With The Click of A Heel!
Stepping inside Tanya Heath’s boutique in the St-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris is like a trip to the candy store.
Especially if you are someone who love shoes!!! (I know one of my best friends Lizzie Gilbert is already salivating!)
One is drawn to the shelves displaying her elegant footwear; pumps, sandals and boots.But what really takes your breath away are the two walls of exquisite interchangeable heels of varying colours, designs and heights.
When I arrived the owner herself was attending to a customer from Mexico who was thrilled to be getting Tanya Heath Paris originals*, because what Tanya has done is revolutionary.
She is the inventor of footwear with removable and interchangeable heels, and also the first person in the world to sell heels as an accessory.
I can’t begin to describe how much fun it was to first select a pair of shoes, in my case, a pair of black vegan slip-on boots. Then start trying out the heels of which there are over 300 to choose from.
I felt like a child playing dress-up.
It is remarkable that Tanya has been able to engineer beautiful but also comfortable footwear that can switch from a 4 cm walking heel to a 6.5 or 8 cm high heel with the click of a button.
Black and white patent leather pump with heel from the Tanya’s Tropical Collection
The fashion possibilities are endless when you consider that one pair of shoes can be transformed from work to travel to party wear and everything in between.
But being the Dyson of footwear has not been easy. Tanya is an innovative disrupter in an entrenched industry that wants women to keep buying lots and lots of shoes — many of which we end up wearing only a few times.
Photo; Courtesy Tanya Heath
Still, her following speaks volumes. Tanya has 27,000 loyal customers around the world. One of them, a woman from Texas, bought a pair of shoes from Tanya five years ago, and then recently came back to update them with some new heels.
Tanya also does custom-designed heels for some of her customers!
I can see doing that with my new boots!
(FYI, I got three pairs of heels of varying heights — silver, a gold design and a zebra pattern which I love.)
My zebra heels
Read more about Tanya Heath’s collection on her website.
And you don’t have to go all the way to Paris to buy her shoes and heels.
She sells them online too.
Don’t forget to change the prices into the appropriate currency!
Tanya in her Paris shop Photo: Courtesy Tanya Heath
BUT … if you ARE going to be in Paris, I know Tanya would love you to pop by.
She is located at 22 Rue du Dragon in the 6th arrondissement where there is plenty of other great shopping.
Her boutique is also just around the corner from the two most famous cafés in Paris — Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots!
*The Mexican lady bought a pair of white boots (below) and 5 different kinds of heels!
Sporting two different heels with the same boot!
Follow Tanya Heath on Instagram at #tanyaheathparisofficial
Missed a few of my blogs? Check them out on my website at www.womanofacertainageinparis.com
Diana Bishop the founder of The Success Story Program and A Woman of a Certain Age in Paris as well as a well-known correspondent with over 25 years working for CTV, CBC News, and NBC News. She loves travel, writing, and all things Parisienne.
I am truly salivating Diana
❤️Lizzie Gilbert
Ha ha.. I knew you in particular would be! I think we all are! D
I’ve seen your boots in person and I LOVE them….. ❤️???. Such a brilliant idea!
I can hardly wait to go to visit the store in person perhaps this April!!
Yes, maybe we can drop in on Tanya. Although I think it will be a Sunday and she is not open that day!
What a wonderful idea and what an innovative thing to do – I can’t believe that noone ever did it before!
Hi Trudy — well people have tried but they have never been able to engineer a shoe that could change from a lot to a high heel. It took Tanya 12 years to perfect it!
Thanks for the comment! Diana
OMG! I was just two blocks away from her store and didn’t know!! Next time!!
You must go and see her when you go again! So much fun! Great to hear from you Juliette!
Those tropical heels!! As someone who now has difficulty finding shoes that are completely suitable (rheumatoid arthritis), I hate the restrictions on my once extensive shoe collection. Being able to customize and mix up heels is a game changer. Congrats to Tanya on doing this, and with such style!
Yes, Tanya has the woman of a certain age in mind. I am looking at getting one pair of shoes that I can travel with .. a comfortable shoe with a low heel for walking and a heel for dressing things up a bit when I don’t have to walk anywhere! Will save a lot of room in the suitcase!
Diana
Thanks so much for this fantastic article and for sharing the news about my shoe concept! Looking forward to seeing you in April!
Tanya — Thank you so much for your comment. You are a popular lady this week and you have a whole bunch of new followers… Please let us know how we can help you grow your business!
Diana
Diana, you had me at BOOTS! LOLLL 🙂 Tee Hee
Congrats for your blog in 2020 and for the amazing journey into Paris Diana!!! I am in “awe adore” with this boot, by designer Tanya Health, IN LOVE with the style!!! I can see myself wearing every single pair of them in the pictures from your Blog Diana. WOW, finally a boot for every woman. Just amazed by this and the story along with; BRILLIANT!!!! Now, I am ready to travel to Paris. 😉
Hi Tamara,
Thank you for your confidence in me which you have had from the very start. I look forward to your comments in 2020. Diana
Boots – now if that doesn’t catch the eye, what would?
I believe the hotter to heel, the bigger the smile.
And so practical. Imagine travelling this summer with ONE pairs of sandals and being able to change the heels to accommodate long walks and dinners out.