Santa who? Santa Choo!!

Why sit on Santa's lap this Christmas Eve when Jimmy Choo has all but offered his own? Tuesday, when Butters and I walked into Julia Smith's Marylebone shop for a bit of Style Whispering action, we walked smack dab into the Santa Claus of the footwear industry, the one, the only Jimmy Choo. Evidently, with his shop just around the corner, Santa Choo is mentoring Julia and her studio/storemate, budding shoe designer Joanne Stoker, and had dropped in to wish the girls a merry Christmas on his way to Royal China for Dim Sum (I eat there all the time!!!).

Immediately taken with Butters (who did not hesitate to run over to Mr. Choo and begin to claw his leg for attention), "she's beautiful!" he exclaimed. I beamed like a proud mother, my glow only slightly dimmed at my horror to be caught meeting the king of footwear in my pre-shoot quasi pajama wear (leggings, oversized tee, hoodie and banged up Zara boots!). But he was completely lovely, we had a little chat and he recounted how, earlier this week, in the run-up to Christmas, he had been asked to personally open his shop exclusively for the visit of one particular clients. Apparently, said client, arrived in a town car and sent his girlfriend in alone. After a time, when she had selected herself some Choos, the man came in, got down on one knee and proposed.

And Merry Christmas to Choo, too.