Moochie

There are those women that could not care less about what goes on their feet, and then there are those who care as much about wearing unique footwear as they do about their clothing. These ladies are naturally frustrated when they walk through endless rows of mass produced, insipid looking shoes that shopping complexes around the city unfortunately house. And not only are a number of these shoes dull, gaudy (need we add painfully tacky?), ill-fitting, or clunky to look at, it takes up so much of your time to try and sift through to find a pair that looks good. Moochie shows up like a breath of fresh air for those fashionable ladies who love to dress up their feet.

Moochie (or Cobbler), is a small shoe boutique of exclusive designer shoes, owned by Sabina Rashid and Samia Huq. Their entire collection is available inside the Apex Gallerie Outlet at 35, Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 1 (store diagonally opposite to Chicken King, with Moochie shoes located inside the Apex shop, right next to Bella Italia). They have been in operation since mid 2001, and have received an immense response already, all due to their fabulous designs and competent selection range. One may be surprised at the fact that this store, which has already acquired so much popularity, has not expanded into a larger outlet. However, Rashid has a valid point when she says that they like to give extra care and attention to each and every pair of these designer shoes, one that might be lacking in mass production. For now, Moochie is a small operation business, and its emphasis is on craftwork and on creating unique, tasteful looking shoes, all of which are handmade.

Moochie has on display an array of different types of shoe heels, mid and kitten, stiletto, wedge, flats, closed mules, to name a few. The styles of these shoes range from elegant and classic, to trendy, as well as casual. A majority of the heels are imported from England as well as Bangkok and are pressure-tested to ensure durable and quality products.

What makes Moochie shoes so popular are perhaps the way in which they co-ordinate so well with our deshi clothes. Rashid mentions that the designs, colours, and the fabrics for these shoes are all chosen keeping our colourful deshi attire in mind. The emphasis is therefore on fabric (local), rather than on leather. The uppers of the shoes are extremely diverse and colourful. These include a festive range of gold, silver, deep maroon, funky colours like deep and bright red, hot pink, orange, and classic colours such as dark blue and blue gold, deep olive and jade green, light pinkish gold, metallic brown, and black. The kinds of fabrics used include satin, silk (such as Benarasi), tissue, and even chundri. Other materials for the uppers include crocodile leather and suede. From sequins to beads, Moochie shoes have much detailwork on them. Moochie designs incorporate regional craft skills such as beaded, khardana, puti, mirror, and embroidered works. Their accessories also include jade-like stones, nupur, flowers and so on. (Some accessories are bought from abroad, such as the jade-like stones, the flowers, and some of the buckles.) To give a few examples of some of these luscious looking shoes, we may find gold silk with beaded handwork, gold leaf accessories on gold leather, dressy combinations, such as pink and gold with sequins, satin black/metallic brown silk closed mules, and light grey silk with pearl accents, to name a few. In preparation for this Eid, Moochie is bringing out a new range of 480 pairs of handcrafted shoes consisting of over 18 new styles. Prices range from Tk 950-1400. One should note that due to the boutique style concept, these shoes are limited editions. Moochie does repeat some styles on popular demand, and also takes orders for very special occasions.

So, if you are looking for something original, creative and fashionable to pamper your feet with, go out and buy yourselves a pair of Moochie shoes!

By Rubaiyat Khan