a shoe in publication

A Shoe In Launch

We had a little party to celebrate the end of the project last Sunday and the participants talked about their own favourite shoes. Here are a couple of their stories.

Youth responses

After each of the tours that A Shoe In had the participants were asked to write a personal response to their experience at each of the locations, here are some highlights:

HARRY ROSEN:

Before even walking into Harry Rosen I have always had the desire to learn see how high end shopping stores work. To begin, I am already interested with high fashion couture and high-end brands like Faragamo. I was amazed to see how many brands Harry Rosen carries and how selective they are in product placement and selection in brands. Harry Rosen’s customer service is based on making the customer feel comfortable and at ease and I was able to acknowledge that during the tour. I was happy to win a gift certificate for learning the important history of the major shoe brands this store caries. Lastly, The bespoke section has to be the key component to how Harry Rosen separates them from any other store. Custom fitting with food , and music of choice in one room. It is a perfect way to shop. Overall the Tour and store was a benefit to me because of the shoe field that I am in with my website. I was able to learn and acknowledge how a company like Harry Rosen works.
-David


FLUEVOG:

My lasting impression of Fluevog is they make some intense footwear. One of the first things we were told was that Fluevog’s staple shoe is the work boot. This certainly set the stage for the incredibly sturdy “families” of shoes Fluevog has to offer. We were given the tour by all three employees in the store, who were very knowledgeable and head-over-heels Fluevog supporters themselves.

I would say the main focus of our tour was the quality of workmanship which goes into each Fluevog. Although mainly made in China, as we learned, our guides ensured us that the workers are being paid fair wages and work in safe conditions unlike many manufacturing stations in China. This is partly why I admire Fluevog and their ethics.

Secondly, my admiration goes to their comfort level of the shoes. Although I have never tried a pair on, our guides told us stories of women who wear Fluevog heels but previously were injured to the point where they thought they could never wear heels again. As well, I think it’s fantastic that the shoes don’t give you bunions which is a condition that probably affects half the country (a.k.a all the women).

Thirdly, I admire Fluevog’s creativity. As I mentioned previously, Fluevog releases models in what they call “families” which are essentially groups of shoes sharing a common theme – saloon wild west, for example. So certainly if you want something off the beaten track, go to Fluevog. Although they cost half an arm, their exceptional quality and lifetime are probably worth it.
-Sairah

HOLT RENFREW:

So I thought that going to a fancy shoe store was gonna really really suck, but it actually didn't.
The first thing I noticed was that Holt Renfrew was really clean. I think it might be the cleanest place I've ever been in, and in any case was the fanciest store I've ever been in. Everything was shiny. And the store people were nice. We learned some cool stuff about how the shoes are made and got to see all the weird designs and different kinds of shoes. There was a shoe with a mouse face on it. A MOUSE FACE. Freaking AMAZING. So yeah, I guess I learned something new at Holt Renfrew... that rich people appreciate mouse humour too and that the world of shoes is pretty interesting.
-Claire

Harry Rosen- Quality Style

Harry Rosen gave us a look at mens shoes and how important and valuable good quality construction is. Check out the photos! Participant responses to come.

We Toured the Vog

Fluevog Facts and Understandings

- There is a small design team that works with John Fluevog to create a family of shoes. The design process is inspired, and the team uses different starting points such as song lyrics, images, ideas, stories, movies etc. The family of shoes will have a constant in every shoe, for example the heel will be the same, or the sole of the shoe. The design team also picks colours or patterns for each family and shoe.

- There seams to be a lot of creativity put into the designs of shoes. To think that each year most of the shoe market is dominated by some key styles like gladiator sandals, ballet flats, sneakers etc, yet Fluevog shoes don’t look like the other shoes out there. Sure they have their take on a motorcycle boot, or a mary-jane, but you can really tell a fluevog shoe apart from the others.

- Fluevog started out as a very punk shoe business, and gained popularity during the grunge era in the early 90s. At this time Fluevog was making angel shoes that were a different option to doc martens. The Angel family is still being sold today, with some special revivals happening this year for Fluevog’s 40th Anniversary.

- The issue of timelessness came up a lot during the tour. One woman said Fluevog’s shoes are considered timeless because the styles are re-introduced due to popular demand. We also came up with the idea that they are simply so funky they never go out of style. Really essentially the key word is style; Fluevog shoes have a particular style. In some ways it could be compared to someone like Louboutin, who always has a red lacquer on the bottom of his shoes. Fluevog does not have a signature quite so straight forward, but they do all look like Fluevogs.

- Lots of people have the opportunity to contribute to Fluevogs designs. They have an entire program dedicated to open-source designs. You can submit drawings/designs for an entire shoe, or a part of a shoe, or even a colour. It’s a pretty cool way to get the customer involved on a more intimate level with their shoes.

Things we learned at Holts

- Buyers are purchasing shoes a year ahead of when they will be in stores.
- Buyers will purchase at 3 different levels, entry level, mid range, and high end (for each different price point).
- Managers and buyers will meet to discuss the stores demographic before the buying begins
- The floor team is trained in all of the shoes on the floor; however a designer such as Prada may decide to hire a specialist to sell their shoes. That specialist would still have a firm grounding in the rest of the shoe department
- Floor team is trained to be able to match a shoe to the customer, considering things such as lifestyle, wardrobe, price range, etc. Ultimately the customer decides what they want to buy.
- There are customers who come to look at shoes every week
- The Toronto Bloor Street Holt Renfrew has the largest shoe department within the company.
- You must treat your designer shoes as designer shoes. They are not meant to be worn every day, and if you treat them properly they could last generations.
- The higher priced shoes have much more handwork involved, and will be made of finer/better quality materials then the lower end styles.
- Some designers choose to be elite, and will make their shoes for a small number of people to purchase. They will use better materials, more expensive decorations such as silks, French lace, crystals…. This allows then to remain an aspiration.
- Celebrity followings really help a designer out.

A Shoe In visits Holt Renfrew

We are going for a tour of Holt Renfrew's shoe department today! photos and updates to follow.