Revolutionizing The Slipper Industry With A Stylish & Ergonomic Design (Win!)

Thought your house slippers were doing the trick? New luxurious, stylish and ergonomic slippers, designed to enrich every woman’s life, have been launched by Canadian brand, Mave & Chez. Co-founded by Dani Kagan and Victoria Marshman, the slippers, in two styles, include many features to enhance your comfort and style. We chatted with the pair to find out what makes these slippers special. —Vita Daily

Please tell us a bit about yourselves to start. 

We’re Dani & Victoria, the co-founders of Mave & Chez: a luxury ergonomic slipper brand designed for women, by women. We’ve been business partners and best friends for over 12 years. We’ve run two other 6-figure, purpose driven brands together, and to date, have raised over $250k for Canadian Charities. We both graduated from University of Toronto over a decade ago, Victoria in Pre-Med and Dani in Political Science. Over the years, we’ve worked in retail, marketing and ran several successful large-scale events. Most notably, City MOGULS: a community to support entrepreneurs. It became one of Toronto’s most notable and coveted events celebrating entrepreneurs, fashion, and giving back. Over the past few years, we have become pretty obsessed with slippers and helping women and educating them on the importance of supportive footwear indoors. 

When and why did you launch Mave & Chez? What niche where/are you aiming to fill?

We launched Mave & Chez in the midst of the pandemic. City MOGULS events stopped and we scaled the business into an online community. During the pandemic, Dani got pregnant for the first time and in dealing with high risk pregnancy, she couldn’t leave her house. She was experiencing excruciating pain in her feet and back from walking around barefoot on her hardwood floors. She called up her podiatrist friend, asked for a recommendation for a supportive slipper, that also didn’t make her feel frumpy. One of the only solutions she provided her with was a sneaker. How is it that there wasn’t a supportive AND stylish slipper for us as we worked from home? After speaking with hundreds of women, we learned we weren’t the only ones frustrated by this problem. Slippers on the market aren’t designed for all day wear, they’re frumpy, and they get stinky, ending up in the landfill. That’s why we launched Mave & Chez: to bring women everywhere ultra supportive, ergonomically designed slippers that make them feel and look incredible. As former competitive dancers, we know the importance of taking care of your physical health, which starts with supportive footwear at home. For the past three years, we’ve worked with a team of podiatrists and foot experts to develop 9-function first features in our slippers. “Maves” include features like arch support, washable insoles, and Happy Toes Technology.

Why the need, now, for a “slipper revolution”? 

The pandemic accelerated many things for people – especially women. We’ve never spent more time in our homes – working from home, taking care of our families, the list goes on. A recent survey we conducted of over 500 women shared that more than 85% of them work from home, are full-time mothers or are retired. Not to mention the laundry list of health issues women have to deal with due to the shoes we wear. Women are more likely to experience plantar fasciitis due to improper footwear, flattening arches with age, and many other foot related issues. Given that our only options for recommended supportive footwear at home were sneakers or Birkenstocks, something drastic had to be done. A revolution was necessary – women deserve to have slippers that have unparalleled support without ever having to compromise on their style. When you went to design a better slipper, what upgrades were you aiming to make? We wanted to focus on solving three main problems when we started creating our slipper from scratch:

Firstly, most slippers are flat, shapeless and provide little to no support. In a recent study shared with us by our chiropodist, 71% of the participants wore slippers at home but only 1% of those shoes had orthopaedic features. We wanted to create an ergonomically designed slipper that could support us all day and optimize our body biomechanics. We’ve included features like a deep heel cup,  arch support, and happy toes technology: an innovative feature that gives your toes more space, allows your toes to rest in their natural state, all while increasing ventilation. 

The second issue we wanted to solve was odour. Fact: slippers get stinky as they tend to be made with synthetic materials. We designed an anti-stink, washable insole with a soft moisture wicking wool top layer. Our customers are also loving that if you do have specific foot issues, you can always swap out our insole for your custom orthotic, which effectively no other slippers on the market can do. As well, we’ve used genuine shearling which is naturally anti-bacterial and reduces odour. 

Finally, slippers for the most part are frumpy and you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them in public. We worked hard to create sophisticated and classic designs, so you can feel great wearing your slippers, and they can go wherever you go. You can even leave a pair at your desk for a break from your heels!

What makes your slippers the ultimate, for all wearers? 

Take one look on our social media and you’ll see, our community is OBSESSED with Maves! Once you step into Maves you can truly feel the difference. Made with premium, genuine materials that are easy to clean, each pair of Maves are designed to last – much longer than your current, dust collecting slippers. Women are loving the fact that Maves are an elevated slipper. They give you that comfort and support and make you feel instantly chic and sophisticated. 

Is it OK to wear your slippers out of the house? If so, how would you style either the Audrey or the Maya?

We designed Maves to go wherever you go – each style has a durable, anti-slipper rubber sole so they can be worn outdoors. Plus, since they are made with genuine materials, the suede upper is easy to clean with our Maves cleaning kit. We highly recommend spraying your Maves with a suede/leather gentle protective spray so you feel confident wearing them out of the house. “The Audrey” inspired by actress Audrey Hepburn, is our classic loafer. Its timeless design is for when you’re working from home or at the office, and is a sophisticated option that offers unparalleled support. The Audrey looks great with a nice pair of jeans or slacks – pair with a cozy sweatshirt or light t-shirt and you’ll master the comfort chic look. “The Maya” inspired by humanitarian Maya Angelou, is our half-back mule. Easy to slip on and off, it’s the perfect option for running errands, the office and everything in between. The Maya is quite versatile and effortless, so depending on the season, they look great with a simple dress, loose pants, and neutral colours – The Maya Leopard is a true fan favourite and can dress up any outfit. 

maveandchez.com

Win! 1 of 2 Pairs of Mave & Chez Slippers!

Congrats Lara Lou M. of Torbay, NL, and Susan W. of Ellershouse, NS, who will each receive a pair of Mave & Chez slippers! Please note: if you are the winner, you will receive a DM (direct message) in Instagram directly from @vitadaily.ca. Please be wary of fake accounts, which often use similar handles with an extra or missing letter, number or symbol. We will never ask for a payment or for your credit card number, and we will never ask you to click through a link. If you are unsure whether you have been contacted, via Instagram, by us or a fake account, email us before responding.