I'm sure they will upload pictures of the interior soon, so I won't go into great detail (great detail about the beautifully aged leather chairs, elegant lighting, and the small, subtle items of decor which add to the ambiance without calling attention to themselves, evinced by a vague certainty that these items were present). And I'm also sure that such stores exist in Europe and North America, even in Hong Kong and perhaps Tokyo, but in Seoul such a place is beyond rarity. In the four years I've lived here, I've never stumbled across a place remotely close to this. I met a friend of the owner, the friend being a long time SF lurker and the impetus behind Unipair registering as an Affiliate Vendor, who has lived in Seoul for the past decade; he assures me that Unipair is indeed unique.
It's nestled in Sinsa-dong, one of the most affluent areas of Gangnam, an unassuming sign (rather too unassuming given I walked past it twice) at its gate marking its presence. Unipair...well...they know shoes. I'm not a shoe guy; I like my Allen Edmonds. I spend anything more on shoes that means I'm spending less on ties. But I was seriously impressed. This place made me want to become a shoe guy (I kept repeating "Hober, Hober, Hober" under my breath to remind myself what would have to be sacrificed). They have a prodigious selection of Carmina and Alden with some Trickers and Edward Green thrown in for good measure. The Alden are marked up a bit (par for the course in Korea), but the Carmina are priced as they are elsewhere in the globe. There were some brands there that I was not familiar with (as I'm not a shoe guy, this doesn't mean much), but I've no doubt they are of excellent quality.
Their tie selection had me all but in tears. I'm not exaggerating. Not in the least. I didn't need to dress nicely until I moved to Korea, and I moved from Texas anyhow, so I'd never really been exposed in person to a good selection of quality ties. This was just a few dozen Drakes and Tie Your Tie, as well as a very respectable Italian made house brand (priced at a palatable 95USD). But man...I think I gawked for a good 15 minutes.
The owner, Jay, was very helpful and spoke excellent English; the shop itself was well staffed (5+ people on the floor, including a girl with pleasantly quirky pants). Jay's Canadian friend, LK, was also present. He's apparently been lurking around SF for a while, and despite a humble demeanor, probably knows a lot more about clothes than I do (which is saying a lot compared to the real world, but isn't saying much when compared to SF).
The long short of it is: if you are on travel or live in Seoul, you need to stop by Unipair.
I dropped off three pairs of Allen Edmonds to get vibram rubber soles at about 20USD a pair. I'll probably bring a few more in at a later point. Getting toe taps put on one of the pairs, around 30USD. Picked up some burgundy shoe polish and a gray tie.
All and all, an absolutely amazing experience. For those ordering from abroad, their storefront gave me every indication of being a business that has been open and established for a lot longer than four years....I'd say you're in excellent hands.
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