Lisa Taylor on the left, while on vacation with a friend in Paris.

It is time for another edition of ‘Meet your Tall Sisters’!

This week we are hearing the story of Lisa Taylor; high powered investment banker turned footwear visionary as the founder and CEO of Sensational Soles.

After nearly 18 months of development, Sensational soles finally opened their doors in February of this year, carrying footwear for woman in US sizes 11-14. They were welcomed with open arms!

Lisa has had a long loving relationship with high quality footwear. During her time living in London, a city we both called home at one point in time; girl trips to Milan were frequently made to shop for fine Italian footwear.

When the Christian Louboutin hype started, Lisa did not accept the fact that these popular red-lacquered sole shoes were not commonly made in her size 13. The resourceful business woman that she is, made a few phone calls, managed to get the right person on the phone and in no time a box of 10 pairs of Christian Louboutin’s were on their way to her home in London.

Lisa gave me some insight on how many pairs of shoes were left behind in London when she moved back to the US, and although I mourn over the many abandoned shoes; I for one think it was a blessing when she returned, as without these series of events, there would be no Sensational Soles.

Lets learn more about our tall sister!

Please introduce yourself

I’m Lisa Taylor, I am 5’ 11” tall and I will never be a size 0! I have 2 grown children, 23 and 21, both who are vertically challenged.

What is your professional history, and how did that lead to your current occupation?

I tried retiring in 2011 after finishing a 25 year career in financial services. My last position was in London, England where I lived for 4 years. After leaving that role, I was forced to move back to the US where I knew very few people and frankly became bored.

I had always loved shoes, but, wearing a size 13 made it quite difficult and my curiosity got the best of me. In my spare time (which was every day) I began researching why so few companies made women’s footwear in large sizes and it lead me to finding out if I could develop the infrastructure to meet the growing demand for quality shoes in larger sizes.

We opened Sensational Soles in June 2014, released our first line in February 2015 and based on early reaction, we’re quite hopeful about the business.

Has your height influenced your career? 

I’m not sure if my height has influence my career but it clearly gets me noticed. Sometimes the comments are predictable and sometimes a bit annoying but I’m happy with my height!

Please give us a glimpse of the design process, how do you arrive at some of the pieces that are sold today?

Our designs all start with a common goal and it is related to height and foot size. There is obviously a relationship. Tall women have longer torsos, arms, hands, legs and so it stands to reason feet. We focus on minimizing the appearance of a larger foot, adding the minimum amount of extra height we add while keeping keep the sexy heel design we all love; and finally, use luxurious materials that we are proud to wear.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

That’s a tough one. Everyone has vastly differing tastes. We look around, see what people are wearing, talk to them and then try to design something that can emulate the best features in a flattering way. Unfortunately, it is not a simple as just elongating the shoe. We need to recut patterns over and over just to try and get it to work. Sometimes the process can take 6 months or longer.

What has been your favorite design to date and why? 

I have so many favorites and depending on my mood my favorites change. I love bling and textures and go to them often. When I’m looking for special occasion shoes I also prefer a quiet sophistication like The Olivia which is just beautiful. My go to shoe for daily wear is The Mackenzie crustal embellished loafer (Pictured at the end of the post, will become available for sale in July) or the Anna Cap Toe ballet flat (comes in different colors).

What can we expect to see in the future from Sensational Soles?

We try to bring out new designs every 2-3 months. For fall we will have our first set of ankle boots, some really cool new textures and colors including quilted materials. We are always looking to make shoes that women just need to own.

How do you think the ‘Tall Footwear’ industry will evolve over the next 5 years?

It is unfortunate but I think shoes are made for the masses and while some companies will start to expand their line to an 11 or 12, it’s really a very different process to make a bigger shoe. So the sad reality seems to be that tall women will continue to be neglected as designers mostly focus on sample size consumers.

If there was 1 piece of advice you would like to share with your Tall sisters, what would that be?

Stop buying plastic shoes. They are bad for your feet and they actually do damage. I can’t stress this enough!

Is there anything else you would like to share with your Tall sisters?

I would just like to say thank you! We have received oodles of warm wishes and tons of great feedback so far. We are working really hard to earn everyone’s trust and confidence. We hope you love our shoes as much as we love making them!

 

I hope you all enjoyed reading Lisa’s story. I truly love the conversations that I am having for ‘Meet Your Tall Sisters’. We are so blessed to have so many inspirational women with interesting stories in our midst.

Throughout the month of July, their new collection will be made available on www.sensationalsoles.com, so go check it out! I had a sneak peak on what is to come, and the variety is amazing!! There truly is something for everyone.

Did you say you wanted a  sneak peak on the new collection:)? Ok here we go; my personal favorites are show below, The Mckenzie loafers which are an amazing everyday shoe, and will come in a variety of colors and the Vivian Heels which are so sophisticated! I love them in pink, but these too will be offered in a variety of colors.

Keep reading.. There is a surprise at the bottom:)

 

As a THANK YOU to all of you lovely readers, because you are amazing and I am forever grateful for your support! Sensational Soles was kind enough to offer a discount on their new collection, exclusively for The Tall Society readers.

Use Code TTSNEW15 and get 15% OFF All new arrivals, in the month of July!!

Happy shoe shopping!

Xoxo