.  

As for the ‘Me’ of Mr. W & Me, well now that I can tell you.  ‘Me’ = Jane Walsh.  She’s a pretty darn clever lady with a world of experience when it comes to shoes, actually not just shoes, fashion all round!  Jane studied fashion design at Massey University in Wellington, and soon after moved to Auckland where she nabbed the role of Buyer’s Assistant for a large NZ footwear retail chain.  After three years she moved to London and took on the role as Wholesale Merchandiser for a British footwear company – Parklane Shoes (they design and supply to the likes of Topshop and Kurt Geiger).  Upon returning to New Zealand, Jane went back to the NZ footwear chain as a buyer.  This role took Jane around the world sourcing shoes and learning all about the footwear manufacturing process, and it wasn’t long before Jane discovered there was a gap in the market between discount NZ retailers and the more upmarket NZ boutique stores. With Mr. W & Me, Jane (and the intriguing Mr. W) want to bring that same affordable price point to New Zealanders but from a NZ company with unique, good quality, exclusive product that you won’t see en masse. So yeah, I guess you could say she knows a thing or two about shoes!

This is what I love about Mr. W & Me, they stock a limited, well-thought-out selection of quality shoes, that are totally affordable.  I’ve not seen a single pair of shoes on www.mrwandme.com that go beyond the $150 price point.   My golden hued shoes were $124.99, now for a pair of leather Italian flats, tell me that’s not the best price ever! Not to mention somewhat handy that they’re so affordable, as now that I’ve seen my gold ‘Sweet Revenge’ shoes in person, I must have the same shoes in nude…. aaaand I definitely need a pair of the Ground Control heels (they are literally to-die-for!), and I probably also need Second Glance in white (oh I really hope my guy isn’t reading this post, although he probably will, so it’s at this point I’d like to state ‘it’s all about need, not want, and I need these shoes!).

Head on over and fall in love with www.mrwandme.com.

Ange x
Gurlinterrupted
A Girl Interrupted By Fashion, Beauty & Anything Pretty That Catches My Eye