Becki Coakley Shoes — Stylish Storyteller

MEET BECKI COAKLEY - CEO AND FOUNDER BEHIND THE EDGY AND CLASSIC DESIGNS OF BECKI COAKLEY SHOES

Walk a mile in her shoes and you’ll understand. You’ll feel confident, fierce and ready to take on the day. Scratch that–the world.

When wearing a Becki Coakley shoe, you may experience the following: confidence, positivity, boldness and little sass on the side.

Becki Coakley started her namesake shoe brand in 2015. She’s always loved shoes, and started to imagine ways she could put her own spin on a shoe.

She says what made her forge ahead and take the next steps to start the business was the passing of her mother in 2012. Becki and her mother shared a love of shoes, so Becki wanted to incorporate that bond while honoring her mother in all aspects of her business.

Becki Coakley, CEO and founder, Becki Coakley Shoes

“I kind of wanted to find a way to pay homage to her and to include her in whatever I was doing, so it would be like carrying her around with me daily. So first and foremost, I wanted to develop something that had my mom’s stamp on it too, something I know she would love,” Becki says.

The way she did that? In the brand’s logo. The letter A is for her mother’s name, Angie. The three horizontal lines represent the most important thing in her life- her three children. Becki’s name is on the last line as her 3rd child, and their last name Coakley, runs along outside of the logo.

Becki Coakley Shoes logo

“So I thought about what I really wanted to do and my dreams and passions and it always went back to shoes, but I never thought I would be able to do it,” Becki recalls. “Who am I to be a shoe designer? I don’t have the money or resources or anything like that, but I sat down one day and got a group of sketches together and started planning the business, getting professional sketches done and finding someone to help me and guide me along the way.”

Her process begins with sketches of the shoes. Becki confesses she can’t draw that well (she says her sketches are more like doodles), and she transfers that vision for a shoe onto paper and has someone sketch her vision, which she says can take days because she is very detailed, showing photos or examples of the shoe she envisions. Afterward, Becki and the illustrator go over technical details such as heel height, the form of the shoe and what materials she wants to use like leather or suede.

The shoes are sold in Arizona and online, but Becki Coakley shoes are handmade in Italy. “Then I have an intensive process with the factory, which may be a week or a few weeks to choose materials, and afterward we begin the sampling process,” Becki says. “The factory starts making the sample of the shoe with the materials and the heel and sends me photos so I can see how it looks before the sample is finished; that way I can go through and make sure every detail, from the stitching, color and heel are right.” Afterward, the factory makes a sample, which will then go into production. Once the samples are made, Becki decides which shoes she wants to take into production; she goes through this process 3-4 times a year.

Her shoes are unique in that they are adjustable, which allows them to be more versatile, and gives women more opportunities to wear them with different outfits and on different occasions. Her bow shoe, or the Julie, can be a statement piece with the bow attached or removed for a more subtle look. “If she needs to make a statement at an event, she can put the bow on and it becomes a completely different type of shoe. If she’s feeling more flirty today, she might want the bow on, if she’s feeling more business, she can remove it, either style can boost her confidence to do whatever she wants to do,” Becki says. The Charlene bootie is also adjustable, the leather inside the shoe can bend and stay in place, so the two flaps on the sides of the shoe can be bent down or up.

She says she designs her shoes for confident women. “The Becki Coakley woman carries her confidence softly, she likes to make statements with her style and fashion subtly. She’s a strong woman, is a go-getter and whatever she wants to accomplish, she goes after it and tries to tackle it. So she’s a very chic, stylish, all in one badass woman,” Becki says.

Becki describes her designs as timeless because they can be modernized. You can wear them this year or next year or year after and you’ll be able to wear it, Becki says. “I believe in quality and classic silhouettes, so you can get wear out of shoes and enjoy them.”

“She also likes to be unique, she likes the exclusivity and uniqueness with her style,” Becki says. “I want the Becki Coakley woman to show her confidence, because some of my styles are not loud, but some require a little boldness, like the bow shoe. She’s going to be confident enough to walk into the room with the bow shoe and know that all eyes are going to be on her, that she can take that, and she carries it very well.”

“The Becki Coakley woman carries her confidence softly, she likes to make statements with her style and fashion subtly. She’s a strong woman, is a go-getter and whatever she wants to accomplish, she goes after it and tries to tackle it. So she’s a very chic, stylish, all in one badass woman.”

The designer is excited about the continued growth of the brand, and hopes she can set up a storefront in the next year. Becki currently sells her shoes online and at various vendor events throughout Arizona.

“I’m excited about other collections I’ve been working on, a few shoes that will be coming out soon, I recently got samples for my signature collection with different colors, so I’m excited about introducing different colors of the Charlene bootie, Julie and the Tanaia. And dropping some different collections, I have some new black shoes that are coming in the next month or so, a slip on, so I’m excited about what’s to come with the new designs coming out and reaching more people and growing.”

See more of Becki Coakley’s striking designs at BeckiCoakley.com or visit her Instagram.

-Stylish Storyteller