What makes a perfect pump?
Let me break it down for you, because I’ve got this shit down to a science.
The perfect pump should cradle your foot like a warm hug. Lift you with a gentle curve and a daring dip. The peep? More tease than toe. The perfect pump is what you grab when you have nothing to wear. And when it’s good, it’s damn good.
And yet? Practically extinct.
The humble pump, once the backbone of every closet, wants back in. And with our first-ever Nou shoe, we’re giving it exactly that.
I should know. I’ve scoured vintage bins, estate sales, and the dark depths of eBay hunting down the best ones, just to resell them to you. All the greats were pumping out pumps in the early 2000s… until pointed-toe mules staged a comeback and refused to leave. And strappy sandals with toe spillage somehow became sexy…(why are your dogs out like that?)
So how did we get here?
I sent my Portuguese counterparts three references. The first? A pair of black Chanel slides. Easily the most beautiful…and most internet-viral…heels in my archive (100k likes and counting!). Completely unwalkable, but that sultry, slim peep-toe? Hot. We needed that look, but with actual wearability.
The second was my most-worn pair of Manolos—the silhouette in the second image. The fit had to be just as good, if not better. I tweaked the upper to hug the foot more securely. Pumps like this are notorious for heel slippage, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.
The third reference was a pair of babydoll Louis Vuitton pumps I fixated on all winter and then sold to a certain A-list celeb (no names; that’s tacky). They sat at a bold 4.5 inches, so I brought ours down by a full inch and a half. Same look, better physics.
And the leopard? That was never not an option. It was the first thing I decided on when this shoe was still just a dream. A classic, a neutral, and a wink to my New Jersey roots.
A leopard peep-toe isn’t for everyone.
But if you love Nou, I have a feeling—it’s for you.
For the full rundown on my product philosophy, you can read about it here.
Genius!!