Have you checked out AE.com's footwear section lately? If
you haven't, you are definitely missing out. AE.com's footwear offerings have
been completely overhauled in recent months by Men's & Women's Footwear and
Accessories Buyer for online, Laura K. and her fabulous team. We spoke with
Laura about her background at AE, her favorite shoe trends, and more.
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| Laura K., Men's and Women's Footwear and Accessories Buyer |
How did you get your start as a buyer?
I actually started at American Eagle allocating skirts
and dresses to all the stores. After a year I switched over to the AE.com team
and started as an assistant buyer for Aerie. Then I moved to Women's AE and
77kids for a couple years. I most recently got moved to Men's and Women's
Footwear & Accessories to start growing the online exclusive footwear
assortment with AE branded footwear and really cool additional brands
[Minnetonka, BC Footwear, and Timberland for example] that complement American
Eagle clothes. Basically I’ve worked in every department across all brands
except for Men’s apparel which I am going to have to do so I can say I've done
it all! I have been at AE since I graduated college, so six years...time flies
when you’re having fun!
What is a typical day for you like?
No day is like any other day. We manage all four seasons
at once, so that can sometimes be tricky!
Right now it’s about to be summer and we are buying our Holiday
assortment, crazy right? I meet with my
team to see how business is doing and react to sales, and I go to loads of
marketing and merchandising meetings.
What is your go-to, everyday shoe?
I feel like I wear booties year round, so that is my
go-to shoe. You can wear them with jeans, skirts, dresses, shorts - you name it. When we were in New York
earlier this week, so many girls walking the streets had booties on. They are
the most easy to wear trend right now.
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| AE Western Heeled Bootie, one of Laura's top picks. |
Have you always loved shoes?
I’ve always loved shoes but being in this position has
made me want to buy more shoes than I ever could have imagined. I used to have
just one footwear organizer in my closet and now it has tripled. When you spend
all your time looking at trend in a particular category, it opens your eyes to
all of the amazing style that is out there.
If you weren’t a shoe buyer, what would you be doing?
I would want to be an interior designer. My passion
outside of work is making my space at home the most comfortable and inviting
place for me. When you travel all the time, it’s good to have a great space to
come home to.
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| Laura's passion - decorating her home! |
Besides fashion, what are your other hobbies or interests?
Probably trying new restaurants. Pittsburgh has a top 25
restaurant list and I have a goal to hit up all those different places by the
end of the year. When I travel, I always look at where the best places to go
and try different restaurants. If one of my friends was visiting Pittsburgh, I
would take them to Dish, Avenue B, Salt of the Earth, Girasole, Seviche, Kaya,
or The Porch.
Where are you headed to for vacation this summer?
Actually, Friday (tomorrow) I am headed to Vegas for my
friend’s bachelorette party. From there I am going to LA, road trippin’it up
the California coast to see Big Sur. Then we will be in San Fransisco on
Thursday and more of my friends are flying in from all over for another
bachelorette party. After that we are going to Napa for the weekend. It’s a
total girls getaway and I’m going to need to pack some 5-hour energy, Advil and
some killer shoes to make for an epic trip!