Charles David is an American fashion company known for their design of shoes, founded by David and Charles Malka.

History and operations

The family-owned company was founded by David and Charles Malka. It began Canadian distribution of shoes in the 1970s, followed by the U.S. distribution of European shoes in 1987. Their first retail store opened at the Côte-des-Neiges Plaza in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, Canada in the early 1970s. They opened and operated several chains in Canada until they moved their operations to Los Angeles, California in 1988. In the spring of 2004, Charles David launched their lower price lines, Charles by Charles David and Exchange by Charles David. In 2005, they had 25 retail stores across the U.S., in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

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, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. They also sell handbags and their shoes are carried in department and specialty stores nationwide, such as

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, and

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

. Charles David shoes have been worn by celebrities such as

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the television series ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox (1995–1997) an ...

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Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' ...

Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry ( ; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant of 1986 and also placing six ...

, and longtime fan

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO's '' Entourage'' (2004–11), Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'' (2000), Dalia in ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' (200 ...

. Actress

Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...

was a fan of Charles by Charles David's Vegan collection, launched in 2011, and wore many of their shoes to premieres and appearances throughout the release of ''

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''. In February 2013, the company launched its first campaign featuring a celebrity spokesmodel, actress

, a longtime fan of the brand. The company also announced a future collaboration with Emmanuelle - a capsule collection for release in fall 2013. The collection, Charles David by Emmanuelle Chriqui, featured several styles designed by the actress. In December 2013, according to

The Sage Group The Sage Group plc, commonly known as Sage, is a British multinational enterprise software company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. it is the UK's second largest technology company, the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise res ...

, Charles David's financial adviser, New York Transit, Inc. has bought Charles David of California Inc.

Brands

* Charles David - women's footwear and accessories * Charles David "Made in Italy" - women's footwear made exclusively in Italy, consisting mostly of leather boots and booties * Charles by Charles David - women's footwear (lower price label) * Exchange by Charles David * Charles David by Emmanuelle Chriqui - capsule collection designed by actress

References

Charles David Profile

Natalie Portman Wearing Charles David Sandals

External links

Charles David website
Shoe brands Shoe designers Shoemakers Clothing companies established in 1987 Shoe companies of the United States {{US-retail-company-stub