A Letter From Vivian: The Opium Leather Flats
A letter from the founder
There are about six weeks between the last sandal and the first boot, and most women spend them in something they would rather not be seen in.
On the six things that made me choose the Opium, why these are the pair for the weeks we are standing in right now, and why they are $49.95 for our twentieth year.
I am Vivian, and I opened this boutique twenty years ago with one idea: that a woman should not have to choose between comfortable and beautiful.
The stretch of the year I want to talk about is the one we are standing in right now. The mornings have gone cool, the sandals are finished, and it is far too early for a boot. Six weeks, give or take. And what a woman puts on her feet during those six weeks is almost always a compromise she is not pleased about.
Because there are two flats in this world and you own them both. There is the soft one — comfortable, folds up small, and looks like a slipper the moment you are standing next to anybody. And there is the smart one, which is narrow and stiff and which comes off under the table at lunch.
Nobody makes the third thing. A flat you can be on your feet in all day that still looks like you chose it on purpose.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Opium is my answer, and it begins with the shape of the front of it. There were six things I would not do without.
A structured square toe
This is the decision everything else rests on. A pointed flat takes the whole front of your foot and asks it to finish in a single point, which your toes have opinions about by the middle of the afternoon. A square toe gives that same foot a straight edge to spread across. And structured matters as much as square — it holds its shape rather than collapsing down onto your toes the first time you wear it.
“The square toe gives my feet a little more room than most flats. I can wear these for hours without feeling pinched.”
Glenda P., SarasotaGenuine leather, because it changes
A coated upper is the same on the last day you own it as on the first, except by then it has creased across the vamp and the crease has gone white. Leather does the opposite. It gives where your foot needs it to give, and after a week or two it stops being a shoe in your size and starts being a shoe in your shape. That is the whole argument for leather and it is the reason I will not stock the alternative at this price.
“The leather softened nicely after a few wears, and the flexible sole makes them much easier to walk in than my stiffer flats.”
Loretta S., RaleighA cushioned footbed
Most flats are precisely what the word says: a flat piece of material between you and the pavement. There is nothing underfoot at all, which is fine for an hour and is why your feet ache after four. There is cushioning built into the footbed here, and that is not a luxury — it is the difference between a shoe you can do a whole day in and a shoe you are aware of from lunchtime onward.
“The cushioned footbed makes a noticeable difference on days when I’m doing a lot of walking. My feet still feel fine by dinner.”
Marjorie K., CharlestonA sole that actually bends
Pick up a cheap flat and try to bend it. Most of them barely move, and a sole that will not bend means your foot cannot roll through a step — so you walk flat-footed, and after a mile of that you feel it in your calves rather than your feet and you never quite work out why. This one flexes with the foot. It sounds like a technicality. It is the single most common reason a woman decides she simply cannot walk in flats.
“These have become my go-to flats when I know I’ll be on my feet for a while. Comfortable, steady, and still nice enough for lunch out.”
Doris H., AshevilleOne piece of hardware, and nothing else
Here is what I look for in a plain shoe, and it is rarer than it should be. The Opium has one bold ornament sitting across the toe and then absolutely nothing else — no stitching feature, no contrast trim, no little bow at the back. One decision, made confidently, on an otherwise clean shoe. That is why it can carry a very ordinary outfit: the shoe is doing something, so nothing else has to.
“The hardware across the toe gives them just enough detail. I can wear a very simple outfit and the shoes still look special.”
Virginia M., NaplesBrown and black, and both of them work
Two colors only, and that is deliberate rather than a shortage. Black is the one that goes to everything you would call an occasion. Brown is the one that quietly does more work — it sits with denim and with camel and with navy, and it is what I would tell you to buy first if you were standing in front of me and could only have one. A great many women here start with one and come back in the spring for the other.
“I bought the brown pair and wear them constantly with jeans and ankle pants. They look polished without feeling too dressy.”
Cynthia D., Savannah“I started with black for work and ended up ordering the brown too. Both colors fit easily into my everyday wardrobe.”
Theresa B., RichmondThe Opium, against the flats already in the closet
| The usual flat | The Opium | |
|---|---|---|
| Toe | Pointed, and narrow at the front | Structured square, room across |
| Sole | Stiff — no give at all | Flexible, bends with the foot |
| Underfoot | Nothing between you and the pavement | A cushioned footbed |
| Upper | Coated — creases, then cracks | Genuine leather that softens |
| Detail | Plain, or a small bow | One piece of hardware, and nothing else |
I refuse to sell a woman a shoe she has to take off under the table. That is the whole reason the Opium is in the shop.
Why we’re clearing them now
The Opium came in at $139.95, which is what a leather shoe costs when the footbed is built up properly and the sole is made to bend. But the shop turns twenty this year, and my daughter Pearl is beside me at the counter most days now, which is not something I let myself count on in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept our door open, so they are going out at a little over a third of what they were.
And I would rather do it now than in six weeks. These are the shoes for the weeks between the sandals and the boots, and that stretch has already started. A pair bought in the middle of October is a pair you get a fortnight out of before the weather turns and you put them away until March.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$139.95$49.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 64%
- A genuine leather upper
- A structured square toe
- One bold hardware detail across the front
- A cushioned footbed
- A flexible sole
- Brown and Black · sizes 5, 5.5, 6.5, 7, 8, 9 and 10
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Both colors the same price · while sizes last
Twenty years of selling shoes has taught me to watch a woman’s face rather than her feet. She puts a pair on, stands, and takes a few steps, and the whole question is answered before she reaches the mirror.
If she is still thinking about her feet when she gets there, the answer was always going to be no. If she has forgotten them, she is already deciding which color.
Go and pick yours.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE OPIUM — $49.95 →This is a personal letter from the founder of Vivian & Pearl Newport. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · US family brand since 2006 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.