The Glamour of Inez Heels

I always remember that women named Inez (sometimes spelled Ines) in movies and books, were the beautiful Spanish or Latin senorita. It’s not a common name, but rather, is reserved for very special women.

My mother didn’t see it that way. Her name was, in fact, Inez, and she never liked it. She thought it was too different. Sometime after my mother died three years ago, my sister ran across a line of high-heeled shoes and boots, known as “Inez.” Naturally, we were both intrigued.

I now have my own pair of Inez ginger suede Paz70s, and I’ve discovered they are very special indeed, and offer a whole new perspective on wearing high heels. I also found out that the company was called “Inez” because co-founder and CEO Tony Musso’s Spanish grandmother, Lourdes Inez, was a devastatingly chic woman – as was my mother.

So … the heels started out with a great legacy behind them.

And these boots are mega glamorous; I’m talking Audrey Hepburn glamorous. The kind of thing you put on and instantly feel elevated (in more ways than one). Turns out, they are made in Spain, and while the original focus was the design aesthetic, co-founder and creative director Hannah Spinelli knew, as a heel wearer herself, they needed to be super comfortable, as well.

Spinelli and Musso met in 2003, at the well-known Milan footwear academy, Arsutoria. After finishing school, they both settled in New York and became friends. In 2016, they began “kicking around” the idea for Inez heels. The company had a soft launch in 2017 with two pump selections.

“This allowed us to beta test our concept, conduct wear tests and refine our custom-designed insole technology,” Spinelli said. “We expanded into boots in fall 2018, and that’s when I truly felt we were up and running with something special. By spring 2019, we had introduced sandals and mules – and now carry an all-season assortment.”

Spinelli envisioned and designed the collection of modern heels, while Musso worked with a team of biomechanics experts on the development of an insole that offers stability, endurance and range of motion.

All Inez heels also come in multiple widths, which Spinelli knew was particularly important because she had dealt with finding shoes to fit her very narrow AAA width all of her life.

“I’ve been uncomfortable in high-quality heels simply because they didn’t fit well,” Spinelli said. “Unlike clothing that you can hem to the perfect length or adjust a waistband with a good tailor, footwear is very unforgiving if you do not align with industry standard measurements. It’s more expensive to develop shoes in multiple widths, but I know that for many women, width options are fundamental to comfort.”

Also like many women, Spinelli likes the extra height and the feeling of being instantly dressed up when she slips on a pair of heels – even while wearing jeans.

“But (in the past) I’ve also carried a backup pair of flats or counted the hours until I could get home to change out of a pair of pumps. I knew heels could be built to feel more wearable without compromising style,” she said.

And that’s what they set out to do with Inez.

In terms of style, aesthetics comes first.

“We design heels we would love to wear,” she said. “The comfort element is essential, but Inez is design driven.”

In terms of comfort – Spinelli said the research they used to develop the insoles has existed for years. Top athletic footwear brands, like Nike and Adidas paved the way for comfort in shoes.

“What we did that was special was integrated known comfort technology into beautiful, Spanish-made high heels,” she added.

Spinelli was a senior footwear designer at Ralph Lauren for 12 years, and has worked in the same Italian factories as Hermès and Gucci, alongside top English bench-made shoemakers at Edward Green, and with leading manufacturers in China.

“My experience in both men’s and women’s shoes at a range of price points, built all across the world, shaped our strategy with Inez,” she said. “We wanted superior quality at an accessible luxury price point. I had already been working in Spain for years, I knew they could deliver amazing quality for the value.”

As a third-generation shoe man, Musso has Spanish shoemaking in his blood. The Inez design studio and headquarters are in downtown Manhattan, but all of the product development and production is based in Spain, working with Musso’s family’s factory, which has allowed the company to fine-tune the fit and offering, as well as deliver excellent quality.

“Spain’s footwear industry – in general – has probably the best value in terms of price for quality in the world,” Spinelli said.

Putting the boots to the test:
With my own Pac70s as proof, I can vouch for the quality and comfort of Inez. Since we are social distancing, wearing my new boots out and about at first was not really an option. But then I thought as far as comfort, wearing a high-heeled boot around the house (and home office) is really the ultimate test of comfort.

Most of us opt to wear flats or low-heeled shoes, slippers or maybe nothing at all on our feet while in our own home. But if you can go up and down steps, sit at your desk, putter around in the kitchen, walk to the mailbox, etc., etc., etc., all while wearing a 2.8-inch heel, and still think they feel good, well … maybe we are on to something. Mine feel great all day long.

But I didn’t stop there. After the holidays, we had a few returns and wanted to check out some of the after-Christmas sales, so with mask on, sanitizer in hand and my feet clad elegantly in my Inez boots, I ventured out for several hours, walked back and forth through parking lots, tread along on concrete sales floors at a big-box home improvement store, waited in return lines, ran a few extra errands, got in and out of the car, and those boots kept on ticking without giving my feet a licking.

They are now my go-to boot that will take me everywhere until spring. And they are versatile enough to be worn with jeans, leggings, a dress or skirt, casual or dressy.

You can order basically the same boot (Paz90) with a 3-1/2-inch heel, but I thought for everyday wear, the Paz70 with a little lower 2.8-inch heel was a better choice for me.

As of this writing, there were 12 Inez styles to choose from, which includes three boots. But Spinelli said they are planning to add more. Every style comes in a choice of colors.

Another great thing about Inez is the try-at-home policy. Order the size you think you need, then order a second pair a half-size up or down, narrower or wider. The two pairs arrive in beautiful packaging, and you can try them both on, pick the one that works best, and return the other – with free shipping both ways.

With spring just around the corner, you can bet I will be trying out an Inez sandal or pump – maybe the Sofia in pink lizard emboss or the Lola in almond nappa. And the bonus for me is that every time I wear my comfortable, glamorous Inez boots or shoes, I will also think of my mother.

To view all of the styles or to order your own pair of Inez, visit inez.com.