Why We Love Roses & Rye

When new mom Patricia Calfee couldn't find chic shoes comfortable enough to wear all day, she decided to start a company that made just that

One of the biggest fashion complaints you’ll hear from moms regards footwear. Your fashion priorities shift once you become a mother and high heels typically go out the window. It’s not that a mom suddenly wants to be less chic, it’s just that we need shoes that are going to work with us all day long and not leave us in pain after chasing the kids around. Enter Roses & Rye, a beautiful, well-edited line of flats made just for mothers. 

The woman behind Roses & Rye is entrepreneur and mom of one, Patricia Calfee. She tapped into the minds of moms even before she became one herself. “When I became pregnant I got really excited about my new role,” says Calfee. “I saw the impact that women have on the world when they become mothers. We are the ones giving birth and raising the next generation of community members that will go on to change and lead the world.” 

Calfee wanted to make sure she would be doing her important job as a mother in comfortable flats that didn’t resemble orthopedic shoes. As soon as she became pregnant, Calfee and her husband flew to Brazil to meet a cobbler and worked closely with a podiatrist to develop a patent pending insole that protects the feet from plantar fasciitis, an extremely painful foot condition. “That insole is the secret sauce that goes into all of our shoes,” says Calfee. The shoes themselves are a colorful collection of flats that will smartly, stylishly, and comfortably see moms through their busy lives. 

The Roses & Rye collection consists of three different styles of flats—the Noe, an open toe canvas ballet; the Marina, a chic leather d’orsay flat; and the Laurel, a classic leather ballet flat. —Melissa Schweiger