Shoe Shop Stories: Chiqui Alta, Australia

Launched in 2020, Chiqui Alta is a new shoe brand created especially for tall women. It's the home of the ultimate tall chica flat.

Designed by Aussie tall girl Marina Cid while she was living in Spain, Chiqui Alta focus on beautiful comfortable footwear for tall women with big feet. We spoke with Marina to find out more:

When did you set up Chiqui Alta and Why?

My story isn’t a love story, but it is about friendship and standing up for women with big feet, now, and for the generations that follow.

The Why came before the When. I wear size 42 shoes, and while it’s easier than it was to get shoes, it’s still limited. I also have tall friends with shoe sizes upwards of size 44.
One of my besties has size 45 feet. They do genuinely struggle. In turn, our daughters also have big feet. My 9 year old daughter wears size 39 shoes already.

I created Chiqui Alta because I’m a strong independent woman, and I want to support strong independent women who want choice in their footwear.
I started selling in February 2020.

What shoe sizes do you stock and where do you ship to?

Currently our shoe size range is EU 39 to 46 (UK 6 to 12 or US 7 to 14). We hope to offer size 47 in the future too.

We’re based in Spain and Australia and ship everywhere around the world.

Tell us about the range of styles available:

At the moment Chiqui Alta is the home of the tall chica flat. I’ve written a blog post on why I chose this and how it’s designed for women with big feet. We only stock our own brand and it's exclusively available here.

What do you enjoy most about running a store specialising in larger shoe sizes?

The creative path to get here and meeting such amazing, strong independent tall women has been the highlight. The challenge will be to keep finding a market that
wants excellent quality and provide it at a price that is good for everyone.

One thing I have learned is that we all have very different relationships with our feet, and everyone has their own issue.

This week I received a message from the Husband of one of my customers. He sent me a thank you note. The Husband! How amazing! That is the best feeling. This is part of his
message:

"Just wanted to thank you for making shoes large enough and attractive enough for my wife. She has a terrible time finding shoes that fit and look good too."
Mark

Finally, which shoes best sums up Chiqui Alta?

That’s easy – our Hightails are the ultimate tall chica flat. I put loads of energy into the design, trying to accommodate the feedback of women that have both narrow
feet and slightly wider.

Traditional ballerinas are too small at the top and don’t provide the support tall girls need. The Hightail’s high-top design makes them a great all-rounder that works for narrower feet, with more shoe to keep your feet in. The soft leather also moulds well to slightly broader feet. To find your perfect fit, you can download your free FitKit.

It's great to see a new shoe brand designed for larger sizes & we at PBS wish Chiqui Alta every success. Visit ChiquiAlta.com to find out more & shop online.