shoes from Roger and Sarah Adams

[QOH/Gina]

Hi ! This time i need your help. I bought some very sexy heels, but they are way too small. The Label in the shoes are from Roger and Sarah Adams, Classic Stilettos. The size on the shoes must be a UK size. Has anybody some informations for me. Is this a shop or a shoe manufacturer ?

[Firefox]

This address came from a FAQ on the net. I don't know if it is current or not. Source list appears to be quite old.

ROGER AND SARAH ADAMS

Beautifully made stiletto heeled shoes and boots. Brochure L3.75 (L5 overseas).

31 North Rd

Brighton

BNl lYB

England

(+44) 0273 610905.

Original source: http://www.skepticfiles.org/faq/fetish3f.htm:

[Rob]

I remember reading in an issue of "Skin Two" some years ago that Roger and Sarah Adams had "become victims of the recession".

…….I’ve just pulled out the issue - it was issue 11 of Skin Two. They don't put dates on the issues, so I can't say exactly when it was, but they are now at issue 46, and the London phone numbers within are all the old 071 & 081 area codes!

A google on the address Firefox found looks like it is a Pottery Painting Café now:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%2231+North+Road%22+Brighton+BN1+1YB&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB

If you are really determined, you could try calling the present occupiers of the address to see if they have any contact details for Roger and Sarah Adams, or they may be able to give you a number for the landlord, who may keep records on previous leases.

Could it be the same Roger and Sarah Adams now selling Car & Cycle parts in Emsworth (approx 30 miles along the cost from Brighton)?

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22Roger+and+Sarah+Adams%22+&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB

(Google is a wonderful thing!)

[Firefox]

Yes I suspected it might be quite old, early 1990's perhaps about 10 years out of date. The code for Brighton changed from 0273 to 01273 about 93 or 94, so my address is at least 10 years old. Good research Rob!

[QOH/Gina]

Thanks to both of you. If i will get some informations i will post them.

[xaphod]

Look in 'my favourite shoe pictures' and 'heels and advertising' which I've bounced back to the top for you. Xa

[Puffer]

As a newcomer, I’ve only just seen this query but I can give some further info as I lived in Brighton until 2000 and was aware of the Adams business: 1. The North Street shop was open (from memory) about 1990-92 only, when the business closed completely. I think the Adamses had previously carried on the business from the Southwick address (as in Xaphod’s catalogue in ‘Heels and advertising’ topic) which was probably their home at that time. 2. I did visit the shop and have a catalogue (undated) with black and white retouched photos of only a few shoes (being worn) and somewhat exaggerated artist’s impressions of the large (claimed) range. The heels were said to be 5.25 – 5.75″ (depending on shoe size, 3 – and the price range was £70 – 85, which seems a lot for that time. The catalogue was rather disappointing and suggestive of a small stockholding with most items made to order, although there was a reasonable selection displayed in the shop and its window – always a pleasant distraction when I drove past! As Xaphod suggests, a number of similarities to other ranges indicating a common manufacturer. 3. After closure, the Adamses lived for a time in Hove and traded in second-hand shoes. I happened to meet them there around 1994 (responding to an ad in the local paper, trying to buy something for a GF) and, recognising who they were, asked why the business had closed. They said it was due to quality control problems with complaints from (I think) a German customer (presumably a retailer) and I recall they also blamed a shift from street fashion to fetish, which presumably reduced demand. Sarah was clearly a high stiletto fan herself and a friend who knew her later told me she wore them regularly when out and about. 4. I don’t know where the Adamses are now living or what they are doing. I hope this helps. Puffer

[Puffer]

After more than two years, I can update my last posting concerning Roger & Sarah Adams and their shoes.

I see that they are now selling a new range under the 'RoSa' name from an address in Lancing, West Sussex (not far from Brighton where they were previously in business). Full details, including some interesting history, are at: www.rosashoes.co.uk

The RoSa court shoes and boots are made in Italy and appear to be of high quality. The key feature is an extremely pointed toe - elegant and sexy in my view but not to everyone's taste. The stiletto heel is very slender but only 9.5/10.0cm high. Size range is 35 - 41. I wonder whether they will introduce any shoes with a higher heel; I imagine the demand is there.

[rogerandsarah]

The answer to Rob's question is "no, it couldn't". We know nothing about bicycles and have never been to Emsworth, though we do drive past it now and again. We did design, amongst other things, quite a lot of the fetish shoes still sold by some internet shops and originally commissioned a cobbler in London to make them for us by hand ( these shoes were actually not expensive, they were way too cheap for hand made shoes), but when they tried to speed up production at new premises and the quality took a few knocks (annoying our clients in the process) we hit problems, and lost it financially in the Big Recession of 1991. Sorry for the inconvenience, but never mind, here we are again, and this time the shoes are dead right in our opinion - an almost perfect rendition of the winklepicker stilettos of 1960. The fetish heels were always an accident, as I told Oliver a while back. He also knows the evil truth behind that mis- sized shoe he was asking about - the one with our label which was actually NOT part of our collection of designs, and seems to have been sold with our label after we stopped trading - but which looks like it came from the workshop we used. Naughty!

[rogerandsarah]

Puffer - I assume we know you, especially if you came to see us in Hove after the shop closed. Instead of doing stake-outs and drive-bys and giving us all the creeps, why don't you ring and make an appointment to view our incredible new shoes - we only do women's sizes, but if you're who I think you are, that shouldn't be a problem - bring her along (sorry if I'm getting you mixed up with someone else). By the way, we carry stock of all styles now - no more "made to order" (that's why there was never much in the old shop - but you know that). We have no plans at present to add a higher heel - we like them just how they are, as do most women. We have absolutely no secrets to keep from anyone here on this forum, it's just that we haven't done anything in the shoe line since 1991, apart from a small batch of used 1960s stilettos we were offered about 10 years ago, long since gone.

[Tom-NL]

Welcome Roger and Sarah! I have taken a quick look at your website, after Puffer posted the link elsewhere. The styles shown made youth memories from the 60s come back to me I hope your shop will stay around for a long time.

[rogerandsarah]

Thanks, Tom - I suppose it all depends if people continue to use it! We are enthusiasts, fanatics even - but not martyrs. Given time, however, I feel sure we will build a very loyal clientele. As I may have said elsewhere, this time the shoes are exactly as we like them, and we have budgeted to keep them in stock in sizes 35-41 - we are not relying on anyone else's level of co-operation to fill each customer order. If anyone else has yet to bookmark our online shop, here it is http://www.rosashoes.co.uk

Roger

[Puffer]

I thought you might appreciate my recent mention of your new product range rather than to find something about my actions to complain of. You appear to be taking some exception to my postings here concerning your previous Brighton business, or in relation to some other alleged past conduct of mine, presumably because you are confusing me with someone else whom you know (or knew). For the record, I do not know you and we have not met other than twice; once when I bought a catalogue at your old shop and later the occasion I described when I visited you at Hove to look at used shoes you had for sale. I don't understand your reference to alleged 'stake-outs and drive-bys and giving us all the creeps' - since when was it wrong or disturbing for me to drive normally past your North Road shop and glance in the window? Who is suggesting that you have any secrets about your activities? - not me. I originally posted here about my modest local knowledge of your former Brighton business to fill in the gaps in other posters' knowledge, and again recently because I happened to find your new website and made the connection. If I have said something innaccurate or which has otherwise upset you, then I apologise and no doubt you will correct it here for the benefit of us all. I believe this is a simple case of mistaken identity; I think you owe me an explanation and hope that we can then consider the matter closed.

[rogerandsarah]

Absolutely no offence meant Puffer. I really see no reason for you to be upset. Obviously it goes without saying that I thought you were someone else we remember who "fits the profile", and I already apologised in the posting for any mistaken I.D. The "stakeouts and drive-bys" was just a bit of fun - I was merely extending an invitation to someone whom I thought we knew, a couple who actually spent a considerable sum of money with us on several pairs of shoes, to come and say Hi and renew the acquaintance. It's just a bit weird, amusing (and I must say a bit flattering) to find a forum which has been discussing us, but making various erroneous assumptions and allegations about aspects of our prior and current activities - all without our knowledge. It's all a bit "The Hills Have Eyes" - unsettling to think that someone is watching to see what shoes your wife is wearing, etc. I have posted an acount of what happened to us back in 1991 elsewhere on the HH meeting place. Please read it, and, once again, no offence meant. By the way, it was North Road, not North Street (everybody used to get that wrong!). And if you read back through the various comments, surely you will see how we took some of them to be a little disparaging of our efforts, especially our catalogue, which was in our opinion a wonderful effort (for the pre-digital era) on the part of our artist and photographer, the late Jeff Willis. Thanks for buying a copy. We have also seen insinuations that we were misrepresenting ourselves in some way (we never claimed to be "making" shoes in Brighton - the very idea is laughable if you know how the sorry remains of the shoe industry worked in England at the time), and that our shoe designs were someone else's - I can promise you that the designs in our catalogue, including the shape of the lasts and heels, were to our exact specification. Anyway, let's not dwell on the past. We now have RoSa Shoes to think about, which is a totally different thing. Thanks very much for your kind comments about our new designs, which in our opinion are what we were trying to achieve all along, and I hope we can look forward at some point to meeting you. If anyone wants to see what shoes Sarah is wearing, by the way, join MySpace.

[Puffer]

Thank you, Roger & Sarah, for clarifying your earlier references to me and the mistaken identity. Clearly, you were not aiming all your corrections or criticisms at me, nor suggesting that the real Puffer has done anything reprehensible (apart from making one mistaken reference to North Street instead of North Road - as you say, a common error). So, no offence taken! One thing though does somewhat puzzle me and perhaps you can enlighten me, and the rest of us. You describe your former range as being fetish wear, although this did not seem to be the way it was promoted in your catalogue etc. As I recall, your main message was aimed at ladies wanting to wear the highest of heels but unable to find them readily, which suggests to me an image of discernment, elegance and femininity rather than something a little darker, although I accept that some of the individual styles were not exactly everyday steeet/leisure wear in appearance. Were your intended customers adventurous but 'ordinary' women wishing to look striking or something else - and did your actual customers turn out to be the same or different? It seems that, with your new RoSa range, you have intentionally moved from a niche market (fetish or not) to something more mainstream, albeit with very pointed toes. You suggest that the fairly modest RoSa heel height is because you 'like them just how they are, as do most women'. Are you therefore saying that you believe this height to be a good compromise, or a realistic maximum, and that anything higher is not likely to be popular enough to sell well? As I well recall, although the very pointed 1960-ish stilettos came in a range of heights, the very high styles (4.5" +) were quite commonly seen and scarcely unpopular. If the very pointed styles are now to enjoy a revival, do you not think that some potential customers would like higher heels too? (None of this is a criticism; I'm merely interested in your expert view of fashion and demand, and whether you believe it has changed, perhaps permanently.)

[rogerandsarah]

All we have EVER wanted to do is recreate the look of the original"winklepicker" stilettos of approx. 1960 - the ones we used to sell as Old Stock. When it came to creating our own designs, things being as they were at the time, we were at the mercy of the English shoe component industry -especially the heel factories. Back then we wanted to base our higher shoes (we also did a 3 inch) on a four and three quarter inch heel - the same height as the conventional-toed Derber court shoes of the early 80s, but in the style of the older stilettos, with longer pointed toe and authentically thin solid metal-stemmed heel with a lot more back curve. Much like the popular Roma 8000 shoes but far better quality, longer sharper toes and slightly higher, thinner heels. The heel we attempted to re-style for this shoe was too high by over half an inch and despite our efforts to re-shape it, it stubbornly refused to look like a stiletto because it was too straight and the usual moulded plastic construction. As it was originally made for fetish use in larger sizes(i.e.cross-dressing) wear, the metal tube inside was thicker and heavier duty than usual, which was good news for breakages (as opposed to the Roma heel!) but despite removing an awful lot of plastic, it still looked thick and heavy. We absolutely hated the heavy look of it when we brought the height down, so we decided on leaving it 5 and three-eighths inches high, or just over five and a half on the larger sizes - fine for a size 7 or 8, but virtually unwearable (apart from for a few minutes at a time by a very few women like our catalogue model, Paula, and "one or two others", naming no names) below size 5. We then spent a lot of time and effort trying, without success, to find a better British-made option. As to what will sell nowadays - women seem to generally find a four inch heel as high as they like to wear to actually walk in without a platform sole. Our heel goes from three and three quarter inches on our Italian size 35 to four inches on the larger sizes, and everyone who has seen it agrees that it captures the classic stiletto look better than anything else on the market. As a glance through news photo archives will confirm, the three and three quarter inch heel was in fact the most generally accepted and popular woman's high heel (outside of the world of fetish photgraphy) in the early 1960s. Although we would agree that the four and a half inch heel was occasionally seen, many people's memories of the stiletto heel are wildly inaccurate wishful thinking, and probably based on seeing small-footed women in size two four inch heels - I know for a fact that was true of one woman I saw around town in the 60s who I, as a mere lad, thought wore incredibly high heels- I met her much later and discussed the matter with her, in fact! It was obvious she was absolutely tiny without the heels and beehive hairdo she used to wear, and even a four inch heel must have been a real struggle for her.) For the sake of the extra quarter inch, we felt an investment of a couple of thousand euros on a new heel was unnecessary at this time. We may, at some point, if RoSa does well, indulge ourselves in a higher heel, but I wonder how much normal day-to-day - or even smart evening wear- it would see nowadays, when every female in the country seems to exist in trainers or flip-flops. Let's give it a few months, anyway, and we'll see. There are a few more things we want to do on the existing heel first. For now, I would encourage anyone craving the true 1960 stiletto appeal to give our RoSa Shoes a try - even women who used to wear the original "winklepickers" and who curse what those appallingly cruelly constructed, cheap, hard, fabric-lined English or American-made pointed stilettos and their inaccurately shaped toe-boxes did to their poor feet way back then (and have suffered ever since!) find our RoSa points blissfully and unbelievably comfortable when they pluck up the courage to try them. I'm sorry, but the Italians really do know their stuff when it comes to manufacturing stilettos, and I only wish we had asked the boot-shaped country to make our shoes in the first place!

[Puffer]

Thank you, Roger and Sarah - most interesting.

[rogerandsarah]

No, Puffer - thank YOU - for remembering us, and for mentioning our new RoSa Shoes on this forum. We feel our new vintage-style extra-pointed- toe stilettos are every bit as much a niche market area - and, I would suggest, for some people as much a subject for fetishistic interest - as the extra-high heel. No doubt the long pointed toe will soon attain an even more esoteric appeal as the mass market fashion trend moves to rounder toes, thick ugly heels and small platform soles. Perhaps we will even have a "long pointed toes meeting place" on the Internet - there is in fact a "Yay for Pointy Shoes" group on MySpace with a few thousand members (and no, Sarah and I didn't start it!) Our shoes are certainly polarising opinion. Just as the "fashion police" are deliberately manipulating women's hearts and minds (and not at all subtly, we have noticed, judging from the number of uncannily-timed and deeply ludicrous "foot health" warnings in the press and online pertaining to pointed stilettos) away from the adoration of the pointed toe, we jump out of the shadows and say, "no, you don't have to go that way, you can have your stilettos EVEN MORE POINTED if that's how you like them!" That was definitely not "in the script," and quite a few people who follow or attempt to lead shoe fashion are, as a result, feeling confused right now!