Sole Mates
Think shoes obsess you? You’ve got nothing on these store owners and buyers, who can sum up your style in a glance. Their choices will always be right on trend, and they insist that comfort is as important as style
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SHERRIE OPPENHEIM, LORI MILLER, and BRANDI SECHER
OPPENHEIM IS THE OWNER OF SHIRISE,
AND SHE AND HER DAUGHTERS, MILLER
AND SECHER, ARE THE BUYERS.
341 Park Avenue, Glencoe, 847-835-2595; shirise.com.
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Oppenheim brought her daughters up surrounded by the shoes that she lovingly chose for her groundbreaking North Shore store, which she opened in 1985. Now they help her buy not only shoes but bags, jewelry, and other fashion essentials.
IN THE BEGINNING SO: "The name ‘Shirise' sounded fancier than ‘Sherrie's Shoes.' My parents had a clothing store, but I really learned about shoes at Neiman Marcus." BS: "Where she was the number-one salesperson in the whole Neiman Marcus system." SO: "Well, I could remember everything in my customer's closets." LM: "She would stay at work late and go out of her way, calling because she had found what they were looking for." SUFFERING FOR STYLE? BS: "Absolutely not! But I will go up a size if it is a great shoe, like a handmade, embroidered Emma Hope that I really love." SO: "Taryn Rose is a foot doctor turned shoe designer who cares about fashion but was tired of her feet hurting, and we have been with her since she started. I wear a lot of her shoes and three years ago had to have surgery on a femur fracture, and they were still comfortable." WALK ON SO: "If you are trying to spare your feet, don't wear a pointy toe. Wear lower heels, or a thicker heel for support. Don't buy the 100-millimeter-it's four inches. Go a little lower, even if it's just to 90 millimeters. There is a big difference. Fall's shoes put the platform on the inside of the shoe, so the pitch is less, but it still looks as if you are walking on a three-inch heel. Actually, it's just two and a half because of the platform." LM: "Our customers can take a shoe home on approval and walk around on their carpet and get a feel for it." THE NEW BLACK SO: "Gray-or any shade of metallic gray. It looks good with denim, and the pewter tones are neutral." BS: "Black patent and snakeskin in shoes and handbags, or pony. We push people to buy other than black; we get tired of it, and it's too much the norm." FAVORITE LABELS BS: "Robert Clergerie, Elisa Ferare's shoes with stones-not too zaza but sophisticated-and I love Pedro García, and Chloé and Emma Hope for a really pretty shoe." SO: "I wear Jimmy Choo for evening, and I do like Elisa Ferare; she is very fashion-forward, and she mixes suede with metallic trim. Her shoes are unique, and even look kind of handmade." SHINE ON BS: "Metallics are never going to go out of style, since they work with too much. With a long black dress, I'll bring in a bronze shoe and a turquoise wrap. Accessories don't all have to go together." LM: "Metallics update your wardrobe. Your figure changes, and maybe the season's skinny black pants or jeans are not for you, so update with a beautiful metallic." CLOTHES CALLS LM: "We like it when customers bring in their outfits so we can help them with the right shoes." BS: "Our customers seem to need to match, but I don't believe in it. We help them pick something different that works." LM: "So choose metallic gray or winter white to go with your black suit." WHAT'S THE BEST A SHOE CAN DO FOR YOU? SO: "Make the whole outfit. The right outfit and the wrong shoes don't work, as far as I'm concerned."
Photography by Jeff Sciortino
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