Shoes on the menu

Author: Dinna Chan Vasquez
Column: Life & Entertainment

SHOPPING for shoes is something that practically every woman loves to do. Unlike shopping for clothes, buying footwear is more forgiving. It is not a time to see potbellies, stretch marks and cellulite. It makes you feel good and recharged but not lethargic and sleepy, which is the state you’re in after a one-hour massage.

Is there anything that would make buying shoes more enjoyable?

A specialty footwear store called Res/Toe/Run aims to make shoe shopping even more pleasurable and unforgettable with a novel concept. No, the store, which has branches at Trinoma and Ayala Center Cebu, does not serve food. On the menu are some of the hippest and coolest shoe brands.

The shoe store is decorated like a real shoe store with set tables and fruits all over. It’s fruits this summer but the décor changes according to the season, says Jo Malabonga, Res/Toe/Run operations manager.

Res/Toe/Run, owned by the Primer Group of Companies, which created the brands The Travel Club and Bratpack, was named after the three footwear categories that they carry. Res represents the comfy line of casual footwear. Toe is composed of toe-flaunting sandals and flip-flops, and Run is made up of athletic and athletic-inspired footwear. Thus the name Res/Toe/Run.

Malabonga says one of the owners had an idea to open a shoe store that’s like a restaurant except that there’s no food in-store.

So what’s on the menu, if there is no food? Footwear that is fun, fashionable and foot-friendly. Some of these shoes also fall under the “green” category, which means that they were made from recycled materials.

Malabonga explains that Res/Toe/Run specializes in “rare finds,” which are brands that have cult followings. Because the shop’s owners have been in the shoe business for years, they follow trends and know what shoe lovers are looking for.

She adds that some of the styles can be found only in Res/Toe/Run, even if the brand can be found elsewhere.

“Res/Toe/Run wants to be different in terms of its offerings,” says Malabonga. “We want to have brands and styles that other stores don’t carry.”

Tsubo is a Japanese word meaning pressure point. It is also a brand of American shoes that boasts cushioning on the heels of the shoes. Even the high-heeled pairs are cushioned. The brand is described as design-driven and ergonomic style synthesis.

This refers to the trademark bubbles that cushion the insoles, material durability and flexible soft materials that flex in the right places.

Lofu, which Light Objects For You, is a brand of shoes reportedly made by the same man who created Crocs footwear. Lofu is a design-driven brand. The key feature of every Lofu shoe is its lightness, and of course comfort and accessibility. Lofu is ultra light, just like the tiny aircraft that means any of us can choose to fly. It’s just more than a shoe, its the air that takes shape. Lofu is an example of true Italian design, which is not decided by the whims of fashion but by its performance.

Terra Plana means flat land. The Company makes a variety of sustainable products fitting into three concepts: 21st century artisan (combines an understanding of shoemaking with a passion for modern techniques and materials); recycled (or worn again, which means that the pairs are made from recycled materials); and barefoot (footwear that make you feel you’re not wearing any). Vivo Barefoot and Dopie are two of the models under this line.

Sanük is a young California-based surf brand popular for its Sidewalk Surfers, footwear with sandal bottoms and shoe uppers.

Kickers is perhaps one of Res/Toe/Run’s most popular brands. It is a youth-oriented line of casual footwear that was inspired by the musical Hair. The store also carries Columbia Sportswear and North Face footwear.

Res/Toe/Run is opening its third branch next month at Gateway Mall in Quezon City. This year, the store will bring in two more international brands. Malabonga will not give any clues about the brands’ identities except to say that “these have big followings.”

Source: Manila Standard Today

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