Reality star Rashidah Ali, is known as the shoe consultant to the stars. She has her own shoe line called ENCORE and owns a promotion and artist development company called 5 Approved. Currently she can be seen on VH1's Love and Hip Hop New York. Recently Rashidah chatted with Styling On A Budget about her shoe line, what shoes are in this season, her new wedding special, and her personal style. Check out the interview below.
Styling On A Budget: For those who have no idea what a shoe consultant is, can you break that down and explain that. What exactly is a shoe consultant?
Rashidah Ali: Basically a shoe consultant is someone who advises people on shoes. It can be either trends for each season...it can be the designers. You're basically educating people on that particular industry. It's just like being a real estate consultant or any type of consultant. It's just my industry is shoes. Girls may say how many inches is this, what's the most comfortable shoe to wear, what's the best designers, what's trendy this season, what's some of the styles that I should definitely have in my closet for this season, or what styles should I get rid of? Anything pertaining to the shoe industry is what I do. High or low. There's no price preference it just has to do with shoes.
SOAB: For this season what trends are in?
RA: The platform has made it's exit and a lot of single sole shoes are really trendy this season. Clogs are really big. Of course peep-toe ankle booties are huge as well as biker boots. The whole motorcycle look is really big this season.
SOAB: Can you tell us about your shoe line ENCORE?
RA: Yes of course! So I launched ENCORE last year, 12-12-12. The objective with my line was to be able to accommodate the everyday woman. A lot of the girls that follow me, may not be able to afford $1,000 or $1,500 pair of shoes, but they still want to be sexy and trendy and fashion forward. That was the idea and concept of ENCORE. Kind of like how to get the look for less.
SOAB: Good I love that! Everyone wants to dress like their favorite celebrity, but it can get pricey. What's the price range of your line?
RA: Everything is about $70 to max $200 for a boot. All of the shoes and sandals are max $100-$130.
SOAB: That's a great price range. So where can we shop your line?
RA: Online at EncoreShoetique.com. This coming spring, Coko from SWV, has a store in Virginia and in the spring of 2014 you will be able to buy the shoes in her boutique as well.
SOAB: Which brand of shoes do you think is the most comfortable?
RA: I would definitely have to say Casadei. Everyone now a days goes straight for Louboutins. They're a great shoe, they look hot, but they're really uncomfortable. They hurt. I've never been in a Louboutin that didn't kill my feet. The Casadei is a little bit underrated. Some people know about them, but everyone doesn't know about them. I used to carry them in my first boutique. They're so comfortable, they're so sexy, they're trendy, and I love them. That's one of my favorite designers.
SOAB: What styling advice can you give to fashionistas that are looking for a new pair of shoes?
RA: Always make sure that you wear shoes that are your size. Sometimes women are like "Oh my god I love these I wanna get them, they're a little tight" but there's nothing cute about wearing shoes that are too small for you. Making sure you know your size and wearing shoes that fit your feet. Platforms are not as big this season, but it's a trend that's never gonna go away. Always have your classic over-the-knee thigh high boots. You'll never go wrong with it. You'll be able to wear them for 10 seasons (laughs). You can pull them out every season and you'll still be in the loop. They can make the most simple outfit pop.
SOAB: Ok so we heard that you have a new show coming.
RA: Yes I have a wedding special. I wouldn't say it's a show. It's just a few episodes and if the ratings are really good and everything goes well then they can offer you a spin-off from it. It's going to be executive produced by Shaunie O'Neal and myself. You'll get to see that in a few months.
SOAB: Do you have your wedding dress picked out yet?
RA: I have a few. So many designers were really amazing. My wedding coordinator is Diann Valentine. She is amazing. She did Usher's wedding in like 10 days. She did Evelyn Lozada's wedding, she's also one of my bridesmaids [Evelyn]. She's great, Diann Valentine. She has relationships with phenomenal designers and they have been so wonderful, real helpful. You guys will get to see that soon.
SOAB: So on the fashion tip how would you describe your personal style?
RA: I think I'm very sophisticated with the way I dress. Sexy and sophisticated. People see the show and are like "she's so covered up", but if you see me in person you see that I have a good frame and a good silhouette. I like to show a little sex appeal but I don't like to just over do it. So I'll have on like a fitted pencil skirt and a pretty blouse. I'm kind of sexy and sophisticated with my clothes. Definitely not edgy! Other than my hair color I like to keep it real classy.
Be sure to check out Rashidah's wedding special which is coming soon!
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