Oh…I am a mom of 2, grew up in Seoul, Houston, NYC and now live in CT.  I majored in Art History and lived in Firenze.  My first career was in the arts.  I worked at the Whitney and the Guggenheim museums.  Still very involved in the arts but wanted to work in fashion.  Fun fact…I was an amateur boxer and fight in the Golden Gloves in my 20s.

Min wears the Delilah Palm Sweater and Victoria Convertible™ Skirt

I worked at Prada, Chanel, Uniqlo in NYC. I LOVE wearing heels as someone sub 5ft tall but always carried a second pair of shoes. By the time I had 2 kids living in UES, my bag was over 50lb everyday with my kids stuff, blackberry for work, personal cell, computer and all the chargers. I was done caring nonessential things and a second pair of shoes that were not functional was one of them. I just wanted comfortable sensible heels. When I couldn’t find a pair for many many years, I decided to start SantM: Functional Luxury footwear. I worked with a pediatrist who taught shoe designing at Parsons to bring the ergonomics to our design, our main designer is an Italian in Milan and all shoes are made in Italy.  

It was a Covid move. When covid heat no one was wearing heels let alone shoes for months. I wanted to bring shoes women felt comfortable and beautiful in in/outdoors. I did a lot of research in Italian shoe fashion as my brand is very tied to Italian heritage (side note - my husband is Italian Puerto Rican and we love Italy). I found Furlane Mary Janes – in/outdoor shoes that were created about 250 years ago for the Venetian upper class as their house shoes. However, the Venetian Royality discovered that they can sneak out of the middle of the night to meet their lovers in these shoes. Our shoes are still handmade and hand stitched the traditional way. We don’t use any glue and use all recycled rubber and organic fiber. And these shoes are washable. It is a perfection!

Follow Min on Instagram @santm.co

First, it must be comfortable on your body and also feel mentally comfortable which bring out the confidence in you. Don’t follow trend. Create your own style instead. Invest in well made and tailored classic key pieces like a great pair of pants, a Blazer, address and a button down shirt. BUY what you LOVE that you feel like you can wear now or 15 years ago and 15 years from now on. 

Shoe pairing: Mary Jane in Red Gingham or Chiaia in Berry

My fav is the Victoria Convertible Skirt. I think every women should have this shirt because it is sexy, can be dressed up with a silk blouse or dressed down with a white crew neck t-shirt. You will wear this piece when you are in your 20’s to 60s.

All the colors and the pieces are convertible. As a short person, I always have trouble with long dresses.