Mindy Kaling Asked Her Mom If She Could Buy These Expensive Heels, and It's the Most Relatable Story Ever

Updated on 5/21/2019 at 5:00 PM

If you've watched The Office, you're probably well-aware that Mindy Kaling's hysterical character Kelly Kapoor is more than obsessed with fashion (and, of course, Ryan Howard). The actress and writer went on to play another fashion-obsessed character, Mindy Lahiri, on her hit show The Mindy Project. See a connection yet? Mindy's got some serious style IRL, and we're pretty sure both of these characters would die over the fact that she's DSW's brand ambassador now.

We got the chance to chat with Mindy a couple of days before the Met Gala about her new partnership with footwear and accessories retailer DSW. (If you haven't seen her amazing Moschino outfit and platinum blond hair from the gala, you're truly missing out.)

The actress chatted with us about how her partnership with the retailer started — spoiler: she actually bought her prom shoes there! — and went on to tell the most relatable story about buying a pair of shoes with her mom's approval. We even got her to choose shoes based on the personalities of her famous characters Kelly and Mindy:

"For Kelly, she had such an aspirational style, but she realistically made 20K a year. I could totally see her wearing a pair of Kate Spade shoes with a bow on the front. Kate Spade is a really high-end brand for her local mall, so she'd really like that. Something with a chunky heel in a bright color. For Mindy, I wore a lot of crazy nine-inch heels, and I can totally picture her in a pair of cool Nicholas Kirkwood heels."

Keep reading to find out why Mindy called her mom before buying shoes and more of our hysterical interview.

Mindy Wore DSW Heels to Her Prom

"I'm Indian, so when I would bond with my mom, we wouldn't go to a Spin class or anything like that. We would just hang out while shopping. Ever since I was around 12 or 13, I would go to DSW with her to buy shoes because it was such a great price point. I could just walk out with three pairs of shoes because of how affordable it was. It sort of became a tradition with my mom. Even though there wasn't a DSW by my college, Dartmouth, I would always come home and buy sandals, boots, and flip-flops to take back with me. In fact, my prom shoes were actually from DSW!"

Mindy Called Her Mom Before Buying These Shoes

"When I was nominated for the Emmys, I didn't have a stylist, and I actually had to call my mom and ask her if it's OK that I buy a pair of Christian Louboutin heels. It wasn't even the brand's most expensive style, it was the $400 pair of black ones. My mom was like, 'You've been nominated for an Emmy! Of course, you should buy a pair and celebrate!'"

Pictured: Mindy at the 2007 Emmy Awards.

Mindy Copied Sandra Bullock's Sneakers

"I actually just splurged and bought these black Balenciaga sneakers that I saw while I was hanging out with Sandra Bullock. I saw her wearing them one time, and I basically just accosted her, like, 'OMG! Where did you get those? I need them now.'"

Mindy Loves These Sneakers For Traveling

"I'm always so fascinated by how celebrities like Gigi Hadid walk into an airport wearing thigh-high boots with stiletto heels. I'm like, 'YESSSS! Work it, Gigi!,' but my style is more low-key. I love wearing my Fila sneakers."

Mindy Thought She Could Keep All of Her Clothes and Shoes From The Mindy Project . . .

"For The Mindy Project, they really had me in these giant, nine-inch heels — and her wardrobe was so gorgeous and I wanted to take everything home at the end! I thought that Sarah Jessica Parker got to keep all of her shoes and clothes from Sex and the City and that when I got my own show they'd say, 'Here you go!,' but I had to buy everything! I mean, I got a discount, but still."