Posted on June 10 2024
We were so excited that comedian, Chloe Radcliffe wore our shoes to the 2024 Writers Guild Awards that we knew we had to interview her. A special thank you to her stylist, Maria Serena Ceravolo at Spaghetti Wardrobe that styled her in ALLY heels.
Photo Credit: Lisa Pavlova @lisapavlova
Photo Credit: Lisa Pavlova @lisapavlova
ALLY Shoes: How did you first get into comedy? Was there a specific moment or experience that inspired you to pursue it?
Chloe: Like every comedian, I didn’t start life funny…I started life uncomfortably, paralyzingly weird. And then learned to use humor to connect with people, in lieu of normal social graces. And then the specific moment that...inspired me to try standup? I finally got fired from my high-paying corporate job. Inspiration!
ALLY Shoes: How do you decide which topics to include in your sets? Do you draw a lot from personal experiences, or do you also find inspiration from everyday observations?
Chloe: Both! My phone background says “Document everything,” which is a reminder to myself to write down every thought that has potential to be funny. And to retain evidence for future civil and criminal proceedings.
ALLY Shoes: What’s your approach to weaving humor into serious topics without diminishing their importance?
Chloe: Comedy disarms people who might otherwise avoid a tense topic, so I think humor is an absolutely critical component to any serious topic, because it opens the door to discuss it at all. And because comedy comes from contrast, discomfort, tension, and release, there are always funny moments, even in the darkest experiences. The mundane vs the extraordinary.
ALLY Shoes: What advice do you have for aspiring comedians looking to break into the scene? Are there specific strategies that helped you sustain your passion and progress in your early career?
Chloe: Commit, and commit hard! When I was about a year into standup, living in Minnesota, a guy named Jet Black asked when I was planning to move to NYC or LA. I told him that I wasn’t even sure if I would stay in comedy at all, and he was affronted and said, “You’re good enough to have a real future, so either quit now and stop wasting your time and everyone else’s, or commit to this.” And that was actually exactly what I needed to hear - I decided that night to pursue this as a true career. Now, a couple days later, Jet Black got weird and creepy, which we all could have seen coming from a man named “Jet Black,” but hey, he gets credit for the push in the right direction. Separate the art from the artist, y’know.
ALLY Shoes: Do you have a go-to power outfit for stand-ups?
Chloe: It’s important that I feel like myself onstage. Which means that ideally I’d wear sweatpants with ice cream stains on them, that’s who I really am. But when that’s just a little too casual, I love great jeans and Converse, so I can really move around.
ALLY Shoes: Who is your ally?
Chloe: My mom! She is pathologically unable to think anything bad about me! She would absolutely hate to bury a body with me, but if I needed her to, she’d spend the entire time saying, “Chloe, I can empathize with the circumstances that brought you to this point."
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