About
We believe the clothes and shoes you wear can impact the way you feel, and while we love the timeless elegance of vintage footwear, most of what we found available were heels or low quality, unflattering and uncomfortably flat flats. We found that prolonged wear of these kinds of shoes on a day to day basis can lead to discomfort, inconvenience and in some cases, bunions and pain!
Our mission is to make elegance effortless, every single day. At Charlie Stone shoes, we aspire to empower women with the right balance of vintage class and modern practicality so they can conquer the world in their own signature style.
How do we do this?
- Unique 'almost' flat design with a hidden wedge elevating your feet ever so lightly for better arch, ankle and knee support
- Custom cushioned insole
- Soft genuine leather upper and lining
- Flexible and durable bottom soles for prolonged wear
- Comfortably positioned low ankle straps
How Charlie Stone was born
Started by Sydney local Samantha Capello and originally created to accommodate her own busy feet and sore knees, the Charlie Stone concept was born when Samantha struggled to find a comfortable alternative to vintage heels outside of paper thin ballet flats, brogues and chunky sandals - shoes that looked like what we all perceive as flats, and all of which were not designed to capture the same elegance that we find in vintage heels. After a fruitless search, she decided to take matters into her own hands and design her perfect shoe.
As for the name, Charlie Stone was created accidentally when Samantha heard her husband say 'charlie stone' when pronouncing 'charleston' in his heavy italian accent!
Where we are based
Charlie Stone used to be based in Australia with Samantha when she resided there, but then was moved to Singapore when she relocated there and decided to move the business with her. Since Charlie Stones are shipped to many different corners of the world, she also relocated the warehouse from Australia to China to close the distance between the warehouse and our delivery destinations and provide more efficient shipping times.
Manufacturing ethically
We manufacture our shoes with the same boutique factory in China that we have worked with since day one. Predominantly serving Australian brands, our factory is operated by a small, young and forward-thinking team who we have worked closely with over the years to perfect our designs and ways of working to minimise impact to the environment. We love working with them because of their commitment to maintaining excellence in their work environment, worker conditions and wages, focus on quality and 'slow manufacturing' (rather than fast mass productions that create a lot of waste), and consistent updating of equipment and manufacturing techniques to minimise impact on the environment.
Doing our best to minimise our footprint
If you've ever bought from us, you'll know that the way we package our shoes is a little different from others. We've reduced 48% of paper packaging versus the traditional way of packing shoes, only using recycled tissue paper where absolutely necessary to protect the shoes.
We are now transitioning to new shoeboxes which are made with recycled cardboard and act as both the shoebox AND the shipping carton, reducing the need for extra packaging waste!
What we do with discontinued, returns or defective goods
The fashion industry is notorious for throwing away goods that have slight defects, are returned or are simply too old in their sale rack. We HATE this and will NEVER trash any shoes that are still able to be repaired (in fact, we've yet to trash any shoes since we started the business). Here's how we avoid throwing anything away:
- Any discontinued pairs remain on sale until they are sold, no matter what year or collection they came from
- Any returned items are checked then repackaged and sold at a discount under our Returns Warehouse section
- Any pairs with a slight defect are repaired (if you receive a defective pair, we will cover the cost of repair)
- Any pairs with a slight defect that a customer prefers to replace is donated to a local charity shop