JBCStyle: Delman Style

You can tell more about a woman by the shoes she wears than by reading her palm.

-Herman Delman, 1945



What do Audrey Hepburn, Blake Lively, Marilyn Monroe, and Ann Hathaway have in common? Mary Robertson, Director of Publicity for Delman shoes, gave JBCStyle the scoop, and a tour of their beautiful office. Click here to peruse FIT's Scandal Sandals and Lady Slippers, an homage to the footwear label of choice of style icons through the decades. . .


Audrey Hepburn



Ava Gardner



Custom for Marlene Dietrich

It makes perfect sense that Delman will be the brand of choice for the footwear in Whit Stillman's next film, Damsels in Distress. Yes, you heard us correctly - famed Last Days of Disco, Barcelona, and Metropolitan director is working on a new film (we haven't seen anything in over a decade, but we're down with a well-edited career style). The period piece (hence Delman) has a plotline we're already drooling over:

Damsels in Distress centers on a group of college girls who take in a new student and teach her their own misguided ways of helping people. Lily, a new student at Seven Oaks University, winds up filling in with a dynamic and highly individualistic group of girls, addicted to the elegance of the past: Heather, Violet and Rose all volunteer at the campus Suicide Prevention Center, convinced that musical dance, sharp clothes and good hygiene — the Dior perfume “Diorissimo” is their trademark — can all contribute to staving off the inevitable self-destructive impulses that follow hard on the heels of failed college romances. Despite their sophisticated talk and savvy use of perfume, the girls are plagued by Cupid’s arrows and must adjust their psyches to the onset of amour.

Delman, Dior, and damsels who sound oh-so Cruel-Intentions-distressed. . . yes please! But before dismissing Delman as "perfect for a period piece" or the pretty little flats your English teacher wore, check out the latest damsels sporting Delman style all around town. . .

Gossip Girls Blake Lively and Leighton Meester can't get enough of their boots, while Ann Hathway keeps it classic with some true blue Delman style. Something borrowed, something blue, something Delman, something new style.

The resort collection is Delman-icious. . .

We want them all. . .and they're only a mouse click away! The entire resort collection is available now at www.delmanshoes.com - e-commerce is a working girl's best friend!

And what could be more perfect than these lighter-than-air flats, which also conveniently fold into a pouch for when you travel? (They're part of the new Spring collection - not available yet, but we're waiting. . . )



We were so excited when Mary put us in touch with Kelli McCabe, Design Director for Delman for a brief Q and A:

What were your inspirations for the Spring 2011 line? Personal favorites?

Claire McCardell's timeless American Sportswear designs from the 1940's and '50's were an inspiration for me in designing the Spring '11 line -- her approach to designing "solutions" for women's wardrobe needs is more relevant than ever in today's environment. I applied this approach in working to combine updated shapes and proportions with simple silhouettes, such as the "CARRIE" Espadrille and the "SYERA" Flat Sandal. I was also inspired this season by texture, and worked with suppliers to develop finishes with a "livedin" quality, such as the bleached finish of the Karung High-Heeled Sandal "ESME".

InsiderStyle would love to know what five pieces you would add to your fall / winter wardrobe if you were given an unlimited budget?

• One of the new long skirts
• Celine's Box Bag
• A belted fur vest
• The luxe and very chic Delman "FAYE" in woven haircalf
• Delman "Raven" riding boot in a buttery Nappa leather and raised to an over-the-knee height - this will be my go-to boot for the season!

The Delman showroom

Why do you believe in Delman?

When I interviewed for the position as Delman's Design Director, I was given the chance to see the Delman archive at our offices. The beauty, richness and variety of the museum-quality Delman models stored there sealed the deal for me, in terms of reinforcing the rich 90-year legacy of the Delman brand, and instilling within me the feeling that, given the opportunity, I could contribute a great deal towards bringing the brand to its full potential!!

JBCStyle salutes Delman: the footwear label of choice for style icons from 1919 to current day, the oldest salon footwear label in America with a legacy of creative directors including Roger Vivier, Kenneth Jay Lane, and Herbert Levine. Herman Delman set out to create a company that would "beautify the female foot" and the years speak for themselves. . .
 
Timeless, exquisite Delman style.