Ravel Shoes or Chausseurs Ravel
The company was set up in 1934 as a tiny independent shoe store under various different fascia. It was owned by a Mrs Wise and her family, pretty much the norm for the time, as Mr Freemen, Mr Hardy and Mr Willis got together and formed their iconic company as well as Dolly and Cissy formed the iconic Dol-Cis (not a lot of peope know this!) Wikpedia has it that it was derived from a Swiss insole stamp?
The company grew consistenly over the following years and they added more and more shops to their portfolio. Many years passed by as the company continued to slowly expand and in the 1960's they were well known as a destination store for trendy London fashionistas. In 1967 the family bought a shop in London on Oxford Street which was called ‘Chausseurs Raoul’ and they changed this later to « Ravel », the ‘Chaussers’ bit was used to give the store a more continental feel! July 1967 was the ‘Summer of Love’ and Ravel captured the moment with outragrous, high leg white patent boots and the start of slim paltform and bright colours! fitting in perfectly with the psychedelic music and fashion of the day.
In 2007 Ravel closed the doors for good. The stores were all sold and the name auctioned off.
The brand name is now owned by the Jacobson Group from Lancashire who now distibute shoes made under the brand name around the country on a wholesale basis.
