Atelier Doré

Everyone at the office has a girl crush on shoe designer and founder of her eponymous brand, Emme Parsons. And you can see why it’s hard not to! Not only is she refined in the way she dresses, in person she has a calming presence that draws everyone near to her. She was in New York this past month and we met her at The Guild to talk all things shoes and her new hometown of Los Angeles.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what lead you to found Emme Parsons?
The brand was launched in November 2017 in Los Angeles where the company is based. Prior to living in LA, I lived in in New York for ten years and was an art director focused in publishing, fashion and beauty. The literal and figurative space of Los Angeles was a huge catalyst to start the brand along with having my son. I made the decision to take some time off between consulting jobs to focus on being a new mother and also used that time to decide what my next step would be career-wise. I had always wanted to create a line of shoes and I realized I had a narrow window to go for it. After living in New York for so long I felt like I had a strong idea of what women where looking for and a gap in the market that could be filled.

How would you describe your style in three words?
Restrained, functional, considered

How has your style developed as you’ve gotten older? Has it become more refined? Do you feel like you’ve come into your own?
Yes, as I’ve gotten older I’ve become drawn to more classic styles and am more willing to invest in pieces that are well made. My style has definitely become more refined and as I’ve found silhouettes that work for my body type it’s become easier to create a uniform style of dressing that helps me focus my creative energy into each collection instead of overthinking my own personal style.

How does Los Angeles influence your style?
Los Angeles is overall much more relaxed than New York or Europe and I love the mild climate. It’s transitional season dressing for most of the year which allows me to wear sandals almost every day and wearing a coat is usually something that isn’t necessary. It’s more just for fun when the weather drops down to 50 degrees in the evening which is a welcome change from the bitterly cold New York winters.

What are the most coveted pieces from your wardrobe?
The most special pieces I own are vintage – for example I have a brown leather belt that I bought at a flea market in the East Village that is over ten years old that just gets better with age. Last spring, I also bought an incredible black silk tea-length dress from the 1930’s from Thanx God I’m a VIP in Paris and the pin tucking and bias-cut are so beautiful. It’s a nice reminder of a simpler time when the fashion calendar didn’t feel so frenetic. I hope that the fashion industry can collectively find a way to reset and produce fewer but better designs.