Best Foot Forward
"Every shoe (style) has sold," says Kite. "All price points have sold. That's wonderful for us. We just picked the shoes that we loved, the shoes we would want."
Most of the footwear at French Bred is made in Italy, Spain, France and Brazil and the styles tend toward the conservative as opposed to funky or trendy, although Kite says the partners do endeavor to bring in styles that are unique in New Orleans.
"We didn't want to duplicate anybody (in the city)," Kite says. "I don't think anybody in town sells our brands. We found two (brands) that were quite new to the business, and we've been successful with those. We knew we wanted something that was unique to the area." In addition to shoes, French Bred offers handbags and fashion accessories such as scarves.
"The shoes work with the antique shop beautifully," she says. "Customers say 'What a cool combination -- antiques and shoes.' Loving things French, you've got to love fashion, and what's more fashionable than shoes?"
Good Enough to Eat
At the end of this month, Cake Couture (4409 Magazine St., 899-2202) will open for retail sales of cakes Thursday through Saturday at its Uptown shop. The bakery has been open by appointment to take special orders since January.
Owner Christina Favret says she can create any kind of cake a customer wants and will work from photographs or drawings, or can copy a birthday invitation or anniversary card onto a cake.
"I make all the decorations by hand, mostly out of chocolate, so I can do almost anything," says Favret, who started out making cakes at the Windsor Court. She offers about 10 different flavors of cakes from simple to sophisticated for occasions including weddings, showers, birthdays and more.
