Shoes Fetish
To many milongueros and milongueras, there is nothing more important than their tango shoes.
Once the subject of shoes are mentioned in a conversation, it will easily turn into a frenzy interchange of everyone's opinions on their shoe buying experiences: who makes good vs. bad shoes, who gives discounts, who delivers on time, who has a larger selection of off-the-shelf inventory.... Only when the sky falls down would this discussion end.
Not only they talk about it, the frenetic dancers will actually buy them, even that means eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinners in order to rake up the savings.
| Some would express their shoe fetish in their artwork, by either making the shoes as the theme, or emphasizing the feet of the dancers in their portraits. | |
In milongas, some ladies might wear their most spiffy ones, with the heels taller than the Empire State Building. They would sit at the most visible area, with their legs crossed to show off their sexy feet. Dancing seems to become secondary, and may be in reality, dancing would have been difficult if they are not used to the atrociously tall heels.
| For the younger crowd who
tends to defy all traditions, they would like to wear
funky shoes that compliment their casual outfits of
T-shirts and baggy pants. They may show up in a pair of gym shoes, but beware, those may be the very expensive gym shoes. |
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Before I came to this trip, when I seek the asked my friends about the best milongas to go to, they immediately offered their unsolicited advice on their favourite shoe stores. "Purchasing dance shoes is my least priority." I replied. They were surprised.
Four weeks into my stay in Buenos Aires, I found myself being caught up in this same frenzy of shoes hunting.
| The shops selling
traditional tango shoes here in Buenos Aires are quite
interesting. There are a few famous shoe stores with street presence, such as Flabella, Delié etc. |
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| There are also some shoe stores
being hidden in a residential highrise building with no
store sign, such as Artesanal, Fattamano, Candela etc.
For this type of stores, we need to ring the door bell
and be let in. There are different theories on why these shops do not openly advertise their commercial existence. Most of the answers tend to be tax related. I was informed that one reputable shoemaker offers discount if the transaction is not recorded on a receipt. |
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| Both of these types of stores
display stacks of shoes boxes with a sample shoe on top
of each stack, instead of what we are used to see back
home, where the main inventory is hidden in the back. The inventory is nowhere come close to the abundance we are used to. Chances are, we may not find our sizes and we have to either fit our taste to the available stocks, or we have to consider custom making our shoes. |
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| As it takes at least a week
to custom-make the shoes, and as many visitors are
staying for a short time, it is very common to see
"shoes-shopping" being listed as their very
first agenda upon their arrival to Buenos Aires. Shoemakers are also accustomed to shipping the merchandise overseas. This opens the doors to a new breed of business people who are the "go between facilitator"; their job is to ensure the shoes are made to specifications; manufacturers are paid at the reasonable time; and the products are shipped safely to their overseas customers. |
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| Then, there is the third type,
whereby the shoemakers will actually visit our homes.
Armed with samples and catalogs, they will offer
custom-made products, deliver and adjust to the
satisfaction of their clients. These are the shoemakers whom we know through word of mouth. It is like a chain-Tupperware party: when the shoemaker shows up to deliver the shoes for one customer, that customer may invite other friends over, so that these friends can order more new shoes. Essentially, the shoemaker will then hop from the home of one customer to the other. |
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Blessed with the de-evaluated pesos, a pair of custom-made shoes are sold from the price range of US$20.00 to US$60.00, (The average price tag for similar products in Hong Kong is US$45.00, in US/ Europe is US$110). It is a bargain if you can pick the order up before leaving Buenos Aires. For some shoe stores, such as Flabella, their reputation for delivery is so bad that no one expects receiving their shoes on time, let alone receiving them at all !!!
After my first round of shopping spree at various tango shoe stores, now I have to consciously tighten my appetite whenever I bring my new friends to these stores again. As is, I have already brought three times more than I have planned. If I continue to shop, Amelda Marco, just you wait !
