A letter
The slip-ons they keep by their own front door.
A blue-gray door that is almost always open, two friends who greet every woman with “make yourself at home,” and the soft slip-ons they keep by their own front door.
There is a moment many women know well. You stand by your own front door, you look at the pretty shoes, and then you reach for the comfortable ones, the ones you would rather nobody looked at. Somewhere along the way our feet stopped feeling at home in anything lovely.
I have written about women and what they wear for a long time, and shoes come up in almost every conversation. So when women kept telling me about a small house in New York where they felt at home again, and found shoes they no longer wanted to hide, I wanted to know what happens behind that door.
It starts, fittingly, at the door. Parker & Hayes lives in a red brick townhouse on a quiet street, behind a blue-gray bay window and a blue-gray front door that is nearly always left open. “Our door is always open,” Margaret says. The women who visit all describe the same greeting: “Come in, make yourself at home.”
Inside it is not a store. It is a home. The front room has warm wood floors, an old wooden table piled with folded knits, and daylight falling through the bay window. There is tea if you want it, and nobody rushes you. Women do not come here as customers. They come as guests.
Margaret has the eye for polish; Eleanor always chooses comfort first. Their house rule settles every argument: nothing comes in unless it is elegant and comfortable. With shoes, they told me, that rule is hardest of all. The pair that passed it stands right by their own front door: soft suede slip-ons called the Judith. “We both keep a pair there,” Margaret said, “so we can step in and go.” I asked them what makes them different, and I am going to let their words carry it.
1A cushioned footbed you stop noticing
“Eleanor would not let a flat, hard sole into the shop. The Judith has a padded, contoured footbed that cradles the arch, so your foot rests the way it naturally wants to. You put them on in the morning and simply stop thinking about your feet.”
2They slip straight on
“No laces, no buckles, no sitting on the stairs to bend down. The topline has just enough give to let you step in and go, and then it holds your heel gently while you walk. That is exactly why ours live right by the front door.”
3Perforated suede, so air moves through all day
“The upper is perforated suede, so air moves through the shoe instead of being trapped inside it. Your feet stay cool and fresh from morning until evening, even on the warmer days. And it is soft from the very first wear.”
4Comfortable, and still lovely to look at
“This is the part Margaret cared about most. Buttery suede, a soft tassel and a fine metallic heel panel keep them firmly on the graceful side of casual. They look just as right with tailored trousers as with your favorite jeans, in red, green, black, blue or white.”
The Judith, next to the usual comfortable shoe
| The usual comfortable shoe | The Judith | |
|---|---|---|
| The look | Plain and practical | Suede, a soft tassel, a fine metallic heel |
| The footbed | Flat or stiff | Cushioned and contoured under the arch |
| Getting them on | Laces, buckles, bending down | Slips straight on |
| On a warm day | Hot and closed | Perforated suede that breathes |
| The colors | Black or beige | Red, Green, Black, Blue and White |
Every order leaves the house the way a guest would: wrapped with care, with a little card on which Margaret writes two words. Welcome home. It sounds like a small thing. Reading what women write back, I am not sure it is.
Because not every woman can walk through that blue-gray door, Margaret and Eleanor have now opened it online as well. And to celebrate, they are holding their very first Open House, with the door wide open for a little while.
The Judith Slip-On Loafers
P|H - Cushioned Slip-On Loafers Judith
$99.95$49.95Save 50%
- Soft perforated suede that breathes
- Cushioned, contoured footbed
- Slips straight on, no laces or buckles
- Five colors · US sizes 5 to 12
- Free shipping · 30-day returns
Open House prices, for a little while only
What I would tell you if we were friends
For years so many of us treated comfortable shoes as something to hide by the door. What struck me about Parker & Hayes is that they simply refuse to make you choose: an open door, a warm front room, and shoes that are kind to your feet and still lovely to look at.
If the shoes by your front door are the ones you would rather hide, come in and have a look at the Judith. Take your time. Pick the color you would reach for every morning. Their door is always open.
Welcome home.
Warmly,
Elizabeth Carter
- Free ShippingOn every order
- 30-Day ReturnsWithin 30 days of delivery
- Parker & HayesA townhouse in New York, door always open
Elizabeth Carter writes for Parker & Hayes. · Parker & Hayes, New York · Free shipping · 30-day returns.