ShareThisBy MARYLYNNE PITZ
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday, July 09, 2007
Women who pack for business or pleasure trips know the problem well. How can they limit themselves to two pairs of shoes when they must have a sparkling sandal to match a fancy cocktail dress?
Dominique Barteet, founder of Quick Change Artist, appears to have the solution. Her Onesole line of open-toed sandals, clogs and strappy shoes for evening come with interchangeable tops made of soft, stretchy neoprene that can be snapped off and on a sandal bottom made of polyurethane or a cork wedge in a flash.
Barteet, 46, a pharmacist who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., realized that she often bought the same basic style of sandal. (She once owned 600 pairs of shoes.)
After Chad, her chocolate lab, died two years ago, she customized a computer mouse pad with pictures of him. The mouse pad material was similar to neoprene, the stretchy fabric used to make wet suits for scuba divers. From her former husband, who sold boats, Barteet knew about the power of strong snaps used to keep covers on Isinglass sport fishing boats in 70-mph winds.
And that's when her idea for a shoe with interchangeable tops began to fit together. Barteet decided to create different styles of sandal tops that were made out of neoprene, going so far as to buy a scuba wet suit and cutting it up.
The tops, which have four snaps sewn inside, snap on and off a dozen different styles of open-toed shoe bottoms that are sandals, clogs or dressy evening sandals. There are even sandal tops embellished with Swarovski crystals. A shoe style known as the duet allows the wearer to create a two-toned effect with red and black or blue and green tops, to cite just two examples.
Barteet started her company six years ago, and it now turns out 400,000 shoes a year.
On a recent trip to Dubai, Barteet packed two pairs of sandals and eight tops. "They go along wherever I go," she said, adding that one of the more popular shoe bases is made of polyurethane because it's so lightweight.
Depending on the style, the sandals cost $80 for a shoe suitable for the beach to $109 to $125.
You can order them off her Web site, www.onesole.com, and they are sold in Private Gallery, a chain of 15 stores in the Southeast. They're also sold in Hilton and Marriott hotels in Hawaii and California.
(Marylynne Pitz can be reached at mpitz(at)post-gazette.com. )
