If Cinderella were planning her own wedding, Teri Edmonds would be her shoe advisor. Only Teri would know how to make a glass slipper. The lady behind Wailuku’s If the Shoe Fits and Maui Shoe Academy is also the island’s self-proclaimed Shoe Queen. She’s been hand-crafting shoes at her studio for seven years, as well as hand-dying, repairing and customizing footwear. She also carries a line of formal footwear for proms, weddings and gala events and can fit feet from sizes 5 to 15. No joke, she can make custom footwear for ample-sized and hard to fit feet.
“I can perform minor surgery to sandals to make them fit,” says Edmonds. “We carry big sizes, up to 13 but I will hand craft sizes 14 to 16. Often a big concern for brides is having their heels sink in sand and grass at their outdoor event. There are lots of different options to battle that, even heel caps name starlettos and soulmates that I sell here.”
Edmonds is always discovering new ways to deck out your feet, and my latest visit to her store found her recommending all sorts of options for wedding footwear, from woven leather beaded embellishments that can tie over bare feet to adding hand-painted silk flowers to hand-dyed sandals, with sparkly rhinestones. In this shoe studio, if you can dream it, she can put it on your shoe.
Remember, wedding shoes are certainly not just your average white satin anymore. They can add a pop of color to your white wedding, and the white wedding is not the only standard anymore.
“I have a seven-day turnaround for hand-dyed shoes,” says Edmonds. “I can do multiple colors, ombre and watercolor styles, too. To match your color, bring in a shade sample–even a paint card from the hardware store is fine. You can also bring your own flowers and rhinestones that you want on your shoe. I can dye them to match and attach. And here’s a great tip, too: no matter what color you decide to dye for your big day, we can always dye them black later to make them your favorite evening wear shoes!”
All photos Courtesy of Sean Hower, Howerphoto.com
21 N. Market St., Wailuku
808-249-9710
