Yesterday I visited the beautiful city of Bath for an event with shoe brand Duo. I had to walk right up to the top of Milsom Street to find the store; tucked just slightly out of the main shopping hub of the central zone but situated almost opposite the gorgeous Jollys department store, Duo Bath is a beautiful store crammed with shoes, boots and everything in between!
Walking through the grand entranceway, a framed sign enticed me into the store to view the fall collection, past sumptuous sofas and gilded mirrors. The feel of the store is very boutique, very luxury, with decadent furnishings and elegant footwear displayed for all to see.
Duo is a British brand with its heritage in the early 1970's; the Bath store was its first retail location and it has since branched out to stores in Edinburgh and London. Selling beautifully crafted footwear, what sets this brand apart from its competitors is the attention to detail within its offering; not only do Duo provide three width fittings across their range, their boot collection encompasses an incredible 21 calf sizes; making a 'knee muffin top' or the dreaded 'welly boot effect' a thing of the past.
I was greeted on arrival at the event with a glass of bubbly and some delicious nibbles, and after all of the bloggers had arrived we were given a little history on the brand. The event had its own hashtag, #BootTribe, and there were lots of tags with our blog names on. Once we'd selected a style of boot that we liked, we had to peg our tag to it, and then we could try it on! I was all about the ankle boots, and this ended up being the winning 'tribe' with 60% choosing an ankle style. However, knee and over the knee boots weren't neglected, and with the ladies with the pins for them, they looked amazing! There was simply so much choice; the difficulty was narrowing it down!
I was after a pair of ankle boots and settled for the 'Mandel' style in black suede, a classic, simple low cut boot which I feel will be the mainstay of my shoe-drobe over the coming season. Duo is keen to market its stores as 'fitting rooms' rather than shoe shops, and, naturally, you are kitted out in your boots by expert fitters who know what to suggest and how to measure your legs correctly to ensure the perfect fit. I am a 36.5 usually which means it is difficult for me to find shoes that fit properly, so my fitter, Anna, made sure the sizes 36 and 37 were available for me to try so I could work out what the best fit was. I found the 36 to be pretty perfect and as the shoes I chose were made of suede, this will naturally loosen a little over time. After I was happy with the size, Anna gave me some advice on how to care for the boots in order to get the best wear out of them.
I had a wonderful evening at Duo and I thoroughly recommend you check out one of their stores, if you don't live nearby then you can also shop their extensive range online; and don't worry, there are simple video guides you can follow to ensure you measure your feet correctly to make sure you get the perfect fit!
XO Amie
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