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Chicago custom shoe store creates special shoe woman with world's largest feet
Last year, Tanya Herbert earned her place in the Guinness World Record Book for having the world's largest feet on a living female.
CHICAGO - A Texas woman shared her shoe-shopping struggle online and it went viral – even catching the attention of a Chicago boutique.
Now, for the first time, the Houston woman has a pair of high heels — that’s breaking records of its own – thanks to a custom shoe shop in West Town.
"For over 20 years, I’ve just been having to deal with the men’s shoe and making it fit my personality," said Tanya Herbert.
Herbert holds the Guinness World Record for the world's largest feet on a living female, a title she earned last year.
So just how big are her feet? Herbert, who is 6-foot-9, wears a women’s size 18 shoe!
"Most women can go to the store and find a pair of shoes to go with any outfit, that’s never been my experience," said Herbert. "I would always wear men’s shoes."
Herbert recently garnered thousands of views on TikTok by explaining the challenges of shopping for shoes that fit her.
"That video went viral, because I had asked TikTok, ‘Hey I have some cute feet, now help me find some cute shoes,’ and so TikTok did what it did," said Herbert.
Soon, Herbert heard about Mohop in West Town.
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"We have been working a long time on a variety of sizes and really trying to create larger and larger shoes, but we’d never made size 18, so I was like, ‘let’s give it a try,’" said Annie Mohaupt, co-founder of Mohop.
After connecting with Herbert, Mohaupt, who’s been making custom shoes, bags, and other goods since 2005, crafted a size 18 wedge.
When those were a hit, she got to work again, this time making Herbert's very first pair of heels.
Plus, Herbert got to put her own stamp on the shoes – through the boutique’s online Design Lab.
"She was able to go in and choose all of her colors and make something that totally expresses her personality, so they really look like ‘her,’" said Mohaupt.
Herbert comes in at 7-foot-1 while wearing the four-inch heels.
"They were my first pair of feminine shoes, they were the first company that reached out to me to help me in my shoe-finding journey, and I was forever grateful," said Herbert.
With Herbert's size included, Mohop now has 128 available sizes.
"So many of us really do kind of take for granted that you can go online or go into a store and there's hundreds of shoes or thousands of shoes available to you. But there's a lot of people, 80 percent of people, don't fit into the exact straight size shoe," said Mohaupt. "We wanted those people to have comfy shoes that fit really well."
Mohop manufactures its shoes from scratch in Rockford with almost all of their materials made in the USA.
Mohop, located at 1659 West Chicago Avenue also hosts workshops at its West Town boutique.