Tell us about Charlotte Mills Shoes

Charlotte Mills is a British bridal footwear brand, based in Manchester. We’re an independent brand with a small female team. Charlotte’s most important goal is to create shoes that stand out from the crowd, are romantic and fun, all whilst being comfortable enough to last the day. Every style is hand made in Spain using the best materials and craftsmanship - our factory has been making shoes for over 50 years, which is evident in the attention to detail and quality. Each pair features Charlotte’s special signature details - they are hand finished with an original silver sixpence embedded in the sock of every pair and the luxurious leather soles are delicately embossed with the phrase:

“Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something Blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe”

A pair of Charlotte Mills shoes has everything covered - the “Something old” is the silver Sixpence, the “Something new” is your shoes, “Something Borrowed is an envelope we provide which can be sent back to us with a picture of you in your shoes, and your “Something blue” is the blue detailing in the in-sock.

It’s been a difficult time, but many businesses have found ways to adapt. Can you tell us about the last 12 months for the brand?

It’s definitely been difficult for everyone to navigate, particularly for the bridal industry. When we initially went in to lockdown in March last year, we felt it important to spread a little joy so we offered our brides 15% off. We also ran various campaigns across our social media channels including our #cmreasonstosmile campaign in April, where we asked our followers to share something that made them smile during this difficult period. We then picked someone to win their wedding shoes, and in June once a week we ran a give away a where a bride to be could win a bottle of champagne. During this last year we have also been sharing much more on Instagram, including showing the behind the scenes of the design process which we’ve found really fun.

We shared a survey with our brides, showing them sneak peeks of our samples for the 2021 collection, and they chose which they liked the most. This information helped us with deciding which styles to buy and really helped shape the range. It was so wonderful to see how our brides are so invested in the brand, and it was so exciting to hear about all the ideas our brides had for the new collection. It’s been our most successful launch yet. Because of the events of the past year, we’ve not been able to host any events. We recently hosted a virtual sample sale on Instagram Stories, which was a hit with our brides. It was a great way to spend the afternoon shopping for some bargains.

You’ve just shot your new collection and expanded your wide fit range.Talk to us about the new collection and any exciting news for the CM brand?

Our latest collection titled ‘Going to the Chapel’ launched in November, and is inspired by bridal testimonials and the rise in intimate wedding ceremonies due to unforeseen circumstances of 2020. The range combines fantasy and tradition to offer a broad selection of flat and heeled styles that champion comfort as well as style. As well as updating some of our classic styles with new colourways, we’ve introduced new embellishments, including swarovski crystals, feathers, pom poms and lavish bows. After speaking to our brides we understand that there was a gap in the market for beautiful modern bridal styles that aren’t flat but aren’t as high as a mid heel. So we’ve introduced styles Immy and January, which feature our new 4cm block heel - the perfect in-between.

Since launching our wide fit range in 2019, it’s been a great hit with our brides. We introduced some of the new styles from the 2021 collection to the range in November, and we’ve just added 4 more styles! We now have 18 wide fit styles for brides to choose from.

Even though 2021 is off to a rocky start, we’re feeling very hopeful and excited about the year to come. We’ve just launched our bag collection, which is very exciting. There are 5 styles for our brides to choose from, and they have been designed to match our wedding shoe collection. And we’ve provisionally booked a pop up event for our London brides in May, we have our fingers crossed this event can go ahead as we had to cancel last years pop up events.

How do you work with your trade partners and how can they get in touch?

We’re always excited and looking for ways to work with UK Bridal Brands and Boutiques.

For any collaborations and or marketing enquiries please contact Emma - press@charlottemills.com

For general enquiries please contact Kim - info@charlottemillsbridal.com