Where to purchase shoes in San Francisco?

[Parker]

Since discovering the various recommended makes of quality footwear here on the Forum, I've been searching for a place to try and buy some new shoes. I've popped into my local Neimans, Saks and Nordstrom which carry the usual Guccis, Ferragamos and Pradas, which all seem very expensive (for what you get). Nordstrom did have a selection of Santonis which I liked (but had rubber soles). Any ideas where I might find a pair of Crockett & Jones, Cleverly, E. Green or similar ilk in this town? I find the Alden, Allen-Edmonds are a tad bit "frumpy" for my taste. Do I need to make a trip to LA or NY? I am particularly interested in a slight chisel box toe Balmoral or Brogue or even a Chelsea boot or Monk of high quality and comfort.

Thanks for the help.

 

[drizzt3117]

Wilkes Bashford has a pretty good shoe selection, A Harris could probably expand more on what they currently have, but last time I stopped by they had most of what you are looking for.

 

[norcaltransplant]

If you have a car, there's a store in Burlingame that stocks Edward Green. I can't remember the name of the place for the life of me though...

 

[DorkusWang]

I've seen John Jobb at Neiman Marcus as well as at Wilkes Bashford. Wilkes also carries 3 or 4 JM Weston models.

The Polo store carries the Crocket and Jones cordovan blucher wingtips and loafers.  I was there recently and saw a beautiful RLPL/Edward Green black calf balmoral cap-toe. I think it was $850.

Cheers

 

[Pink22m]

If you have a car, there's a store in Burlingame that stocks Edward Green.  I can't remember the name of the place for the life of me though...

If I am not mistaken, I believe you are referring to Maloufs, located on Burlingame Avenue.  I know for a fact they have Edward Green shoes.  Additionally, there is also one down in Palo Alto, I believe close to the Stanford shopping center.

 

[Parker]

Great. Thanks for the input. I'll check out Wilkes. Have never actually been inside. Walk by often on my way to work. For some reason, it looks a little intimidating from the street. One weekend I'll make a trip down the Peninsula, too. Have never been to the Bloomingdales at Stanford, either.

P

 

[tattersall]

I'll check out Wilkes. Have never actually been inside. Walk by often on my way to work. For some reason, it looks a little intimidating from the street.

It's a great store (very friendly, actually) and while they don't stock Vass or Green, they do have the Lobbs with bootmaker soles, as well as nice selections by Weston and Stefanobi. They also carry Gravati and Paraboot.

 

[Steve B.]

IMO Malouf's in Burlingame does indeed have Greens and the best shoe selection in the Bay Area. Neiman's and Wilkes have Lobbs. I didn't see any Weston or Paraboot at Wilkes, but they have some very attractive Stefanobi models. Arthur Beren carries Gravati, Toschi, and some Ferragamo- right on Union Square. The Nordstrom downtown used to have Santoni handmades, and Saks carries some nice Testonis.

 

[A Harris]

Wilkes - Gravati, JB Barrett, Heschung, Paraboot, Weston, Testoni, Stefanobi, Lobb (but only models with the "bootmaker sole&quot

Nordstrom - Santoni (only one or two handmade models though,) plus Alden, Allen Edmonds, Magli etc.

Neimans - Lobb, Mantellassi, Testoni, Varvatos, plus Church's, Prada/Gucci/Ferragamo etc.

Saks - Testoni, Heschung, Paraboot, plus all the regular stuff. I find their shoes to be uniformly unattractive though... Only some of the Hesching and Parraboot models appeal to me.  

Cortoue (sp?) - Artioli, but they are the ugly ones

Arthur Beren - what Steve said

Ralph Lauren - Edward Green, C &J

Brooks Brothers - C&J, Alfred Sargent, Alden

Maloufs - Edward Green, plus a good selection of lower priced shoes.

In general, the Bay area is not a good place to buy shoes. Poor selection. My picks for the overall most tasteful departments are Neimans, Maloufs (because of the Edward Green's,) and Brooks Brothers. Also, if you are into high end, you might contact Pacific Tweed in Carmel. They carry Santoni handmades, and are getting Kiton and hopefully Vass.

 

[aarghh]

L'Uomo in Stanford carries a decent line of Gravatis.

 

[johnapril]

The high end stores will probably have access to catalogs, from which you could select what isn't in stock, no?

 

[discostu004]

re: maloufs, what are their sales like? big discounts? they have a store here in lubbock that they never discount the good stuff very much and i don't believe i've EVER seen gravati on sale at all. a friend of mine went to the cali store and said their sales there were a lot deeper than here in lbk.

 

[LA Guy]

I always thought that Arthur Beren had a good selection of shoes at sale time. I've bought a few belts there. No shoes though.

 

[Parker]

Thanks, everyone. Looks like I will have some decent options. I did notice the Testonis on my last visit to Saks. I like the styling of some of these models, though others are a bit over-the-top for me. I recall some board discussion about Testoni's not being as well constructed or as good a value as some other shoes. Any Testoni wearers?

 

[JohnMS]

Malouf's is in Burlingame although I've only gone to the store in Lubbock. If it's anything like the store in Lubbock, they have only a couple of EG styles (at least 2 years ago, the last time I went there). Call Malouf's and talk to someone about the styles they carry. www.maloufs.com