Sisters Ilissa and Dorian Howard know a thing or two about shoes and they turned their passion for fashionable footwear to great business. Thanks to an epiphany in Italy, these East Coast sisters, led by the older Ilissa, were able to eventually establish a way to help us women have affordable and super stylish custom shoes.
Milk and Honey has gotten some major press and also has developed a huge following. Some of their celebrity clienteles include Selena Gomez, Ginnifer Goodwin, Emily Deschanel and Busy Phillips. What’s not to love? Their shoes are both incredibly unique and fabulous. You’ll be happy to know that the price tag is also very wallet-friendly. Their flats cost $225 and pumps/sandals are priced at $245, regardless of the embellishment or leather used.
You can choose from an array of designs in the website: pumps, flats, sandals, wedges and start designing! Some of the options available for leather texture include snakeskin, croc, pony, patent and smooth leather. They also have suede, velvet and silk. And because the company also supports their vegan customers, they offer a good variety of non-leather alternatives too. Browse through their Signature Collection and you will find beautiful pairs of pre-designed shoes, with some even specially styled by celebs. They can also make custom shoes for bridal events or have your bridesmaids design their own shoes.
Custom designed shoes will take 6-8 weeks to create, so you must order in advance. Regular shipping, ($15) takes 3-5 business days and expedited shipping ($25) takes 1-2 days. They use FedEx and they ship worldwide. If in case you are not satisfied with your shoe creation and want to return them, Milk and Honey shoes can offer exchanges or refunds as long as it is sent back within 30 days and in an unworn condition. Unfortunately, they do not accept returns for shoes that are smaller than size 35 or larger than size 41. Customized wide and narrow shoes will also not be accepted for return.
I love that their website also offers help for customers. You can chat or leave questions/messages with one of their shoe stylists if you need help with designing. Their hotline number and email address are also readily available.
Milk and Honey Shoes sold and renamed
Around July 2014 Milk & Honey Shoes have been acquired by the British made-to-order footwear brand “Upper Street” for an undisclosed amount. Upper Street wanted to expand into the US market and probably used a part of the newly raised funds of 750,000 pounds in capital to grow its business internationally.
Upper Street was launched in 2010 and offered customers the ability to design their own shoes in sizes 33 to 44, which ranges a lot wider than most other online shoe retailers. The customized shoes from Upper Street cost between 195 and 350 British pounds and take 3-4 weeks to be made.
Shoes of Prey goes offline as well
After almost ten years in business, Shoes of Prey has announced that they stopped taking orders on August 28, 2018.
Founder Jodie Fox announced the shut down in an Instagram post: “We are making the difficult decision today to pause orders and actively assess all our options to either sell, or at a later date, reboot the business with substantial changes,”
“We will cease normal trading as we go through this process. Our customers with outstanding orders will either receive their shoes as promised, or a full refund if we have been unable to make their shoes before this pause.”
According to Crunchbase Shoes of Prey had raised a total of $25.9 Million US-Dollars since 2009, but the company had shown signs of trouble in 2018.