Erin and Sara Foster on Favorite Daughter’s Entry Into Footwear: ‘We Want to Be the First and Last Stop for Every Woman’

On Dec. 3, Favorite Daughter will be honored with the Launch of the Year award at the 39th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 1 print issue about the brand’s entry into footwear.

Favorite Daughter cofounders Erin and Sara Foster had their own daughters nearby as they sat down with FN over Zoom to discuss their brand’s splashy entry into the shoe market this year. Sara was busy planning 10th birthday festivities, while Erin had just returned from a walk with her 1-year-old.

It was morning on the West Coast, and Erin, creator of the hit Netflix rom-com series “Nobody Wants This” — which also counts Sara as an executive producer — would soon be heading to the writers’ room. Her on-the-go look included a moto boot from their brand’s new shoe collection.

The category, introduced in October with the help of footwear giant Caleres, seemed like a natural progression for the Los Angeles-based brand, which launched in 2020 through a partnership with Centric Brands. The line boasts a strong lineup of retail partners, including Nordstrom, Shopbop, Anthropologie, Moda Operandi and Browns in Canada. In addition, the collection is in Favorite Daughter shops and select specialty stores nationwide.

“We always say that we want to be the first and last stop for every woman, for everything that she needs. We want her to be in Favorite Daughter from head to toe,” Sara said of the launch. “We listen to our customer; she tells us what she wants. She’s been asking for shoes for a long time.”

A core tenet of the brand is affordability, and that extends to the shoe category, which has prices ranging from $195 to $495. Sara explained, “In the way that we like to give women fashionable pieces at a reasonable price, we wanted to do that for footwear.”

With the collection spanning several silhouettes, from minimalist heels to shearling-lined boots to loafers, comfort was key for the Foster sisters.

“Sara and I are not women who are willing to suffer for fashion,” Erin explained. “We feel like we want to look great, but we also want to be comfortable. I have been known to bring flats with me if I go somewhere fancy wearing a tight, pointed-toe shoe. … So we wanted to make shoes that looked great, that were on-trend but were also classic pieces, because our girl is not buying disposable fashion.”

When it came to developing the shoe line, the Fosters were by no means doing it alone. They work with a majority female staff that brainstorms ideas together.

“We have a really big team, luckily of mostly women,” Sara said. “We literally have a group chat called ‘shoes’ where we talk about the things missing from our wardrobe, the shoe that we want that’s $1,000 and we’ll never spend that.”

But the Fosters are realistic in understanding their bandwidth and the challenges of creating footwear. “This is a whole other animal,” Sara said. “It is a different supply chain. It is a whole different world of fit.”

So Caleres, which previously worked with them on a Dr. Scholl’s collaboration, stepped in to provide the necessary expertise. The reason why Caleres was the right partner is simple: “Because they’re the best,” Sara said. “It was Caleres or we weren’t going to do it.”

Erin said of the partnership, “They had a proven track record. It was also an all-female team, and we really liked everything they said and how collaborative they were willing to be. Something that’s important for us with partners is that they are very, very honest with us and transparent.”

The sisters also appreciate that Caleres is aware of trends in the industry. (Sara noted that she and Erin aren’t trend-motivated, but they understand the business is).

Caleres president and CEO Jay Schmidt said his team’s enthusiasm for the partnership was born from early success. “Our first collaboration with Favorite Daughter and Dr. Scholl’s sold out quickly — and this consumer reaction was both exciting and validating for the footwear opportunity. Our wholesale partners recognized the momentum and wanted to be part of the next chapter,” he recalled. 

As for Caleres’ future strategy, he explained, “We’re building this business with discipline and intention, expanding with the Favorite Daughter brand in a way that sustains excitement season after season.”

Looking ahead, styles for 2026 are “already locked and loaded,” according to Sara, and could soon find their way to the small screen. “Nobody Wants This,” which stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody as a respective agnostic podcast host and a rabbi falling in love, has been renewed for Season Three. Bell’s character, Joanne, hosts the podcast with her sister, Morgan (played by Justine Lupe). 

If the fictional sisters were to wear Favorite Daughter shoes, the Fosters believe they’d go for the loafer style. Erin teased, “Our shoes weren’t ready in time for them to be wearing it on the show [for Season Two], but they definitely would — and hopefully will — for Season Three.”

For 39 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2025 event is supported by Caleres, Listrak, Nordstrom, Skechers, Vibram and Wolverine Worldwide.