Royal Wedding May Feature Custom Shoe From Sacramento Woman
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – She's not Cinderella and it's not a glass slipper, but Meghan Markle could be wearing a custom shoe on her wedding day made by a local woman and her business partner.
"We didn't really set out to like launch a big company at the time, we were like, 'Oh yeah, I could use a stylish and comfortable slipper, so let's see if we can create that,'" said Marisa Sharkey of Sacramento.
Sharkey is a mom on the go and needed shoe support, but nothing seemed to go.
"We bought every slipper in the book," she added.
Sharkey and her best friend Bianca Gates decided to slip into their own design.
"Started to paste and cut and sew things together and we weren't very good at that, but we felt like we had something," she said.
They developed the Birdie brand in honor of women who need a comfy fashionable pair of versatile slippers.
But they still needed the perfect model.
"Meghan was an actress on 'Suits' at the time and she really just jumped into our minds. We love her classic style," she said.
Soon Markle would become their star.
"Really early on we gifted her a pair and she wore them everywhere and she had a really big social media presence of time, so she would tag us in different Instagram posts," she said.
Sales began to soar while Meghan's love for the shoe and future romance continued to bloom. When they heard of the royal wedding to Prince Harry, the Birdie brand knew just what to do.
"We wanted to create something fun that celebrated her wedding and that's kind of what we did with this," she said.
The exclusive perfect pair for the soon-to-be princess is a blush satin shine with a pompom on the front and pearls that line the small heel.
They were shipped overseas for Markle's big day.
"It will be so interesting see what she wears and how it all goes, they seem like a very fun couple, so of course we wish them the best," Sharkey said.
She is just so grateful for the press and feels blessed for all the success.
"It's just been the support of our community and family and friends that's kind of pushed us to do to this, so it's been really terrific," she added.
While you can't find a pair exactly like the future princess' there are plenty of others inspired by the slipper to choose from.
