Craftsmanship

Charlotte finds inspiration from a multitude of places, looking at bridal trends, jewellery pieces, vintage designs and most importantly taking onboard our brides testimonials. All Charlotte Mills shoes are handcrafted by expert shoemakers in Spain. We work closely with our factory to ensure every detail is perfect for our brides. Of course each pair of Charlotte Mills shoes is meticulously finished with our signature details, which include an original silver sixpence inserted into every left shoe and a beautiful embossed sole. The average Charlotte Mills style is handled by 100 workers before arriving with our brides.

You can discover more about our process and how our shoes are made below.

Designing the pattern

After Charlotte’s design is finalised, it is handed over to a skilled pattern cutter, who designs the pattern for the shoes ready for them to be brought to life by the manufacturing team.

Cutting out the upper

Once the pattern has been tested, it is digitised and can then be cut out by laser out of a hand-picked leather hide. This ingenious machine can figure out the best use of the hide, to ensure that we get the most out of each one, meaning a reduction in wastage.

Adding the piping detail

Here you can see the piping detail being added to the vamp of our Meghan shoe. It is initially stuck on by hand prior to being stitched to ensure it is in the correct position.

Adding the heart motif

Similarly, the heart component on the heel counter of our Meghan shoe is stuck on by hand to ensure it is perfectly symmetrical prior to being stitched by another team member.

Stitching the piping

This is a section of our delicate piping being stitched ready to be attached to the vamp of our Meghan shoe.

Stitching the details

We can now see the heart motif being stitched to the heel counter of the shoe. The machinist uses the utmost precision here to ensure that every stitch is as neat as possible.

Stitching the uppers

Once the piping and detailing is stitched to the back and heel counter, the two upper components are stitched together in readiness for lasting the shoe.

Trimming the lining

Any excess lining is trimmed from the topline of the shoe by hand by one of our exacting team members.

Adding the heel stiffener

At this stage, the heel counter has a stiffener added to ensure it maintains its shape.

Adding the buckles

Here we can see buckles being added to the straps by hand. They are then secured in place by another machinist and holes are punched into the other strap.

Preparing for the sole

After lasting the shoe and prior to glueing the sole on, a team member will carefully skive back any excess material underneath the shoe to reduce bulk and ensure the sole sits perfectly on the rest of the shoe.

Gluing the sole on

Here we can see the adhesive being applied to the underneath of the shoe in readiness for the sole being attached.

Trimming the details

After lasting and the heel being added, the delicate cut-outs present on our Meg and Meghan style are expertly trimmed out of the shoe by hand.

The finished product

Here is a shot of the finished product complete with our signature embossed leather sole.

Making a Meghan shoe from start to finish

The Process

Our Production Team

Charlotte Mills shoes wouldn’t be possible without our fantastic Spanish production team, tirelessly handcrafting our bridal shoes with love and care to ensure only the most beautiful and comfortable shoes for our brides.