For lovers of the romantic fashion style, I discovered a great Menorcan shoe brand called C-Doux. Romantic style is associated with sweet, whimsical kind of beauty, often found in French fashion. Romantic sandals are pretty, many are embellished, but not overly so. They go well with flowing sheers and relaxed crochets that fill the closets of romantic fashion devotees. As for the enigmatic name C-Doux, it is not that enigmatic, after all: it’s a play on the French expression “c’est doux” – which can mean both “it is sweet” and “it is soft“, two important elements of the romantic style (the French connection goes without saying).
C-Doux and Salord Jover
The C-Doux brand was launched in 1991 by Salord Jover, a shoe making company that was started back in 1935 and carries the name of its founder, José Salord Jover.
Like other prominent Menorcan shoe brands, the Salord Jover brand owes its success to an extensive network of locally-based expert craftsmen and women, a sound business sense, and a long-standing cultural and business connection to Italy – the nerve center of European luxury design. For decades Salord Jover designers drew inspiration from the glamorous life style of the European elites that came to unwind on their luxurious island estates, away from the larger and busier Mallorca. Since the 70s the brand has begun to focus solely on women’s shoes and, as the demand for more informal styles grew, in the 90s it created a more relaxed day-to-evening line under the name of C-Doux. The company continues to produce its classic evening line under the original Salord Jover brand.
Inspired by ancient Greek mythology, this seductive sandal is made up of thin, tightly sewn together gold-laminated napa leather straps that gently spiral around the foot. This intriguing pattern is best combined with something plain simple, not busy, because these sandals are attention hoggers!
This variation of the “Greek” sandal has a gently curving napa leather covered platform and a padded insole. The ankle is secured by a thin buckled strap and the finely serrated rubber sole provides good traction. This a sandal that I would personally choose: it adds height and the leather tone is flattering. If you have a fair skin tone, the “old silver” color would look a lot better on you than gold. It can also work with a wider range of outfits. That said, I don’t think that it would combine well with denim. This is the thing with romantic sandals: they require romantic fabrics and denim is too crude for that. A denim jacket over a rayon-type material floral dress would work, but that’s the extent of it, in my view.
What drew me to this sandal is the elegant bending pattern of the main straps. Many gladiator sandals are made out of rectangular straps that are more in keeping with the gladiator aesthetic, but, in my view, gladiator aesthetic is not well suited for romantic sandals. This sandal is a very happy compromise: the trendy lace-up “cage” design is softened by the gently bending lines and the glittering rose color of the leather. I also like that, for practicality’s sake, two regular shaped straps – the wider strap in the front and the narrow one in the back actually hold the foot in place, while the draw-string in the center is largely decorative.
Menorcan and Mallorcan shoe makers are known for their mastery of the woven leather (“trenzado”) technique. It is also successfully used by brands like Pons Quintana, Farrutx, Lottusse, and others. This mule by C-Doux combines the delicate look and gentle touch of woven leather with a modern, anatomically correct platform and a contrasting widely serrated sole. Romantic sandals have never been so road-ready!
I adore the pink gold hue of this version of the C-Doux mule, it is simply glorious. The skin tone colored platform goes great with it. For me personally I would choose the two-tone version with black, again, because of my fair skin tone. Anyone with a darker skin tone would simply rock this sandal. Or gently rock with it, thanks to its gently sloping shape. Whatever suits your fancy.
I hope you enjoyed my personal selection of romantic sandals by C-Doux. Salord Jover, a more formal evening line, also has some great treasures that I would like to show you in the near future. You don’t have to wait for me, of course – simply choose the Salord Jover name in the top menu of the company’s website and you are in for a treat!
Last, but not least: the C-Doux webshop delivers worldwide.
Make sure to drop me a line, your comments and questions are always welcome.
Cheers,
Ann
