Where Cutting-Edge Shoe Designers Put Their Best Feet Forward
Thirty years ago, Stanley and Patricia Silver opened a small Melrose Avenue shoe boutique introducing Angelenos to the hippest footwear around, at Fred Segal Feet.
These days the Silvers have their own shoe store (they lease at Fred Segal), appropriately called Silver Feet in South Coast Plaza.
If their store opening recently was any indication of the draw the Silvers have, they should be a shoe-in with customers.
At the opening last week, the Silvers showed off the hottest shoe and handbag designs from designers here and abroad, with prices ranging from $40 canvas sneakers for women to $2,200 J.M. Westons’ boots for men. Four times a year, they scour Europe for innovative designs. The couple are also known for discovering and promoting new talent.
In 1997, Footwear News magazine named them Independent Retailer of the Year.
“We just love what we do,” Patricia said. “We enjoy life, which is about experimenting and trying out new things.”
That includes the latest footwear from Dolce & Gabbana, Prada Sport, Andrea Pfister, Costume National and Lorenzo Banfi.
Stanley, who used to design for Florsheim, loves to promote emerging designers.
Among them are San Diegan Patrick McNulty and Nick O’Rourke of Boston, partners in a company called Tsubo, a Japanese word for pressure points.
Their collection mixes athletic style elements with street looks and features air bubble soles. At Silver Feet’s opening, McNulty was pleased to see customers drawn to Tsubo’s hip alternative look, which clothing designers such as Paul Smith and Warren Griffiths have used in catalogs and on the runway.
“It’s a dream to be in a shoe store like this because there’s a cutting-edge variety here and fun in the shoes,” McNulty said.
Said Stanley Silver: “I’ve been in the shoe biz for more than 40 years, and the most exciting thing is to work with and support talent. We’ll always have that commitment as long as we’re around.”
Photo opportunity: The Escada Boutique in Beverly Hills will hold a silent auction of photographs from previous ad campaigns and fashion catalogs before the Tribute to Style fashion show and concert Sunday on Rodeo Drive. The silent auction will benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which supports education and arts programs for schoolchildren.
The photographs, by such renowned shooters as Herb Ritts, Albert Watson and Fabrizio Ferri, are on display at the boutique through Monday. Former supermodel Paulina Porizkova will host.
Shop while you recharge: It’s so SoCal we’re surprised it didn’t happen sooner. At the Banana Republic store on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, you can recharge your cell phone battery while you shop. Or download city and store guides on your Palm Pilot. Or dim the dressing room to see what your outfit looks like by night or day. Because cashmere is so tricky.
And to think that sometimes people feel nostalgic for the good old days.
