Want to put some prep in your step? Or extend the dreamy romance of the coquette aesthetic to fashionable footwear? Iconic Palm Beach Sandals, with its flagship boutique in Delray Beach, has a new collab that will make lovers of bows and the monogrammed-obsessed swoon, and the grand millennials clutch their pearls and drop their tapestry needles.
Here’s the sitch on the stich: The new “PB Stitched Collection” features sandals that mimic needlepoint designs, co-created by Atlanta lifestyle blogger and antique hunting maven Paige Minear, who grew up in Lakeland, Florida, and Philly artist Anne Fisher of Anne Fisher Needlepoint. They’re the ultimate dream team—Fisher brought their needlepoint designs to life by custom painting them on canvases, and the makers at Palm Beach Sandals embroidered the designs on their coveted leather sandals that feel like heaven to the feet. “It’s the love of needlepoint design brought to sandals. They’re embroidered, but they look exactly like needlepoint,” coos Minear, who is an avid needlepointer. “I’m very creative, but I’m not an artist, so Anne is the other half who creates what my mind sees.”
Dripping in darling details, the elegant sandals showcase sweet pink and blue ribbons aptly named “Bow Tied,” and a pair of regal Staffordshire dogs called “Doggone Duo.” (In case you don’t know, collecting vintage Staffordshire statues is the ultimate status symbol for the grand millennial crowd.) There are also solid hues and custom embroidered monogrammed sandals—because what prepster doesn’t love to stamp their initials on every item of clothing?
Minear discovered Palm Beach Sandals on a bloggers’ trip to Palm Beach years ago and once she slipped on a pair of their buttery leather sandals, she didn’t want to take them off. “They are the most comfortable sandals, with no break-in time,” says Minear. “When you put them on, you feel a clear difference.”
Your search for the perfect sandal is over
Palm Beach Sandals has quite the pedigree. The family-owned business has been around since the 1960s, and now has three locations in Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, Vero Beach and a fourth location to open in Jupiter later this year. They’ve remained dedicated to their roots, hand-making every pair of coveted leather sandals at their West Palm Beach factory. “We’ve stayed tried and true to the quality. The sandals are 100% leather, even the soles. Nothing is mass produced, everything is stitched and still made here,” says Palm Beach Sandals co-owner Brittany White, adding that their customers span generations. “I call them the ‘generational sandals’ because they’re worn by grandmothers, mothers and little girls, who all match—they grow up with these sandals,” White says. “Some of the moms even put them in a shadow box as a memento.”
Quick backstory on Palm Beach Sandals from White: She claims in the 1960s, style icon Jackie Kennedy breezed into Palm Beach for a stay at the presidential winter White House and wanted a pair of whipstitched sandals similar to the ones that she adored from Capri. “My husband’s great-grandfather was a cobbler, and he was able to make the sandal’s classic round piece,” White says, adding: “Jackie O told him that she wanted to distract from her bunions, and he said that the sandals would dress up the feet and no would ever notice.”
Bringing needlepoint to a new audience
Minear first began needle pointing when her husband was dealing with a life-threatening health condition, and Fisher sent her a canvas to work on during those grueling hours in the hospital. “Needle point became my therapy,” says Minear. “You think of nothing else but completing the project.” She was hooked and continued to buy more canvases at Lycette when visiting Palm Beach. With an itch to create her own custom canvases, Minear created a vision board with her ideas and sought help from Fisher. “She took things that were special to me and designed it,” says Minear. Now those designs are draping fashionable sandals meant for sashaying down streets for all to see. “I sobbed when I saw them. The women involved in this worked so hard on what I envisioned. Creating something is so special.”
For White, who has facilitated numerous sandal collabs over the last decade for Palm Beach Sandals, tapping into the needlepointing community has been a game changer. “I had no idea there was this huge community out there, it’s so crazy,” she says. “It’s given us a brand-new customer base, and these collabs help keep our brand fresh.”
And just like stitchers refer to their current projects as “WIPS” (Work in Progress), Minear says to expect more future designs. The “PB Stitched Collection” sandals cost $198; order them on the website or in-store.
Visit Palm Beach Sandals at 111 N.E. 2nd Ave., Delray Beach
