Lauren: I should be able to have a pair of shoes that fit me.
Lauren: I want to be stylish.
Lauren: I want to wear shoes.
Lauren: And so I just decided: Okay, if you make them, they will come.
Lauren: Being diagnosed with a rare disease at such a young age.
Lauren: You don't really know the difference, because I've only ever lived this life.
Lauren: I really became a confident young woman at a young age.
Lauren: And I think that was really because I didn't have a choice.
Lauren: I have this spectacular, tuxedo coat.
Lauren: That I'm just going to throw on with some jeans.
Lauren: Glam on the top.
Lauren: And keeping it casual underneath.
Lauren: Do I want to pop a colour, or do I just want to keep it black and white?
Lauren: Yeah, I think this one will be good today.
Woman: Perfect.
Lauren: My name is Lauren Ruotolo.
Lauren: I have a rare disease called McCune-Albright Syndrome.
Lauren: I try not to leave the house without red lipstick.
Lauren: A red lip is just powerful.
Lauren: And, it just brightens up your whole face.
Lauren: And I'm all about just brightening up your day.
Lauren: Was actually diagnosed at 18 months old.
Lauren: But before that, had a bunch of different symptoms.
Lauren: Such as getting my period at 9 and 10 months old.
Lauren: So that was a big surprise to my parents.
Lauren: At the age of 12 months, I started having seizures.
Lauren: And then by the time I was 18 months, I actually broke my femur bone.
Lauren: The doctors were saying to me, "you may end up in a wheelchair."
Lauren: I made a decision with my physical therapist that I would always be vertical.
Lauren: Because to me, walking is freedom.
Lauren: The hardest part about living with a rare disease is that you constantly have to
adapt to various different environments.
Lauren: So when I get up in the morning, big coffee drinker.
Lauren: I must have coffee.
Lauren: Since my life has been a little bit more difficult and it takes a little bit longer to do everything,
I figured, why not French press and it's kind of fancy.
Lauren: It's like my whole life is kind of like a jungle gym.
Lauren: Because I'm climbing or jumping on to get to something.
Lauren: Because I can never reach anything.
Lauren: Italian, roast, the darkest.
Lauren: Best beans.
Lauren: I always add a little cinnamon, little spice.
Lauren: Little spice in everything I do.
Lauren: Everybody tells me to be careful, constantly, all the time.
Lauren: I could be two years old or I could be 42 years old.
Lauren: Somebody in my life is going to tell me to be careful.
Lauren: Push down, get out the goodness.
Lauren: So I started wearing stilettos when I was in college.
Lauren: I have a size four shoe, I could never find shoes.
Lauren: And so it became, this like ‘where's Waldo’ of shoes for me.
Lauren: It became this ultimate search.
Lauren: We had this like, local department store.
Lauren: And, they had a small size.
Lauren: And I was like, oh my God, I am in heaven!
Lauren: And then all of a sudden, like, I became known as like the girl in school with stilettos.
Lauren: I mean look at that outfit.
Lauren: I was actually, yes, I was in a back brace here.
Lauren: Because I could just tell, that I had no waist whatsoever.
Lauren: This is just so funny.
Lauren: I had to learn to be an advocate for myself.
Lauren: I had to again adapt fashion to my body and or my feet.
Lauren: So I wanted a certain kind of dress, and I wanted to stand out.
Lauren: That wasn't available at the stores.
Lauren: So, like the spark came: well, I'm just going to have it made then.
Lauren: And I’m going to have something made that works for me, and works for my body.
Lauren: So I'm going to put on one of the new samples.
Lauren: I’m really excited.
Lauren: Feeling fun, fabulous.
Lauren: Advocacy starts with one person.
Lauren: And so I'm beginning a shoeline that's called 'Unstoppable by Lauren Jae'.
Lauren: And the big reason is because I believe in inclusivity and diversity for all in every facet.
Lauren: Shoes look fabulous.
Lauren: Fringe is fun.
Lauren: We're off to start an unstoppable day.
Lauren: I am going to meet an old friend.
Lauren: She actually has the same disease as I -- as myself, which is really exciting.
Lauren: Living in Manhattan, you never know what people are going to say to you.
Lauren: People are constantly going to stare at you.
Lauren: I will easily get one or two crazy comments a day.
Lauren: A lot of people will say to me,
Lauren: "You're so pretty, what happened to you?"
Linda: Hi.
Lauren: How are you?
Linda: How are you? So nice to see you.
Linda: You too.
Lauren: How is everything?
Linda: Good. How is everything with you?
Lauren:Thank you so much for coming today.
Lauren: Oh you're engaged? That is amazing!
Linda: I broke my leg about a year ago. I had surgery.
Lauren: Oh really? Which leg?
Linda: This one.
Lauren: Okay.
Linda: Very painful.
Lauren: Like I've broken like a finger.
Lauren: But, that was my own fault.
Lauren: How is life besides just the aches and pains?
Linda: For the most part, I would say that I'm happy.
Linda: But you know, there's some days where I'm kind of like down.
Lauren: If you were taller, you wouldn’t be so super cute.
Lauren: So I think you have to look at it that way, right?
Linda: I like the way you think.
Linda: I wish I could be more like you.
Lauren: You wear like a size three, right?
Linda: Size two.
Linda: It's kind of embarrassing because I have to go into the kids department .
to find shoes for an adult.
Linda: And I'm in my 40s so it's...
Lauren: To have you as one of the first people to try on the shoes really means a lot to me.
Linda: I love to wear wedge boots.
Linda: Sort of like what you have there.
Lauren: Oh really?
Linda: I have a pair.
Lauren: Okay, so we’ll have you try those on first.
Lauren: Do you feel like Cinderella?
Linda: I do.
Lauren: They feel comfortable too.
Linda: Yeah.
Linda: Actually they fit me.
Lauren: They do? That's so exciting.
Linda: Yeah, I love that.
Lauren: There'll be a little piece of gold somewhere.
Lauren: Because I believe that gold just lights up your heart.
Lauren: They make you feel more confident.
Lauren: You feel tall, you stand taller.
Linda: Putting on a pair of shoes, not only do I feel taller.
Linda: But it just gives me this feeling that I could, like do whatever I want.
Linda: Like I can conquer the world.
Lauren: I am happy to make a change.
Lauren: And actually honoured to see people really smile, when they put on these shoes and they feel great.
Lauren: You should be able to wear adult and stylish clothes.
Lauren: I'm excited to see others walk in these shoes and create their own story.