THE START STORY

Where Function Meets Fashion, and Every Step Tells a Story

It started on a business trip, standing in front of a wire bin outside a little shop on a side street in Paris. Inside the bin, simple slippers. Soft, oddly unassuming and yet they  conveyed a certain usefulness.  I plucked out a blue pair , nothing special but back at the hotel, they slipped on with ease and carried me comfortably through hallways and café runs in the morning.

Back home, they became my go-to - not quite shoes, not quite slippers—just practical, lightweight, and surprisingly chic. They wore down in weeks - the idea stayed.

What if there was a shoe that truly fit our lives? One that looked polished, felt like a dream, and moved the way women do—fluidly, across the threshold indoors to out, between work and weekend, errands and evening dine-outs?

Observation to Inspiration to Execution 

As a recreational runner and someone who’d worked briefly in the athletic footwear industry, I saw the gap between fashion shoes that couldn’t keep up, and athletic shoes that didn’t fit the finer moments for style.  Essentially, I didn’t want to look like I was heading to the gym when I was heading to lunch—or the office. I wanted style with finesse, and function for performance.

After dozens of “no’s” from shoe factories in New England too busy for a start-up venture, I encountered a kindred spirit—in a stranger at a tennis shop. His uncle owned a factory in Thailand, and he shared an entrepreneurial kinship.  I sent my specs, and six months later, he sent back my first prototypes. I never looked back.

From hand-stitched beginnings in a converted house in Bangkok to sole designs sketched in mud-splattered meetings with a U.S. supplier’s Thai outpost, apropos was born from persistence, partnership, and a deep belief in doing things differently.

Two years later, I moved production to a New England factory and when that began failing, I showed up and joined the floor crew—learning every station until I felt comfortable with every operation needed to make my shoes.  I’d fallen in love with the process of making something creative from its parts. So when the only path forward meant owning the process, I made the decision to start a small factory, buying my first machines at an auction ( machinery that still makes Apropos shoes today.)

We design and build every pair in the historic mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts, using globally sourced, limited-edition fabrics and performance-grade components. Breathable cotton uppers. Cushioned, wicking insoles. Patterns never repeated. Fit that feels custom. All available exclusively online.

Made for movement. Designed for delight.

Whether you're dashing to the airport, strolling through a museum, or simply grabbing coffee, Apropos is made to go with you. We call them “a scarf for your feet™”—an accessory with purpose, crafted with care, and worn with ease.

Welcome to shoes that understand your rhythm. Welcome to Apropos.